Government targets September 20 for polls
The Greek government announced on Tuesday that it is aiming for a September 20 election date after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned owing to rebellion within his party over the terms of the country's new bailout deal with the European Union, the European Central Bank and financial institutions. Panayotis Lafazanis, leader of Popular Unity party, will be handed a mandate. If he fails, a national unity government may be formed. The last resort is the dissolution of Parliament and swearing-in of a caretaker administration.
Chinese state firms to buy blast-struck flats
Five Chinese state-owned property developers have decided to buy apartments damaged by the massive explosions that rocked Tianjin on August 12, killing 135 people. The firms will buy from residents who choose to sell and resell the properties after renovation. ”The local government will evaluate the damage and set the purchase price in a way that does not hurt residents interest". The August 12 blasts occurred at a warehouse, where more than 700 tons of highly toxic substances, mainly sodium cyanide, were being stored.
Singapore calls election in September
Singapore's government on Tuesday announced its decision to call for snap general elections on 11 September. The governing People's Action Party has held power for more than 50 years. It will be the first election since the party's founder and Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, died in March. In the last general election in 2011, the PAP recorded their worst-ever showing, with 60% of the vote. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is the son of Lee Kuan Yew, said in a Facebook post that this vote would help decide Singapore's long-term future.
Bangkok probe hindered by broken cameras
More than 75% of the security cameras along the path taken by the main suspect in Erawan shrine bombing in Bangkok on August 17 were broken, Thailand's police chief Somyot Poompanmoung said on Monday. Investigators have only fuzzy images of the still-unidentified man. They are trying to put pieces of the puzzle together but have had to use their imaginations to fill gaps left by cameras that failed to record the culprits movements. "For example, the perpetrator was driving away escaping and there are CCTV cameras following him," Somyot said. "Sometimes there were 20 cameras on the street but only five worked. Fifteen were broken, for whatever reason, they didn't work."
China seeks to calm markets with rate cuts
China has sought to reassure its panic-stricken stock markets by cutting interest rates and loosening constraints on bank lending after a second day of plunging share prices on Tuesday. The People’s Bank of China has reduced the one-year lending rate to 4.6% in a clear signal that it was prepared to head off a repeat of the stock market crash that hit the country in June. The benchmark Shanghai Composite fell by 7.6% on Tuesday, bringing its loss in the last two days to more than 15%. The central bank also cut the one-year deposit rate to 1.75% in an effort to persuade Chinese savers to spend cash hoarded in the country’s banks.
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The Greek government announced on Tuesday that it is aiming for a September 20 election date after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned owing to rebellion within his party over the terms of the country's new bailout deal with the European Union, the European Central Bank and financial institutions. Panayotis Lafazanis, leader of Popular Unity party, will be handed a mandate. If he fails, a national unity government may be formed. The last resort is the dissolution of Parliament and swearing-in of a caretaker administration.
Chinese state firms to buy blast-struck flats
Five Chinese state-owned property developers have decided to buy apartments damaged by the massive explosions that rocked Tianjin on August 12, killing 135 people. The firms will buy from residents who choose to sell and resell the properties after renovation. ”The local government will evaluate the damage and set the purchase price in a way that does not hurt residents interest". The August 12 blasts occurred at a warehouse, where more than 700 tons of highly toxic substances, mainly sodium cyanide, were being stored.
Singapore calls election in September
Singapore's government on Tuesday announced its decision to call for snap general elections on 11 September. The governing People's Action Party has held power for more than 50 years. It will be the first election since the party's founder and Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, died in March. In the last general election in 2011, the PAP recorded their worst-ever showing, with 60% of the vote. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is the son of Lee Kuan Yew, said in a Facebook post that this vote would help decide Singapore's long-term future.
Bangkok probe hindered by broken cameras
More than 75% of the security cameras along the path taken by the main suspect in Erawan shrine bombing in Bangkok on August 17 were broken, Thailand's police chief Somyot Poompanmoung said on Monday. Investigators have only fuzzy images of the still-unidentified man. They are trying to put pieces of the puzzle together but have had to use their imaginations to fill gaps left by cameras that failed to record the culprits movements. "For example, the perpetrator was driving away escaping and there are CCTV cameras following him," Somyot said. "Sometimes there were 20 cameras on the street but only five worked. Fifteen were broken, for whatever reason, they didn't work."
China seeks to calm markets with rate cuts
China has sought to reassure its panic-stricken stock markets by cutting interest rates and loosening constraints on bank lending after a second day of plunging share prices on Tuesday. The People’s Bank of China has reduced the one-year lending rate to 4.6% in a clear signal that it was prepared to head off a repeat of the stock market crash that hit the country in June. The benchmark Shanghai Composite fell by 7.6% on Tuesday, bringing its loss in the last two days to more than 15%. The central bank also cut the one-year deposit rate to 1.75% in an effort to persuade Chinese savers to spend cash hoarded in the country’s banks.