News Headlines - 31 May 2020
▽President Trump tweets Antifa will be labeled a terrorist organization - CNNPolitics
President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday that the United States will designate Antifa as a terrorist organization, even though the US government has no existing legal authority to label a wholly domestic group in the manner it currently designates foreign terrorist organizations.
Current and former government officials say it would be unconstitutional for the US government to proscribe First Amendment-protected activity inside the US based on simple ideology. US law allows terrorist designations for foreign groups since belonging to those groups doesn't enjoy the same protections.
Antifa, short for anti-fascists, describes a broad group of people whose political beliefs lean toward the left -- often the far left -- but do not conform with the Democratic Party platform.
▽British tech firms could get state help to rival Huawei | The Times
Boris Johnson is examining options to boost state investment into domestic telecoms companies to help them compete in the 5G technology market, The Times understands.
The proposal is part of a wider plan to reduce Britain’s reliance on Huawei for its next-generation mobile network, amid growing security fears over the Chinese firm’s equipment.
Premier Li Keqiang added fuel to the discussion on Thursday, saying that China has 600 million people living on a monthly income of 1,000 yuan (US$140).
“It’s barely enough to cover monthly rent in a mid-sized Chinese city,” Li told a press conference in Beijing.
Li’s comments add weight to the argument that China is a relatively poor country, as over 40 per cent of its 1.4 billion people are still living on a daily income of less than US$5.
▽Nissan reports huge ￥671 billion loss and plan to close Barcelona plant | The Japan Times
Nissan Motor Co. reported a ￥671 billion ($6.2 billion) net loss for the latest fiscal year and unveiled a plan to turn the carmaker around by eliminating about ￥300 billion in annual fixed costs, cutting capacity and reducing the number of vehicle models.
The result, the first loss in a decade and the biggest in 20 years, includes restructuring and impairment charges of ￥603 billion for the year that ended in March, the Yokohama-based company said Thursday. The four-year plan calls for production to be cut by 20 percent to about 5.4 million vehicles a year, and includes the closing of Nissan’s Barcelona plant in addition to one it is shuttering in Indonesia.
▽Iranian fuel reaches Venezuelan stations as prices set to rise - Reuters
Fuel shipped from Iran began arriving at Venezuela’s gasoline stations on Saturday, just hours before President Nicolas Maduro announced higher prices at the pump that are set to end more than two decades of almost-free gasoline.
