3 THINGS THAT WILL CHANGE THE WORLD TODAY

Good morning, here’s your Monday morning briefing to set you up for the day ahead. Look out for these three things happening around the world today.

Business leaders attend Facebook Libra meeting

Representatives from members of the Libra Association, which will oversee Facebook’s planned cryptocurrency, Libra, are set to meet today in Geneva, Switzerland.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the meeting is being held to appoint a board of directors for the Libra Association.

The meeting is going ahead despite PayPal’s decision to withdraw from the association to focus on its own business. Reports have suggested that global payment leaders such as Visa and Mastercard are also having second thoughts.

The Facebook project hopes to establish the cryptocurrency to be a global payment solution that is robust, borderless and stable. It will be backed by a number of low-volatility assets to help avoid the wild value fluctuations that have plagued early cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

US House committee tech antitrust investigation reaches deadline

Tech giants Facebook, Amazon, Google and Apple have until today to provide evidence to the House Judiciary Committee as part of its investigation into competition in the digital markets, the effectiveness of antitrust laws and their level of enforcement.

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The committee sent letters to the CEO of each company on 13 September, asking for “documents and executive communications”. Documents requested ranged from descriptions of each product and service offered by the company, to competitor lists for each product and service, and “all communications” between relevant executives regarding mergers and acquisitions.

The investigation is part of renewed efforts to ramp up pressure on tech giants over anti-competitive practices. In September more than 50 US states launched an anti-trust investigation into Google’s “monopolistic behavior”.

Association of Space Explorers conference gets underway

The Association of Space Explorers will hold its annual Planetary Congress this week, bringing together the lucky few who have gone to space on the 50th anniversary of the iconic Apollo 11 Moon landing.

A total of 565 people have been to space, and more than 100 of them will be in Texas, United States, from today for the conference.

The conference is held to celebrate the accomplishments made in space exploration over the past 50 years, and to showcase what is still to come.

Friday’s Highlights

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World leaders scramble to reassure public over 5G safety

Smile and wave: The global race to biometric adoption

Researchers build first prototype quantum computer using superconducting materials