A Palestinian protester prepares to burn a U.S. flag during clashes with Israeli troops at a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, near the Jewish settlement of Beit El, near the West Bank city of Ramallah December 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

 

Special Report

 

Monsanto offered genetically modified seeds when Burkina Faso’s famed cotton plants came under attack from pests. The crops recovered, but Africa’s top cotton producer abandoned the pest-resistant cotton last season. A Reuters report shows why. 

 

United States

 

In late October, President Donald Trump lifted a temporary ban on most refugee admissions, a move that should have cleared the way for more people fleeing persecution and violence to come to the United States. Instead, the number of refugees admitted to the country has plummeted. In the five weeks after the ban was lifted, 40 percent fewer people were allowed in than in the last five weeks it was in place, according to a Reuters analysis of State Department data. That plunge has gone almost unnoticed. 

 

Firefighters battled several intense wind-driven wildfires early that have swept across densely populated Southern California, destroying at least 500 structures and chasing 190,000 people from their homes over the past five days. 

 

The U.N. special rapporteur on torture urged U.S. authorities to investigate and weigh criminal charges against jail officials in Ohio, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Arkansas for the “clearly gratuitous infliction of severe pain and suffering” from the use of Tasers on inmates, citing a Reuters report this week.

 

President Donald Trump’s weekend remark about a scaled-back tax cut for corporations sparked behind-the-scenes debate in the U.S. Congress, with a White House aide trying on Thursday to minimize the impact of the president’s comment. 

 

The top U.S. intelligence official has ordered tighter restrictions on how the names of Americans kept secret in intelligence reports can be revealed during presidential transitions, according to documents seen by Reuters.

 

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia judge presiding over the criminal case for Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has been recused from handling the case, a court spokeswoman said on Thursday. 

 

The U.S. Department of Justice asked  for documents related to a Senate committee’s report on the transfer of fetal tissue by abortion provider Planned Parenthood, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The Department of Justice’s investigation will likely revive the controversy over fetal tissue transfers, which was sparked by videos released by the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress in 2015. 

 

World

 

Israeli police preparing for a Palestinian “day of rage” increased their presence in Jerusalem but set no extra restrictions on access for worshippers at the flashpoint Al Aqsa Mosque, saying they had no indication of unrest there. 

 

Retuers TV: Britain and the EU clinch a key Brexit deal 

 

Nearly half of humans believe in alien life and want to make contact, a survey in 24 countries has found, in what researchers said helps to explain the lasting popularity of the “Star Wars” franchise 40 years after the first movie was screened. 

 

Japan is to acquire medium-range, air-launched cruise missiles, capable of striking North Korea, a controversial purchase of what will become the longest-range munitions of a country that has renounced the right to wage war. 

 

Ten people went on trial in Germany for alleged failures in planning the “Love Parade” music festival in 2010 when 21 people were killed and more than 650 injured in a stampede. 

 

 

Migrants, part of a group intercepted aboard a dinghy off the coast in the Mediterranean Sea, rest after arriving on a rescue boat at the Port of Malaga, Spain December 7, 2017. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

 

Business

 

Bitcoin tumbled more than 12 percent in volatile Asian trading, dropping below the $15,000 level after touching a record high above $16,000 earlier in the session. 

 

Breakingviews: Bitcoin looks like speeded-up unicorn hype

 

JPMorgan expects to offer more price discounts to its banking customers who buy multiple products, similar to the way Amazon.com gives extras to its Prime subscribers, chief executive Jamie Dimon said. 

 

Bangladesh’s central bank has asked the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to join a lawsuit it plans to file against a Philippines bank for its role in one of the world’s biggest cyber-heists, several sources said. 

 

Toshiba and Western Digital have agreed in principle to settle a dispute over the Japanese firm’s plans to sell its $18 billion chip unit and aim to have a final agreement in place next week, sources familiar with the matter said. 

 

Commentary

 

Trump's formal recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is arguably the most unnecessary decision of his time in office and will leave U.S. diplomats hamstrung, writes Peter Van Buren. "Trump's action demands all players set aside whatever other issues they have in Israel, not the least of which is the Palestinian peace process, and instead take a stand on America's changed position," says Van Buren, a 24-year State Department veteran. 

 

The epidemic of opioid abuse is finally getting the attention it warrants, write public health experts Robert Greenwald and Ryan Clary. But the conversation also needs to address a dangerous interconnected public health crisis wreaking havoc among under-30s. "The problem is that more Americans than ever are injecting opioids and inadvertently infecting themselves with hepatitis C. Shared needles mean shared blood-borne infections – and that’s how the opioid crisis has created a new generation of hepatitis C patients," write Greenwald and Clary.