October, 2016

• 22 October

  EU should not forget Turkey has alternatives, warns PM

    Ankara / AFP Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim warned the EU on Saturday not to forget that Turkey has alternatives to the bloc, whose ties with Ankara have become increasingly strained.He did not say what the alternatives were could be but closer relations between Russia and Ankara has caused concern in the West. “Turkey always has alternatives. Europe should ...

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• 22 October

  Bahrain to auction banned opposition’s seized assets

    Dubai / AFP Bahrain will auction the confiscated assets of the main Shiite opposition in the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom after it was dissolved over terrorism-related charges, a judicial source said on Saturday. An administrative court on Thursday ordered the auctioning of Al-Wefaq’s assets to be held on October 26, the source said. The group’s dissolution in July drew strong ...

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• 22 October

  Iraq forces in fierce Kirkuk clashes with IS

  

    Kirkuk /AFP Security forces battled for a second day on Saturday with IS gunmen who infiltrated Kirkuk in a brazen raid that rattled Iraq as it ramped up an offensive to retake Mosul. A day after the shock attack on the Kurdish-controlled city, extremist snipers and suspected suicide bombers were still at large, prompting Baghdad to send reinforcements. Special ...

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• 22 October

  Pentagon chief in Iraq to discuss Mosul offensive

    Baghdad / AFP US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter arrived in Baghdad on Saturday to review the six-day-old offensive to retake Mosul, the IS group’s last major stronghold in Iraq. He will meet commanders from the 60-nation coalition which is led by the United States and assists Iraqi forces in their drive against the extremists. Carter is also due to ...

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• 22 October

  Fighting rages in Yemen despite ceasefire

  

    Aden /AFP Fierce gun battles erupted overnight between Yemeni rebels and pro-government forces along the border with Saudi Arabia despite a three-day ceasefire due to end late Saturday, military officials said. Warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi also bombed suspected Houthi rebel missile launchers east of the capital Sanaa late Friday, a ...

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• 22 October

  MP wants Israel rights group head stripped of citizenship

    Jerusalem / AFP The parliamentary chairman of Israel’s ruling coalition has called for a rights group chief who condemned Israeli settlement construction at the United Nations to be stripped of his citizenship. David Bitan, a leading member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, told Israel’s Channel 2 TV late Friday that he was “examining the legal possibility” ...

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• 22 October

  Russia’s rising output forecasts give leverage in OPEC talks

  

    Bloomberg As Russia gets ready for talks on cooperation with OPEC on Monday, it’s using the playbooks of Iran, Iraq and Venezuela to gain leverage. Just days before Energy Minister Alexander Novak heads to Vienna for discussions that could include output curbs, Russian officials emphasized the nation’s ability to keep increasing record output to even loftier heights. They were ...

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• 22 October

  Egypt shelves go bare as sugar prices catch govt off guard

  

    Reuters Borrowing a cup of sugar from your neighbour has rarely been so contentious in Egypt. At supermarkets across the country sugar has all but vanished, prompting media talk of a crisis and pushing the state to rapidly increase imports despite an acute dollar shortage and soaring global prices of the sweetener. Egypt consumes around 3 million tonnes of ...

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• 22 October

  Oil above $50 as market waits for output deal

    Bloomberg Crude settled above $50 a barrel as investors assessed the likelihood of a deal to reduce supply after Russia’s energy minister said the country’s oil output may rise to a record next year. December futures rose 0.4 percent in New York after swinging between gains and losses during intraday trading. Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said production could ...

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• 22 October

  Wary Western insurers rebuild business ties with Iran

  

    Reuters Western insurers are slowly reaching deals with Iran as they seek to re-enter a multi-billion dollar market although the pace of business is hampered by banking restrictions ten months on from the lifting of international sanctions. Shut out of international financial markets for years, Iran is still trying to reap the benefits of last year’s nuclear deal with ...

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