Turkey seeks life sentences over Erdogan ‘assassination bid’

  Istanbul / AFP Turkish prosecutors have demanded multiple life sentences for almost 50 alleged plotters in the failed July coup charged with conspiring to assassinate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at an Aegean holiday resort, state media said on Tuesday. Erdogan, who was staying at a hotel in the upmarket Marmaris resort with his family on the night of the July ...

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Growing fears of IS extremists’ use of weaponised drones

  Baghdad / AFP The Mosul battle in Iraq has seen the IS group increasingly resort to weaponised drones, which Western governments fear could lead to a new type of attack at home. France issued an internal note to its security forces last week warning that “this threat is to be taken into account nationwide” and ordering any drone be treated ...

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Tunisia wins billion-dollar pledges for ailing economy

  Tunis / AFP Qatar and France promised more than a billion dollars in financial support for Tunisia at an investment conference on Tuesday aimed at reviving the country’s struggling economy. Nearly six years after its Arab Spring revolution, Tunisia hopes the meeting will help it confront challenges including high unemployment, low growth and a tourism sector hammered by jihadist ...

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Shell, BP warn Japan over price of its freedom

  Bloomberg The world’s biggest liquefied natural gas suppliers have a warning for Japan: flexibility will likely cost you. Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc say that if Japan moves to ease restrictions that prevent its importers from reselling the gas, the Asian nation may have to purchase the fuel at a higher price in return. Suppliers could also ...

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Qatar Navigation, Qatar Ports to start JV for Hamad Port

  DOHA / Reuters Qatar Navigation (Milaha) and Qatar Ports will start a joint venture to operate Qatar’s Hamad Port in Doha, Milaha’s Chairman Sheikh Ali bin Jassim bin Mohammad al-Thani said on Tuesday. The venture, QTerminals, will have a proposed 100 million riyals ($27.5 million) in capital, Qatar’s transport minister told reporters on the sidelines of a signing ceremony ...

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Algeria’s dwindling petrodollars drive key OPEC deal broker

  Bloomberg Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine Boutarfa’s shuttle diplomacy between Tehran, Moscow and Vienna before OPEC’s meeting on Wednesday underlines the North African nation’s desperation for a deal. The oil-market rout has seen Algeria burn through cash set aside during the boom years to plug a widening budget deficit. The country’s Revenue Regulation Fund, formerly one of Africa’s biggest state ...

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Samsung Electronics mulls a split

  Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co. didn’t quite come out and actually say it, but South Korea’s most valuable company is probably going to split as soon as next year. Samsung said on Tuesday it’s looking at a plan to turn itself into a holding company, and would have more to say on the issue at a later date. The idea ...

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Tiffany’s profit tops estimates in sign of luxury recovery

  Bloomberg Tiffany & Co. reported third-quarter profit that exceeded analysts’ estimates as demand improved in China and Japan, a sign that the worst of the global luxury market’s downturn may be over. Earnings were 76 cents a share in the period ended Oct. 31, the New York-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. Analysts projected 68 cents, on ...

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Tata brawl forces India Inc. to pick sides

  Bloomberg The brawl atop India’s largest conglomerate isn’t just splitting the $100-billion Tata Group, it’s also forcing the nation’s business community to pick sides. That’s because many of India’s industry captains are board members at Tata’s dozens of units. They include the heads of the nation’s oldest conglomerate — the Wadia Group — top mortgage provider Housing Development Finance ...

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China to step up mortgage controls

  Bloomberg China’s government is stepping up efforts to contain runaway property prices, with the central bank clamping down further on mortgage lending in areas deemed overheated, people with knowledge of the matter said. Some lenders in those cities have been asked to suspend distributing new home loans, said the people, who asked not to be named as the change ...

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