5 things for May 14: China, Jerusalem, Iraq, Indonesia
CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 5/14/2018, 9:46 a.m.
By AJ Willingham, CNN
(CNN) -- Have you seen the new "Avengers" movie yet? Well, it seems like everyone else has: It's now the fifth-biggest global film in history. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door.
China trade wars
It's going to be a big week for the ever-escalating trade tensions between the US and China, and President Trump has already thrown a curveball. Trump announced on Twitter that he will try to give ZTE, a major Chinese tech company, "a way to get back into business, fast." Last month, the US Commerce Department blocked American firms from selling parts or providing services to ZTE, which makes smartphones and other telecommunications equipment.
The fate of the tech giant will be a driving force behind this next round of trade talks, which begin this week when Chinese Vice Premier Liu He leads a delegation to Washington on Tuesday. In the past few months, the US and China have gone back and forth over billions of dollars worth of planned tariffs on each others' goods, and there's hope on both sides that continued talks will cool the escalating trade tensions.
Jerusalem embassy
The Trump administration is set to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem today, formally breaking from decades of established American policy and international practice in a move that US officials say will create greater regional stability. It was also a campaign promise of Trump's, one that he began to fulfill in December when he formally recognized the city as the capital of Israel.
Critics say the decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital could threaten to further destabilize a region already struggling with conflict. And they argue it marks the end of the US's role as an "honest broker" in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
Iraq election
Results of Iraq's parliamentary election should be announced today, but after an early look at the vote count, it appears current Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi may be losing to two other influential Shia leaders. This was Iraq's first election since the defeat of ISIS, and security remained tight across the country. Prior to the election, Iraqis had voiced their unhappiness with the political status quo and many said they didn't intend to vote because most of the leading candidates were familiar faces who'd promised change in the past but had failed to deliver.
Indonesia suicide attacks
A wave of suicide bombings struck three Christian churches in the port city of Surabaya, Indonesia, on Sunday, killing at least eight people. According to officials in the capital city of Jakarta, the church attacks all were carried out by a single family -- including 9- and 12-year-old daughters. The family was linked to Jamaah Ansharut Daulah, a jihadi group that supports ISIS -- which also claimed responsibility for the attack.
Another family is believed to have carried out an attack at a police station Monday morning. Indonesia has long struggled with domestic terrorist groups, and has been plagued in recent years with suicide bombings.
Waffle House hero
James Shaw, the hero who stopped a mass shooting at a Waffle House in Tennessee, met with survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting on Saturday. He tweeted out photos with several of them, included David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez. "I met ones of my heros today," he wrote below a photo with Gonzalez. Shaw set up a GoFundMe campaign that has raised more than $240,000 for the families of the four people killed in the April 22 Waffle House shooting and has become an advocate for shooting victims.
NUMBER OF THE DAY
28
The number of people killed by carbon monoxide poisoning related to keyless ignition cars since 2006, according to a New York Times report. People sometimes think they have shut off such vehicles, but they are actually still running, posing a serious danger.
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