BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING
In today’s briefing update, the Trump administration has begun the year-long process to withdraw the US from the Paris climate pact. In other US news, a US diplomat said she felt threatened by Trump according to the transcripts released in the impeachment probe into the president.
The sister of the slain ISIS leader Baghdadi has been captured in northwest Syria. A Turkish official says the arrest is an “intelligence goldmine” as she can provide insight into the group. An NZ woman survived two days lost at sea by rationing out boiled lollies. The 47-year-old was rescued after two days lost in the Aegean Sea.
And in the UK, Sir Lindsay Hoyle has been elected as the new Speaker of the House of Commons, after John Bercow stepped down. The UK terror threat level has officially been downgraded to the lowest level since 2014. But attacks are still ‘likely.’
ALL in today’s news briefing – A daily roundup of all the news headlines that you need to know, summarised as part of WTX News Briefing.
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Trump administration begins Paris climate pact exit
Arab News reports the Trump administration has filed paperwork to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement, the first step in a one-year process to exit the global pact to fight climate change.
The move is part of a broader strategy by President Trump to reduce red tape on American industry. But it comes at a time scientists and many other governments urge rapid action to avoid the worst impacts of global warming.
Once they exit, the US – the top greenhouse gas emitter and leading oil and gas producer – will become the only country outside the accord.
Read the full story on Arab News
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US diplomat tells impeachment probe she felt ‘threatened’ by Trump
France24 reports two US diplomats told lawmakers the State Department was being used for domestic political purposes under President Trump and warned that would hurt American interests, according to transcripts released.
The transcripts in the impeachment probe paint a detailed picture of the distress felt by top US diplomats as Trump allies tried to pressure Ukraine to launch investigations into the president’s domestic political rivals.
Marie Yovanovitch told the US House of Representatives committees about the attacks against her in conservative media and from close allies of Trump, questioning her loyalty to the president.
Read the full story on France24
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Sister of slain ISIS leader Baghdadi arrested in intelligence ‘gold mine.’ Turkey says
Fox News reports the older sister of the slain leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has been captured in northwestern Syria during a raid on Monday, according to a senior Turkish official who called the arrest an intelligence “gold mine.” 
Rasmiya Awad, 65, is suspected of being affiliated with the extremist group, the Turkish official said.
“This kind of thing is an intelligence gold mine,” said the official, speaking with anonymity. “What she knows about [ISIS] can significantly expand our understanding of the group and help us catch more bad guys.”
Read the full story on Fox News
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Kiwi lost at seas in the Greek Islands rationed boiled lollies to survive
The Sydney Morning Herald says New Zealander Kushila Stein survived two days lost at sea on a “handful of boiled lollies” and wrote her mother’s name and phone number on the side of the inflatable dinghy in case she wasn’t found alive. 
The 47-year-old was rescued after two days adrift in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Crete. She was helping a Britsh man transport his yacht from southern Turkey to Athens when she decided to take the dinghy to the Greek island of Folegandros, her mother said.
Read the full story on The Sydney Morning Herald
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Sir Lindsay Hoyle elected Speaker of House of Commons
BBC News Labour MP and deputy Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has been elected by MPs as the new Commons Speaker after John Bercow stepped down. 
Hoyle, beating out Chris Bryant for the job, pledged to be a “neutral” Speaker in his speech. And paid tribute to his daughter who died in 2017, saying she would “always be missed.”
As Speakers must be politically impartial, Sir Lindsay will be required to resign from the Labour Party in order to carry out his role. Mr Bercow stood down last week after a controversial and eventful decade in the Speaker’s chair.
Read the full story on BBC News
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UK terror threat level downgraded to lowest since 2014 but attacks still ‘likely’
The Independent says the threat level posed by terrorism to the UK has been lowered by the security services after “positive developments” in reducing the risk of attacks, officials have said. 
The threat level is now at substantial, meaning an attack is likely, after five years at either severe or critical. And the change “indicates positive developments in reducing the threat from terrorism,” The head of UK counterterror policing said.
The Assistant Commissioner said officers were still working on about 800 live counterterror investigations, after foiling 24 plots since the Westminister attack in 2017.
Read the full story on The Independent
https://wtxnews.com/2019/11/05/president-erdogan-bails-pakistan-escaping-huge-penalty/
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