Thursday Morning Briefing: Trump impeachment hearings focus on Ukraine pressure campaign in first day
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November 14, 2019
Reuters News Now
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The top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine,testifying in the first televised hearing of the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, linked him more directly to a pressure campaign on Ukraine to conduct investigations that would benefit him politically. William Taylor was one of two career diplomats who testified before the House of Representatives Intelligence Committe.
President Donald Trumpon Wednesday pushed Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to walk away from the purchase of a Russian missile defense system, calling it a “very serious challenge” to bilateral ties, even though he described a meeting between the two leaders as “wonderful.” After the much anticipated meeting, Trump said he was “a great fan” of the Turkish leader.
China and the United States are holding “in-depth”discussions on a first phase trade agreement, and canceling tariffs is an important condition to reaching a deal, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump said a trade deal with China was “close” but offered no details.
Pro-democracy protesters paralyzed parts of Hong Kongfor a fourth day on Thursday, forcing schools to close and blocking highways as students built barricades and stockpiled makeshift weapons, setting the stage for campus showdowns. Police said Chinese University, in the New Territories, had become a “weapons factory and an arsenal” with bows and arrows and catapults.
Bolivian security forcesclashed on the streets of La Paz with supporters of unseated president Evo Morales on Wednesday, firing tear gas to clear crowds who hurled rocks and set fires in a test to Bolivia’s new interim leader.
Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad and Israeldeclared a halt to hostilities across the Gaza Strip border on Thursday but a lasting ceasefire appeared tenuous as they differed on terms. The Egyptian-mediated truce went into effect about 48 hours after Israel triggered the exchange of fire by killing the Iranian-backed faction’s top Gaza commander in an air strike, deeming him an imminent threat.
Britain is threatening to deport European Union citizensif they fail to apply on time for a new immigration status after Brexit and will only grant leniency in exceptional circumstances, according to people briefed on the plans. In previously unreported guidelines, the government has drafted a narrow list of exemptions, such as those with a physical or mental incapacity, or children whose parents fail to apply on their behalf.
To unclog bottlenecks last year at his Tesla plant in California, Elon Musk flew in six planeloads of new robots and equipment from Germany to speed up battery production for its Model 3. Now the Tesla CEO is trying to tap that German automation ecosystem directly.
Alibaba’s planned $13.4 billion share sale will be Hong Kong’s first paperless stock market listing, a source with knowledge of the matter said, breaking with a long-held tradition of investors placing stock orders in bank branches.
