August, 2017

• 20 August

  Iraq launches offensive to take back Tal Afar from IS

  

  BAGHDAD / ERBIL / Reuters Iraqi security forces launched an offensive to take back the city of Tal Afar on Sunday, their next objective in the US-backed campaign to defeat IS militants, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said. “You either surrender, or die,” Abadi said in a televised speech announcing the offensive, addressing the militants. A longtime stronghold of hardline Sunni ...

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• 20 August

  Finland cops call fatal stabbings act of terror

  Bloomberg Finnish police are investigating an attack on Friday as an act of terror after a young Moroccan man fatally stabbed two people and wounded six others in a town west of the capital Helsinki. The suspect, an 18-year-old who came to Finland as an asylum seeker last year, has so far refused to answer questions relating to the attack, ...

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• 20 August

  Icahn ends White House role over ‘conflict of interest’ row

  

  Bloomberg Carl Icahn’s role as a special regulatory adviser to President Donald Trump has ended after questions were raised by Democratic lawmakers about potential conflicts of interest with his business dealings in oil refining and insurance. In a letter to Trump addressing his departure that was posted Friday on Icahn’s website, the billionaire investor denied profiting from his advice-giving role ...

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• 20 August

  Syrian army pounds rebel areas, breaking truce

  

  AMMAN / Reuters Syrian jets and artillery struck rebel-held eastern Damascus suburbs a day after a Russian sponsored ceasefire with a rebel group agreed a halt of fighting in the last opposition enclave in the capital, rebels and witnesses said. The Russian defence ministry said it had reached a ceasefire that took effect with Failaq al Rahman, the main Free ...

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• 20 August

  Rouhani gets Iran parliament nod for cabinet nominees

  Bloomberg Iranian President Hassan Rouhani won lawmakers’ approval for 16 of his 17 ministerial nominees, in an overwhelming show of support for his policies. Parliament on Sunday voted to reappoint Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, top Rouhani allies during his first term. The only candidate to lose a vote of confidence was Energy Ministry ...

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• 20 August

  NZ Labour Party eyes ‘redemption’ under Ardern

  

  Bloomberg New Zealand’s main opposition Labour Party, buoyed by a surge in the polls under new leader Jacinda Ardern, launched its campaign to win next month’s election with a pledge to close the gap between rich and poor. Speaking to party faithful in Auckland on Sunday, Ardern highlighted child poverty as a key issue heading into the September 23 vote. ...

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• 20 August

  Angola’s Lourenco rallies voters; opponents threaten protest

  Bloomberg The presidential candidate from Angola’s ruling party, Joao Lourenco, promised to push hard to diversify the oil-rich African nation’s economy, while his fragmented opposition questioned the fairness of next week’s vote and threatened to hold protests. In the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola’s last campaign gathering ahead of the Aug. 23 vote, Lourenco predicted the MPLA would ...

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• 20 August

  Gulf finds support from robust oil price, Egypt declines

  

  Dubai / Reuters Most stock markets in the Gulf rose modestly on Sunday, lifted by a rally in oil prices at the end of last week, while three small to mid-sized Saudi Arabian insurers fell sharply after they were slapped with a temporary ban by the central bank. Riyadh’s index added 0.4 percent as all but two of the 14 ...

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• 20 August

  Dublin’s missing Brexit bankers trigger political blame game

  

  Bloomberg On the banks of Dublin’s River Liffey, a row over the destination of London bankers fleeing Brexit is brewing. Now operating out of the office tower which came to symbolise Ireland’s financial crash, the nation’s central bank is battling political and industry pressure to do more to draw firms. Companies ranging from Lloyd’s of London to Morgan Stanley have ...

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• 20 August

  CIBC creates its own digital bank

  

  Bloomberg Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and grocery chain Loblaw Cos. are ending their 19-year President’s Choice Financial partnership as the country’s fifth-largest lender starts its own digital bank. Simplii Financial will offer no-fee banking, mortgages and loans online and by phone, according to Mike Boluch, CIBC’s executive vice president of direct banking, innovation and payments. CIBC expects to take ...

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