Europe
Standard Chartered settles with New York regulator over Iran deals
British bank Standard Chartered has agreed a $340m (£217m) settlement with the New York State Department of Financial Services over its recent accusations that the bank hid $250bn of transactions with Iran. A hearing, scheduled for today, has been adjourned. The bank’s chief executive, Peter Sands, has been in New York negotiating with the regulators. It admitted some transactions broke US sanctions but said they were worth just $14m.
North America
BBC boss to run New York Times
The New York Times Company has announced that BBC director general Mark Thompson is to be its new chief executive and president, starting in November. Mr Thompson, 55, who has been responsible for the BBC’s TV, radio and online services since 2004, said he was “excited” to take on the role. His career began as a BBC production trainee in 1979 and led him to become chief executive of Channel 4 television in 2002. The BBC announced in July that George Entwistle would replace Mr Thompson as director general on 17 September.
Latin America
Brazil unveils new economic stimulus plan
Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff will today announce the first part of a major new economic stimulus plan which could inject up to $50bn into the country’s economy over the next five years. Today’s announcement will include the privatisation of about 14,000km of railways and roads, with the privatisation of ports, lower energy costs and incentives for industry forming a second stage to be announced soon after. Brazil’s growth has been slowing recently; it is predicted to be lower than 2% this year, which is a sharp slowdown from the 7.5% recorded in 2010. This has been attributed to the global slowdown and to rising debt rates among the Brazilian population, which has stifled the domestic consumption upon which much of Brazil’s recent growth had been based.
Africa and Middle East
Explosion near Damascus military base and UN hotel
A large explosion has struck in the Syrian capital, Damascus, close to a military compound and to a hotel used by the UN’s observer mission. Syrian state television reported three people injured, none of them UN monitors. It said the explosion had been caused by a bomb near a fuel truck in a car park near the hotel, but other reports suggested it had been an improvised explosive device (IED). The intended target of the explosion is still uncertain, but there are several government and military buildings in the vicinity.
Asia and Russia
Muslim homes destroyed in Rakhine state, Burma
The largest Muslim area in the Burmese city of Sittwe, once home to 10,000, has been reduced to rubble after days of violence. A Buddhist women was raped and murdered by three Muslims in late May, triggering fitful religious clashes across Rakhine state in which the houses of both Muslims and Buddhists were burned to the ground and members of both faiths killed. The United Nations Human Rights Council estimates 80,000 people have been displaced in and around Sittwe and Maungdaw by the violence, with many having been moved to camps outside the cities. The UNHRC has also said Burmese troops, sent to quash the unrest after a state of emergency was declared, were reported to be targeting Muslims. The story has been captured by the UK’s Channel 4 News, who gained access to Sittwe despite it having been off limits to reporters for months.
China warns Japan as activists approach disputed islands
China has warned Japan not to “endanger [the] safety” of its citizens as a group of Hong Kong activists approached a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea. Their boat is being followed by Japanese vessels. China, Japan and Taiwan all claim the islands, which are presently controlled by Japan but are in private hands. The present tension has been rumbling since April, when Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara said he would use public money to buy the islands from the current private owner. The Japanese coast guard has been put on alert, and intends to prevent the activists “from entering Japanese territorial waters or landing on the islands”, according to an official. The islands are largely uninhabited, but are close to important shipping lanes, offer rich fishing grounds and are a possible oil prospect.
Australasia
Australian MPs pass offshore processing bill
The lower house of the Australian Parliament yesterday passed a bill to re-establish offshore processing centres for asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, after they were closed in 2008 by former Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The bill was based on recommendations from an expert panel created to end months of hesitation over policy in the area. It will now go to the Senate, where it is expected to pass in the coming days due to having cross-party support. Current Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard said yesterday that she hoped the processing centres would be reopened “within a month” – her party had opposed the move until Monday, when the expert panel made its report. The bill passed the lower house overwhelmingly, with only two MPs voting against it.
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