Bhinneka News Online: Friday Morning Briefing: Ousted U.S. ambassador to Ukraine to testify in Trump impeachment probe

Friday, 15 November 2019

Friday Morning Briefing: Ousted U.S. ambassador to Ukraine to testify in Trump impeachment probe

Top Stories

The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, whom President Donald Trump called “bad news” before firing her, will be in the spotlight when she testifies at the second day of televised impeachment hearings. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump already has admitted to bribery in the Ukraine scandal at the heart of a Democratic-led inquiry, accusing him of an impeachable offense under the U.S. Constitution.

Trump asked the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court ruling that directed his longtime accounting firm to hand over eight years of his tax returns to New York prosecutors. “In our petition, we assert that the subpoena violates the U.S. Constitution and therefore is unenforceable. We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will grant review in this significant constitutional case and reverse the dangerous and damaging decision of the appeals court,” said Jay Sekulow, one of Trump’s lawyers.

Just 16 seconds passed from the time a California high school student pulled a .45 semi-automatic pistol from his backpack in an outdoor school courtyard and emptied the weapon, killing two classmates and wounding three more, before shooting himself in the head and collapsing. Police investigating the Thursday morning shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, about 40 miles north of Los Angeles, said they did not yet know the motive.

The United States and China are getting close to a trade agreement, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said, citing what he called very constructive talks with Beijing about ending a 16-month trade war. Kudlow said negotiators for the world’s two largest economies were in close touch via telephone but he gave no further details on the timing of a possible deal.

World

Australia braced for strong winds that began to whip up bushfires in two states, potentially adding to a toll of more than 270 homes destroyed and 2.5 million acres (1 million hectares) of land ravaged during the past week. The country’s weather bureau warned that winds and lightning strikes increase the threat to communities across two states on the country’s east coast, which have been ravaged by fire since last Friday.

Venice was inundated by exceptionally high water levels just days after the lagoon city suffered the worst flood in more than 50 years. The central St. Mark’s Square was submerged and closed to tourists, while shops and hotels were once more invaded by rising waters bringing fresh misery to the fragile city.

The U.S. Congress should enact legislation that would suspend the special economic status Hong Kong enjoys under U.S. law should China deploy forces to crush protests in the territory, a congressional advisory body said. Hong Kong sank into recession for the first time in a decade in the third quarter, government data confirmed, weighed down by increasingly violent anti-government protests and the escalating U.S.-China trade war.

How Evo Morales lost control of Bolivia. Last Friday night, with Bolivia’s most important city paralyzed by demonstrations against leftist President Evo Morales, the police unit tasked with securing the presidential palace met to help decide the nation’s future.

Business

Automakers around world await Trump tariff decision

Automakers around the world are awaiting a decision from U.S. President Donald Trump on whether he will impose up to 25% tariffs on U.S. car and auto part imports after a 180-day review period elapsed this week.

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Hong Kong's cash pool tightens as Alibaba primes for $13 billion listing

Alibaba Group’s $13.4 billion Hong Kong listing is shrinking cash levels in the protest-wracked financial hub, with short-term borrowing costs shooting back towards a decade-high marked in July.

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Amazon challenges Pentagon's $10-billion cloud award to Microsoft

Amazon.com Inc said it is contesting the Pentagon’s award of an up to $10 billion cloud computing deal to Microsoft, expressing concern that politics got in the way of a fair contracting process.

2 min read