Trade talks in balance at Southeast Asian leaders summit
Plans to finalise an Asia-wide trade deal at a summit in Bangkok this weekend were uncertain after new demands raised by India in the negotiations to create the world’s largest trading bloc.
Lebanon central bank chief says banks reopened without ‘any disturbance’
Lebanon’s central bank governor Riad Salameh said on Saturday the reopening of banks to the public after a two-week closure due to nationwide protests “did not cause any disturbance at any bank” and that no “formal capital controls” were being consider…
Downtown Hong Kong becomes battleground as night falls
Police fired tear gas at black-clad protesters across Hong Kong on Saturday after they set fire to metro stations and vandalized buildings including China’s official Xinhua news agency in some of the worst violence to hit the city in weeks.
Attackers kill three in heavily guarded district of Bujumbura
Gunmen wearing police and army uniforms killed three people and injured three others at a bar in a heavily guarded neighborhood of Burundi’s biggest city Bujumbura late on Friday, police and residents said.
Turkey says will send Islamic State prisoners to home countries
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Saturday Turkey would send captured Islamic State members back to their home countries, and he complained about European inaction on the matter.
Lebanon’s banks see no ‘extraordinary movement’ of money on reopening
Lebanon’s banks did not see “any extraordinary movement” of money on Friday or Saturday, the first two days they reopened to the public after a two-week closure due to nationwide protests, the head of the banking association said on Saturday.
Iran strikes initial deal to rebuild Syrian power grid
Iran signed a preliminary agreement with Syria on Saturday to help rebuild the Arab ally’s electricity grid, Iranian state media reported, as Tehran seeks a deepening economic role after years of the Syrian conflict.
Nine children killed in Afghanistan mine blast
Nine Afghan children were killed on Saturday when a mine exploded as they walked to school, police said, the latest victims in a growing toll of civilian casualties in the war.
Volcano erupts on Satsumaio island in southeast Japan
A volcano erupted on Satsumaio island in southeastern Japan late Saturday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, but there were no immediate reports of damage on the sparsely populated island in Kagoshima prefecture.
Pakistan army says supports elected government amid major protest
Pakistan’s powerful military said it supported the country’s elected government and the constitution, as tens of thousands of opposition protesters gathered in the capital demanding that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s year-old government quits by Sunday….
