January, 2017

• 3 January

  Migrants set fires in protest at center near Venice

    ROME / AP Italian police say they have quelled a violent protest by occupants of a migrant center near Venice that left fearful workers barricaded inside offices. Carabinieri paramilitary police in Chioggia, near the Cona migrant center, said the protest ended in the early hours of Tuesday. Italian state RAI radio said migrants were protesting the alleged delay in ...

  Read More »
• 3 January

  Grim selfie video ‘shows’ suspect in Turkey killings

  

    ISTANBUL / AP Turkish state media aired new footage on Tuesday of a man believed to be the IS gunman who killed 39 people at a nightclub, showing a grim selfie video of the suspect as he circles Istanbul’s most famous square. The camera never leaves the man’s unsmiling face as he walks through Taksim square, one of Istanbul’s prime ...

  Read More »
• 3 January

  Judges rule Jakarta governor blasphemy trial closed to media

    JAKARTA / AP An Indonesian court ruled on Tuesday that witness testimony will be closed to the media in the blasphemy trial of the capital’s minority Christian governor. Jakarta Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama is charged with insulting Islam and desecrating the Quran by using one of its verses to boost his chances of winning re-election. Ahok, 50, is seeking ...

  Read More »
• 3 January

  UN: 6,878 civilians killed in Iraq violence in 2016

  

    BAGHDAD / AP Violence claimed the lives of at least 6,878 civilian Iraqis last year, the United Nations said, as the Iraqi government struggles to maintain security nationwide and to dislodge IS group militants from areas under their control. The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, known as UNAMI, said its numbers “have to be considered as the absolute minimum” as ...

  Read More »
• 3 January

  Yemeni troops attack Al-Qaida militants; 26 die in battle

    SANAA / ap Yemeni security officials say pro-government forces attacked al-Qaida militants in the country’s south, killing 15 extremists but losing 11 of their own troops. The officials say the fighting began when security forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition that is fighting Yemen’s Shiite rebels elsewhere in the country, on Tuesday attacked an al-Qaida stronghold in the Marakasha ...

  Read More »
• 3 January

  If we knew what things cost, they might cost less

  

    The US is a place where the big things — health care, infrastructure and asset management to name a few — just cost too much. Price transparency is an underrated tool for bringing down those costs. In economics classes, we teach something called the law of one price — the cost of the same good or service shouldn’t be ...

  Read More »
• 3 January

  A China-watcher’s guide to 2017

  

    Each December, China’s leaders meet to lay out their economic agenda for the next year. And each December, China-watchers pore over their every word, much like Kremlinologists during the Cold War. It bears remembering that these pronouncements are rarely predictive, and that the best sources of insight on China’s economy are usually found elsewhere. Here are a few key ...

  Read More »
• 3 January

  Fact-checkers should stick to checking facts

  

    Does the current interest in “fact-checking” and action to deal with “fake news” serve the cause of better politics? You might think it would, or at least that it couldn’t hurt. I’m skeptical. The main problem is that teams such as FactCheck.org, PolitiFact and the Washington Post’s Fact Checker don’t always do what they say. Often they aren’t checking ...

  Read More »
• 3 January

  ANZ sells Shanghai Bank stake for $1.33 billion

  

    Bloomberg Australia & New Zealand Banking Corp. agreed to sell its 20 percent stake in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank Co. for A$1.84 billion ($1.33 billion), Chief Executive Officer Shayne Elliott’s latest move to unwind an Asian expansion that sapped profits. China Cosco Shipping Corp. and Shanghai Sino-Poland Enterprise Management Development Corp. will buy 10 percent each, the Melbourne-based company ...

  Read More »
• 3 January

  Oman invites banks to arrange potential dollar bond

  

    Bloomberg Oman is preparing an international bond sale, two people with knowledge of the deal said, as the country seeks to plug a budget deficit caused by low oil prices. The sultanate has sent invitations to banks to arrange the sale of a dollar or Islamic bond, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is ...

  Read More »