The U.S. imposed sanctions on Turkey on Mondayand demanded the NATO ally stop a military incursion in northeast Syria that is rapidly reshaping the battlefield of the world’s deadliest ongoing war. President Trump, who gave what critics say was a de facto green light for Turkey’s assault by ordering U.S. forces away from the conflict area, requested the ceasefire in a call with President Tayyip Erdogan.
Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam ruled outmaking any concessions to pro-democracy protesters in the face of escalating violence, which police said was now “life threatening” citing the detonation of a small bomb. Protesters have five main demands, which include universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into what they say has been excessive force by police.
The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiatorsaid that reaching a deal on Britain’s departure from the bloc before the scheduled date of Oct. 31 had become “more and more difficult”, and Finland’s EU minister said leaders would discuss another delay. The main sticking point is customs and security arrangements for the border between EU member Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland.
Some of the biggest public pensions funds in the United States have invested in one of the world’s largest purveyors of video surveillance systems that the U.S. government claims are used in wide-scale repression of the Muslim population of western China.
Amazon.com cloud computing arm is making an aggressive push into one of the most sensitive technology sectors: U.S. elections. More than 40 states now use one or more of Amazon’s election offerings, according to a presentation given by an Amazon executive this year and seen by Reuters.
Royal Dutch Shell still sees abundant opportunity to make money from oil and gas in coming decades even as investors and governments increase pressure on energy companies over climate change, its chief executive said. Ben van Beurden expressed concern that some shareholders could abandon the company due partly to what he called the “demonisation” of oil and gas.
