Turkey said it has completed preparations (Reuters) for a military operation to clear out Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria after the United States agreed to pull back its troops there. Kurdish leaders said they may seek support (Reuters) from Damascus and Moscow, as Kurdish fighters vowed to act as human shields (Al Jazeera) against an invasion. 
 
U.S. President Donald J. Trump faced widespread criticism (NYT) from lawmakers, including Republican allies, after announcing the troop withdrawal. Trump wrote on Twitter that he would “destroy” the Turkish economy if Ankara takes any action in Syria he deems “off limits.” Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said the country does not act according to threats (Anadolu).

Washington added twenty-eight companies and agencies to a list that effectively blocks them from buying U.S. products over their role in human rights abuses. They have all been implicated in Beijing’s campaign targeting Muslim minorities (NYT) in the Xinjiang region.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at China’s crackdown on Uighurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang.
 
Japan: Tokyo formally signed a trade agreement (Kyodo) with Washington that lifts or reduces tariffs on $7.2 billion worth of U.S. food and agricultural products. The United States did not raise auto tariffs on Japan, a move U.S. President Trump had threatened.
 
CFR discusses why the U.S.-Japan trade deal falls short of what it replaced.

Prime Minister Imran Khan is in China for two days of meetings (Dawn) that will include discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the security situation in Kashmir and bilateral economic ties.
 
Afghanistan: Eleven Taliban officials were released from an Afghan prison in exchange for the militant group freeing three abducted Indian engineers (Reuters), a senior Afghan official said.

The Iraqi army withdrew from a Baghdad neighborhood (NYT) where anti-government protesters have been killed by security forces in recent days. It said that soldiers who used excessive force would be held accountable.

The company, Mara Group, launched two smartphones (Reuters) it says are the first to be entirely made in Africa. The phones will cost between $130 and $190.

Around 280 people were arrested (Guardian) at the start of two weeks of protests in London to oppose inaction on climate change. The activist group Extinction Rebellion organized protests to take place around the world (DW) this week.
 
France: The Paris police headquarters employee who killed four colleagues last week had in the past told coworkers (WSJ) that the 2015 attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was justified, the interior minister said. Opposition lawmakers have called on the minister to resign over authorities’ failure to investigate the man.

The leaders of Canada’s six main political parties discussed their plans for the economy, immigration, and climate change in a Monday debate (CBC) ahead of the October 21 federal election. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was criticized for past instances when he wore blackface, as well as a scandal in which he was accused of interfering in a judicial investigation. 
 
Bolivia: Heavy rains over the Bolivian Amazon helped put out forest fires (Reuters) that had been burning for two months, according to local authorities.

Supermarket chain Kroger and pharmacy giant Walgreens will stop selling electronic cigarettes (AP) amid concerns about health risks.
 
CFR looks at the e-cigarette backlash.

The United Nations faces a $230 million deficit and could run out of funding (AFP) by the end of October, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told UN staffers in a letter. Guterres said member states have only paid 70 percent of funds needed for the 2019 budget.