Frankfurt: Italy could soon find itself excluded from the heart of Euro-area monetary policy for the first time in the currency’s two-decade history. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s eight-year term ends in October 2019 and his country has no automatic path to a seat on the Executive Board after that. Source Gulf-News
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, stoking a war of words between Rome and Paris, said on Tuesday that France did not want to bring calm to Libya because its energy interests there clashed with those of Italy. Source Channel New Asia
Two ships that caught fire off the coast of Crimea, leaving at least 14 sailors dead and six missing, have been linked to Russian fuel supplies to Syria, which the US has targeted for sanctions. Source: Financial Times
Tesla has signed a preliminary agreement with China’s Tianjin Lishen to supply batteries for its new Shanghai car factory, as it aims to cut its reliance on Japan’s Panasonic, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Source: CNBC
