The pound hit a two-and-half-year low Tuesday after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson threatened to call a snap election to push through Brexit, while Asian markets were hobbled by worries over China-US trade talks.

Asian stocks were mixed Monday after Washington and Beijing escalated their trade war with new tariff hikes.

Shanghai advanced while Tokyo and Hong Kong declined. South Korea's main index was unchanged.

Britain's long goodbye to the European Union often seems to be spoken in unintelligible code.

The French lawyer of former auto titan Carlos Ghosn, currently under house arrest in Tokyo, has attacked Japanese prosecutors for an alleged lack of impartiality and questioned how his client can receive a fair trial.

Washington moved ahead Sunday with new tariffs on Chinese imports as it stepped up a high-pressure campaign aimed at coercing Beijing to sign a new trade deal even amid fears of a further slowing of U.S. and world growth.

EU negotiator Michel Barnier said in an interview published Sunday the bloc will not change the divorce deal agreed with Britain as MPs prepare for a showdown week over Brexit.

Renewed hopes for trade talks boosted stock markets Friday after China said it would not retaliate against the latest U.S. tariffs, setting up a positive end to a volatile week.

India's economic growth slowed for the fifth straight quarter in the April-to-June period to 5.0 percent, government figures showed Friday in a fresh blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Companies from the United Arab Emirates are taking part in the Damascus International Trade Fair, state media has said, months after their embassy reopened in the Syrian capital.

Malaysian airline AirAsia X has ordered 42 Airbus aircraft worth a total catalogue price of five billion dollars, Airbus said Friday.