Highlights

Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, embraced judicial independence but sidestepped Senate Democrats’ questions yesterday on whether a president can pardon himself or fire a prosecutor investigating him. Kavanaugh will face a final barrage of questions today in a multi-day U.S. Senate confirmation hearing.

The U.S. Department of Justice and state attorneys general will meet this month to discuss concerns that social media platforms are “intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas.” This comes after Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey testified at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on efforts to counteract foreign efforts to influence U.S. elections and political discourse.

When Reuters journalist Peter Apps woke up with a broken neck in a Sri Lanka war zone, he tried to persuade nearby soldiers to shoot him. Twelve years later, he works as a columnist, military reservist and director of a think tank. Writing on the anniversary of the car accident that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down, he explains how he has adapted to his disability and regained a measure of independence.

World

India’s top court scrapped a colonial-era ban on gay sex in a landmark judgement that sparked celebrations across the country, where gay sex had been punishable by prison for up to 10 years.

About 50 Rohingya Muslim refugees gathered in a muddy sports field in a camp in Bangladesh to protest against the conviction in Myanmar of two Reuters reporters, who were arrested while covering the plight of their community. Read the latest on their case here.

A powerful earthquake paralyzed Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido on Thursday, killing at least seven people, triggering landslides and knocking out power to its 5.3 million residents.

Sponsored by IBM: Build your AI foundation. Learn how to implement the techniques and technologies associated with AI and machine learning, and unlock the massive potential of your data. Read the report.

Beijing expressed anger after a British Royal Navy warship sailed close to islands claimed by China in the South China Sea late last month. The challenge to China’s growing control of the strategic waterway comes after the United States said it would like to see more international participation in such actions.

Hudhayfa al-Shahad strapped a colorful paper cup filled with cotton and charcoal to a child’s face and tightened a plastic bag around his head: an improvised gas mask if chemicals once again fall on #Syria’s #Idlib. https://reut.rs/2wNBt7Q by @KhalelAshawe

10:57 AM - September 9, 2018