Monday, September 16

World

Emergency meeting in South Sudan after elections postponed
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Emergency meeting in South Sudan after elections postponed

The government of South Sudan is holding an emergency cabinet meeting hours after it announced that long-delayed national elections would be postponed by two years.  The polls were due to take place this December.  A 2018 peace deal that ended a civil war allowed president Salva Kiir to remain in charge of a transitional government with his former foe Riek Machar serving as his deputy. South Sudan, the world's youngest country, has not held national elections since independence in 2011. The decision to postpone the vote by another two years has not come as a great surprise.  The political leaders of South Sudan have not exactly been racing to get ready for a vote.  This has fuelled suspicion that they are clinging onto power in the oil-rich country.&nb...
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Surprise return to Botswana by ex-president to face trial
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Surprise return to Botswana by ex-president to face trial

Ian Khama says the charges against him are politically motivated Botswana's former President Ian Khama has unexpectedly returned to the country after three years of self-imposed exile, appearing in court to face charges, including money laundering and owning illegal firearms. The 71-year-old had only recently claimed there was a plot to poison him if he set foot on home soil. The government called those allegations "outrageous". Supporters chanted "the general is back" as Khama left the courthouse on Friday in the capital, Gaborone. "We were taken by surprise," said state prosecutor Ambrose Mubika of Khama's decision to appear. Ian Khama led Botswana for 10 years until 2018. He is not standing for office again in next month's election, in which his bitter rival Preside...
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Trailblazing ballerina Michaela DePrince dies aged 29
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Trailblazing ballerina Michaela DePrince dies aged 29

Michaela DePrince performing 'Giselle' with the English National Ballet in 2017 Ballerina Michaela Mabinty DePrince, who performed with Beyoncé and was seen by many as a trailblazer, has died at the age of 29. A spokesperson announced her death on her personal Instagram page and in a statement her family said she was an "unforgettable inspiration to everyone who knew her or heard her story". The cause of death has not been given. DePrince made a remarkable journey from suffering as an orphan in war-torn Sierra Leone to numerous accolades in the world of international dance. Her family said her death had been "sudden", adding: "Michaela touched so many lives across the world, including ours." Tributes have been pouring in, including from others in the ballet...
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Man who attacked Comoros president dies in cell
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Man who attacked Comoros president dies in cell

Azali Assoumani served as African Union president between 2023 and 2024 The man who was arrested for attacking the Comoros president with a knife on Friday has been found dead in prison, the authorities there say. The attack took place during a funeral for a well-known religious leader and injured President Azali Assoumani's hand.  National prosecutor Ali Mohamed Djounaid said that after being arrested the attacker had been isolated in a cell to calm him down.  He said a lifeless body was found lying on the floor of the cell on Saturday morning. "A doctor declared him dead. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of his death," Mr Djounaid told a press conference in the Indian Ocean archipelago's capital, Moroni. As for the 65-year-old presiden...
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US and British citizens among 37 sentenced to death in DR Congo coup trial
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US and British citizens among 37 sentenced to death in DR Congo coup trial

(L-R) Benjamin Zalman-Polun, Marcel Malanga and Tyler Thompson are the three US citizens sentenced to death for the coup attempt Thirty-seven people - including three Americans, a Briton, a Belgian and a Canadian national - have been sentenced to death over an attempt to overthrow the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The men were accused of leading an attack on both the presidential palace and the home of an ally of President Félix Tshisekedi in May. Christian Malanga, a US national of Congolese origin, the suspected leader of the plot, was killed during the attack, along with five others. In total 51 people were tried in a military court, with hearings broadcast on national TV and radio. Malanga's son Marcel, one of the US citizens sentenced to death, previous...
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China auto suppliers and EV makers flood major trade fair in Germany
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China auto suppliers and EV makers flood major trade fair in Germany

Nearly 900 Chinese auto suppliers and a handful of EV makers are showcasing their products at a trade fair in Frankfurt as the country's car sector defies looming trading barriers to expand its global footprint and counter eroding profitability at home. Chinese carmakers including BYD (002594.SZ), opens new tab, Geely(GEELY.UL), Hongqi and GAC International were set to display their vehicles at the fair, called Automechanika, as an added feature to the event which normally focuses on suppliers. The country's auto sector is investing heavily in overseas expansion even as Europe and North America erect trade barriers to stem the inflow of China-made EVs they say benefit from unfair subsidies. The so-called "EV Expo", which opens on Tuesday, was set up in par...
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Hamas says Israeli strikes kill 40 in Gaza safe zone
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Hamas says Israeli strikes kill 40 in Gaza safe zone

At least 40 people have been killed in southern Gaza and dozens more injured in Israeli strikes on a designated humanitarian zone, the Hamas-run Civil Defence authority said. The Israeli military said its aircraft attacked an operations centre in Khan Younis belonging to Hamas fighters, and that it had taken steps to mitigate risk of harming civilians. Local residents said three strikes targeted tents housing displaced people in the humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi, west of the city of Khan Younis, causing huge craters seven metres deep. "Forty people were killed and more than 60 injured, while many are still under the rubble," the operations director of Hamas's Civil Defence authority told the BBC. Eyewitnesses told the BBC large explosions rocked the al-Mawasi area shortly afte...
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Trump ‘fine-tuning theatrics’ before Harris debate
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Trump ‘fine-tuning theatrics’ before Harris debate

American presidential debates aren't won on policy. I've covered six presidential elections and have never seen a debate where one candidate emerged as the winner because they made an outstanding policy proposal. Sure, the ABC News moderators at Tuesday's debate will ask Donald Trump and Kamala Harris earnest questions about tax cuts and foreign affairs.  But what viewers always focus on are the moments where one candidate has a zinger of a line, or somehow unnerves their opponent, or simply seems more in control. This is perhaps why an adviser to Trump tells me the former president hasn't spent his prep time brushing up on policy.  Instead, he's been "fine-tuning the theatrics of his performance". If there's one thing that Trump understands well, it's television a...
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Google aimed to control web ad tech, US prosecutor says as trial begins
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Google aimed to control web ad tech, US prosecutor says as trial begins

Justice Department alleges Google stymied competition in online ad tech Google denies allegations, citing competition in apps and connected TV Trial to feature witnesses from Google, competitors and publishers ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google sought to dominate all sides of online advertising technology by controlling competitors and customers, a Justice Department prosecutor said as trial began in the tech titan's latest antitrust showdown in Alexandria, Virginia on Monday. Prosecutors say Google has largely dominated the technological infrastructure that funds the flow of news and information on websites through more than 150,000 online ad sales every second. Google used classic monopoly-building tacti...
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Dozens dead after Typhoon Yagi hammers Vietnam, causing floods, landslides
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Dozens dead after Typhoon Yagi hammers Vietnam, causing floods, landslides

Vietnam death toll rises to 49, government says One bridge collapses, as landslide and flood risks remain Factories damaged, walls at LG Electronics plant collapse HANOI/HAIPHONG, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Typhoon Yagi, Asia's most powerful storm this year, left dozens dead in northern Vietnam and widespread damage to infrastructure and factories as it churned westwards, preliminary government estimates showed on Monday. Forty-nine people have died and 22 are missing, mostly because of landslides and floods triggered by the typhoon, the Vietnamese government said. The typhoon made landfall on Saturday on Vietnam's northeastern coast, home to large manufacturing operations of domestic and foreign companies. It was downgraded to a tropical depression on Sunday but the mete...
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