Politics

TEHRAN / AFP Reformist allies of Hassan Rouhani swept all 30 parliamentary seats in the Iranian capital, handing the moderate president a major boost on Sunday in elections seen as vital to his government. The List of Hope, a pro-Rouhani coalition of moderates and reformists, was on course to wipe out its conservative rivals in Tehran with 90 percent of ...

Chad / AFP The nationwide strikes which brought Chad’s biggest cities to a halt this week over President Idriss Deby Itno’s planned bid for re-election are some of the most significant protests of the hardliner’s 26-year rule. The strike, which ran under the slogan “That’s Enough”, successfully locked down N’Djamena, leaving classrooms emptied and the capital’s two big markets deserted ...

Beirut / AP The deadline for a partial Syrian ceasefire negotiated by Russia and the US passed amid uncertainty over whether it would take hold and how to judge its success. The “cessation of hostilities” went into effect at 12:01 a.m Saturday local time, but Syrian regime forces continued to shell rebel areas in the Damascus suburb of Al Marj ...

Jalalabad / AFP At least 25 people were killed and over 40 injured in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Kunar on Saturday, officials said. “A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle detonated his explosives in a market in Asadabad the provincial capital, 25 people were killed and over 40 were injured,” Ghani Mosamem, spokesman for the provincial governor, ...

Loomberg At least 15 people were killed in a bomb attack by militants at a park and hotel near the presidential compound in Somalia’s capital, a police official said. A suicide car bomber rammed into the SYL hotel in Mogadishu and gunmen stormed the building, said Sharmarke Idow by phone on Friday. Another blast occurred nearby outside the gate of ...

Tehran / AFP Around 60 percent of voters cast ballots in Iran’s elections after polling stations were kept open to allow millions of latecomers to participate, Tehran’s interior ministry said on Saturday. Coming just a month after sanctions were lifted under Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, the outcome of Friday’s vote is being seen as a de-facto referendum on ...

Bloomberg Malaysia’s ruling party suspended its second-in-command Muhyiddin Yassin for undermining the organization in his quest to oust Prime Minister Najib Razak, the latest indication of the premier strengthening his grip on power after months of political turmoil. Muhyiddin’s suspension as deputy president of the United Malays National Organisation will be in effect until the next party elections, Secretary-General Tengku ...

Shanghai /AFP The world’s 20 top economies will agree to use all policy tools to lift sluggish global growth, according to a draft communique obtained by Bloomberg News on Saturday, despite German disquiet over fiscal and monetary stimulus. The G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs meeting in Shanghai agreed to use those methods, as well as structural reforms, “individually ...

Shanghai / AFP Finance chiefs from the world’s top economies committed their governments to doing more to boost global growth amid mounting concerns over the potency of monetary policy. In a pledge that will prove easier to write than deliver and may disappoint investors looking for a coordinated stimulus plan, the Group of 20 said “we will use fiscal policy ...

Bloomberg The Group of 20 added a potential “ Brexit” and an escalating refugee crisis to its long worry list, even as it argued recent market volatility didn’t reflect global growth momentum. In a draft of the communique obtained by Bloomberg News, the G-20 members agreed to use monetary, fiscal and structural tools to boost growth and “calibrate and clearly ...