BitGou: Thursday Morning Briefing: Iraqi militias quit U.S. Embassy after protests

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Supporters of Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary groups who stormed the U.S. Embassy’s perimeter and hurled rocks in two days of protests withdrew on Wednesday after Washington dispatched extra troops and threatened reprisals against Tehran. The demonstrators, angry at U.S. air strikes against the Tehran-backed Kataib Hezbollah group in which at least 25 people were killed, threw stones at the building while U.S. forces stationed on the rooftops fired tear gas to disperse them.

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts will be a central figure in the ongoing drama of the Donald Trump presidency in coming months. He is due to preside over a Senate impeachment trial, while the Supreme Court he leads will rule on a titanic clash over the president’s attempts to keep his financial records secret. The expected impeachment trial will focus on accusations that Trump abused his power by asking Ukraine to investigate former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden, who aspires to defeat Trump in a November election.

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg raised $24.7 million in the fourth quarter, his campaign announced on Wednesday, well ahead of the $19.1 million he collected in the third quarter. The hefty total is expected to land him among the top fundraisers in the Democratic field, which has 15 contenders seeking to take on U.S. President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked a California labor law meant to take effect from Jan. 1 from impacting over 70,000 independent truckers by granting a ‘temporary restraining order.’ U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez in San Diego granted on Tuesday a five-page order sought by trade group California Trucking Association while he considers imposing a permanent injunction, the hearing for which is set for Jan. 13.

The United States consulate in Mexico’s border city of Nuevo Laredo issued a security alert on Wednesday, warning against gun battles and urging government employees to take precautions. Gun battles have killed at least three people this week in the northern city bordering the Texas city of Laredo, media have said. It is one of the Mexican cities where the U.S. government has sent asylum seekers to wait as their cases are decided.

World

About 400 people were arrested in New Year’s Day protests in Hong Kong after what started as a peaceful pro-democracy march of tens of thousands spiraled into chaotic scenes with police firing tear gas to disperse the crowds. The arrests take the total to about 7,000 since protests in the city escalated in June over a now-withdrawn bill that would have allowed extradition to mainland China, and will highlight the apparent absence of any progress toward ending the unrest.

Tens of thousands of holiday makers fled seaside towns on Australia’s east coast on Thursday ahead of advancing bushfires, as military ships and helicopters began rescuing thousands more trapped by the blazes. Fueled by searing temperatures and high winds, more than 200 fires are burning across the southeastern states of New South Wales and Victoria, threatening several towns.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that up to 250,000 migrants were fleeing from the northwestern Syrian region of Idlib towards Turkey, adding that Ankara was trying to prevent them from crossing its border. Turkey hosts some 3.7 million Syrian refugees, the largest refugee population in the world. It fears a new wave from Idlib, where up to 3 million Syrians live in the last rebel-held swathe of territory, after Russian and Syrian government forces last month intensified their bombardment of targets in the region.

Keir Starmer, Brexit spokesman for Britain’s opposition Labour Party, has emerged as the early front runner in the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as leader, according to a poll of members. The party is expected to elect a new leader in March after the veteran socialist Corbyn said he would step down following his party’s heavy election defeat at the hands of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservatives in December.