Friday: New developments in the Jamal Khashoggi case

Turkey, Hurricane, Fracking | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Friday, October 12, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Europe Edition [Your Friday Briefing]( By MATTHEW SEDACCA Good morning. Turkish-Saudi tensions fluctuate, Hurricane Michael hits Florida and fracking gets another go in Britain. Here’s the latest: Presidency Press Service, via Associated Press • The office of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, above, announced that Mr. Erdogan [had agreed to form a joint “working group” with Saudi Arabia]( to investigate the whereabouts of Jamal Khashoggi, the dissident journalist who disappeared after visiting the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last week. The announcement followed the recent spike in tensions over Mr. Khashoggi between Mr. Erdogan and the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, two headstrong nationalists with ambitions to reshape the Muslim world. Late Thursday the Turkish authorities said they had audio recordings and video footage [showing that Saudi agents killed]( inside the consulate. The Saudis have denied knowledge of his whereabouts. Meanwhile, as Republicans in Congress pushed for an investigation into the possible murder, President Trump maintained that relations with Saudi Arabia were “excellent,” underlining an [increasingly tense division between the White House and lawmakers](. The mystery is leading lobbyists, financiers, and tech executives around the world to [weigh the risks of continuing to do business]( with Saudi Arabia. _____ Spencer Platt/Getty Images • Wall Street keeps tumbling. Major U.S. indexes were sharply down on Thursday, continuing [a major sell-off around]( the world. Increased borrowing costs as well as the U.S.-China trade spat spooked investors, and a slowdown in American companies buying their own stocks [may have also contributed to the decline](. [President Trump reacted]( the falling stock prices]( by lambasting the Federal Reserve and blaming its increases in interest rates for the market’s fall. Some experts warn that these criticisms could threaten the Fed’s independence. Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, warned that if trade tensions continued to escalate, “the global economy would take a significant hit.” _____ Eric Thayer for The New York Times • Hurricane Michael [left the Florida Panhandle in tatters]( with at least six people dead and 1.1 million homes and businesses without electricity. A vast search and rescue operation is underway. Above, the aftermath in Panama City, Florida. The storm intensified into a ferocious hurricane in just two days, partly because of its unusually [low air pressure]( leaving little time to prepare. [Images from the area]( showed splintered houses, toppled trees and hopelessly tangled power lines. Separately, here’s a [look at the aftermath of the tsunami]( that lashed Indonesia last month, killing more than 2,000 people and leaving an estimated 5,000 missing. _____ Zoran Marinovic for The New York Times • A bridge too far for the European Union? The China Road and Bridge Corporation, a state-owned Chinese company has [begun construction on a bridge]( funded by the European Union]( that will end decades of separation between Croatia’s southern coast to the rest of the country by an interruption of Bosnian land. Above, the Peljesac Peninsula channel. The E.U. has been cautious in allowing state-owned Chinese firms to compete for big infrastructure projects, fearing that they will undermine competition, trample the bloc’s labor laws and depress wages. The construction of the bridge will test the validity of these fears. More widely, some in the E.U. are concerned over Beijing’s befriending of Balkan and Eastern European leaders, which has been seen as an attempt to undermine the bloc. Business Andrew Testa for The New York Times • Cuadrilla Resources [is trying its hand at shale gas production]( in Britain again after earthquakes followed its first attempt at fracking seven years ago. Above, anti-fracking demonstrators in northwest England. • Britain is considering requiring companies to report [pay disparities among ethnic groups]( a year after it made reporting gender pay gaps mandatory. • Pakistan is asking the International Monetary Fund for a bailout of [up to $12 billion]( while Prime Minister Imran Khan is promising to spend more on social welfare. The mixed message is adding to investors’ concerns about the economy. In the News Bernd W'stneck/Picture-Alliance, via Associated Press • A far-right German political party has come under fire for urging students and families to report teachers who reveal their political views in school. Above, a school in Rostock, Germany. [[The New York Times]( • Fake news on social media during the 2016 U.S. presidential election mostly came from Russian state-backed operatives. But ahead of the U.S. midterms next month, more online disinformation is now being made in America. [[The New York Times]( • In Italy, a Carabinieri police officer was convicted of raping an American student. A second officer was ordered to stand trial on charges of raping the student’s friend. [[Associated Press]( • Doctors in Britain will be able to legally prescribe medicinal cannabis beginning Nov. 1. “Heartbreaking cases involving sick children” prompted the move, the home secretary said. [[The New York Times]( • A failed launch of a Russian rocket forced two astronauts — an American and a Russian — to parachute out. They landed safely. [[The New York Times]( • In India, Cyclone Titli made landfall, cutting off electricity, crumbling mud houses and killing at least eight people. [[The New York Times]( Smarter Living Tips for a more fulfilling life. Romulo Yanes for The New York Times • Recipe of the day: End the week with a surprisingly simple dinner: [seared chicken breast with baby potatoes and capers](. • Inexpensive improvements for any bathroom, [even if you rent](. • It’s never too late to hit your stride. [Here’s how to get started](. Noteworthy Magali Bragard/Annapurna Pictures, via Associated Press • Jacques Audiard is one of France’s greatest living filmmakers. But with his latest film “The Sisters Brothers,” above, he is [tackling the most American of genres]( the western. • Years after the Good Friday peace accords, Mariusz Smiejek took his camera to Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he [photographed the lives of Protestant Loyalists](. • Athens doesn’t coast on its past glories — it keeps pushing forward, rebounding anew. Here’s a fresh guide to the Greek capital’s [new monuments and changing neighborhoods](. Back Story  Quite a few readers wrote us last week to take issue with this sentence at the end of a briefing: “His whereabouts is unknown.” Surely, they wrote, it should be “whereabouts are.” Well, yes and no. Times editors consult an [in-house style guide]( for grammar and spelling questions like this. And the entry for “whereabouts” tells us to “construe it as a singular.” But why? While “whereabouts” is commonly used as a noun, [it began as an adverb]( (“Whereabouts are you from?”). That means the “s” at the end is an adverbial suffix — think of “always” or “besides” — and not an indicator of a plural noun. Historically, “whereabouts” has been considered both singular and plural when used as a noun, though in recent years the plural has been winning out. Philip Corbett, our top editor for standards, said that in cases of two acceptable usages, the Times stylebook often specifies one, sometimes the more traditional one. “At some point,” he said, “we may have to consider whether to change our stylebook guidance, if only to avoid distracting readers who may believe that the singular usage is wrong.” Interested in grammar and usage questions? [Check out our copy editing quizzes](. Jennifer Jett wrote today’s Back Story. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. [Check out this page]( to find a Morning Briefing for your region. (In addition to our European edition, we have Australian, Asian and U.S. editions.) 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