Thursday Morning Briefing: China warns U.S. of consequences over Hong Kong law

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China warned the United States that it would take “firm counter measures” in response to U.S. legislation backing anti-government protesters in Hong Kong, and said attempts to interfere in the city were doomed to fail. The law requires the State Department to certify, at least annually, that Hong Kong is autonomous enough to justify favorable U.S. trading terms.

The U.S. Navy announced on Wednesday it would scrap plans to carry out reviews of three Navy SEALs that could have led to their ouster from the elite force, after President Donald Trump’s extraordinary intervention in a related case.

President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, called the president this week to reassure him that he had been joking when he told media outlets he had “insurance” if Trump turned on him in the Ukraine scandal, Giuliani’s lawyer said. Attorney Robert Costello said Giuliani “at my insistence” had called Trump to emphasize that he had not been serious when he said he had an “insurance policy, if thrown under the bus.”

Two winter storms blasted the United States on Wednesday, stranding motorists and causing thousands of flight delays as Americans jammed highways and airports to visit family and friends for the Thanksgiving holiday. Scores of vehicles got stuck on Interstate 5 after a “bomb cyclone” dumped up to four feet of snow in mountainous areas of the Pacific Northwest.

World

Britain’s Conservative Party is on course to win its biggest majority in parliament since 1987 at a Dec. 12 election, according to a new poll, which would give Prime Minister Boris Johnson a mandate to take the country out of the European Union. The model developed by pollsters YouGov accurately predicted the 2017 election result.

Iraqi security forces shot dead 14 protesters in the southern city of Nassiriya on Thursday, medical sources said, and authorities imposed a curfew in Najaf after demonstrators burned an Iranian consulate. Authorities set up joint military-civilian “crisis cells” to try to stem unrest.

Breaking a month-long lull in missile tests, North Korea fired two short range projectiles into the sea off its east coast on Thursday in what appeared to be the latest try out of its new multiple rocket launchers, South Korea’s military said.

Italian rescue teams were trying to save six family members, including twin toddlers, trapped under rubble when their house collapsed after Albania’s worst earthquake in decades. The death toll from Tuesday’s quake rose to 30 as rescue workers dug through the remains of the four-storey house in the Adriatic port city of Durres.

Business

Exclusive: Amazon's cloud unit readies more powerful data center chip

Amazon.com’s cloud computing unit has designed a second, more powerful generation of data center processor chip, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, the latest sign that the company is pouring money into custom silicon for its fastest-growing business.

5 min read

After $13 billion levy ruling, future of India's tattered telecom sector hinges on government aid

The Indian government’s win of a long-contested dispute over telecom fees could end up a Pyrrhic victory, as the billions of dollars in levies now owed are seen as burdens too big to bear for two of the country’s three main carriers. Vodafone Idea, India’s biggest carrier by user numbers, is widely regarded as most on the ropes, with parent Vodafone Group calling the situation “critical”.

6 min read

Exclusive: Facing U.S. sanctions, Venezuela offers suppliers payment in Chinese yuan

Venezuela’s government and its oil company PDVSA have offered to pay suppliers and contractors into accounts in China using the yuan currency. The move is the latest example of how Caracas has sought new ways of making international payments since sweeping sanctions by Washington cut off the country’s access to the U.S. financial system.

4 min read

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