Theresa May Blasts Trump and Goodwill Gets Ivanka Trump Goods

It may be an invitation that Theresa May regrets extending.

Ever since the British prime minister asked Donald Trump to visit the U.K., the trip has been a point of contention between May and her opponents, with the latter repeatedly seeking to revoke the invitation as a means of passing judgment on Trump’s agenda and behavior.

The opposition’s latest demand came yesterday after Trump again cast blame for the violence in Charlottesville on “both sides.” In arguing that there were “fine people” among the neo-Nazis, Trump arguably legitimized white supremacists, putting them on the same moral plane as those protesting racism.

May criticized Trump’s remarks yesterday, telling reporters, “I see no equivalence between those who propound fascist views and those who oppose them. I think it is important for all those in positions of responsibility to condemn far-right views wherever we hear them.”

But there were calls for her to go a step further and cancel Trump’s (still unscheduled) visit to the U.K. “A state visit by Donald Trump would shame this country and betray all we stand for. Theresa May should revoke the invitation immediately,” said Nia Griffith, the shadow defense secretary.

May faced the same demand in June after Trump criticized and misrepresented London Mayor Sadiq Khan just hours after the terrorist attack on London Bridge. And in February, her government rejected a petition, signed by 2 million people, to scrap Trump’s trip due to the president’s “well-documented misogyny and vulgarity.”

May has been careful in her critiques of Trump, relying on language that communicates disapproval of his often-divisive rhetoric but is vague enough to not jeopardize the countries’ “special relationship.” Indeed, on Wednesday, 10 Downing Street said May’s position had not changed, and that the offer of a state visit had been “extended and accepted.”

—@clairezillman

EUROPE/MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA

A victim goes viralAn Italian teenager's account of being sexually harassed as she walked home alone at night has gone viral after she described feeling "lucky for not being raped." Anita Fallani, 18, whose father is the mayor of a town called Scandicci, said what was most depressing about her experience is that it was "like so many." "There is nothing extraordinary, it is not an exception, but one of the many things that make up our lives, completely normal."BBC

A first lady's fight

Despite reports that she'd returned home, Zimbabwe First Lady Grace Mugabe is in fact still in South Africa, where she's asked authorities for diplomatic immunity after being charged with assaulting a model who is an acquaintance of her sons. South African police have said Mugabe will be “processed through the legal system," but the incident could trigger a serious diplomatic rift between the neighboring nations.

Guardian

On the losing end

Last week, U.K. Labour MP Sarah Champion wrote an article for The Sun titled "British Pakistani men ARE raping and exploiting white girls... and it's time we faced up to it" that ran after 18 people were convicted or admitted offenses in hearings related to child sexual exploitation. Unsurprisingly, Champion's column was met with fierce backlash. Yesterday, she resigned from the shadow cabinet where she served as women and equalities minister, citing an "extremely poor choice of words."

Sky News

THE AMERICAS

Folding the forum

President Trump's strategy forum of CEOs decided to disband yesterday (the president tweeted later that he was ending it), and IBM CEO Ginny Rometty wrote a letter to employees explaining how it happened. She said she joined the forum because "dialogue is critical." But in the wake of this weekend's events, the group "can no longer serve the purpose for which it was formed."

Fortune

Secondhand stock

Thrift stores like Goodwill and New York-based Housing Works have seen an uptick in donations of Ivanka Trump-branded apparel as consumers who disagree with her politics cast off the clothes. Startup fashion resale website Thredup has tracked the trend, telling Fortune it had 223% more Ivanka Trump-branded items listed by users in 2016 compared to the same period a year earlier.

Fortune

Call the handywoman

Prime-age American women are returning to the labor force in greater numbers this year, outpacing the growth in participation of prime-age men. In the process, women are moving into male-dominated fields. Among the top 10 fastest-growing women-owned businesses are plumbers, electricians, and carpenters, according to survey data by Thumbtack, a portal of local professionals.

Fortune

ASIA-PACIFIC

Postpartum pampering

Similar to China, Taiwan's millennia-old practice of postpartum confinement, or zuoyuezi (literally “sitting the month”), is becoming increasingly lavish. The posh approach is curious since Taiwan has one of the lowest birth rates on earth, but industry practitioners say that because women have fewer children, families are willing to spring for post-birth pampering.

Quartz

Good humor, goodwill

YouTube star Lilly Singh is known for videos with titles like "Why I'm NOT In A Relationship" and "Why Bras Are Horrible," and for performing hyperbolic parodies of her parents. The Indo-Canadian is also UNICEF's newest Global Goodwill Ambassador, the first from the digital space as the children's charity looks to tap new channels of communication.

NPR