Starbucks is to take full ownership of all its China outlets, after agreeing to buying out its joint venture partner for $1.3bn. The deal will see it acquire the 50% stake it does not already hold in 1,300 stores in Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Starbucks already fully owns the other 1,500 outlets in China - its fastest-growing market outside of the US. The coffee giant said the buyout was its biggest ever acquisition.

The creators of several Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have criticized Apple's decision to remove their products from its App Store in China. Apple said it was legally required to remove them because they did not comply with new regulations. It refused to confirm the exact number of apps withdrawn, but did not deny the figure. It added that dozens of legal VPN apps were still available. VPNs allow users to hide IP addresses and access online material that might be blocked by internet filters.

The semiconductor industry is embroiled in fierce competition. China aims to dominate the market, and Washington, in an unusual show of bipartisanship, is fighting back. The industry is riven by a nationalist battle between China and the US Washington accuses Beijing of using government financing and subsidies to try to dominate semiconductors as it did earlier with steel, aluminum and solar power. China claims US complaints are a poorly disguised attempt to hobble its development. Big US players such as Intel and Micron find themselves in a bind—eager to expand in China but wary of losing out to state-sponsored rivals.

Trump spoke to police officers. Police officials are condemning statements made by Trump on Friday, encouraging what many say is violence Trump said: "Please don't be too nice. Like, when you guys put somebody in the car and you're protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over - like, don't hit their head and they've just killed somebody, don't hit their head. I said, you can take the hand away, OK?" In tweets and statements, police chiefs across the country are saying essentially that is not OK. When the president of the United States for whatever reasons makes the statements about basically roughing up suspects, many police officers had a visceral reaction, especially - unfortunately, when some of the police in the background applauded. Supporting the police doesn't mean giving the police a green light to rough up suspects.

Russia has banned VPNs and other technology that allows users to gain anonymous access to websites. The new law , signed today by Putin, goes into effect on Nov. 1 and represents another major blow to an open Internet.

Allegations of murder, blackmail and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of corruption. William Browder's story has it all — and he shared it Thursday with a Senate panel investigating Russia.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking to limit nicotine content in tobacco products, for the first time in its history. The policy announced on Friday has a goal of cutting back on nicotine levels in order to discourage addiction and lower the number of US smokers. The FDA says tobacco is responsible for 480,000 American deaths each year, and $300bn in medical costs. Stock market shares of tobacco plummeted after the plan was announced.

Electoral officials in Venezuela say turnout in the controversial election for a constituent assembly was 41.5%, a figure disputed by the opposition. Government officials celebrated the results but the opposition has cried foul. The opposition coalition said 88% of voters abstained and it refused to recognize the election. The opposition also called for more protests on Monday.

EU countries have until midnight to enter a race to bid to provide a new home for two agencies that will be relocated from the UK after Brexit. The European Banking Authority and the European Medicines Agency, based in Canary Wharf in London, employ just over 1,000 staff between them. The banking and medicines agencies are seen as the first spoils of Brexit by the 27 remaining members of the EU. About 20 countries are expected to enter the bidding process. There will be fierce competition to attract the agencies' highly skilled employees, their families and the business that comes with them.

Regulators want to replace the reference interest rate, which underpins over $350 trillion in financial products, by 2021.

Putin has announced that 755 staff must leave US diplomatic missions, in retaliation for new US sanctions against Moscow. The decision to expel staff was made on Friday, but Putin has now confirmed the number who must go by 1 September. It brings staff levels to 455, the same as Russia's complement in Washington. The US said the move was a "regrettable and uncalled for act". Putin did strike a conciliatory note, saying he did not want to impose more measures, but also said he could not see ties changing "anytime soon". This is thought to be the largest expulsion of diplomats from any country in modern history.

A Mendoza court sentenced four former federal judges to life in prison for crimes against humanity carried out during Argentina's 1976-1983 dictatorship. The judges were originally tried as accomplices for failure to investigate the kidnapping, torture and murder of dissenters. The prosecutors eventually charged the judges as principals arguing that the judges' "inaction on the petitions preceded the disappearance of more than 20 dissidents."

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) released a report stating that same-sex relationships are still illegal in 72 countries around the world. The report identifies these 72 nations as "criminalising States" or countries where gay individuals can face legal ramifications if their relationships are disclosed. Out of these 72 countries, anti-gay legislation is applied equally to men and women in 45 nations. The report also states that four nations apply the death penalty to identified homosexuals while eight other states "allow" the death penalty but do not apply it in every instance. Southern Asia, eastern and southern Africa, and the Middle East were found to be the most violent and hostile regions while western Europe and the whole of the Western hemisphere was found to be significantly more tolerant of gay relationships.

Foreign ministers from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates stated on Sunday that the four nations are open to dialogue with Qatar regarding the 13 demands imposed against the Gulf state early last month. The demands against Qatar were prompted by allegations that Qatar condones and funds terrorist activity.

The US says it will not call for a UN Security Council meeting over North Korea's missile tests because it would produce "nothing of consequence". Such a meeting would send a message to North Korea that the international community was unwilling to challenge it, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said. Pyongyang said its tests proved that the entire US was within range. The US has responded by testing an anti-missile system and flying bombers over the Korean peninsula.

Trump has named General John Kelly, who currently heads the Department of Homeland Security, as his next chief of staff. The announcement, made on Twitter on Friday afternoon, removes Reince Priebus from the role. The embattled former chief of staff had faced pressure since being named as a possible leaker by Trump's newly appointed director of communication. Priebus said he resigned on Thursday after talking with Trump.

Laws that ban tapping on a phone while driving have become common, but in Hawaii, a new escalation targets pedestrians.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigned from office on Friday after the Supreme Court of Pakistan issued a unanimous ruling, earlier the same day, disqualifying him from office. Sharif was before the Court due to allegations of corruption surfacing after the Panama Papers leak. The leaked documents suggested that Sharif's children had offshore assets that were not disclosed in the family's wealth statement and led to further investigation by a Joint Investigation Team (JIT), comprised of officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the State Bank of Pakistan, and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, among others. Based on the results of that investigation, the Court found that the assets of Sharif and his children were disproportionate to their reported sources of income, which disqualified Sharif from holding public office under the NAB Ordinance.

Alexander Vinnik, of Russia, was accused of being the mastermind behind a black market Bitcoin exchange, which helped launder billions of dollars.

If you don’t pay your debts in Spain, you may be shamed by a clown, a monk or Zorro himself. Though Spain’s economy is improving, there is still a lot of debt unpaid. In the first quarter of this year, 71% of money owed to companies was late for payment. Collectors that dress up like clowns or fictional swordsmen to confront and publicly shame people with unpaid bills are making a good living. The costumed nuisance-makers get to keep between 20% and 60% of the money they collect from businesses and individuals.