News brief: Big stories of the day
An all-out trade war would slow the growth of the global economy, but not stop its expansion, with the United States and China also escaping a recession, according to forecasts published Tuesday by the International Monetary Fund.
In its latest World Economic Outlook report, the IMF conducted a series of calculations of the impact from the trade tariffs that the administration of US President Donald Trump has already implemented and has threatened to impose, as well as reprisals from China and other nations.
Yet, even in its worst-case scenario, the IMF found that the disruption won't kill off growth and drag the global economy into recession.
Alphabet Inc's Google will shut down the consumer version of its failed social network Google+ and tighten its data sharing policies after announcing on Monday that private profile data of at least 500,000 users may have been exposed to hundreds of external developers.
The issue was discovered and patched in March as part of a review of how Google shares data with other applications, Google said in a blog post. No developer exploited the vulnerability or misused data, the review found.
US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh sought to put a bruising confirmation battle behind him on Monday at a White House ceremony in which President Donald Trump declared him innocent of sexual misconduct and apologised for the heated process.
"On behalf of our nation, I want to apologise to Brett and the entire Kavanaugh family for the terrible pain and suffering you have been forced to endure," Trump said at the start of a ceremonial swearing-in in the East Room of the White House.
"Those who step forward to serve our country deserve a fair and dignified evaluation, not a campaign of political and personal destruction based on lies and deception," he said.
Weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga notched up India's maiden gold medal at the Youth Olympics, claiming the top honours in the men's 62 kg category here.
The 15-year-old from Aizwal, who is also a world youth silver-medallist, lifted a total of 274 kg (124 kg +150 kg) to finish on top in the Argentine capital on Monday night.
US President Donald Trump has said he likes Taylor Swift's music "about 25 per cent less" after the pop superstar endorsed the Democrats running for office in Tennessee in the upcoming US midterm elections. Tennessee is Swift's home state.
Swift backed Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper, who are running for the Senate and the House of Representatives. She also launched a fierce attack on Bredesen's opponent, the Republican Marsha Blackburn, who currently serves in the House.
Swift made her comments on Sunday on Instagram.