Trump administration on Monday designated China a “currency manipulator,” after the country’s central bank allowed its currency to weaken amid the ongoing trade dispute. The move comes hours after Trump accused Beijing of depreciating its currency. The People’s Bank of China allowed its currency to fall below 7 yuan to the American dollar, which is considered to be a psychologically important marker, for the first time in a decade. The sharp 1.4% drop in the yuan comes days after US President stunned financial markets by vowing to impose 10% tariffs on the remaining $300 billion of Chinese imports from Sept. 1,
Hundreds of protesters of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) known as Hashd al-Shaabi blocked the highway connecting Erbil and Mosul on Monday in a bid to push authorities regret an order obliging Hashd al-Shaabi to leave Mosul Plains area. Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi previously ordered the Iraqi army to replace Hashd al-Shaabi militias within 24 hours in Mosul Plains, Nineveh province in northern Iraq. Protesting the decision, hundreds of militiamen gathered near the Bartella checkpoint, set up tents, and blocked the road, calling for the decision to be reversed.
Messi banned from international football for three months. Footballer Lionel Messi has been suspended from playing international matches for Argentina for three months after alleging corruption at the Copa America last month. South American football body CONMEBOL also handed Messi a $50,000 fine for his comments after Argentina’s 2-1 win against Chile in the third-place playoff of the tournament in Brazil in July.
