September, 2016

• 14 September

  Maldives opposition leader in talks to ‘topple’ president

  

    Colombo / AFP Exiled Maldives opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed has said he is in talks with the former president, who repeatedly threw him in jail, to “legally topple” the current leader of the troubled honeymoon islands. Nasheed became the first democratically elected president of the Maldives in 2008, but now lives in exile in London after he was jailed ...

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• 14 September

  Strongest typhoon in 21 years hits Taiwan

  

    Taipei / AFP Parts of Taiwan were brought to a standstill on Wednesday as super typhoon Meranti skirted past the island’s southern tip, bringing the strongest winds in 21 years and disrupting traffic ahead of a major holiday. Although typhoon Meranti did not make landfall, the storm brought violent winds and torrential rain to eastern and southern Taiwan. At ...

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• 14 September

  Syria truce holds but aid deliveries delayed

  

    Aleppo / AFP Besieged Syrian civilians waited desperately for aid on Wednesday as relief convoys remained on hold despite a significant drop in violence under a ceasefire brokered by Washington and Moscow. The truce that began at sundown on Monday is part of the latest bid to end a five-year conflict that has killed more than 300,000 people. The ...

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• 14 September

  Cypriot leaders to meet UN chief this month in bid for deal in 2016

  

    Nicosia / AFP Cypriot leaders will meet UN chief Ban Ki-moon later this month, his envoy said on Wednesday, as they push for a deal on reunifying the Mediterranean island this year. Espen Barth Eide said that Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci would meet Ban in New York on September 25 to try ...

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• 14 September

  Acting Uzbek leader shuffles ministers in sign of strength

    Almaty / AFP Uzbekistan’s acting President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has carried out his first reshuffle, the authorities said Wednesday, in a sign of his growing authority following the death of long-reigning strongman Islam Karimov. Mirziyoyev was boosted from prime minister to acting leader of the Central Asian nation last week after Karimov died aged 78, following 27 years of ruthless ...

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• 14 September

  Sri Lanka to shift farmers from elephant corridors

    Colombo / AFP Sri Lanka on Wednesday announced it was planning to relocate farmers living on the edges of forests inhabited by elephants to reduce the numbers killed on both sides. Wildlife minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera said the island’s elephant population had dropped to 6,000, from 7,379 counted five years ago, as deadly encounters between animals and humans increase. ...

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• 14 September

  DR Congo warlord on 7th day of hunger strike at ICC

  

    Bloomberg Congolese former rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda on Wednesday again refused to attend his war crimes trial on the seventh day of a hunger strike which is posing a legal dilemma for international judges. Ntaganda is protesting his treatment in detention and has said he is “ready to die”, accusing the International Criminal Court of failing to give him ...

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• 14 September

  Samsung caps Note 7 battery charging to prevent overheating

  

    Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co. will push out a software update for South Korea that caps the capacity of Galaxy Note 7 smartphone batteries at 60 percent, a stop-gap measure to prevent overheating as the device’s global recall proceeds. The unusual move, announced on the first day of a major national holiday, reinforces the urgency with which Samsung’s trying to ...

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• 14 September

  Grain subsidies abide by WTO rules: China

    Beijing / AFP China’s rice, wheat and corn subsidies are in line with WTO rules, Beijing’s commerce ministry said after Washington launched legal action against what it says are “unfair” trade incentives worth $100 billion. The United States alleges China, the world’s largest producer of wheat and rice, doled out “market price support” for the grains above levels agreed ...

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• 14 September

  Thailand holds key rate as economic recovery gains momentum

    BLOOMBERG Thailand’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged for an 11th consecutive meeting, the longest streak on record, as an economic recovery continues to gain momentum. The Bank of Thailand held its one-day bond repurchase rate at 1.5 percent, with monetary policy committee members voting unanimously in favor, it said in Bangkok on Wednesday. All but one ...

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