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Iran

Iranian officials told Reuters that Tehran had received a message from President Trump warning that a U.S. attack on Iran was imminent but saying he was against war and wanted talks on a range of issues. News of the message, delivered through Oman overnight, came shortly after the New York Times said Trump had approved military strikes against Iran over the downing of a U.S. surveillance drone, but called them off at the last minute.

Some global airlines are re-routing flights to avoid Iran-controlled airspace over the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman, after the U.S. aviation regulator barred its carriers from the area until further notice. Thursday’s emergency order from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration came after Iran took down a high-altitude U.S. drone with a surface-to-air missile, sparking concerns about the safety threat to commercial airlines.

Top News

'I Love Thee, China': North Korea woos Xi in lavish state visit. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed that strengthening bilateral ties, at a time of “serious and complicated” international affairs, was good for regional peace, North Korean state media said.

Thousands dressed in black blocked Hong Kong roads and surrounded police headquarters in the latest wave of demonstrations over an extradition bill that has triggered violent protests and plunged the Chinese-ruled city into crisis. “We want to fight for our freedom,” said high school student Chan Pak-lam, 17, who was protesting in sweltering heat.

Indonesia plans to tighten vetting of senior public servants amid fears that hardline Islamist ideology has permeated high levels of government, according to documents reviewed by Reuters and a senior official involved in the plan. Indonesia is officially secular, but there has been a rise in politicians demanding a larger role for Islam in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country. The rise in conservatism was a major test for President Joko Widodo in the April election, with some Islamist groups accusing him of being anti-Islam and throwing their support behind political rivals, including challenger Prabowo Subianto.

Business

Exclusive: Exxon's $53 billion Iraq deal hit by contract snags, Iran tensions - sources. Just weeks ago, U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil looked poised to move ahead with a $53 billion project to boost Iraq’s oil output at its southern fields, a milestone in the company’s ambitions to expand in the country. But now a combination of contractual wrangling and security concerns, heightened by escalating tensions between Iraq’s bigger neighbor Iran and the U.S., has conspired to hold back a deal, according to Iraqi government officials.

Dollars in the detail: From sending special offers on restaurants to burger-loving current account holders to selling anonymised credit card records, banks are racing to monetize the huge troves of data they hold. Mining mountains of trading data to predict stock moves; partnering with retailers on marketing campaigns and using artificial intelligence tools to try and speed up credit decisions are some of the areas banks are focusing on. In the digital era, knowing how much people earn, where they spend it and what they buy is valuable.

Huawei said it has shipped 100 million smartphones this year as of May 30. Huawei consumer business group’s smartphone product line president He Gang revealed the numbers at a launch event in Wuhan, China for its new Nova 5 phone. The phone is powered by Huawei’s new 7-nanometre chipset Kirin 810. The Chinese tech giant has been hit by devastating curbs ordered by Washington, which threatens to cripple its supply chain.

Delta Air Lines bought a small stake in Korean Air Lines’ parent company and said it wants to increase it to 10%, giving a boost to the management of South Korea’s top carrier that seeks to thwart a local activist fund’s challenge. Korean Air, which has a joint venture with Delta since last year, said it believes Delta’s 4.3 percent stake buy intends to ensure the ‘stable management” of the company and support for its leadership.