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TAIPEI, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Taiwan’s coast guard said on Friday that it had warned off and shadowed a Chinese research ship sailing in sensitive waters to the island’s west, ​the third time the vessel has appeared since May in ‌what Taipei sees as ongoing maritime provocation. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and recognises no claims of sovereignty by the government in Taipei, including in the waters around the island.

By Jun Yuan Yong SINGAPORE, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Plans to clear part of Singapore’s dwindling secondary forests for high-density housing have sparked a rare public backlash in the city-state, prompting the government to adjust the proposal as it tries to boost housing capacity. Singapore, roughly the size of New York City, said in July it was looking to clear two-thirds of the 23-hectare (57-acre) Maju Forest, ​an expanse of green in the island’s west, to build more public housing.

SEOUL, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Samsung SDI said on Friday it ​will sell 13.09 ‌million shares in affiliate Samsung Display to the display maker for ‌about ​4.45 trillion ⁠won ($3.21 billion), to ⁠raise funds for investments in future growth engines. Samsung Display plans ​to buy the shares as treasury ⁠stock at ⁠340,000 won each, ​Samsung SDI said in ​a regulatory filing.

BERLIN, Aug 21 (Reuters) – German business activity expanded modestly in August as an upturn in manufacturing offset a faster decline in services activity, a preliminary ​business survey showed on Friday. The S&P Global Flash ‌Composite PMI Index for Germany fell to 51.0 in August from 51.3 in July, but remained above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a reading of 51.3, ‌unchanged ​from last month.

MAIDUGURI, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Parents of children abducted from Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state protested in Uba town on Thursday, demanding the federal government secure their release nearly 100 days ​after they were taken. The children were seized from their ‌classrooms on May 15 in Mussa, a community on the fringes of the Sambisa Forest, a long-time stronghold of Islamist militants.

MAIDUGURI, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Parents of children abducted from Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state protested in Uba town on Thursday, demanding the federal government secure their release nearly 100 days ​after they were taken. The children were seized from their ‌classrooms on May 15 in Mussa, a community on the fringes of the Sambisa Forest, a long-time stronghold of Islamist militants.

Aug 21 (Reuters) – Britain’s Spire Healthcare on Friday extended for the fifth time the deadline ​for Toscafund Asset Management to ‌make a formal takeover offer for the private hospital operator to September 3. • Toscafund tabled its 250 pence-per-share ‌proposal ​on May 14, ⁠representing a 66% premium ⁠to Spire’s closing price the previous day and valuing the company at about £1 billion ($1.36 billion).

Aug 21 (Reuters) – Britain’s Spire Healthcare on Friday extended for the fifth time the deadline ​for Toscafund Asset Management to ‌make a formal takeover offer for the private hospital operator to September 3. • Toscafund tabled its 250 pence-per-share ‌proposal ​on May 14, ⁠representing a 66% premium ⁠to Spire’s closing price the previous day and valuing the company at about £1 billion ($1.36 billion).

MOSCOW, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Russian authorities arrested eight people for planning an attack on an enterprise in ​the Moscow region and separately ‌detained one foreign national for scouting out government buildings and strategic infrastructure, state news agencies reported on Friday.

LUSAKA, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Zambian police have summoned for questioning opposition leader Brian Mundubile, who came second in ​last week’s election but alleges it ‌was rigged to hand President Hakainde Hichilema a second term. • Hichilema, in power since 2021 in the mineral-rich Southern African nation, denies the ‌election ​was fraudulent. • Mundubile has ⁠said he will ⁠challenge the result in court.