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Trump to decide if he wants lawyers at impeachment hearings

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee asked President Donald Trump on Friday to say whether he’ll send his attorneys to participate in impeachment proceedings before the panel.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler also is asking Republicans on his committee which witnesses they plan to ask permission to subpoena.

The letters from the New York Democrat came as the House impeachment probe enters a new phase with a hearing next week on whether Trump’s actions might constitute impeachable offenses.

Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian land have ‘no legal validity’: UN chief

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 29 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that the establishment of Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories have “no legal validity” and constitute “a flagrant violation” of international law, as he reaffirmed the world body’s pledge to uphold the Palestinian people’s rights.

Int’l migrants numbering 270 mln send back home $689 bln: UN agency

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 29 (APP): In its latest global report, the United Nations migration agency has said that international migrants only make up 3.5% of the world’s 7.7 billion population, with most of them coming from India, Mexico and China.

“This figure remains a very small percentage of the world’s population (at 3.5 per cent), meaning that the vast majority of people globally (96.5 per cent) are estimated to be residing in the country in which they were born,” the International Migration Organization (IOM) Global Migration Report 2020 said.

Russian ambassador to US calls on human rights organizations to help Yaroshenko

WASHINGTON, November 29. /TASS/: Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov has called on the largest human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, to provide medical and legal assistance to Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko jailed in the US. On Thursday, Antonov wrote an open letter to several human rights organizations in the US that was released by the Russian Embassy in Washington.

Afghan peace talks with Taliban has resumed: Trump

Washington, Nov 29 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has confirmed that his administration had resumed talks with the Taliban with the purpose of bringing peace in Afghanistan, but refused to give a timeline for drawdown of his troops.

"Yes," Trump told a small group of reporters at the Bagram Air Field on Thursday when asked to confirm whether the US had restarted discussions with the Taliban after calling the peace talks "dead" in September.

Zimbabwe facing 'man-made' starvation, UN expert warns

29 November 2019; AFP: Zimbabwe is facing "man-made" starvation with 60 percent of the people failing to meet basic food needs, a UN special envoy said Thursday after touring the southern African country.

Hilal Elver, Special Rapporteur on the right to food, ranked Zimbabwe among the four top countries facing severe food shortages outside nations in conflict zones.

Impact of WTO protests in Seattle still felt 2 decades later

SEATTLE (AP) — Nancy Haque worried about the conditions in sweatshops around the world. For Lynne Dodson, it was the possibility of attacks on public education. The plight of imperiled sea turtles got Lisa Wathne.

An array of issues brought tens of thousands of protesters to Seattle 20 years ago Saturday, with one unifying theme: concern that the World Trade Organization, a then-little-known body charged with regulating international trade, threatened them all.

Fire continues at Texas plant; 50K under evacuation order

PORT NECHES, Texas (AP) — More than 50,000 people in East Texas remained under a mandatory evacuation order Thursday as a fire continued to burn at a chemical plant, one day after two massive explosions there.

Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens said the evacuation order and a 10 p.m. curfew order remain in effect. Officials don’t know when people will be able to return to their homes.

Ads assail conservative legal group over Trump’s court picks

WASHINGTON (AP) — A liberal activist group is launching a digital ad campaign targeting the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization that has championed judges appointed by President Donald Trump, such as Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch.

The ads, to appear on LinkedIn and Facebook, assail major law firms that sponsored the Federalist Society’s recently annual dinner, where Kavanaugh addressed more than 2,000 people in tuxedos and gowns at Washington’s Union Station.

Trump impeachment drive has parallels to Wisconsin recall

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A divisive leader drove the opposition to extreme measures. The political climate was toxic — with little civil debate or middle ground. The clash ended in a high-risk political showdown that captured the nation’s attention and shaped the next election.

This was the 2012 battle to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker, not the 2019 fight to impeach President Donald Trump. But for some who lived through the former, the episodes have clear similarities and a warning for Democrats about overreach and distraction.

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