Bhinneka News Online: Thursday Morning Briefing: U.S. releases Baghdadi raid video

Thursday, 31 October 2019

Thursday Morning Briefing: U.S. releases Baghdadi raid video

Top Stories

The Pentagon released its first images of last weekend’s commando raid in Syria that led to the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and warned the militant group may attempt to stage a “retribution attack.” The most dramatic video showed a massive, black plume of smoke rising from the ground after U.S. military bombs leveled Baghdadi’s compound.

U.S. lawmakers to cast their first vote in the impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump as the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives takes up a measure that sets up the next steps in the fast-moving effort.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stepped up recent U.S. rhetoric targeting China’s ruling Communist Party, saying Beijing was focused on international domination and needed to be confronted. Pompeo made the remarks even as the Trump administration said it still expected to sign the first phase of deal to end a damaging trade war with China next month.

The Washington Nationals stunned the Houston Astros 6-2 in a winner-take-all Game Seven to secure their maiden Major League Baseball World Series title in a Fall Classic unlike any other. The win put the finishing touches to a stunning turnaround after the Nationals began the season with a miserable 19-31 record.

Asia

Police and protesters in Hong Kong have been locked in a spiraling cycle of violence since early June. A Reuters examination shows how the weapons and tactics of both sides have intensified as the tension has escalated.

North Korea fired two projectiles, which Japanese authorities said appeared to be ballistic missiles, into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan, according to the Japanese coast guard and South Korea’s military.

Shops and offices were shut in Indian Kashmir and the streets largely deserted as federal authorities formally revoked the restive state’s constitutional autonomy and split it into two federal territories. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision in August to change Kashmir’s status and tighten its grip over a region has stoked anger and resentment while a three-decade armed revolt rages.

A fire tore through Japan’s World Heritage-listed Shuri Castle reducing the main hall of the more than 500-year-old landmark to a skeleton. Shuri Castle has been destroyed by fire several times, most recently in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.

Business

Are the Fed's rate cuts helping?

Ask a Federal Reserve official if the clutch of interest rate cuts it has delivered this year are helping the economy and you will get a swift answer: Yes. There is evidence that Jerome Powell and his colleagues are not tooting their own horns without some justification.

7 min read

Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot plan to create world's No.4 carmaker

Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot owner PSA plan to join forces through a 50-50 share swap to create the world’s fourth-largest automaker, they said on Thursday, triggering a new wave of consolidation in the car industry. The move comes less than five months after FCA abandoned merger talks with PSA’s French rival Renault.

6 Min Read

Beijing could ax extra tariffs on U.S. farm products to boost imports

Beijing could remove extra tariffs imposed since last year on U.S. farm products to ease the way for importers to buy up to $50 billion worth, rather than direct them to buy specific amounts, the head of a government-backed trade association said.

4 min read

Samsung flags smartphone profit fall, upbeat on chips

Samsung Electronics warned of a smaller mobile business profit as its rival Apple gave a positive iPhone sales outlook, dampening hopes new models will help the world’s largest smartphone vendor finally get back on a growth track. Investors have pinned their hopes on a recovery in the mobile business that once made up over half of Samsung’s profit.

4 min read