IN BRIEF (Page 11)

United States

Trump slams Danish PM's 'nasty' rejection

US President Donald Trump snapped back on Wednesday at the Danish prime minister's "nasty" dismissal of his question about purchasing Greenland, heightening a row which has already prompted the US president to scrap a state visit. After announcing he would not visit Copenhagen next month, Trump accused Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of insulting the US as a whole by rejecting talk of buying Greenland as "absurd". With Frederiksen voicing her annoyance at Trump's cancellation, the war of words marks another spat between the US and one of its allies since Trump came to power two years ago on an avowedly "America First" foreign policy platform.

'Mentally stable' people could own firearms

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that all "mentally stable" US citizens should be able to own firearms amid reports he retreated on plans to toughen gun purchase background checks in the wake of a string of mass shootings. "I want guns in the hands of people that are mentally stable. Those people, I want them to be easily able to get a gun. But people who are insane, people who are sick,... I don't want them to be able to get a gun," He told reporters. Trump denied media reports that on Tuesday he had promised National Rifle Association head Wayne LaPierre that he would not press Congress for a law tightening background checks on people seeking to purchase guns.

Korean Peninsula

Pyongyang warns Seoul of new cold war

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea warned on Thursday that "dangerous and unusual military moves" by the Republic of Korea and the United States would trigger a new cold war on the Korean Peninsula. In a statement, a spokesman from the DPRK Foreign Ministry said Seoul was introducing F-35A stealth fighters-"a cutting-edge lethal equipment" - from the US after the just-ended joint military exercises. The act "is a grave provocation that has openly denied the joint declarations and the military agreement" between the two neighbors on the peninsula, he added.

Australia

Parents avoid jail after feeding baby vegan diet

The parents of a severely malnourished baby have been spared jail in a court on Thursday, after pleading guilty to the crime of "failing to provide for a child causing danger of serious injury". After being fed a vegan diet, the baby girl developed devastating health issues including seizures, low blood sugar and a calcium deficiency. Unable to crawl and suffering preventable bone diseases, the child was so malnourished that she did not start growing teeth until 19 months of age when authorities became aware of the situation and started to feed her a "normal diet". Describing the parents' actions as "reckless rather than intentional", a judge sentenced the pair to 300 hours of community service.

Agencies - Xinhua

(China Daily 08/23/2019 page11)