Tuesday 23 October 2018

Tuesday Morning Briefing: A killing run over Skype

Highlights

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that there were strong signs that the killing of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was planned and that he was killed in a “savage way”.

He ran social media for Saudi Arabia’s crown prince. He masterminded the arrest of hundreds of his country’s elite. He detained a Lebanese prime minister. And, according to two intelligence sources, he ran journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s brutal killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by giving orders over Skype. How the man behind the Khashoggi murder ran the killing via Skype.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said has said that the kingdom was committed to a thorough and complete investigation to get to the truth behind the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.

World

A U.S. withdrawal from a Cold War-era nuclear arms treaty with Russia could give the Pentagon new options to counter Chinese missile advances but experts warn the ensuing arms race could greatly escalate tensions in the Asia-Pacific.

Commentary: The decision to withdraw from the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia "may be the highest-stakes move for Donald Trump in his entire presidency," writes David A. Andelman, author of "A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919 and the Price We Pay Today." "Trump’s ill-conceived and poorly thought-out action plays directly into Putin’s hands. As much as the Russian leader may already be flouting the principles and provisions of that treaty, he can now do so with impunity and none of the consequences of being labeled the transgressor."

Australia has slapped travel and financial sanctions on five top Myanmar military officers, accused of overseeing brutal violence against Rohingya Muslims by units under their command, following similar moves by the European Union and United States.

Catholic women say there’s a clerical stained glass ceiling in the Vatican, and they want to shatter it.

Reuters World  @ReutersWorld

Follow the latest updates on @Reuters journalists, Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone, who have been imprisoned in Myanmar since Dec. 12, 2017: https://reut.rs/2D0rK3B

12:00 PM - 23 Oct 2018

Business

Saudi sees deals worth $50 billion at investment conference despite boycotts

Saudi Arabia brushed off an outcry over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and went ahead with an investment conference boycotted by Western political figures, leading international bankers and company executives.

5 min read

SoftBank CEO Son won't speak at Saudi conference: source

SoftBank Group Chief Executive Masayoshi Son, whose $93 billion Vision Fund drew nearly half its money from Saudi Arabia, canceled a speaking engagement at the kingdom’s investment conference this week, a person close to the matter told Reuters.

3 min read

Amazon.com, Qualcomm to put Alexa assistant in more headphones

Microchip firm Qualcomm is joining Amazon to spread the use of Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant in wireless headphones, the companies said on Monday.

3 min read

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