Aug 20 (Reuters) - Major stock markets in the Gulf were subdued on Thursday, with Dubai hurt by losses in its banking shares.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 0.2%, with Riyad Bank retreating 2.1% and Al Rajhi Bank losing 0.3%.

National Industrialization Co slid 0.7% after the petrochemical firm posted a loss of 188.8 million riyals in the second quarter, compared with a profit of 212.1 million riyals a year

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio Inc ( NIO.N ) has launched a battery leasing service that will allow drivers to buy an EV without owning the battery pack - one of the most expensive EV components - thereby lowering the starting price of its cars.

The service, called “battery as a service” (BaaS),

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran displayed a surface-to-surface ballistic missile on Thursday that Defence Minister Amir Hatami said had a range of 1,400 kilometres and a new cruise missile, ignoring U.S. demands that Tehran halt its missile programme.

“The surface-to-surface missile,

BEIJING (Reuters) - China and the United States have agreed to hold trade talks “in the coming days” to evaluate the progress of their Phase 1 trade deal six months after it took effect in February, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday.

Ministry spokesman Gao Feng made the comments at a weekly briefing held online, but did not elaborate.

They followed Tuesday’s remarks by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows that no new high-level trade talks were scheduled, though both sides were in touch about

(Reuters) - Miners and banks led declines in European stocks, hit by a wave of selling across global markets on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled a long path of recovery for the world’s largest economy.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 1.1% to hit a 10-day low, with economically

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government was facing fresh criticism on Thursday over its handling of grading for school exams after results for hundreds of thousands of students were pulled.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has been accused of overseeing

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - All Blacks flyer Rieko Ioane has played on the wing in all but two of his 29 test matches, but his full potential is now likely to be realised with a permanent shift into centre, according to one of his early coaches.

The 23-year-old Ioane was named on Tuesday as one of the midfielders in the ‘North’ team for the North-South clash on Aug. 29

PARIS (Reuters) - Shares in France’s Accor ( ACCP.PA ) rallied on Thursday after Le Figaro newspaper reported it had examined a potential merger with British rival InterContinental Hotels (IHG) ( IHG.L ) that would create the world’s biggest hotel group.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for a boycott of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, accusing the Ohio-based company of “playing politics” by forbidding workers from donning the “Make America Great Again” caps favored by his supporters.

The Republican president, who is seeking a second term in office, told reporters he would swap out the Goodyear tires on his presidential limousine if there were an alternative.

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