Bedugul Coffee: Thursday Morning Briefing: Top-level U.S.-China trade talks resume as irritants sour atmosphere

Turkish forces push deeper into northeast Syria. Turkey said its forces seized designated targets on the second day of an offensive against a Kurdish militia in Syria, after a withdrawal by U.S. forces opened up a dangerous new phase in the region’s eight-year-old conflict. U.S. President Donald Trump rejected criticism from fellow Republicans over his decision to pull U.S. troops out of northern Syria, and dismissed worries that captured Islamic State fighters might escape in the chaos of a Turkish attack.

House Democrats seeking way around White House on impeachment. Two days after the administration abruptly blocked the U.S. ambassador to the European Union from testifying to three House committees, lawmakers were negotiating how to secure testimony from the U.S. intelligence officer whose whistleblower report on Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president sparked the furor.

Joining the migrant caravans heading for the U.S. Six Central American migrants who joined the caravans reflect on detentions, deportations, family separations and course changes, as well as hopeful, if fragile, beginnings in the United States. These are their stories.

Last chance Brexit saloon. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet his Irish counterpart on Thursday in a last-ditch attempt to revive a British proposal for a Brexit deal that the European Union said falls far short of what is needed for an orderly divorce.

Hong Kong shopping malls, metro close early. Hong Kong protesters prepared for demonstrations around the city as shopping malls said they would close early to avoid becoming targets and the city’s metro, which has borne the brunt of the violent unrest, will close three hours early.

Austria’s Peter Handke won the 2019 Nobel Prize for Literature, and the postponed 2018 award went to Polish author Olga Tokarczuk, the Swedish Academy said on Thursday. Two Nobels were awarded this year after last year’s prize was postponed over a scandal that led to the husband of an Academy member being convicted of rape.

Jewish leader says German synagogue attacked by gunman inadequately protected. Though the gunman did not get into the building in Wednesday’s attack in the eastern German city of Halle, he killed two bystanders in a subsequent live-streamed rampage, which appeared to be modeled on last year’s gun attack on a New Zealand mosque.

Apple pulls police-tracking app used by Hong Kong protesters after consulting authorities

Apple has removed an app that helped Hong Kong protesters track police movements, saying it was used to ambush law enforcement - a move that follows sharp criticism of the U.S. tech giant by a Chinese state newspaper for allowing the software.

5 min read

Houston Rockets sneakers and other merchandise were pulled from several Nike stores in major Chinese cities amid the furor surrounding a tweet from the team’s general manager in support of anti-government protests in Hong Kong.

5 Min Read

General Motors' July to September vehicle sales in China fell 17.5%, as the U.S. automaker was hurt by a slowing economy amid the Sino-U.S. trade war and by heightened competition in its key mid-priced SUV segment.

3 min read

Facebook’s Libra may be grabbing all the headlines at the moment, yet a major cryptocurrency already exists that’s gained a toehold in mainstream commerce.

8 min read