Gaza Strip: Israel Defence Forces Prepares for Ground Invasion Following Ceasefire Breakdown

Rockets launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel is seen (at right) as a rocket by the Iron Dome anti-missile system (at left) is fired to intercept them, before a five-day ceasefire was due to expire.Amir Cohen/Reuters

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has ordered troops to prepare for an imminent ground invasion in the Gaza Strip against Hamas militants after the ceasefire broke down and violence restarted.

Up to 2,000 reservists have been called up by the IDF even as airstrikes continue. The troops have been told to report to their respective units immediately.

"The IDF has been instructed to operate from the air in preparation for a ground operation," an Israeli defence official told Channel 10.

The Israeli cabinet is also set to meet shortly to address the spiralling situation in Gaza.

Israeli forces have struck at least 30 targets in the overnight attack in Gaza with one of them said to have been aimed at the chief of the Hamas military wing.

It is yet to be ascertained if the Hamas commander Mohammed Deif was killed in the attack, but Gaza officials have confirmed that his wife and two-year-old daughter have died.

The temporary truce, alongside the Cairo talks, had come to a halt after the rivals began re-engaging in fighting.

The IDF has said at least 57 rockets and mortar shells have been fired at Israel from Gaza since the ceasefire broke down on Tuesday, 19 August afternoon.

No less than 11 Palestinians have been killed in the latest attacks bringing the total death toll to 2,018, according to Gaza health ministry figures.

Citigroup Plans Japan Retail Banking Exit amid Low Interest Rates

Citigroup looks to exit retail banking operations in Japan.Reuters

US banking major Citigroup is looking to wind down its retail banking business in Japan after more than 100 years of operation in the second biggest Asian economy.

Media reports said the bank is likely to sell its 33 branches in the country and refocus on its commercial and investment banking business.

The bank has conducted preliminary negotiations with as many as 10 other Japanese and foreign banks about a potential buyout, the Financial Times reported citing a person briefed on the matter.

Meanwhile, the Nikkei business daily said Japan's three top lenders were involved in the negotiations.

The bidding process is expected to begin as early as September, according to the daily.

The company's 33 retail banking branches are located in the greater Tokyo area, and they collectively have deposits of 3.9tn yen ($39bn, £23bn, €29bn). The retail banking business has been hit by the ultra low interest rates in the country.

Banking groups such as HSBC and Standard Chartered have recently scaled back their retail operations in Japan, citing adverse business conditions. At present, only a few foreign banks are providing retail banking services.

Citigroup will retain its profitable commercial and investment banking operations in the country.

The bank started operations in Japan in 1902, being one of the first foreign lenders to enter in the country.

The bank has been restructuring its global operations since it hired a new head in late 2012. As part of the revamp, the group has closed down retail operations in a number of countries including Honduras, Turkey, Romania, and Uruguay, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

In addition, Citigroup has experienced a few expensive regulatory problems, most recently a $7bn settlement over a US mortgage probe, forcing it to restructure operations to boost profitability.

China Slaps 12 Japanese Auto-Parts Makers with Record $200m Fine for Price Fixing

China fines 12 Japanese auto-parts makers.Reuters

China has slapped 12 Japanese auto-parts makers with a record fine after they were found to have engaged in price fixing, as the country becomes stricter with its antitrust laws.

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said it levied a record 1.24bn yuan ($200m, €150m, £120m) fine on eight Japanese auto-parts makers and four bearings manufacturers for their collusive behaviour. The amount is almost double the 670m yuan fine imposed on six baby food makers in 2013.

Sumitomo Electric received the biggest individual fine of 290.4m yuan, equivalent to 6% of its annual China revenues, followed by Yazaki Corp.

Denso Corp, Aisan Industry Co, NSK Ltd, Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd, Mitsubishi Electric Corp, Mitsuba Corp, Furukawa Electric Co, Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp, Jtekt Corp and NTN Corp were the other companies found guilty in the probe.

Among them, Hitachi and Nachi-Fujikoshi were exempted from penalties as they helped the investigation by providing evidence, according to the NDRC.

NSK earlier said it was ordered to pay a fine of 174.9m yuan for violations of China's anti-monopoly laws. NTN also revealed its 119.2m yuan fine from the NDRC.

The auto components involved in the price fixing were used in vehicle models manufactured by Toyota Motor Corp, Honda Motor Co, Nissan Motor Co, Suzuki Motor Corp and Ford Motor Co.

"Everyone is equal before the law," NDRC secretary general Li Pumin told reporters, referring to criticism that the country is unfairly targeting foreign firms with antitrust investigations.

"No matter whether they are domestic or foreign-funded firms, they will be punished if they violate the law."

Luxury car brand Mercedes-Benz, owned by Germany's Daimler AG, had been found guilty of breaking anti-monopoly laws in China by manipulating prices for after-sales services in the country, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

The anti-monopoly investigations into the Mercedes-Benz dealers are still underway, Xinhua added.

The probe is part of the government's anti-monopoly investigation into more than 1,000 domestic and foreign firms in the auto sector. The investigations target monopolistic practices in general and aim to promote fair competition and protect consumer interests.

The local price regulator in central China's Hubei province earlier announced a combined fine of 1.6m yuan for four BMW dealers in the province, who were found to have formed a price alliance.

NDRC had earlier said it found similar monopolistic practices at Chrysler and Audi.

Tributes Pour in for US Journalist Beheaded by Jihadist with 'British Accent'

Tributes pour in for US journalist James Foley who was apparently beheaded by a 'British jihadist' in SyriaNicole Tung/Free James Foley

Tributes are pouring in from all corners of the world for US journalist James Foley whose apparent beheading in Syria by an Islamic State jihadist speaking in a British accent is shown in a horrific video.

While the US agencies are scrambling to check the veracity of the video, which was uploaded on YouTube and later removed, Foley's mother Diane has issued a statement mourning her son's death.

She said: "We have never been prouder of our son Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people."

"We implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. Like Jim, they are innocents. They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world."

In a video message entitled 'A Message to America,' an Islamist who claimed to be a member of the Sunni extremist group Islamic State, is shown beheading Foley, who was working for America's Global Post when he went missing in Syria in 2012.

Global Post's chief executive and co-founder Philip Balboni said in a statement: "On behalf of John and Diane Foley, and also Global Post, we deeply appreciate all of the messages of sympathy and support that have poured in since the news of Jim's possible execution first broke."

"We have been informed that the FBI is in the process of evaluating the video posted by the Islamic State to determine if it is authentic. Until we have that determination, we will not be in a position to make any further statement. We ask for your prayers for Jim and his family."

President Barack Obama has been notified of the incident while the White House said it is "appalled" if the video turns out to be genuine.

Shortly after Foley's apparent execution, another US journalist identified to be Steven Joel Sotloff, who also went missing while covering the Syrian civil war, was brought forward by the jihadist who directly warned Obama: "The life of this American citizen, Obama, depends on your next decision."

Malaysia Airlines MH370: Pilot Starved Passengers of Oxygen, Says New Study

Zaharie Ahmad Shah was at the controls of MH370, claim the authors of new book about the tragedyReuters

A book on the ill-fated flight MH370 suggests that passengers died of oxygen deprivation before the pilot Ahmad Shah ditched the plane into the Indian Ocean.

The theory is the result of the first independent study into the disaster by the New Zealand-based air accident investigator, Ewan Wilson.

Wilson, a commercial pilot and founder of Kiwi Airlines, came to the conclusion after considering "every conceivable alternative scenario".

He suggests that all 239 people on board lost consciousness up to four hours before the Boeing 777 mysteriously disappeared and whose whereabouts are still unknown.

Wilson claims the most likely scenario is that pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah deliberately depressurised the cabin, depriving those on board of air.

Oxygen masks would have dropped down automatically from above the seats, but the supply was just 20 minutes. Sleeping passengers would have passed out within a few minutes, slipped into coma and died soon after from oxygen starvation.

However, many critics say Wilson is unable to provide any conclusive evidence to support his theory. An earlier report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau concluded that passengers may have died from hypoxia.

The claims are made in the book Goodnight Malaysian 370, the result of a four-month study which was co-written with New Zealand journalist, Geoff Taylor.

"One of our objectives in writing this book was, in some small way, to convey the human stories of the tragedy," said Wilson.

"Neither could we have imagined the horrific scenario that our research suggests took place on board that fateful plane."

Among the book's claims is that the senior pilot Ahmad Shah was suffering from mental illness, and persuaded his co-pilot Fariq Hamid to take a break about 40 minutes after take-off.

After locking Hamid out of the cockpit, Ahmad Shah made the last known message to air traffic control, "Goodnight, Malaysian 370" before switching off the aircraft's air-to-ground communication links.

The Australian government set aside almost $90m for the search, expected to be the most expensive in aviation history.

Pope Francis' Relatives Killed in Argentina Car Crash

Pope Francis mourns the death of his nephew who died in a car crash.(Reuters)

Three relatives of Pope Francis died and a fourth was in serious condition after their car was involved in a crash in Argentina.

The vehicle carrying a nephew of the pope along with his wife and two young children slammed into the back of a truck, Highway Police Superintendent Jorge Raineri said in an AP report.

Emanuel Bergoglio, the 38-year-old son of a brother of Pope Francis, was hospitalised. He suffered extensive injuries and was in serious condition after the crash, Ignacio Bruno, an assistant director of the hospital where the injured are being treated, told Todo Noticias television.

The pope's nephew, who was driving the car, underwent surgery and would be closely monitored over the next 48 hours, Francisco Fortuna, the director of the hospital, told Radio Continental

"He has made good post-operative progress and the hemorrhage, which was the reason for the surgical intervention, has been contained," Fortuna said.

Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said: "The pope was informed about the tragic accident. He is profoundly saddened."

He added that the pope asks "all who share in his grief to unite with him in prayer."

Bergoglio's 36-year-old wife, Valeria Carmona, and youngest child, Jose, died instantly in the accident. Two-year-old Antonio died at the hospital, Bruno said.

Carmona was a social worker who specialised in assisting police in helping victims of domestic violence, said Horacio Alberto Gimenez, chief of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Police. Her husband, the son of the pope's late brother Alberto, is a medical examiner.

The accident happened when the family were returning to their home in Buenos Aires after a long weekend break in the mountains when their Chevrolet Spin drove into the back of a truck carrying maize.

The driver of the truck was not injured.

Ebola Outbreak: Harrowing Photos of Hard-Hit Areas in Liberia

Getty Images photographer John Moore is in Liberia, the country hit hardest by the current Ebola outbreak.

More than 400 people are known to have died of Ebola in Liberia, though the figure may be far higher than that. Some of the hardest-hit areas of the country are under quarantine and many victims are dying uncounted in their own homes, aid workers say.

Umu Fambulle stands over her husband Ibrahim after he staggered and fell, knocking himself unconscious in an Ebola isolation centre in a closed primary school in Monrovia(John Moore/Getty Images)

Fayiah Sarkpu looks at the face of his wife, Tawah Fayiah, 54, who died overnight in their one-room home in Monrovia. A burial team was notified to collect the body. Poor sanitation and close living quarters have contributed to the spread of the Ebola virus, which is transmitted through bodily fluids, often between people caring for sick family members(John Moore/Getty Images)

A Liberian burial team carefully puts on protective clothing before retrieving the body of an Ebola victim from his home near Monrovia(John Moore/Getty Images)

An arrow in the dirt points the way for a Liberian burial team to find and retrieve the body of an Ebola victim(John Moore/Getty Images)

A Liberian burial team wearing protective clothing retrieves the body of a 60-year-old Ebola victim in his home near Monrovia(John Moore/Getty Images)

Many of the sick are still being hidden at home by their relatives, who are too fearful of going to an Ebola treatment centre.

There is no cure or licensed treatment for Ebola and patients often die gruesome deaths with external bleeding from their mouths, eyes or ears.

Because it's spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of sick patients, Ebola takes an especially harsh toll on doctors and nurses, already in short supply in areas of Africa hit by the disease. Family members have contracted it by caring for their relatives or handling an infected body as part of burial practices.

A girl whose father died earlier in the morning lies sick in the West Point slum(John Moore/Getty Images)

A man who was showing symptoms of possible Ebola listens as Unicef health workers talk about how to prevent the disease, in New Kru Town, Liberia(John Moore/Getty Images)

A girl sits alone in a cinema in the West Point slum in Monrovia. The owner said that few people have come since the Ebola outbreak began(John Moore/Getty Images)

Three-year-old Nino looks at a blackboard in an Ebola isolation centre set up in a school closed due to the epidemic in Monrovia(John Moore/Getty Images)

A burial team from the Liberian health department removes the body of a woman suspected to have died of the Ebola virus from her home in Monrovia(John Moore/Getty Images)

Outbreaks spark fear and panic. Rumours are rife that Western aid workers are importing Ebola, stealing bodies or even deliberately infecting patients. Winning trust is made harder by a full suit of hood, goggles, mask and gown that hides their faces.

Health workers and clinics have come under attack from residents, who sometimes blame foreign doctors for the deaths. People with Ebola or other illnesses may fear going to a hospital, or may be shunned by friends and neighbours.

A crowd forces open the gates of an Ebola isolation centre in the West Point slum(John Moore/Getty Images)

A family (with their backs to the camera) leaves an Ebola isolation centre after a mob forced open the gates(John Moore/Getty Images)

A resident of the West Point slum makes her opinion known after protesters drove out an Ebola burial team(John Moore/Getty Images)

A woman wearing an Obama T-shirt covers her mouth and nose after protesters drove out an Ebola burial team who had come to collect the bodies of four people who had died overnight in the West Point slum(John Moore/Getty Images)

The World Health Organisation has said the focus should be on practising good hygiene, and quickly identifying the sick and isolating them. That task is made harder, however, by the shortage of space in treatment facilities.

Beds in such centres are filling up faster than they can be provided, evidence that the outbreak in West Africa is far more severe than the numbers show, said Gregory Hartl, a spokesman for the UN health agency in Geneva.

Workers prepare the new Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Ebola treatment centre near Monrovia. The facility has 120 beds, making it the largest centre for Ebola treatment and isolation in history. MSF plans to expand it to 350 beds. The tents were provided by Unicef(John Moore/Getty Images)

Supplies await arrivals to the new Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Ebola treatment centre near Monrovia(John Moore/Getty Images)

Doctors Without Borders (MSF), staff member Brett Adamson hands out water to sick Liberians hoping to enter the new MSF Ebola treatment centre near Monrovia(John Moore/Getty Images)

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Egypt Excludes Foreigners from Financing Suez Canal Mega Project

An Egyptian boy works at the site of an upgrading project on the Suez Canal(Reuters)

Plans to develop a parallel Suez Canal will be financed by investment certificates, available to Egyptian individuals and corporations only.

There will be no limit on the amount that any party can buy, the country's finance minister said.

Hany Kadry Demain said the certificates could be bought by Egyptians working in the country in the Egyptian pound, while those living abroad may be able to buy the certificates in dollars or euros, according to reports in Egyptian state newspaper Ahram.

The investment certificates will have a five year lifetime with a 12% interest rate and will be issued by Egyptian state-owned banks, the Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab said in August.

The mega project was announced in early August by Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who estimated the total cost to be around $4bn (£2.4bn, €3bn.)

Digging has already begun on the 72km waterway, which the Egyptian government ambitiously aims to finish in a year.

In addition to the canal, the government's mega-project is set to include the construction of six tunnels that will link the Sinai peninsula with the governorates of Port Said and Ismalia. The overall cost of the infrastructure projects is anticipated to come in at $8.2bn.

Cairo has said the canal project is expected to boost the canal's annual revenues by 259%, up from $5.5bn to $13bn over the next four years.

The original Suez Canal, which opened in 1869, became a symbol of Egyptian national pride when it was nationalised in 1956, eventually sparking the Suez crisis.

It has provided the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia and has propped up the country's finances since 2011, when the country's former President Hosni Mubarak was ousted amid massive street protests.

Three years of political, social and economic turmoil followed. The country's first elected president lasted around a year, before being ousted in a military coup amid popular protests in July 2013.

While revenues from tourism and foreign investment have plummeted, the canal has provided a regular income to government coffers.

AirAsia's Tony Fernandes Dismisses Skymark Airlines Buyout Rumours

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes in July.Reuters

Budget carrier AirAsia has rubbished reports that it is eyeing Japan's troubled Skymark Airlines, saying it is focused on floating a budget airline with its Japanese partners.

AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes has categorically denied the Nikkei report that boosted Skymark's stock by 27.78% on 19 August in Tokyo, valuing Japan's third-largest domestic airline at $205m.

Meawhile, Skymark said it has not been approached by AirAsia, Reuters reported.

Skymark could be attractive target as it has access to 36 aircraft slots at Tokyo's Haneda airport.

But Goldman Sachs analyst Kenya Moriuchi said in a note to clients that he saw little chance of a buyout while Skymark was financially viable, because regulations imply those slots are unlikely to automatically pass over to Malaysia-based AirAsia.

Fernandes wrote on his Twitter handle: "Never seen such rubbish. AirAsia has no interest in Skymark in Japan...We focused on new airline."

Moriuchi said: "As long as there is uncertainty over how those slots would be distributed, it's difficult to imagine that AirAsia would push through with this."

Skymark warned on 31 July of uncertainty about its ability to remain a "going concern" if it had to pay a fine to Airbus for failing to purchase six A380 superjumbos ordered earlier.

Skymark, which had been unable to secure funds for the deal, said Airbus was demanding "an extraordinary amount of compensation."

Earlier in July, AirAsia said it had teamed up with Japan's biggest online retailer, Rakuten, and other companies to roll out a low-cost airline in that country.

In June 2014, AirAsia kicked-off operations in India. Budget carrier AirAsia India has Fernandes's firm partnering with India's Tata Sons.

China: Panic Sales By Corrupt Officials Cool Property Market

A Chinese national flag flutters at a construction site for a new residence complex in BeijingReuters

The recent decline in property prices in China is directly linked to the ongoing anti-graft campaign in the country.

In addition to the high mortgage rates in China, the property market sentiment has been shaken by panic sales by Chinese officials worried about anti-corruption probes, the Times News Network (TNN) reported, citing market sources.

The sources added that anti-graft investigations are directly linked to the declining prices of luxury homes in major cities and tourist destinations in China, as corrupt officials are disposing of several homes.

Anti-graft officials told TNN that a political leader arrested in China's Inner Mongolia province had enough house keys to fill a large sized ladies handbag.

Another corrupt police officer was found having more than 100 houses. A Guangzhou official, Cai Bin, nicknamed "Uncle House" in the Chinese social media, allegedly owns 20 homes.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) earlier showed that out of 70 major Chinese cities tracked by the government, 64 saw month-on-month price declines for new homes in July, compared with 55 in June.

Meanwhile, prices for existing homes declined in 65 cities in July, compared to 52 cities in June.

China's property market has been experiencing rapid growth in terms of price and activity in recent years.

In order to bring down property prices, the government launched a number of measures such as limiting property lending and higher mortgage rates.

In the first seven months of 2014, property sales in China dropped 7.6% year-on-year to 564.8 million square metres, according to the NBS.

In addition, housing starts and sales continued to contract in the second quarter, as property investment declined to its slowest pace in about four years.

In July, monthly property sales stood at 81.15 million square metres, down 16.3% from the same month last year and down 34% from June.

Meanwhile, Australia's property market is gaining from the slowdown in China. Property prices in many Australian cities are rising due to increased Chinese buying.

Australia's foreign investment review board said China was the top source of foreign investment in the country's property sector in 2013, with inflows through formally approved channels jumping 41% to $5.58bn.

Chinese Flight Aborts Landing Due to Sleeping Air Traffic Controllers

China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 planes are seen at an airport in Taiyuan, Shanxi province(Reuters)

A Chinese Boeing 737 had to postpone its landing at Wuhan airport as two air traffic controllers had fallen asleep.

The aircraft was poised to land at the airport in central China but received no reply from the air traffic control tower for 12 minutes. The China Eastern Airlines flight MU2528, from the southern tourist city of Sanya, landed safely after contact was was re-established.

"Because air traffic control was asleep on duty, (the plane) called many times," civil aviation authorities said in a statement quoted by Chinese business magazine Caijing and translated by AFP.

"But there was no reply, and no contact could be made with the control tower."

The incident took place on 8 July but the statement was made public on 29 July.