News Archive - 11 September 2016

On Thursday, Fars News Agency (FNA) quoted Iraqi interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan as saying about one million Iranians have entered the country for Day of Arafah rituals. Following last year’s Mina stampede during Hajj, debates escalated on whether Iranians, the most severely hit population, should boycott...

>In a 5,100-word essay released just after midnight, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari noted that the U.S. labor market is "closer to normal" but that inflation is still below the Fed's 2-percent target and economic growth is well below precrisis norms."Monetary policy is largely doing what...

>China's total debt load rose to 250 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) last year, and the IMF has warned that the high corporate debt ratio of 145 percent of GDP could lead to slower economic growth if not addressed.China cannot reduce leverage ratios too hastily as that could...

>SEOUL Shares of tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) fell to their lowest level in nearly two months on Monday, hurt by worries the fallout from a recall of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone may deal a bigger blow than anticipated.Investors have wiped off 13 trillion won...

>Pandora could announce its plans this to expand its $5-per-month platform this week, with possible features including skipping more songs or storing several hours of playlists, the newspaper said. The company plans to launch a full-fledged on-demand platform by Christmas. Such a platform, priced at $10 a month, would compete...

>TOKYO Japan's core machinery orders unexpectedly rose for a second straight month in July, easing some pessimism over capital expenditure, but worries remain that weak demand and the yen's gains will discourage companies from boosting investment.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government has been counting on capital expenditure to drive private...

>The perceived safe-haven yen benefited from a drop in global equities. The dollar was down 0.2 percent at 102.50 yen JPY=, while the euro slipped 0.1 percent to 115.21 yen EURJPY=.Against the dollar, the common currency edged up 0.1 percent to $1.1238 EUR=.

>SAN FRANCISCO A ship of bankrupt Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd (117930.KS) is finishing unloading in California and expected to leave port on Monday, and truckers expect to pick up cargo soon, shipping industry officials said, in a good sign for importers.The Hanjin Greece docked in Long Beach on...

>MINSK Lawmakers loyal to hardline Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko retained power in an election on Sunday, but the opposition's win of a seat for the first time in 20 years could help the ex-Soviet nation further improve ties with the West.The opposition, which has not been represented in the...

>London Brent crude for November delivery LCOc1 was down 49 cents, or 1.0 percent, at $47.52 a barrel by 2246 GMT (6.46 p.m. ET) on Sunday after settling down 4 percent on Friday.NYMEX crude for October delivery CLc1 was down 60 cents, or 1.3...

>SYDNEY Asian shares looked set to skid on Monday with investors rattled by rising bond yields and talk the Federal Reserve might be serious about lifting U.S. interest rates as early as next week.Nikkei futures pointed toward a starting loss of at least 2 percent, while EMini futures...

>SYDNEY Sydney resident Raman Kumar recently lost his job as an electrician after his employer outsourced a big chunk of the work to China to slash costs - and then hired him back as a casual worker.In June, the 40-year old signed up as a driver for ride sharing...

>A Vodafone merger with the cable group would "yield considerable strategic and financial benefits," said the financial newspaper, which describes Liberty Global Chairman John Malone as a "shareholder-focused deal maker" who may be inclined to pursue such a deal "if terms can be worked out."Vodafone has already said it...

>BRUSSELS EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker has launched an unprecedented ethics investigation into his predecessor, Jose Manuel Barroso, questioning whether he broke EU law by taking a job at Goldman Sachs.In a letter released on Sunday by the European Ombudsman who has been pressuring Juncker to inquire into how...

>The letter said the agreement neglected besieged areas and called for aid to be taken to all such places without exception. It voiced concern that it was devoid of guarantees, monitoring mechanisms or sanctions for breaches. It also expressed concern at clauses in the agreement indicating that Syrian government jets...

>Autopilot 8.0 also will temporarily halt users from using the system if they fail to respond to audible warnings. "We're making much more effective use of radar," Chief Executive Elon Musk told journalists on a call. "It will be a dramatic improvement in the safety of the system done...

>Last Sunday, a car loaded with gas cylinders was found near Notre Dame cathedral and jerry cans of diesel, leading to the discovery of a plot to attack a Paris railway station under the direction of Islamic State. Seven people, including four women, were arrested.The boy had been under...

> The spokesman said Clinton went to daughter Chelsea's apartment in New York and is "feeling much better." (Reporting by Amanda Becker and Richard Cowan; Editing by Mary Milliken)...

>Police fired water cannon and tear gas to disperse demonstrators outside local government buildings in Suruc on the Syrian border as new administrators took over, security sources said. There were smaller protests elsewhere in the town.There were also disturbances in the main regional city of Diyarbarkir and in Hakkari...

>Audi and FAW-Volkswagen, VW's joint venture with FAW Car Co Ltd (000800.SZ), have signed letters of intent with Alibaba (BABA.N), Baidu (BIDU.O) and Tencent (0700.HK), Audi said on Sunday. Financial terms were not disclosed.Parent Volkswagen has been hobbled by a scandal over the rigging of...

>Alstom (ALSO.PA) said on Wednesday it planned to stop making trains at Belfort and transfer production to its plant in Reichshoffen in eastern France by the end of 2018. The Belfort site will be refocused on maintenance and repairs.Valls said on Sunday Alstom's decision was unacceptable. "Every day,...

>The French capital was put on high alert last week when French officials said they dismantled a "terrorist cell" that planned to attack a Paris railway station under the direction of Islamic State."This week at least two attacks were foiled," Manuel Valls said in an interview with Europe 1...

>"I would say that what is creating conditions of delay in regaining trust of markets and investors ... is the constant clash and disagreement between the IMF and European institutions," Tsipras told a news conference in the northern city of Thessaloniki. The IMF has yet to decide whether to participate in...

>Pyongyang on Friday set off its most powerful nuclear blast to date, saying it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile and ratcheting up a threat that its rivals and the United Nations have been powerless to contain."Indications have been gathered that the North...

>They said at least 15 civilians were killed when war planes targeted workers drilling for water in the Beit Saadan area of the Arhab district north of Sanaa, and that 20 other people were wounded.Residents said Saudi-led coalition warplanes, apparently mistaking the drilling machine for a rocket launcher, bombed...

>The exercises come at a time of heightened tension in the contested waters after an arbitration court in The Hague ruled in July that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea and criticized its environmental destruction there.China rejected the ruling and refused to participate in...

>DHAKA A fire at a food and cigarette packaging factory in Bangladesh that killed at least 24 people and injured more than two dozen others on Saturday, spread into the storage area of the building through the night, according to emergency officials. "We could not start search operations as it...