Headline News
- Trump upbeat on U.S.-China talks as Beijing underscores tariff-cut demands
U.S.-China trade talks are “moving right along,” President Donald Trump said on Thursday, striking an upbeat tone even as Chinese officials held fast to their line that existing tariffs must come off as part of an interim deal to de-escalate the 17-month trade war between the two powers.

- BlackRock says global active equities chief Wiseman to leave firm after breaching relationships policy
Mark Wiseman, global head of active equities at BlackRock Inc, is leaving the firm following a violation of the company’s “relationships at work policy,” the world’s largest asset manager said in an internal memo on Thursday.

- Second evacuation in Texas city hit by explosion, chemical fire
Authorities on Thursday lifted a second evacuation in a week for thousands of residents of a Texas city after workers stopped leaks of cancer-causing chemicals at a petrochemical plant hit by explosions.

- Texas City lifts evacuation after air levels of cancer-causing chemical drop: officials
Thousands of residents of an East Texas city who fled elevated air levels of cancer-causing petrochemicals were allowed to return to their homes on Thursday after leaks at a chemical plant were halted, officials said.

- TPC Port Neches, Texas blast due to ‘fundamental failure’: U.S. safety board
A Nov. 27 explosion at the TPC Group petrochemical plant in Port Neches, Texas, was due to a “fundamental failure in the system,” U.S. Chemical Safety Board member Manuel Ehrlich said on Thursday.

- Pelosi pursues articles of impeachment against Trump, says democracy at stake
Warning that American democracy is at stake, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday she has asked a House committee to draft articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, a historic step that sets up a fight over whether to oust him from office.

- French police fire tear gas at strikers challenging Macron reform
Police fired tear gas at protesters in the center of Paris on Thursday and public transport ground to a near halt in one of the biggest strikes in France for decades, aimed at forcing President Emmanuel Macron to ditch a planned reform of pensions.

- Wall Street bides its time, awaiting news from trade front
Wall Street was largely unchanged on Thursday as market participants stayed on the sidelines, awaiting further developments in the hoped-for interim trade deal between the United States and China.

- Saudi Aramco prices shares at top of range in world’s biggest IPO
DUBAI/RIYADH Reuters) – State-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering (IPO) will be the biggest in history, but will still fall significantly short of the towering $2 trillion valuation long sought by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

- No apology to Elon Musk from British diver at ‘pedo guy’ defamation trial
The British cave explorer suing Elon Musk for calling him a “pedo guy” on Twitter testified on Thursday that his criticism of the Tesla Inc chief executive that led to the tweet was not a personal attack.

Shanghai Daily
- Rare Tahiti Gauguin sells for US$10.5m
A RARE canvas by French artist Paul Gauguin from his time in Tahiti fetched 9.5 million euros (US$10.5 million) in Paris on Tuesday, nearly twice its estimated value, the auction house said.
- Malaysian PM gets ready for 2020 APEC
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad yesterday formally launched preparations to host next year’s APEC summit, recalling with pride how his country hosted the event more than 20 years ago, but also
- Hot, fast and wild records of 2019
The hottest month, the fastest marathon, the wildest auction prices.
- 10 dead as typhoon hits Philippines
The death toll from a typhoon that hit provinces south of the Philippine capital rose to 10, disaster agencies said yesterday, adding precautions and compulsory evacuations were key to preventing more
- In the name of beauty: Spray on a fresh face
A JAPANESE cosmetics company yesterday unveiled what it said was the world’s first spray-on skin for consumers, a moisturizing facemask of fibers one-100th the thickness of a human hair.
- House issues impeachment report
THE evidence for impeaching US President Donald Trump for misconduct in office and obstruction is “overwhelming,” the report on the House investigation into the US leader said on Tuesday. The 300-page
- NATO leaders caught mocking Trump
THE leaders of Britain, Canada, France and the Netherlands were caught on camera at a Buckingham Palace reception mocking US President Donald Trump’s lengthy media appearances at the NATO summit. The
- Trump lashes out at NATO, again
US President Donald Trump lashed out at European allies before a NATO anniversary summit in London yesterday, singling out France’s Emmanuel Macron for “very nasty” comments on the alliance and Germany
- France, EU threaten trade war with US
France and the European Union said yesterday they were ready to retaliate if US President Donald Trump acted on a threat to impose duties of up to 100 percent on imports of champagne, handbags and other
- Breaking the code in Japanese workplaces
A JAPANESE woman whose campaign against mandatory high heels in the workplace won broad public support has stepped up her fight against strict corporate dress codes — including a de-facto ban on women
- Sand cars in drive for climate awareness
On Miami Beach, more than 60 cars sculpted out of sand are drawing attention at this year’s Art Basel international festival, but the aim of their creator is as much about raising awareness of climate
- Moscow to launch 2 more major pipelines
RUSSIA is planning to launch two more major natural gas pipelines in the near future. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline runs under the Baltic Sea and is set to double shipments of Russian natural gas to Germany,
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