|  | | | | | | | | | Highlights | | | | | | Netanyahu clutches political lifeline. Israel’s president has thrown Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political lifeline, asking him to try to form a government after he failed to secure a clear election victory twice in six months. Neither Netanyahu's nor his rival Benny Gantz’s was able to put together a coalition with a ruling majority, or reach a power-sharing deal for a unity government between their two parties. Facing stalemate, President Reuven Rivlin has tasked Netanyahu with what could be an impossible mission. | | | | Former French President Jacques Chirac dies, aged 86. A political chameleon who dominated French politics for decades in roles ranging from mayor of Paris to the second-longest serving leader of the nation. “He passed away peacefully this morning surrounded by his loved ones,” his son-in-law Frederic Salat-Baroux told Reuters. | | | | Khashoggi murder 'happened under my watch,' says Saudi crown prince. Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said he bears responsibility for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year by Saudi operatives “because it happened under my watch,” according to a PBS documentary to be broadcast next week. Mohammed bin Salman has not spoken publicly about the killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The CIA and some Western governments have said he ordered it, but Saudi officials say he had no role. | | | | | | | | Pride parades in Poland prove flashpoint ahead of general election. Alicja Sienkiewicz was attending a gay pride event in the Polish city of Bialystok in July when a group of young men shouting expletives surrounded her wheelchair and hurled firecrackers. The 18-year-old student and gay-rights activist said she witnessed the group beating and kicking some parade participants and hurling homophobic insults, prompting police to intervene. In Poland, parades to celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender life have become violent flashpoints ahead of an October 13 general election. | | | | | | | | | | | | | Business | | State-owned Saudi Aramco has approached Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Singapore’s GIC and other sovereign wealth funds to invest in the domestic leg of the oil giant’s listing at it seeks to achieve a $2 trillion valuation, sources said. | | | | The Texas attorney general’s office has hired three consultants for a multi-state probe it is leading into Alphabet’s Google, including an economist who worked with some of the firm’s major rivals and a lawyer who is a Microsoft veteran. A group of 48 state attorneys general, joined by Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, announced this month that they were investigating accusations of antitrust violations by search and advertising giant Google, one of several focused on tech firms. | | | | China, having let the yuan cross the once sacred red line of 7 per dollar, will allow its currency to fall further and may even risk U.S. anger by using it as a bargaining chip in already thorny trade talks, market participants believe. Beijing had kept the yuan on the strong side of 7 since 2008, so effectively abandoning that trading floor on Aug 5 triggered intense investor activity. | | | | | | | | | | | | | Volkswagen | | When Volkswagen’s Africa boss Thomas Schaefer set out to conquer the continent, he quickly realized he needed more than a flashy new product. He needed a new business model. 7 min read | | | | Volkswagen is close to a decision on building a new plant in Turkey, a board member told reporters. “We are in final talks with Turkey,” said Andreas Tostmann, board member in charge of production, adding he expected the talks to be completed in two weeks, “perhaps earlier.”
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