BitGou: Thursday Morning Briefing: Leaving Bahamas devastated, Hurricane Dorian regains strength to crawl up U.S. coast

U.S.

Hurricane Dorian left stretches of the Bahamas looking as if they had been carpet bombed and was regaining strength as it crawled up the U.S. Atlantic coast, possibly making landfall later in South Carolina. The United Nations said 70,000 people in the Bahamas needed immediate humanitarian relief after the most damaging storm ever to hit the island nation. South Carolina was preparing for a record storm surge, potentially reaching a height of 8 feet at the popular vacation destination of Myrtle Beach, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

At climate forum, Democratic presidential hopeful defends gas-linked fundraiser. Joe Biden was called out at a climate change forum for plans to attend a fundraiser hosted by the co-founder of a natural gas export firm, despite a pledge not to take fossil-fuel company money. The exchange spotlighted the political tension stirred by efforts to lead the country off oil, coal and gas, a key focus of most plans from Democrats aspiring to take on Trump in the November 2020 election.

Federal investigators interviewed the captain and crew of a dive boat that caught fire and sank off the California coast and they also met with families of 34 people killed in one of the state’s worst maritime disasters. The badly burned bodies of all but one of the victims of the early Monday morning blaze aboard the 75-foot Conception have been recovered.

The Pentagon said it would pull funding from 127 Defense Department projects, including schools and daycare centers for military families, as it diverts $3.6 billion to fund Donald Trump’s wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. A Pentagon official said in a briefing that the department was given a “lawful order” by Trump to divert the funds.

Asia

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said that China “understands, respects and supports” her government’s move to formally withdraw an extradition bill, part of measures she hoped would help the city “move forward” from months of unrest. In a press conference, Lam was repeatedly questioned on why it took her so long to withdraw the bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China despite increasingly violent protests, but she skirted the questions. “It is not exactly correct to describe this as a change of mind,” Lam said. Here is a look at how important Hong Kong is to the rest of China.

The Solomon Islands intends to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan and align itself with Beijing, the leader of a high-level government team representing the South Pacific archipelago has said. The switch, which still needs to be formalized, would be a prize for China in its bid to peel away allies from what it considers a wayward province with no right to state-to-state ties. Only 17 countries now recognize Taiwan.

Europe

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s brother, Jo Johnson, has resigned as a junior minister and said he would step down as a lawmaker, citing a conflict between family loyalty and the national interest. This comes as the UK prime minister was kicking off what is in effect an election campaign, casting an alliance of opposition parties trying to block a ‘no-deal’ Brexit as defeatists surrendering to the European Union.

A new Italian government was sworn into office, with the pro-European Democratic Party flanking the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement in an unlikely alliance that has been cheered on by financial markets. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte led his new team of seven women and 14 men in the swearing-in ceremony in the gilded presidential palace.

A Ukrainian court released on bail a man suspected of involvement in the downing of a Malaysia Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine in 2014 that killed 298 people. A judge said that Volodymyr Tsemakh, whom Ukraine’s security service has identified as a former commander of Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, should be released from custody immediately, pending further investigations.

Business

China, U.S. to hold trade talks in October; Beijing says phone call went well

China and the United States agreed to hold high-level trade talks in early October in Washington, amid fears that an escalating trade war could trigger a global economic recession.

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Recession risks rise for Germany as industrial orders plunge

German industrial orders fell more than expected in July on weak demand from abroad, data showed, suggesting that struggling manufacturers could tip Europe’s biggest economy into a recession in the third quarter.

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Nissan probe finds CEO Saikawa, other execs overpaid in compliance failure

Nissan Motor was embroiled in another scandal over executive pay after Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa admitted to being overpaid in violation of internal procedures under a scheme designed by ousted Chairman Carlos Ghosn.

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