Friday Morning Briefing: Senate twice defies Trump on Saudi Arabia

Politics

The U.S. Senate delivered a rare double rebuke to President Donald Trump on Saudi Arabia on Thursday, voting to end U.S. military support for the war in Yemen and blame the Saudi crown prince for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Lawmakers have passed legislation to crack down on sexual harassment by members of Congress, requiring lawmakers to pay for settlements and some court awards themselves, instead of depending on public funds.

The United States and South Korea have failed to agree on a bigger South Korean share of the cost of maintaining U.S. troops, an official said, as the U.S. military warned Korean workers they might be put on leave if no deal is reached.

World

The UK's Theresa May remonstrated with Jean-Claude Juncker at a Brussels summit and the EU chief executive seemed anxious to placate the British prime minister whose Brexit demands he had called “nebulous” the night before.

China’s finance ministry says it will suspend additional tariffs on U.S.-made vehicles and auto parts for three months starting Jan. 1, 2019.

A plot to kill the president, links to foreign intelligence, a rogue police officer and a missing sniper: the snippets of news emerging from Sri Lanka in recent weeks seem plucked from the pages of paperback fiction. But the allegations have had real enough consequences for the island nation.

Commentary: Nancy Pelosi's deal to limit herself to four years as speaker has all but assured her that she'll win back the gavel in the House of Representatives. But the dispute among Democrats about whether to elect her misses the point. "The days when a congressional leader had to work with a president of either party to pass legislation, reach compromise and find some kind of bipartisan balance, or when major legislation often received support and faced opposition from members of both parties, are gone," writes Columbia University political scientist Lincoln Mitchell. In a Trump presidency, the skills that Pelosi has sharpened during her three decades in Congress are no longer as pertinent "because this Congress is not going to pass any significant laws."

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Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been imprisoned in Myanmar for one year. Follow our coverage of the case: https://reut.rs/2EwFeVz

1:05 AM - 14 Dec 2018

Business

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