Tuesday, 1 August 2017

Tuesday Morning Briefing

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Former White house Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci blows a kiss to reporters after addressing the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S.


Washington

 

U.S. President Donald Trump ousted recently hired White House communications chief Anthony Scaramucci over an obscene tirade, sources familiar with the decision said, in the latest staff upheaval for the six-month-old administration. The move, coming just 10 days after the Republican president named Scaramucci to the post, took place on the first day of work for Trump's new chief of staff, retired Marine Corps General John Kelly, who sources said was seeking to impose order on a White House riven with factions and backbiting. 

 

Trump felt Scaramucci comments to New Yorker inappropriate - White House

 

Photos: Scaramucci’s week in the White House

 

Scaramucci drama has no bearing on pending SkyBridge sale - HNA

 

Exclusive: Senate too divided to keep up healthcare push - Senator Hatch

 

Trump dictated misleading statement on son's meeting with Russian - Washington Post

 


 

Russia

 

The United States began removing furniture and equipment from a diplomatic property in Moscow in the first sign of compliance with a Kremlin order to slash its presence in Russia as retaliation for new U.S. sanctions. President Vladimir Putin has ordered the United States to cut around 60 percent of its diplomatic staff in Russia by Sept. 1, and said Moscow will seize two U.S. diplomatic properties in response to sanctions approved by Congress last week. 

 

Reuters TV: Russia’s ‘eye-catching’ but limited retaliation

 


 

North Korea

 

North Korea's latest test of an intercontinental ballistic missile has shown that Pyongyang now may be able to reach most of the continental United States, two U.S. officials told Reuters. The assessment, which the officials discussed on condition of anonymity, underscored the growing threat posed by Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, and could add pressure on President Donald Trump's administration to respond.

 

Surge in North Koreans slipping into Thailand - immigration

 


 

Venezuela

 

Venezuelan security officials seized two opposition leaders from their homes in overnight raids, their families said, after they urged protests against a new legislative superbody widely denounced as anti-democratic. Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma were both under house arrest, the former for his role in leading street protests against President Nicolas Maduro in 2014 and the latter on charges of plotting a coup. 

 

Breakingviews: U.S. sanctions on Venezuela a double-edged sword 

 


 

Lorens Listo jumps from the Old Bridge during the 451st traditional diving competition in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 


 

Business

 

Gao Ping, who worked as a cook when he arrived in Spain from China, built a lucrative import business. His arrest on suspicion of money laundering was part of a series of probes into alleged Chinese criminal networks that would ultimately lead to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Read the special report

 

Tesla drops after Musk warns of 'manufacturing hell'

 

PSA moves swiftly to stamp authority on Opel/Vauxhall

 

Discovery aims for content clout with Scripps Network bid

 


 

Tech

 

The bloom is off seed funding, the business of providing money to brand-new startups, as investors take a more measured approach to financing emerging U.S. technology companies. Seed-stage financing has been sliding for the last two years, with the number of transactions down about 40 percent since the peak in mid-2015, data shows. Dollar investments in fledgling companies have also declined, although less dramatically, dropping more than 24 percent over the same period. 

 

S&P 500 to exclude Snap after voting rights debate

 

Charter surges as Japan's SoftBank considers bid

 


 

Cyber risk

 

U.S. cable channel HBO said that hackers had stolen upcoming programming, and Entertainment Weekly reported that the theft included a script for an unaired episode of the hit fantasy show "Game of Thrones."  

 

Ukraine finally battens down its leaky cyber hatches after attacks

 

WikiLeaks publishes searchable archive of Macron campaign emails

 

FireEye researcher hacked; firm says no evidence its systems hit

 


 

Europe

 

Poland said it would press on with logging the country's primeval Bialowieza forest in defiance of an injunction by the European Union's top court, saying it needed to cut down trees to defeat insect pests. The European Court of Justice ordered Poland last week to immediately stop large-scale logging in the ancient forest, one of many cases that has pitted the nationalist, eurosceptic government in Warsaw against the bloc.

 

Commentary: It’s time for liberals to fight back

 

EU receives 27 proposals from member states to host London-based agencies after Brexit

 

Britain could lose 40,000 investment bankers after Brexit - report