THE NEW YORK TIMES

Saudis May Blame Intelligence Official for Killing Jamal Khashoggi

ISTANBUL — The rulers of Saudi Arabia are considering blaming a top intelligence official close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, three people with knowledge of the Saudi plans said Thursday.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

In Afghanistan’s Season of Crisis, ‘Words Do Not Have the Strength’

KABUL, Afghanistan — In the past 17 years of war and crisis in Afghanistan, no one remembers a season quite like this one, with peril and hopelessness at every turn. People here struggle for words to explain how it feels.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Mike Pompeo Meets Turkish President to Discuss Saudi Journalist’s Fate

ISTANBUL — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met on Wednesday with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, trying to resolve the international uproar over the alleged killing of a journalist inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, and said that Saudi officials had promised consequences for anyone — even a member of the royal family — found responsible.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

China Breaks Silence on Muslim Detention Camps, Calling Them ‘Humane’

BEIJING — Under mounting international criticism, China has given its most extensive defense yet of its sweeping campaign to detain and indoctrinate Muslims, with a senior official on Tuesday describing its network of camps in the far west as humane job-training centers.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Saudi Arabia and U.S. Clash Over Khashoggi Case

ISTANBUL — The disappearance of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggiis opening a rift between Washington and Saudi Arabia as the kingdom blasted President Trump on Sunday for promising “severe punishment” if the royal court was responsible.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

North Korea Weaponizes Its Deal With Trump to Tangle Talks

SEOUL, South Korea — In hailing the deal he reached with Kim Jong-un this summer in Singapore, President Trump said it “largely solved” the North Korean nuclear crisis.

He has since doubled down on that statement, most recently on Tuesday. “People don’t realize the importance of the first meeting,” he said. “I mean, we said, ‘Point No. 1: denuclearization.’ They’ve agreed to denuclearization.”

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Khashoggi’s Disappearance Puts Kushner’s Bet on Saudi Crown Prince at Risk

WASHINGTON — For President Trump, who has made Saudi Arabia the fulcrum of his Middle East policy, the possible murder of a Saudi journalist in Turkey is a looming diplomatic crisis. For Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, it is a personal reckoning.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

In New Slap at China, U.S. Expands Power to Block Foreign Investments

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said it would begin reviewing foreign investments in American companies more broadly, initiating new powers that give the United States greater authority to block Chinese and other foreign transactions on national security grounds.

THE GUARDIAN

Amazon at risk from Bolsonaro's grim attack on the environment

In the Amazon, illegal loggers, miners, land-grabbers, as well as large land owners have rallied to his banner. Here, they don’t expect Bolsonaro to enforce the law. On the contrary, the hope is that he fulfils his promise to obliterate nearly all environment and pro-indigenous legislation. He won massive support in rural central western states and all but one Amazonian state.