Aug 14 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan shares rose for a fourth straight session, closing at more than a five-month high on Friday, helped mainly by gains in industrial stocks.

** The benchmark CSE All Share Index ended 0.50% higher at 5,261.99, its highest closing level since March 10.

** Sri Lanka’s June trade deficit narrowed year on year to $161 million, according to data from central bank that came after

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Walmart’s ( WMT.N ) e-commerce platform Flipkart has partnered with a startup backed by spirits giant Diageo to deliver alcohol in two Indian states, according to government letters seen by Reuters, months after Amazon ( AMZN.O ) planned a similar foray.

Flipkart and Amazon’s interest

(Updates prices)

By Zandi Shabalala

LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Copper rose on Friday as industrial data from top consumer China pointed to a steady economic recovery, helping fuel the first weekly gain in about a month.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange, had added 1.9% to $6,371.50 a tonne by 1600 GMT and was heading for a 1% weekly increase, the first weekly gain since mid-July.

Prices have

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai authorities arrested a student leader on Friday over an anti-government protest last month, police said, just a few days before a big demonstration scheduled for Sunday.

Student groups have rallied

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday France should refrain from steps that escalate tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, where Ankara is embroiled in a dispute with Greece over Turkish oil and gas exploration in disputed waters.

The French military conducted training exercises with Greek forces in the region on Thursday, according to defence sources.

Speaking at a televised news conference with his Swiss counterpart in Bern, Cavusoglu said Switzerland had offered to mediate in the eastern Mediterranean row and Turkey had agreed in principle, adding Greece would

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton went fastest in a searingly hot second practice for the Spanish Grand Prix on Friday with Mercedes again dominant after losing out to Red Bull last weekend.

The six-times world champion, who is 30 points clear of Red Bull’s 70th Anniversary Grand

August 14, (Reuters) - In late April, a coalition of New Mexico healthcare systems began asking local COVID-19 survivors to donate their plasma, the antibody-rich blood product used to help treat people hospitalized with the disease.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. government scientists have begun efforts to manufacture a strain of the novel coronavirus that could be used in human challenge trials of vaccines, a controversial type of study in which healthy volunteers would be vaccinated and then intentionally infected with the virus, Reuters has learned.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - E-commerce conglomerate Alibaba ( 9988.HK ) ( BABA.N ), handset maker Xiaomi ( 1810.HK ) and WuXi Biologics ( 2269.HK ) will enter the Hang Seng .HSI next month,