Good morning! Here’s what you need to know on Monday.
1. Three American contractors have been kidnapped by “militias†in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the pan-Arab news channel Al Arabiya reported on Sunday, citing its own sources. The Americans went missing two days ago, said a senior security official in Baghdad, CNN reports.
4. Crude oil, after falling to a fresh 12-year low on Friday, has continued to slide in early Asian trade on Monday. At one point earlier in the session front-month Brent crude futures — the global benchmark — tumbled as low as $27.67 a barrel before bouncing in recent trade.
6. A disillusioned high-profile developer has quit bitcoin — claiming in an explosive blog post that the “experiment … has failed.†Mike Hearn had been a prominent part of the controversial digital currency’s community for years.
7. Share prices in the energy-rich Gulf states nosedived Sunday following the sharp decline in oil prices and the expected rise in Iranian crude exports after the lifting of sanctions. The plunge in the first day of trading in the Muslim week also follows heavy losses in global bourses on Friday, when Gulf exchanges were closed for the weekend.
10. A man left brain dead after a drug trial in northwest France died on Sunday, said the hospital where he was being treated. The Rennes hospital said in a statement that five other volunteers were in stable condition after they were admitted last week.
And finally … A former MI5 agent told us why it’s so easy for Islamic State terrorists to move around without being noticed.
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