February, 2018

• 13 February

  UK’s planned power plants face uncertainty in auction low

  

  Bloomberg UK utilities may have to delay or give up on building power stations as new generators won only a fraction of the capacity offered in a tender to provide backup electricity. The auction process, set up to encourage new installations, only saw 1.5 percent of the total going to proposed plants. The lack of new projects could put pressure ...

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• 13 February

  US strikes kill scores of Russia fighters in Syria’s Deir Ezzor

  

  Bloomberg US forces killed scores of Russian contract soldiers in Syria last week in what may be the deadliest clash between citizens of the former foes since the Cold War, according to a US official and three Russians familiar with the matter. More than 200 mercenaries, mostly Russians fighting on behalf of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, died in a failed ...

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• 13 February

  Kim Jong-un impressed with S Korea’s treatment of sister

  Bloomberg Kim Jong Un expressed satisfaction with South Korea’s treatment of his sister during a visit to mark the opening of the Winter Olympics, and called for more efforts to improve ties between the countries. A high-level delegation including the North Korean leader’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, spent three days in South Korea before returning on Sunday to Pyongyang. South ...

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• 13 February

  China charges former political star Sun Zhengcai with bribery

  Bloomberg China’s once-powerful politician Sun Zhengcai is to stand trial for bribery, state media announced, moving a step closer to the conclusion of a case that has brought down one of the country’s political elite. The case involving Sun will be heard in Tianjin, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Beijing, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The 54-year-old Sun, ...

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• 13 February

  Zuma defying ANC’s call to quit leaves S Africa in limbo

  

  Bloomberg South Africans awoke to find their nation in limbo after President Jacob Zuma’s refusal to obey his ruling African National Congress’s request to resign voluntarily prompted its top leadership to order his removal from office. The ANC’s National Executive Committee decided to “recall” Zuma, 75, during a 13-hour meeting that ended early Tuesday, according to five people familiar with ...

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• 13 February

  Ukraine set to deport ex-Georgian president Saakashvili to Poland

  Bloomberg Mikheil Saakashvili, the former Georgian leader-turned Ukrainian opposition politician, lost his appeal in a Ukrainian court seeking protection and refugee status after his homeland sought extradition. Officials of Ukraine’s migration and border-security services told Saakashvili on Monday he was to be returned to Poland, where he stayed before his most recent arrival, Oleh Slobodyan, a spokesman for the border ...

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• 13 February

  White House: Trump supports abuse victims in defense of aide

  

  Bloomberg The White House said on Monday that Donald Trump supports domestic violence victims, after the president was criticized for sympathetic public statements about a former aide who resigned last week following allegations that he abused two ex-wives. “The president and the entire administration take domestic violence very seriously and believe all should be investigated thoroughly,” Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee ...

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• 13 February

  Lotte’s China exit to stall

  

  Bloomberg Lotte Group’s efforts to sell its China stores have stalled as buyers aren’t sure they will be able to run the outlets normally after government allegations of fire safety infractions, a company executive said. South Korea’s largest department store operator, Lotte Shopping Co., has taken a sales hit in China over the past year after the group provided land ...

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• 13 February

  HNA sells Hong Kong land for $2 billion

  

  Bloomberg HNA Group Co. agreed to sell two plots of land in Hong Kong to the city’s second-richest man for HK$16 billion ($2 billion) as the cash-strapped Chinese conglomerate accelerates asset disposals to repay its mounting debt. The sites, purchased just over a year ago, were sold to billionaire Lee Shau Kee’s Henderson Land Development Co., according to a statement ...

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• 13 February

  Vietnam’s coffee exports may increase 9%

  Bloomberg Coffee shipments from Vietnam, the world’s biggest robusta producer, will surge this year as farmers harvest a bigger crop, according to Industry and Trade Minister Tran Tuan Anh. Exports may total 1.55 million metric tons in 2018, Anh said in a written response to Bloomberg questions. Production is set to increase about 4.5 percent to 1.6 million tons in ...

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