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AZAZ, Syria, Feb 19- Last month Hussam Shamo, a baker in northern Syria, stopped selling his bread in Syrian pounds after the latest slump in the currency forced him to push up prices yet again. Taking his lead from the local council in his town of Azaz, which proposed ditching the Syrian currency when it slumped to one-twentieth of its pre-war value, Shamo started...

ALEPPO, Syria, Feb 19- A SyrianAir passenger plane landed on Wednesday at Aleppo's civilian airport, the first scheduled flight to touch down in the country's war-devastated economic hub for eight years. The reopening of the airport comes days after the Russian-backed Syrian army said it had seized rural areas northwest of Aleppo, a major strategic gain in...

*China stocks break 7- day winning streak. Feb 13- Emerging market stocks and currencies came under pressure on Thursday after a jump in coronavirus cases and deaths reported under a new diagnostic method in China hammered investors' hopes that the outbreak might soon peak. The death toll from the outbreak in China had reached 1,367 as of the end of Wednesday, up...

DUBAI, Feb 12- Iran will respond forcefully to any Israeli action against its interests in the region, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Wednesday, according to the Mehr news agency. "The Islamic Republic of Iran will give a crushing response that will cause regret to any kind of aggression or stupid action from this regime against our...

IRAN'S FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN SAYS ANY STUPID ACTION BY ISRAEL AGAINST IRAN'S INTERESTS IN SYRIA AND THE REGION WILL BE MET WITH A CRUSHING RESPONSE.

ISTANBUL, Feb 11- The Turkish lira weakened some 0.6% against the dollar on Tuesday as investors grew increasingly concerned about an escalation of violence between Syrian government forces and Turkish forces in northwest Syria. Five Turkish soldiers were killed in shelling by Russia- backed Syrian forces on Monday, marking the second deadly attack on...

ISTANBUL, Feb 11- The Turkish lira weakened some 0.6% against the dollar on Tuesday as investors grew increasingly concerned about an escalation of violence between Syrian government forces and Turkish forces in northwest Syria. Five Turkish soldiers were killed in shelling by Russia- backed Syrian forces on Monday, marking the second deadly attack on...

ISTANBUL, Feb 10- Turkey's lira slipped in volatile trade on Monday after new government limits on banks' foreign-exchange helped the currency briefly erase Friday's sharp losses before selling resumed. The BDDK bank regulator on Sunday cut the limit for Turkish banks' forex swap, spot and forward transactions with foreign entities to 10% of their equity, from...

*Turkey's lira bounces after bank regulator steps in. Feb 10- Developing world stocks started the week on softer footing on Monday, as a sharp rise in the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in China kept a lid on buying, while Turkey's lira found stability in measures taken by a banking watchdog. The epidemic in China recorded a death toll of 97 on Sunday, the...

ISTANBUL, Feb 10- The Turkish lira rebounded in volatile trade on Monday to below 6 against the dollar, erasing much of Friday's sharp losses, after a bank regulator announced new limits on foreign-exchange transactions. The BDDK bank regulator on Sunday cut the limit for Turkish banks' forex swap, spot and forward transactions with foreign entities to 10% of...

FIRE BREAKS OUT IN SYRIA'S HOMS REFINERY AFTER A GAS COMPRESSOR EXPLODES, UNKNOWN IF PRODUCTION AFFECTED- STATE NEWS TV.

OSLO, Jan 24- Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg on Friday announced the biggest shake-up of her Cabinet since she took office in 2013, replacing or repositioning two-thirds of ministers in the hope of reviving the Conservative-led coalition's prospects. Solberg lost her majority in parliament this week following the shock exit from government by the...

OSLO, Jan 24- Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg on Friday announced her biggest cabinet reshuffle since taking power in 2013, replacing or repositioning two-thirds of ministers in the hope of reviving the Conservative-led coalition's prospects. Solberg this week lost her majority in parliament following the shock exit from government by the...

Solberg this week lost her majority in parliament following the shock exit from government by the right-wing Progress Party over a decision to bring a woman suspected of Islamic State affiliation home to Norway from Syria.

A source familiar with the draft proposal said the tentative list of nations included Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania. Officials from the White House, Department of Homeland Security and the State Department have declined to comment on the planned expansion of the travel ban. Under the current version of the ban, citizens of...

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 21- The world needs to prepare for millions of people being driven from their homes by the impact of climate change, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said on Tuesday. Speaking to Reuters at the World Economic Forum, Filippo Grandi said a U.N. ruling this week meant those fleeing as a result of climate change deserved...

Speaking to Reuters at the World Economic Forum, Filippo Grandi said a U.N. ruling this week meant those fleeing as a result of climate change had to be treated by recipient countries as refugees, with broad implications for governments. Human Rights Committee made the landmark ruling on Monday in relation to Ioane Teitiota, from the Pacific nation of Kiribati,...

OSLO, Jan 20- Norwegian Finance Minister Siv Jensen and her right-wing Progress Party will resign from the government over a cabinet decision to help bring a woman suspected of Islamic State affiliation back home to Norway, Jensen said on Monday. The resignation robs Conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg of her parliamentary majority and could make the...