Biden and Xi discuss Taiwan

The US and Chinese presidents held a lengthy phone discussion on Taiwan and other areas of cooperation. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following Biden and Xi discuss Taiwan [This combination image shows US President Joe Biden in Washington, Nov. 6, 2021, and China's President Xi Jinping in Brasília, Brazil, Nov. 13, 2019.] Credit: Alex Brandon, Eraldo Peres/AP/File photos US-China US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the contentious issue of Taiwan over the phone on Thursday. Xi warned the US not to “[play with fire](.” And Biden underscored that US policy has not changed and that Washington “[strongly opposes unilateral efforts]( to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait." The conversation comes amid a potential visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, which is not being backed by the Biden administration. The two leaders also discussed areas of cooperation, including climate change. It’s their fifth conversation since February 2021, and they’ve discussed arranging their first face-to-face summit. Spain Spain’s inflation rate is the highest it’s been since 1984. Like most [Eurozone countries](, Madrid’s situation is a result of the war in Ukraine and the reopening of its economy after COVID-19 lockdowns. But Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he’s expecting inflation to slow down in the second half of the year, with government plans to unveil a series of measures, including [fuel subsidies and lower electricity taxes](, which would amount to $31 billion, or 2.3% of Spain’s GDP. Inflation across Europe is running at its highest level since 1997, when record-keeping for the euro began. United States Health officials in the US say that the country’s monkeypox outbreak can still be stopped, despite rising case numbers and limited vaccine supplies. It comes as San Francisco — a city that reported its first infection on June 3, and now has 281 confirmed cases — became the first major US city to [declare a local health emergency](, and as New York declared the disease an imminent threat to public health. The US has reported more than 4,600 cases across the country. Monkeypox is generally spread through [prolonged skin-to-skin contact or bodily fluids](, and is not airborne like COVID-19 or the flu. Anyone can catch the virus, but [over 99% of the reported cases]( have been in men, with the vast majority of them among men who reported sexual contact with other men. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [Iraqi protesters loyal to Sadr storm Parliament building to send message to political rivals, analyst says]( [Iraqi protesters breach Parliament in Baghdad, Iraq, July 27, 2022.]( Credit: Ali Abdul Hassan/AP Iraqi protesters aligned with Muqtada al-Sadr's political movement stormed the heavily militarized Green Zone and Iraqi Parliament building on Wednesday. The World's host Marco Werman spoke with Hamzeh Hadad, a visiting fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations, about the protesters' demands and the [political gridlock]( plaguing Iraq. ['I'm being strangled here': Refugees returned by Turkey to Syria say conditions are bleak]( [Syrians pass time at a coffee shop in an Istanbul neighborhood where many Syrians live, July 31, 2019.]( Credit: Mehmet Guzel/AP In the Turkish city of Istanbul, police have continued a stepped-up campaign of random ID checks in immigrant neighborhoods. This week, officials acknowledged that [19,000 people have been deported]( over the past eight months. It’s not clear how many of them are Syrians. --------------------------------------------------------------- Bright spot The suit that Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin wore on his historic first mission to the moon in 1969 [has been auctioned off](at Sotheby's for nearly $2.8 million to an unidentified winning bidder. It’s the highest amount for any American space-flown artifact sold at auction. The inflight coverall jacket — made of a fire-resistant material known as Beta cloth — displays Aldrin’s name tag above the Apollo 11 mission emblem, along with the American flag. 👨‍🚀 [A jacket worn by astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin on the historic first mission to the moon's surface in 1969, sold for nearly $2.8 million at auction, July 26, 2022.] Credit: Courtesy of Sotheby's via AP In case you missed it on The World --------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [GBH](.