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  AP A group of Chinese and American investors, who specialize in real estate, hotel and tourism, have bought 80 percent of French soccer club Nice for an undisclosed fee. Club president and former majority owner Jean-Pierre Rivere will retain a 20 percent stake. Rivere said on Friday that the deal will help “secure the future of the club.” Nice ...

  AP Long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week after three straight weeks of increases. The drop followed a surprisingly weak employment report that deepened doubts about the economy. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped to 3.60 percent from 3.66 percent last week. That is well below its level a year ago of 4.04 percent. ...

  AP Mutual funds are about to get much more real. A big change is coming in how stock indexes measure the market, one that’s likely to push tens of billions of dollars into real-estate investments, according to estimates. All that cash could drive further gains for a group of stocks that’s already done quite well since the financial crisis. ...

  BAGHDAD / AP Two suicide attacks in and outside the Iraqi capital killed at least 27 people and wounded dozens on Thursday, officials said. The deadliest attack took place in a commercial area of a majority Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad. At least 15 civilians were killed and 35 wounded, police said. Another suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into an ...

  Ankara / AFP Turkey’s prime minister ruled out talks with the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) after a spate of attacks blamed on the militants killed at least 17 people this week. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the outlawed group had made a bid for dialogue after almost a year of renewed violence that ended a two-and-a-half year truce, ...

  ANKARA / AP Turkey’s state-run news agency said US-led coalition airstrikes and Turkish artillery fire against IS group targets in Syria have killed 18 militants. Anadolu Agency, quoting unnamed security officials, said on Thursday that the IS targets were attacked after Turkish authorities on Wednesday determined that the extremist group was preparing to strike Turkey from northern Syria. It ...

  Aleppo / AFP Syrian rebels have reopened a vital supply line by capturing two villages from the IS extremist group as it came under pressure on a range of fronts in Syria and Iraq. IS has controlled large areas of both countries since declaring its self-styled “caliphate” in 2014 but is losing territory in the face of separate assaults. In ...

  Paris / AFP France deployed special forces in northern Syria to advise the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting the IS group, a defence ministry official said on Thursday. “The offensive at Manbij is clearly being backed by a certain number of states including France. It’s the usual support —it’s advisory,” the official said, without giving further details on the ...

  London / AFP Brexit campaigners accused the government of trying to rig the EU referendum and threatened legal action on Thursday as former London mayor Boris Johnson squared up for the campaign’s first TV debate. British MPs prepared to approve emergency legislation to extend voter registration—a move that has infuriated the “Leave” camp because many late requests have been from ...

  Tokyo / AFP A Chinese naval ship sailed into waters surrounding disputed East China Sea islands for the first time early Thursday, prompting Tokyo to summon the Chinese ambassador to protest, the Japanese government said. Russian naval ships were also seen in the area around the same time. A Chinese naval vessel entered waters surrounding the Tokyo-administered isles, called ...