NATO leaders gathered at a golf resort near Londonon Wednesday for a summit acrimonious even by the standards of the Trump era, aiming to tackle disagreements over spending, future threats including China, and Turkey’s role in the alliance. With Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron blowing hot and cold over NATO’s role, the 29-member military alliance is looking for reinvigoration as it marks the 70th anniversary of its Cold War-era founding.
U.S. Senator Kamala Harris ended her 2020 presidential bidon Tuesday, abandoning a campaign that began with promise for a rising Democratic Party star but faltered as she struggled to raise money and make a compelling case for her candidacy. Harris’ abrupt departure further narrows the field of White House contenders two months before voting begins in Iowa.
High-tech entrepreneur Elon Musk testifiedat his defamation trial on Tuesday that his “pedo guy” Twitter message at the center of the case was not meant to be taken literally and was sent in response to an “unprovoked” insult he received from the man now suing him. Musk also apologized to the plaintiff from the witness stand in the packed Los Angeles courtroom.
World
Kim Jong Un mounted a white horse againas North Korea announced on Wednesday it will soon convene a rare meeting of the ruling party’s leaders, steps analysts say may signal preparations for a more confrontational stance with the international community. For the second time in two months, Kim visited North Korea’s sacred Mt Paektu on horseback, this time accompanied by senior military officers.
South Korean actor Cha In-ha has been found deadin his home, the country’s third young celebrity to die in the past two months amid growing debate about the intense social pressures artists face. In an unrelated case, K-pop star Kang Daniel’s management agency Konnect Entertainment said the former member of the hit boy band Wanna One had decided to take a break from his performing schedules due to “depression and panic attacks.”
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani called on Wednesdayfor the release of any unarmed and innocent people who were detained during protests against gasoline price hikes, after two weeks of violent clashes. The unrest, which began on Nov. 15 after the government abruptly raised fuel prices by as much as 300%, spread to more than 100 cities and towns and turned political as young and working-class protesters demanded clerical leaders step down.
Colombian unions and student groups plan a third national strikeon Wednesday amid fraught talks between protest leaders and the government over President Ivan Duque’s social and economic policies. The strike would be the latest demonstration in two weeks of protests, which have drawn hundreds of thousands of marchers and imperiled Duque’s proposed tax reform, which lowers duties on businesses.
Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are stepping aside as leaders of the Internet behemoth they founded 21 years ago, ending an extraordinary run that saw them build one of the world’s most valuable and influential companies.
Investors cheered Spanish group Repsol’s pledge to slash net carbon emissions to zero by mid-century, saying they hope it will pile pressure on rival oil and gas companies to follow suit in the fight against climate change.
Wall Street’s poor start to December has some investors bracing for a choppy end-of-year as fears about the U.S.-China trade war resurface. The S&P 500 suffered its third successive decline on Tuesday, and is down almost 2% since closing at a record high last Wednesday.
