SAUDI ARABIA SAYS IT HAS POSTPONED PLANS TO TAKE OIL GIANT ARAMCO PUBLIC

LONDON/RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has called off plans for the domestic and international listing of state oil giant Aramco, billed as the biggest stock flotation in history, four senior industry sources said on Wednesday. Financial advisers working on the planned listing have been disbanded as Saudi Arabia shifts its attention to a proposed acquisition of a “strategic stake” in local petrochemicals maker Saudi Basic Industries Corp, two of the sources said. “The message we have been given is that the IPO has been called off for the foreseeable future,” said a source, a senior financial adviser. On Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid al-falih issued a denial that the IPO had been called off. REUTERS

Death toll in DR Congo from Ebola outbreak now at 61

BENI: Sixty-one people have died in the latest outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the authorities said, adding that four novel drugs had been added to the roster of treatments. The health ministry’s General Directorate for Combatting Disease said 103 cases of Ebola had been recorded in the east as of August 22, 76 of which had been confirmed by tests.

British Airways, Air France to halt flights to Iran

LONDON/PARIS: British Airways and Air France said on Thursday they would halt flights to Iran from September for business reasons, months after US President Donald Trump announced he would re-impose sanctions on Tehran. British Airways said it was suspending its London to Tehran service “as the operation is currently not commercially viable”. Air France will stop flights from Paris to Tehran because of “the line’s weak performance,” a spokesman said. REUTERS

UK plans to adopt EU rules in case of nodeal Brexit

LONDON: Britain’s Brexit secretary said on Thursday London will take unilateral action and respect EU rules in some sectors to keep trade flowing if Brussels refuses to cooperate and strike a deal. Dominic Raab insisted he was “still confident” of reaching a deal with the European Union -- but is nonetheless due to set out the government’s advice about planning for a departure without an agreement.

Poland to reexamine 2010 plane crash in Russia

MOSCOW: Russian investigators said Polish officials will be visiting Russia next month to re-examine the wreckage of a plane that crashed in western Russia in 2010, killing then-president Lech Kaczynski along with many other political and military leaders onboard. Polish and Russian aviation experts have concluded that the 2010 plane crash was an accident, but Kaczynski’s powerful twin brother alleges it resulted from foul play. AP