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* Turmoil worsens Mali crisis amidst jihadist insurgency

* Soldiers seize top gov’t officials, ministries emptied

* Hundreds take to streets in capital to celebrate mutiny

* Opposition says it’s a ‘popular insurrection’, not a coup

* Fears crisis could destabilise W.Africa’s Sahel region

By Tiemoko Diallo

BAMAKO, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and top government officials were detained on Tuesday by mutinying soldiers in the capital Bamako, plunging a country

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office has asked officials to speed up the process of trimming government stakes in at least four primarily state-owned banks within the current fiscal year, according to two officials familiar with the discussions.

The sources said the four lenders are Punjab & Sind Bank ( PUNA.NS ), Bank

PILANESBERG NATIONAL PARK, South Africa (Reuters) - Wynand du Toit’s safari camp in South Africa’s Pilanesberg National Park lies abandoned, its tents ripped open by baboons and its survival in the balance after his insurer rejected his COVID-19 claim.

In the United States, Miami restaurant owner Luis Debayle has laid off two-thirds of his staff and is desperate for an insurance payout that could help avert the prospect of closure.

Meanwhile, Munich beer garden boss Christian Vogler is heading to the German courts

BANGKOK/HONG KONG, Aug 18 (Reuters) - As Hong Kong pro-democracy advocates voiced support for Thai anti-government protests at the weekend, they used the hashtag #MilkTeaAlliance.

In Bangkok, flags representing Hong Kong and independence for Taiwan appeared on a sign bearing the tag at the biggest demonstrations in years.

And in Taipei, dozens of people gathered to back the Thai protests and give weight to a nascent community of cross-border youth movements pushing for democracy at home and uneasy with China’s

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman is expected to conclude negotiations on a three-year contract to manage Barcelona, Dutch media reported on Tuesday.

Koeman has a clause in his deal with the Dutch football association KNVB

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Rating agency S&P Global warned on Tuesday that China’s economic recovery from the novel coronavirus pandemic could be at risk as a combination of rising interest rates and slowing inflation pushes real rates higher.

An unbalanced recovery, weak private demand and excessive market

LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - After a period of high productivity in response to the pandemic, businesses face “war room fatigue”. Executive coach Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg explains how leaders can get their teams out of this regression phase as quickly as possible, keeping staff motivated and effective.

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Total has halted operations at its Dan Bravo oil production platform in the Danish North Sea, the French company said on Tuesday, after Greenpeace activists climbed aboard to protest future oil and gas exploration.

Four Greenpeace activists swam 500 metres to climb on to the unmanned Total-operated oil

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - North Macedonia and San Marino on Tuesday secured credit lines from the European Central Bank to provide euro loans to banks in those countries via repurchase agreements, or “repos”.

The North Macedonian repo line is capped at 400 million and the San Marino facility at 100 million euros. Both will remain in place until at least June 2021.

The ECB has already signed several similar repo agreements with non-euro zone central banks, most in Europe’s eastern half