What to watch for today and over the weekend
Hurricane Ophelia heads for Europe. The 10th consecutive tropical cyclone to reach hurricane intensity in the Atlantic Ocean may set records for the strongest storm outside the tropics. It is projected to skim past the Azores Islands, Portugal, and Spain before hitting Ireland and the UK early next week.
Hollywood holds emergency talks on Harvey Weinstein. Following numerous allegations of the film mogul’s sexual misconduct, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will meet Saturday to discuss the allegations. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has already suspended Weinstein’s membership.
Trump announces his decision on the Iran deal. The US president, a longtime critic of the Obama administration’s accord with Iran, will deliver a speech on Friday ahead of the October 15 recertification deadline. Should he decertify Iran’s compliance, Congress would decide whether to enact new sanctions.
While you were sleeping
Fatah and Hamas reconciled. The landmark deal between the Palestinian factions consolidates administrative control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip under a single Fatah-backed government. Under terms brokered by Egypt, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas will merge their security forces and ministries.
The US and Israel both withdrew from UNESCO. The US led the exit by saying it would cease to pay dues in protest of UNESCO’s anti-Israel bias. UNESCO’s director-general called the move a “loss for multilateralism.”
An American-Canadian family was released from captivity in Afghanistan. Caitlan Coleman and Joshua Boyle were hostages for five years after being abducted by the Haqqani network, a guerrilla group with ties to the Taliban. Coleman, pregnant at the time of her capture, gave birth to three children while in captivity.
Bitcoin set a new price record as Japan picked up China’s slack. The cryptocurrency’s new peak of $5,100 surpasses the previous record set about a month ago. In the intervening weeks, bitcoin plummeted due to a Chinese government crackdown, but operators have fled to Japan, which gave licenses to 11 new bitcoin exchanges.
Equifax was hacked again. An independent security analyst found part of Equifax’s website under the control of attackers serving up malicious adware. The company took down one of its customer help pages to investigate the breach.
Quartz obsession interlude
Akshat Rathi on the world’s first “negative emissions” plant, which turns carbon dioxide into stone: “Although it’s still at pilot scale—capturing only 50 metric tons CO2 from the air each year, about the same emitted by a single US household—it’s the first system to take CO2 in the air and convert the emissions into stone, thus ensuring they don’t escape back into the atmosphere for the next millions of years.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
Thank the central bank / for stocks reaching all-time highs / Who will run it next?
Matters of debate
Suburban offices are hip again. As millennials move out of city centers, companies are following the talent.
Xi Jinping has more clout than Donald Trump. China’s charismatic leader is steadily consolidating his power as the US loses its grip.
Kids need to be taught better social skills. New research suggests they’re more important than good test scores.
Surprising discoveries
Some Vikings had the word “Allah” stitched into their clothes. The unexpected link is giving archaeologists a new perspective on the global reach of Islam.
Dating apps are reshaping society. Researchers see a big uptick in interracial and same-sex partners who find each other online.
Swedish “death cleaning” is the latest lifestyle trend. Dostadning helps you ditch the junk that will one day be a burden to your heirs.
Something punched a hole through a South Pole ice sheet. Scientists can’t figure out why a chasm the size of Maine suddenly reopened after closing itself up 40 years ago.
Borrowers in China will be publicly shamed for missing payments. “The person you are calling has been put on a blacklist by the courts for failing to repay their debts. Please urge this person to honour their legal obligations.”
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