Thursday Morning Briefing: Flurry of Democrats expected to enter 2020 White House race

Highlights

A rush of Democrats will likely announce U.S. presidential bids in January in an unusually early start to the 2020 election cycle, lining up for what is poised to be a crowded race to take on President Donald Trump.

Insurance claims from the recent spate of California wildfires, including one ranked as the most deadly and destructive in state history, have topped $9 billion and are expected to grow, the state insurance commissioner reported.

Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, said she supports a proposal that would limit the terms of senior Democratic leaders, likely paving the way for her to reclaim the speaker’s post in January when her party takes control of the chamber.

Turkey

Nine people were killed and nearly 50 injured in Turkey when a high speed train collided with a locomotive and crashed into a station platform and overpass in an Ankara suburb early on Thursday, officials said.

Turkey will start new initiatives abroad to target the financing of supporters of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, President Tayyip Erdogan said. Erdogan made the comment in a speech in Ankara. Turkey says that followers of Gulen were behind the July 2016 attempt to topple Erdogan. Gulen has denied any involvement and condemned the coup.

World

Canadian businessman Michael Spavor, who worked with North Korea, is being investigated on suspicion of harming China’s security, China said, days after a former Canadian diplomat was detained in an escalating diplomatic row.

Britain’s weakened Prime Minister Theresa May arrived in Brussels to lobby European leaders for help after she survived a parliamentary mutiny that highlighted the deadlock over Brexit.

A fire overnight at a warehouse in Congo’s capital destroyed thousands of voting machines and ballot boxes that were due to be used in the country’s long-delayed Dec. 23 presidential election, a presidential adviser said.

Giulia Paravicini  @giuliaparavicin

#DRC 70 percent of the equipment due to be used for voting in #Kinshasa, where more than 15 percent of the country's population lives, had been destroyed in the fire @kikayabinkarubi told @Reuters

4:08 AM - 13 Dec 2018

Myanmar

Special Report: A prominent member of Myanmar's marginalized Muslim minority, Ko Ni had been receiving death threats for months. But his political idol, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, was in power. And so, he continued to work to squeeze the generals out of politics. That would end in tragedy.

A near-record number of journalists around the world are behind bars for their work, including two Reuters reporters whose imprisonment in Myanmar has drawn international criticism, according to a new report. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, been imprisoned in Myanmar for one year. See our coverage of the case.

Business

Apple to build new $1 billion campus in Texas

Apple said it would invest $1 billion to build a second campus in North Austin, Texas and another $10 billion for new data centers over the next five years, as it aims to create 20,000 jobs in the United States.

2 Min Read

U.S. solar takes hit from Trump tariffs but is cheaper than ever - report

U.S. solar installations fell 15 percent in the third quarter as the Trump administration’s tariffs on overseas-made panels forced developers to put off large projects, according to a report commissioned by the industry’s primary trade group.

3 min read

Vitol, rival oil traders in spotlight of Brazil bribery probe

Brazil’s epic “Car Wash” corruption investigation has taken down presidents and elite businessmen, and led to the largest corporate leniency deal ever signed. But graft allegations lodged by prosecutors last week against four of the world’s largest oil trading companies - Vitol SA, Trafigura, Glencore PLC and Mercuria Energy Group - have opened an explosive new phase in the long-running probe.

10 min read

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