Chinese markets close after shares fall 7%
1. China’s stock markets close after a massive slump in shares within the first 30 minutes of trading. The suspension came after the Shanghai Composite Index lost more than seven percent. The dive in the Chinese markets came after the Central Bank further weakened the national currency for the eighth consecutive day.
2. Oil prices have slumped close to 33 dollars a barrel. The new drops came a day after crude prices hit new 11-year lows. The falling prices have been blamed on persistent oversupply, weak Chinese economic data and a strong dollar. Saudi Arabia is widely believed to have destabilized the market through over-production.
3. The UN Security Council has strongly slammed North Korea’s nuclear test. Members of the council pledged to impose new sanctions on Pyongyang. The 15 members held a closed-door emergency meeting after Pyongyang announced it had successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test.
4. Iraqi troops, backed by volunteer forces are pushing ahead with their mop-up operations against Daesh terrorists in the city of Ramadi. The forces managed to purge the city’s key hospital and grand mosque from the ISIL. Iraqi officials say dozens of terrorists were killed while trying to flee the area.
5. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and US President Barack Obama have discussed ways to contain tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia. They expressed concerns about Saudi Arabia’s recent execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and agreed on the need for all regional parties to show restraint.
6. An opinion poll shows that 43 percent of Britons want to leave the EU. The poll also says 36 percent of voters prefer staying in the EU while the rest remain undecided. This comes as Prime Minister David Cameron is pushing for concessions from other EU leaders before an EU membership referendum.
7. Energy giant Trans-Canada, has filed a lawsuit against the US government for blocking its project for an oil pipeline linking Canada with the Gulf of Mexico. The company says it will seek 15 billion dollars in costs and damages after the US denied a permit to complete Keystone pipeline.
8. In Haiti, the presidential runoff vote is postponed from December 27 to January 24. The authorities had to delay the elections after vote fraud allegations. The first round and the subsequent lengthy vote count sparked street protests against alleged official corruption. A fact-finding commission also found ambiguities in the Electoral Board's handling of the vote.
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