Kiev / AFP Three Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and six injured in a fresh upsurge of fighting between pro-Russian rebels and government forces in the country’s separatist east, the Kiev military said on Sunday. “As a result of hostilities, three Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and another six wounded over the past 24 hours”, military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk ...

  Reuters The five US regional banks most exposed to the energy sector set aside millions of dollars more in the first quarter to cover potential losses from bad loans to the struggling oil industry. Overall, provisions for bad loans at Comerica Inc, Regions Financial Corp, KeyCorp, SunTrust Banks Inc and Fifth Third Bancorp more than doubled to $570 million ...

  Dubai / Reuters Oman’s Bank Dhofar, in talks with Bank Sohar on a possible merger, said on Sunday that it communicated the terms for a deal to its smaller rival after completing due diligence. Bank Dhofar, the sultanate’s second-largest lender by assets, said the financial and legal due diligence concluded on April 23, it said in a bourse statement. ...