Tuesday 30 May 2017

Tuesday Morning Briefing

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Army members hold the U.S. flag as they attend an annual Memorial Day commemoration ceremony to honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the United States Armed Forces, at the Intrepid museum in New York, U.S., May 29, 2017. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

 

North Korea

 

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has ordered a probe after the Defense Ministry failed to inform him that four more launchers for the controversial U.S. THAAD anti-missile system had been brought into the country, his spokesman said.

 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test of a new ballistic missile controlled by a precision guidance system and ordered the development of more powerful strategic weapons, the North's official KCNA news agency reported.

 


Germany

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent shockwaves through Washington on Sunday when she said the days when Europe could completely count on others were "over to a certain extent." She made those comments after Trump criticized major NATO allies over their military spending and refused to endorse a global climate change accord at back-to-back summits last week. But Merkel fine-tuned her message on Monday, said she was a "convinced trans-Atlanticist” and made clear Berlin and Washington would "of course" remain close partners.

 

Trump, Macron and a looming German election: What prompted Merkel’s comments

 


Washington

 

U.S. Senator John McCain said Russian President Vladimir Putin is a bigger threat to global security than ISIS, and warned that the Senate would push for sanctions against Moscow for its alleged interference in the U.S. election. He also said China is behaving like a "bully" with its militarization of islands in the South China Sea, comments set to escalate tensions between the United States and China just days before delegates from both countries are scheduled to attend a regional security conference in Singapore. 

 


Iraq

 

Two car bombs killed at least 20 people in Baghdad and wounded about 80 others in streets packed with crowds preparing for the early Ramadan fast, security sources said.

 

Riot security forces clash with demonstrators as a motorcycle is set on fire during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in San Cristobal, Venezuela May 29, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Eduardo Ramirez

 


Philippines

 

Dozens of foreign jihadis have fought side-by-side with Islamic State sympathizers against security forces in the southern Philippines over the past week, evidence that the restive region is fast becoming an Asian hub for the ultra-radical group.

 

 


Brexit

 

British Prime Minister Theresa May said she would walk away from divorce talks with the European Union without a deal if she had to, but her rival in next week's election, Labour's Jeremy Corbyn, said he would make sure an agreement was reached if he won power. Their differing stances could set the tone for what both Britain and the EU expect will be two years of difficult talks on everything from how much cash should be paid upon exit, to border arrangements for migrants, goods and services.

 


Business

 

European shares fell for a fourth day running and the euro was battling to avoid a similar fate, as the prospect of early Italian elections and Greece's ongoing struggles nudged up the political temperature gauge again.

 

Oil prices fell, pressured by concerns that production cuts by the world's big exporters may not be enough to drain a global glut that has depressed the market for almost three years. 

 

Confusion surrounding the trade policies of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration means U.S. companies no longer know the rules of the game, a board member and former CEO of toymaker Hasbro told an international conference. Alan G. Hassenfeld said Trump's promise of bringing jobs back to America was doubtful. "Even if they (the jobs) did come, we've all learnt how to automate, we're all spending money to innovate."

 

The London Stock Exchange has agreed to buy The Yield Book, Citigroup's fixed-income analytics service and also its related indexing business, for $685 million in cash. LSE said the deal would boost the data and analytics capabilities of its information and FTSE Russell indexes business and take assets under management using its indexes to about $15 trillion.

 


Panama

 

Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega was a useful tool of the United States for years, until President George H.W. Bush lost patience with his brutal, drug-running rule and sent nearly 28,000 troops to invade the country and oust him. Noriega, who died on Monday at 83, was captured by U.S. forces in January 1990, two weeks after the massive invasion. He spent the rest of his life in custody in the United States, France and Panama for crimes ranging from murder to racketeering and drug-running.

 


Golf


Former world number one golfer Tiger Woods said an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications was to blame for his early-morning DUI arrest near his Jupiter Island home in Florida on Monday.