Of all the topics sure to be come up in Sino-U.S. economic talks this week — from the problem of excess capacity to currency controls — the health of China’s financial sector will no doubt feature high on the list. Especially worrying are the multiplying links between the country’s commercial and “shadow” banks — the name given to a broad ...

  Istanbul / AFP A bomb ripped through a Turkish police bus near Istanbul’s historic centreon Tuesday, killing seven officers and four civilians in the latest of a string of attacks in Turkey’s biggest city. The car bomb targeted a bus carrying anti-riot police as it was passing through the central Beyazit district close to many of the city’s top tourist ...

  Jérusalem / AFP The head of a group of women activists pushing for equal prayer rights at Jerusalem’s Western Wall was detained on Tuesday after taking a Torah scroll there in defiance of the holy site’s rules, the group said. The incident comes as activists, Israel’s government and the ultra-Orthodox Jewish establishment debate a controversial plan to create a ...

  Berlin / AFP Germany recorded around 16,000 new asylum seekers in May, almost unchanged from April, official data showed on Tuesday, after the closure of the key Balkans route slowed a record influx. Among the 16,281 asylum seekers who arrived in Germany in May, Syrians made up the biggest group at 2,685, followed by Afghans at 2,289 and 1,355 ...

  Beirut / AFP Russian-backed Syrian regime forces inched closerto a key stop on a vital IS group supply line, as a twin offensive bore down on the extremists’ northern stronghold. The advance comes as 17 civilians were killed in air raids on a popular market in eastern Syria on the first day of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. ...

  Niamey / AFP Niger vowed to avenge the deaths of 26 of its soldiers who were killed by Boko Haram insurgents in one of the extremist group’s deadliest attacks in the country. “We must continue to fight, this insult must be expunged, there is nothing to be done, it must be avenged,” Defence Minister HassoumiMassoudou said. The minister was ...

  Iraq / AP As Iraqi security forces tighten their grip on the outskirts of militant-held Fallujah allegations of human rights violations are surfacing on both sides of the operation. Hundreds of civilians, many bearing marks of torture were released north of Fallujah after being detained by a group of government sanctioned mostly Shiite militias. Five of those detained died while ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, exchanged greetings over the phone with His Majesty King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco and His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, on the occasion of the Holy ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM FGB partnered with Zayed University, ZU, to enhance the skills, work experience and career opportunities for UAE nationals in the banking and financial services sector. The bank’s CEO, Andre Sayegh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Professor Reyadh AlMehaideb, Vice President of Zayed University recently, during a ceremony held at Zayed University’s Abu Dhabi ...

  KUWAIT / WAM The oil maritime transport sector needs to be further developed through increased international collaboration and a unified legislative system, the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) said on Tuesday. In its monthly report obtained by the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), OAPEC noted that further cooperation between Arab nations is needed to stave off challenges and ...