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Quote of the Day
The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history. - George Orwell
Word of the Day
Paseo -a slow, idle, or leisurely walk or stroll.
In the news...
The UK could announce new sanctions on Russia.Prime minister Theresa May is under pressure (paywall) to take action against Moscow following the fatal poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter on British soil. Today she’ll chair a National Security Council meeting addressing the matter.
The Bombay Stock Exchange makes it easier to buy stocks. Starting today, investors will no longer be charged transaction fees for stocks that are part of the Sensex 30 index, which includes India’s most highly valued companies. The move was made to entice individual investors.
The Church of Scientology launches a TV channel. The Scientology Network will premiere on channels such as Apple TV and DirecTV, and an app will also be available for download on the iOS App Store. “It’s TIME for us to tell OUR story…” the church wrote in a tweet, without giving further details about the channel’s content.
A land scandal surrounding Japan’s prime minister deepened. Japan’s finance ministry confirmed media reports that it had altered documents connected to a public land sale at the heart of a cronyism scandal. Japanese media reports specifically said that Akie Abe, wife of the prime minister, was among those whose names were deleted from the documents.
China officially removed its presidential term limits.The National People’s Congress chose to abolish the two-term, 10-year limit for presidents on Sunday, paving the way for Xi Jinping to hold that position for life. Only two delegates, out of almost 3,000, voted against the measure.
France’s far-right party floated a new name. Marine Le Pen proposed changing her party’s name from the National Front to the National Rally—a name similar to a WWII-era party aligned with Nazi Germany. Le Pen nonetheless believes the change might remove a “psychological barrier” for some voters who see the National Front as racist.
The EU and Japan pushed to be exempted from US tariffs. In Brussels on Saturday, European Union and Japanese trade officials lobbied their US counterparts (paywall) for exclusion from the US’s new tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. The EU says it will slap $3.5 billion on products imported from the US if it does not receive an exemption.
One for the Playlist
Thinking Corner
https://watch-series.io/series/last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver-season-5-episode-4