Tuesday Morning Briefing: Pompeo meets Saudi king over Khashoggi case

Saudi Arabia

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to discuss the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as Turkish police prepared to search the Saudi consul’s residence in Istanbul in a widening probe. Alphabet’s Google became the latest company to drop out of a business conference in Saudi Arabia.

Commentary: Will the Khashoggi case bring down Saudi Arabia's crown prince? The 33-year-old Mohammed bin Salman appears to have vastly misjudged the reaction to the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi as well as the power of Donald Trump and Jared Kushner to defend the interests of Saudi Arabia in the U.S. Congress, writes David Andelman, a former foreign correspondent of author of "A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919 and the Price We Pay Today." "Whether MbS is actually the individual able to take up the challenge of reforming Saudi Arabia and leading it is becoming increasingly questionable."

Politics

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said President Donald Trump has reassured him of his full support after the Republican president described his Pentagon chief as “sort of a Democrat” who could leave the administration.

Democratic U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke faces a key test when he faces off in his second debate with U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, as recent opinion polls show the Republican incumbent pulling away from his liberal challenger for the Texas seat.

A U.S. judge dismissed adult film actress Stormy Daniels’s defamation lawsuit against Trump and ordered her to pay his attorney’s fees, saying a tweet the president had written referring to her was protected by free-speech laws.

World

Smugglers, in ever growing numbers, emerge with a ragtag group of Venezuelan migrants – men struggling under tattered suitcases, women hugging bundles in blankets and schoolchildren carrying backpacks. They step across rocks, wade into the muddy stream and cross illegally into Colombia. This is the new migration from Venezuela.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, whose government faces a crucial by-election in four days, said Canberra was open to recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, prompting concern from Indonesian and Palestinian officials.

 

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, two @Reuters journalists, have been imprisoned in Myanmar since Dec. 12, 2017. Follow the case: https://reut.rs/2yPnwus

2:41 AM - OCT 16, 2018

India

India is again preparing for its worst weeks of air pollution. Each year, from late October, a thick blanket of smog settles over vast swathes of northern India, including the capital, New Delhi, pushing air pollution levels off the charts - here's why.

The Bollywood actress who helped trigger the #MeToo movement in India challenging sexual harassment and abuse sees it as part of her religious education after an experience 10 years ago she said effectively ended her career.

Business

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen dies of cancer complications at 65

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, the man who persuaded school-friend Bill Gates to drop out of Harvard to start what became the world’s biggest software company, died at the age of 65, his family said.

9 min read

Trade war cost: China's third quarter GDP growth seen hitting lowest since 2009 - Reuters poll

At week’s end, global investors and policy makers will likely be given a stark reminder of the costs of a bitter Sino-U.S. trade war, with a Reuters poll predicting that China’s third-quarter growth will slow to its weakest pace since the global financial crisis.

5 min read

Rising oil turns up heat on vulnerable emerging economies

A rise in oil prices to four-year highs is heaping pressure on big emerging-market crude consumers such as Turkey, India, Indonesia and South Africa that are already grappling with current account deficits, weak currencies and rising inflation.

4 Min Read

Italy approves deficit-hiking budget, awaits EU's verdict

The Italian cabinet signed off on an expansionary 2019 budget, boosting welfare spending, cutting the retirement age and hiking the deficit to set up a showdown with authorities in Brussels over compliance with EU rules.

4 min read

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