Thursday Morning Briefing

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The witness table where former FBI Director James Comey will face the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee and testify on June 8 about his meetings with President Trump sits at the ready in Washington, U.S., June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Jim Bourg

 

Washington

 

Former FBI Director James Comey will tell Congress today that President Donald Trump pressed him repeatedly to halt a probe into his ex-national security adviser's ties with Russia and to declare publicly that Trump himself was not under investigation. The outcome could have significant repercussions for Trump's 139-day-old presidency as special counsel Robert Mueller and multiple congressional committees investigate whether Trump's campaign team colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential election. The White House and Russia deny any collusion occurred.

 

Comey’s written testimony in full

 

Q&A: What we know about U.S. probes of Russian meddling in the 2016 election

 

Televised Comey testimony billed as 'Super Bowl of Washington'

 

Aides to U.S. President Donald Trump are urging him not to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions despite rifts between the two men, sources familiar with internal White House conversations said.

 


Iran

 

Iran's foreign minister rejected Donald Trump's condolences for deadly attacks in Tehran, calling the U.S. president's words ‘repugnant.’ Trump had said he prayed for the victims of Wednesday's attacks that were claimed by Islamic State, but added that "states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote."

 


Myanmar

 

Bodies and aircraft debris were found in the sea off the southern coast of Myanmar by ships searching for a military plane that went missing with 122 soldiers, family members and crew on board. The Chinese-made Y-8-200F transport plane vanished after taking off from the coastal town of Myeik on a weekly flight to Myanmar's largest city, Yangon. The plane lost contact 29 minutes after takeoff while flying at 18,000 feet.

 


UK

 

Britons began voting today in an election Prime Minister Theresa May called to strengthen her hand in looming Brexit talks. May's campaign has not gone to plan, and as the poll leads of 20 points or more she was enjoying when she called the early election in April have shrunk.

 

Scenarios for the UK election: From landslide for May to upset defeat

 

British police investigating the deadly attacks on London Bridge said they had arrested three more suspects, as footage of the moment officers shot the assailants dead appeared online.

The suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a concert in Manchester last month was radicalized in 2015 while living in Britain, his brother has told Libyan counter-terrorism investigators in Tripoli.

 


North Korea

 

North Korea fired what appeared to be several land-to-ship missiles off its east coast, South Korea's military said, a day after the South held off installing remaining components of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system that has angered North Korea's main ally, China, amid early signs of easing tensions between the two countries.

A man carries his daughter on his back after fleeing their home due to fighting between the Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants in Mosul's al-Zanjili's district in Iraq June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro


Somalia

 

Al Shabaab militants captured a town in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region, a senior official said, and the group said it had killed at least 61 soldiers in the fighting.

 


Business

 

Investors are increasingly excited about the prospects for much faster growth in the solar power industry in Southeast Asia, which has until now been a backwater for renewable energy.

 

Many California tech companies in “Silicon Beach” are encouraging employees to bring their dogs to the office, saying their presence can boost productivity, relieve stress and improve the work environment.

 

Julius Baer executives have told U.S. prosecutors that a former employee of the Swiss bank acted alone if, as alleged, he helped funnel kickbacks and bribery payments to a soccer official in the Americas, people familiar with the investigation said.