Moments before, the Republicans issued a statement saying he would vote to confirm Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court.

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The opening salvos of the trade war between the US and China were deafening, and while the battle is far from over, a rift between the countries may be beneficial to Beijing in the long term, experts say. Donald Trump, the US President, fired the first warning earlier this year by taxing key Chinese exports including solar panels, steel and aluminium. The most significant escalation rolled in this week with new tariffs affecting $200 billion (£150 billion) worth of items, effectively taxing half of all goods coming into the US from China. Beijing has retaliated each time in kind, most recently slapping tariffs of five to ten per cent on $60 billion of American goods. China has pledged to match the US shot-for-shot, and the world’s second largest economy is unlikely to blink anytime soon. Getting Washington to back down means caving into demands, but publicly bowing to the US would be far too embarrassing for Xi Jinping, China’s president. Still, experts say if Beijing can play its cards right, US trade war pressures could positively support China over the long term by lowering the inter-dependence of the two economies. “The fact that a quick political decision in either Washington or Beijing could create the conditions that start an economic tailspin in either country is actually a lot more dangerous than onlookers have acknowledged before,” said Abigail Grace, a research associate who focuses on Asia at the Center for New American Security, a think tank. Ambrose: China - US trade war “From both Trump and Xi, you’ve seen a willingness to engage in more head-to-head economic warfare, and that increases risk overall… that degree of leverage for either is not particularly helpful or productive.” For instance, the US implemented in April a seven-year ban on exports to Chinese telecom firm ZTE after learning it didn’t abide by a previous settlement agreement for violating trade sanctions. ZTE announced weeks after it planned to “cease major operating activities” because of financial consequences from the ban. Trump later tweeted he was working with Mr Xi to get ZTE back on its feet; the ban was lifted. That a Chinese company could be tanked by one decision indicates an unhealthy level of interdependence, Ms Grace said. Along those lines, she said it would be equally disastrous for the US if China started blocking shipments for items manufactured in the country crucial to American supply chains like parts for Apple's iPhone. Donald Trump's trade war is all about containing rampant China Thus the trade war could “force China to build a more vertically integrated supply chain within the country,” said Damien Ma, an economist and associate director at the Paulson Institute, a think tank. Doing so would allow China control from beginning to end, whether assembling widgets or dealing with more advanced technologies. “That’s a great outcome for China.” This is not lost on Mr Xi. “Internationally, it’s becoming more and more difficult [for China] to obtain advanced technologies and key know-how,” he said this week. “Unilateralism and trade protectionism are rising, forcing us to adopt a self-reliant approach; this is not a bad thing.” To properly do this, however, China needs to move away from supporting its wasteful, inefficient state-owned enterprises and support the private sector, said Nicholas Lardy, a China specialist and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.   While that’s easier said than done, Beijing has long known it would have to allow economic growth to mature away from manufacturing and exports and toward services sectors. In perspective | Emerging markets This could lead to more jobs created that are a better fit than factory gigs for China’s increasingly savvy middle class and growing numbers of university graduates, Ms Grace said. Plus, as Mr Trump continues to bellow and bully other nations, China may even be seen as “more politically stable,” Mr Ma said. One potential impact of that, he thinks, is the yuan becoming favored over the dollar as the reliable currency of choice for investments and transactions. China has long wanted to boost the role of its currency on the global stage. A report released this week by the European Central Bank that simulated the impact of the trade war echoed similar sentiments. It suggested the US would suffer from the brunt of diminished trade and deteriorating business and consumer confidence, whereas China could supplement lost trade with the US by selling to other countries. China is “giving a real, clear alternative - a choice,” Mr Ma said. “Before, even if you didn’t like the US, there wasn’t much of a choice, but China - even if you don’t like them that much … they are increasingly saying, we are a legitimate choice; we do offer things that you want and need”.

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She was once the face of abused maids in Hong Kong -- imprisoned, starved and beaten so badly she lost control of her bodily functions. Erwiana completed a degree in economics this month -- the culmination of a dream that brought her to Hong Kong in 2013 before her life was turned upside down. "Before I went to Hong Kong, I had been dreaming I could make enough money to study," the 27-year-old told AFP from her home in Indonesia's cultural capital Yogyakarta.

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SODDY-DAISY, Tenn. (AP) — Some people are defending a Tennessee high school official who posted a video explaining his ban on athletic shorts, saying "blame the girls, because they pretty much ruin everything."

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The prosecution was Los Angeles' first motorized scooter DUI incident.

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The pilot, the only person aboard the craft, ejected safely and was being checked for injuries, said a Pentagon spokesman, adding that there were no other injuries. It was a Lockheed Martin F-35B, a short take-off/vertical landing version of the F-35, said a U.S. military official, speaking on condition of anonymity. It was the first crash of an F-35 fighter jet since they became operational in 2006, said another military official, also speaking on the condition of anonymity.

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New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia was just two innings away from earning a

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Fentanyl was first developed in 1959 and introduced in the 1960s as an intravenous anesthetic.

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Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is backing up his denial of Dr.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department said Friday that it would temporarily close the U.S. consulate in the southern Iraqi city of Basra following a rocket attack earlier this month blamed on Iranian-backed militias.

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Elon Musk reaches a deal with US regulators over tweets he sent about taking Tesla private.

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Over 20 people are dug out of a hotel by hand, but fears grow that the death toll of 408 will rise.

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The rapper posted on Twitter: "The being formally [sic] known as Kanye West. I am YE."

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Agents investigating the US Supreme Court nominee approach Deborah Ramirez for an interview.

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Ri Yong-ho tells the UN that the sanctions are deepening North Korean mistrust of the US.

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Tens of thousands of women say "not him" to candidate Jair Bolsonaro ahead of next week's election.

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The vast majority of new cases were transmitted through sex. not blood transfusion as in the past.

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Amal Fathy has publicly criticised the government over the extent of sexual harassment in Egypt.

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Two men in a Swedish car were detained over fears an attack was about to take place, police say.

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Turkey's president ends a tense state visit by opening one of Europe's largest mosques in Cologne.

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Lindsay Lohan has been criticised online after posting a video showing an altercation with a homeless family.

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He was the co-founder and vocalist-guitarist of the 1960s psychedelic rock group in San Francisco.

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The US president told a rally that the North Korean leader had sent him "beautiful" letters.

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Some languages have words and phrases that English speakers never knew they needed.

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Several people were injured as those for and against Catalan independence clashed in the city.

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Why a domestic worker in Hong Kong takes part in beauty contests

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Elon Musk reaches a deal with US regulators over tweets he sent about taking Tesla private.

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The business secretary says a no-deal Brexit could threaten the UK's status as a world-leading car maker.

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"Wellness", not dieting, is the new buzzword when it comes to losing weight, but is it the right approach?

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Boris Johnson was among those whose details could be accessed through the party's conference app.

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Presented by ONLY "Sister Act" gifs.

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He puts The Rock in "Rockstar Dad."

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“Do you want me to give you a hotel? ... I want you to tell America what you need and I will get it for you.”

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The death toll from an earthquake and tsunami on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi rose to 832 on Sunday, the national disaster mitigation agency said, adding it assessed the affected area to be bigger than initially thought.

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Rescue teams in Indonesia struggled on Sunday to reach communities feared devastated by a major earthquake and tsunami on Sulawesi island, with a toll of more than 400 killed expected to rise sharply as contact is restored with remote areas.

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Kurds began voting in a parliamentary election in their semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq on Sunday, a year after a failed bid for independence.

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A powerful typhoon headed towards Japan's main island on Sunday forcing the cancellation or suspension of airline and train services and causing power outages and evacuations from areas still recovering from a typhoon last month.

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British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party began gathering for its annual conference on Saturday with bitter divisions over her Brexit plans rising to the fore, raising doubts about her own future.

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Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Brazil's major cities on Saturday in women-led protests against far-right presidential front-runner Jair Bolsonaro, who flew home after weeks in hospital recovering from a near-fatal stab wound.

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Macedonians go to polls on Sunday to vote on whether to change their country's name to Republic of North Macedonia, urged by a pro-Western government to pave the way for NATO and EU membership by resolving a decades-old name dispute with Greece.

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Prime Minister Theresa May accused critics of her plans to leave the European Union of "playing politics" with Britain's future and undermining the national interest in an interview with the Sunday Times newspaper.

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Nigeria's ruling party has nominated President Muhammadu Buhari as its candidate to stand for re-election in February 2019, a spokesman for Buhari said on Saturday.

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