The pound plunged and world stock markets slumped today after Britain's shock vote to leave the European Union, fuelling a wave of global uncertainty.
	Sterling crashed 10 percent to a 31-year low at one point and the euro also plummeted against the dollar, as the Brexit result caught markets by surprise.
	European stocks went into free fall at the opening, mirroring a rout in Asian markets, after traders had banked in the run-up on Britain opting to remain in the EU based on polls and bookmakers' predictions.
	London's benchmark FTSE-100 index plummeted 7.5 per cent after opening but began to recover some of the losses after British Prime Minister David Cameron said he would step down.
	In midafternoon trading, London stocks were around three and a half percent down. But its eurozone counterparts, Frankfurt and Paris, both fell much more as financial stocks took the biggest hit.
	US stocks slipped more than two percent.
	UniCredit Research economist Daniel Vernazza said British ...

Pound plunges, stock markets in turmoil on Brexit vote

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Global banks sought to reassure investors and clients today that they will absorb the impact of Britain's vote to leave the EU, with US giant JPMorgan warning that financial sector jobs may leave Britain.
	"In the months ahead... We may need to make changes to our European legal entity structure and the location of some roles," said a JPMorgan staff memo obtained by AFP.
	JPMorgan employs 16,000 people in Britain, while chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon previously said that up to 4,000 jobs could move out of the UK.
	"For the moment, we will continue to serve our clients as usual, and our operating model in the UK remains the same," the memo said.
	Earlier today, the chairman and chief executive of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, said the US investment bank had "been focused on planning for either referendum outcome for many months".
	Rival Morgan Stanley, while warning that "the UK's vote to leave the European Union is a very significant decision which will have a considerable 

Global banks seek to reassure after Brexit vote

A fast-spreading fire in central California has destroyed at least 80 buildings and is threatening 1,500 more, prompting the evacuation of 10 neighborhoods, the authorities said.
	The fire three hours north of Los Angeles -- dubbed the Erskine fire -- had spread to an estimated 5,000 acres, prompting the mobilization of hundreds of firefighters, the news website Inciweb said.
	The authorities closed several highways and evacuated two schools and a retirement home in the agricultural and oil region after the blaze started yesterday afternoon due to unknown causes.
	The blaze is "extremely dangerous, extremely volatile," Kern County Fire Captain Tyler Townsend told the Los Angeles Times. "It's one of the most devastating I've ever seen."
	California is experiencing a record five-year drought. Trees and brush are at risk of igniting from the smallest spark.
	Temperatures that climbed to more than 40 degrees Celsius earlier this week increased the risk of fire.
	More than fourteen large ..

California fire destroys 80 buildings, closes highways

The Kremlin today hoped that Britain's decision to exit the European Union would not damage ties with Russia, insisting that a strong and predictable European Union is in Moscow's best interests.
	President Vladimir Putin has yet to comment on the result of the referendum, but his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he hoped the decision to leave the EU would not hurt Britain's bilateral ties with Russia.
	"We have a very complicated history... In bilateral relations, we can't always say that our British partners are ready to communicate and cooperate," Peskov told journalists.
	"We hope that in the new reality, the understanding of a necessity to build good relations with our country will prevail."
	Britain's relations with Russia have soured in recent years notably by the case of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko who was murdered by polonium poisoning in London.
	Many observers have said that Brexit would play into the hands of Putin who has been accused of driving a wedge between EU ...

Kremlin hopes for good UK-Russia relations after Brexit

British politics was upended today by a shock vote to leave the EU which forced Prime Minister David Cameron to quit, triggered a leadership race and raised doubts the country could survive in its current form.
	Announcing his resignation outside Downing Street, Cameron said a new leader should be in place by October.
	His successor faces an uphill struggle to heal divisions in both the country and the ruling Conservative party and could face pressure to call a new general election, even though it is just a year since Cameron won the last one.
	There were already signs that pro-EU Scotland could move to hold a fresh independence referendum, as well as fears that stability in Northern Ireland could also be threatened by the move.
	The main opposition Labour party was not immune from the turmoil, either.
	Its leader, veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn, had campaigned reluctantly to keep Britain in the EU and he is now facing criticism from some in his party after many traditional Labour ...

UK politics in uncharted waters after Brexit vote

Jakarta banned today any Indonesian-flagged vessels from sailing to the Philippines, the transport ministry said, after yet another violent kidnapping in the strife-torn waters between the two nations.
	The ruling was issued after the government confirmed seven Indonesian sailors were kidnapped at gunpoint earlier this week, and were being held hostage by an unknown group.
	It's the third time this year Indonesian sailors have been abducted in the Sulu sea, a vital waterway that's seen a spike in seaborne crime like armed robberies and kidnappings.
	In response to the latest incident, the transport ministry issued a notice informing all harbour masters they were "strictly prohibited from issuing permits to all Indonesian-flagged vessels bound for the Philippines, without exception".
	"This hijacking issue is a serious matter and cannot be tolerated anymore," the ministry's water transport director general A Tonny Budiono said in a statement.
	To prevent any commercial vessels from ...

Indonesia bans ships from sailing to Philippines

Four people were killed in a shootout outside a packed restaurant in the Cypriot resort of Ayia Napa that had the hallmarks of a gangland vendetta, police said today.
	The deaths in the heart of the resort's nightclub district yesterday evening raised fears of a blow to tourist confidence just as the holiday island was hoping for a record summer season.
	Masked gunmen opened fire on a well-known local businessman, his dining partners and bodyguards as they were leaving the restaurant at around 10:30 pm.
	An armed off-duty policeman who was with the businessman returned fire, killing one of the gunmen, identified by police as a 41-year-old Albanian.
	Businessman Phanos Kalopsidiotis, 51, was killed. So too was a second off-duty policeman in his entourage, Elias Hadjiefthymiou, 46, and his wife Skevi, 39. The couple were gunned down in front of their teenage children.
	The policeman who returned fire was in critical condition in hospital today with wounds to the head, arm, leg and ...

Four killed in street shootout in heart of Cyprus resort

A masked man who was shot dead by police after barricading himself in a German multiplex cinema with dozens of people was carrying fake weapons, prosecutors said today.
	The man was identified as a 19-year-old German national, who yesterday took four cinema employees and 14 visitors hostage at the complex in the western town of Viernheim, 75 kilometres south of Frankfurt.
	But prosecutors in the state of Hesse said it turned out that the pistol and rifle he was carrying were replicas, and the grenades dummies.
	They added that the motive of man's action remained unclear, and that there were no indications of any terrorist or political motive.
	No one else was injured in the incident.

'German cinema hostage-taker was carrying replica weapons'

US investment bank JPMorgan Chase today warned that it could relocate UK jobs abroad following Britain's vote to leave the European Union.
	"In the months ahead... We may need to make changes to our European legal entity structure and the location of some roles," said a staff memo obtained by AFP.
	JPMorgan employs 16,000 people in Britain, while chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon previously said up to 4,000 jobs could move out of the UK.

US bank JPMorgan says UK jobs could move abroad

German Chancellor Angela Merkel today warned EU member states against drawing hasty conclusions about Britain's decision to quit the bloc, as that risked further splitting Europe.
	"We take note of the British people's decision with regret. There is no doubt that this is a blow to Europe and to the European unification process," she said.
	But "what the consequences of this would be... Would depend on whether we - the other 27 member states of the EU - prove to be willing and able to not draw quick and simple conclusions from the referendum in Great Britain, which would only further divide Europe," said Merkel.
	Member states should "calmly and prudently analyse and evaluate the situation, before making the right decisions together," said Merkel, who will host talks with French President Francois Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and European Council president Donald Tusk in Berlin on Monday.
	Recalling the founding aim of the EU, Merkel urged Europeans to "never forget ...

Merkel warns EU against kneejerk reaction to Brexit

Finance ministers and top central bankers from the Group of Seven warned that Britain's vote to quit the European Union could have "adverse implications", after the pound dived to three-decade lows and equity markets flew into a tailspin.
	"We recognise that excessive volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates can have adverse implications for economic and financial stability," the club of rich nations said in a statement.
	"G7 central banks have taken steps to ensure adequate liquidity and to support the functioning of markets.
	"We stand ready to use the established liquidity instruments to that end."
	It added that the United Kingdom's "economy and financial sector remain resilient and (we) are confident that the UK authorities are well-positioned to address the consequences of the referendum outcome".
	Earlier today, the Bank of England announced it was ready to pump 250 billion pounds (USD 370 billion, 326 billion euros) to aid the smooth running of markets after ...

G7 warns of adverse implications from Brexit-linked volatility

Defending champion Novak Djokovic and seven-time winner Roger Federer were today drawn to meet in the semi-finals of this year's Wimbledon which starts on Monday.
     World number one Djokovic, who is bidding to take another step closer to the first calendar Grand Slam since 1969, has defeated Federer in the last two finals at the All England Club.
     The draw means that second seed Andy Murray, the 2013 champion, was lined up for a semi-final against fourth seeded Stan Wawrinka.
     Three-time champion Djokovic completed the career Grand Slam with victory at the French Open earlier this month and now holds all four majors.
     It was his 12th career major and made him the first man since Jim Courier in 1992 to win the Australian and French Opens in the same year.
     The 29-year-old Serb begins his Wimbledon campaign against British wild card James Ward and could meet big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic in the last-eight.
     Murray takes on compatriot Liam Broady in the first ..

Djokovic, Federer drawn for Wimbledon semi-final clash

Britain will remain a strong ally and continue to play a leading role in NATO despite its vote to leave the European Union, alliance head Jens Stoltenberg said today.
	"The UK will remain a strong and committed NATO ally and will continue to play its leading role in our alliance," Stoltenberg said in a statement.
	He said NATO would also provide a platform for continued cooperation between its European member states in the face of new security challenges.
	"Today, as we face more instability and uncertainty, NATO is more important than ever as a platform for cooperation among European allies, and between Europe and North America," he said.
	"The alliance remains committed to closer cooperation with the European Union," he added.
	Some 22 of the 28 EU nations are also NATO member states.
	Britons voted 52 per cent to 48 per cent to leave the EU on a groundswell of resentment at what was seen as Brussels' interference in key aspects of daily life.
	Britain, nuclear armed and wielding ...

NATO says UK to stay 'strong ally' despite Brexit

A South African court today threw out President Jacob Zuma's attempt to appeal a ruling that he should face almost 800 corruption charges dating back to before he took office.
	Zuma had sought to overturn a court order in April that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) should reinstate the charges that were dropped in 2009.
	The president has battled several corruption scandals while in office, as well as enduring growing criticism focused on South Africa's record unemployment and poor growth rate.
	"We seriously considered whether the appeal would have reasonable prospects of success and came to the conclusion that there are no merits in the arguments," Judge Aubrey Ledwaba told the High Court in Pretoria.
	"The applications for leave to appeal... Are dismissed."
	In 2009, state prosecutors justified dropping the 783 charges by saying that tapped phone calls between officials in then-president Thabo Mbeki's administration showed undue interference in the case.
	The move cleared ..

S African court rules Zuma can be charged over graft

A strike by staff from Taiwan's largest carrier China Airlines left 20,000 passengers without flights today in the first industrial action by cabin crew in the island's aviation history.
	The airline was forced to cancel all flights out of the two main airports in the capital Taipei, with the only exception a chartered service for President Tsai Ing-wen who left for a state visit to Panama and Paraguay today morning.
	Crowds of passengers queued up at CAL counters in Taipei's Songshan and Taoyuan airports as the airline tried to get them onto different flights.
	Hundreds of flight attendants staged a sit-in outside the firm's headquarters in Taipei overnight, protesting a new requirement that they report for work in Taoyuan -- on the outskirts of Taipei -- rather than downtown Songshan airport.
	They say the measure was brought in "unilaterally".
	"(It) pressures us to work even more overtime and will seriously affect flight safety," the Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union said in a ...

Taiwan China Airlines strike leaves 20,000 without flights

The Czech prime minister said today that Britain's departure from the EU was not the end of the bloc but called for a "more flexible, less bureaucratic EU".
	"Despite the disappointment many of us feel... We must realise that this is not the end of the world and it's absolutely not the end of the EU," Bohuslav Sobotka said on Facebook.
	"The EU must change fast, not because Britain has left but because the European project needs much stronger support from citizens," he added shortly after Britain voted to leave the EU in a referendum.
	"Europe must be more operational, flexible, less bureaucratic and much more perceptive to the diversity that its member states represent," said Sobotka, the head of a centre-left cabinet.
	Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said Brexit was "an example of what happens when steps taken by European politicians are not sufficiently explained to the public."
	Some politicians in the Czech Republic, a country of 10.5 million people that joined the EU in 2004, .

Czech PM urges more flexible EU following Brexit

The Bank of England will take "all necessary steps" to ensure monetary and financial stability after Britain's decision to leave the European Union, it said today.
	"The Bank of England is monitoring developments closely," it said in a brief statement following Thursday's referendum vote.
	"The BoE will take all necessary steps to meet its responsibilities for monetary and financial stability."
	It added that it had already "undertaken extensive contingency planning" and was working closely with Britain's Treasury as well as with other domestic authorities and central banks.
	The announcement came after the Bank of Japan said it stood ready to work with other major central banks to inject ample liquidity to counter wild volatility in markets.
	The British pound collapsed on Friday to its lowest level in more than three decades, and there was chaos also on equity and oil markets as the Brexit vote sparked a wave of panic across trading floors.
	Britain has voted to leave the European ..

Bank of England to take to 'all necessary steps'

Seoul prosecutors arrested an executive of Volkswagen's South Korean unit today, as part of an ongoing probe into the emissions fraud scandal that engulfed the German carmaker.
	An official with the Seoul Central District Court said that it had issued the warrant to arrest the executive -- identified only by his surname Yoon.
	Charges include manipulating documents on emissions tests to get approval for selling Volkswagen vehicles in the country.
	Prosecutors plan to question Yoon on whether he was acting under orders from Volkswagen's German headquarters, Yonhap news agency said.
	The world's second-largest automaker faces legal action in several countries, after it admitted in September to faking US emissions tests on some of its diesel-engined vehicles.
	In November last year, Seoul ordered Volkswagen Korea to recall more than 125,000 diesel-powered cars sold in the South Korean market and fined the firm 14.1 billion won (USD 12.3 million).
	Foreign carmakers, especially German ...

Volkswagen Korea executive arrested over emissions fraud

Scores of Buddhists ransacked a mosque in central Myanmar forcing Muslims to seek refuge overnight in a police station after a dispute between neighbours spilled into religious violence, officials and residents said today.
	Bouts of anti-Muslim violence have left scores dead across the country since 2012 and the febrile atmosphere poses serious challenges for Aung San Suu Kyi's new government.
	The violence erupted yesterday as a mob of around 200 Buddhists rampaged through a Muslim area of Thuye Tha Mein village in Bago province following an argument between neighbours over the building of a Muslim school.
	"It started when a Muslim man and a Buddhist women started to argue and then people came to fight him," Hla Tint, the village administrator, told AFP.
	"Parts of the mosque were destroyed... They also destroyed the fence of the Muslim cemetery," he added.
	Around 70 Muslims, including children, sought shelter in a police station overnight yesterday, he said, adding there were no ..

Myanmar Buddhists ransack mosque as religious violence flares

Seven Indonesian sailors have been kidnapped at sea in the southern Philippines, the government in Jakarta said today, the latest in a spree of abductions by armed gangs in the strife-torn region.
	The crew were towing a coal barge in the Sulu sea on Monday when their tugboat was hijacked by armed groups, Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi said.
	Seven sailors were taken hostage in two separate attacks on the vessel around an hour apart, Marsudi added. The six other crew aboard the tugboat were left unharmed.
	"The government will do everything possible to free these hostages," Marsudi told reporters.
	"The safety of these seven Indonesian citizens is our priority."
	A spokesman for the foreign ministry said he could not confirm whether a ransom demand had been made, or if the Philippine-based Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf was responsible for the abductions.
	Earlier this year the group kidnapped four Malaysian seamen and 14 Indonesian sailors, holding them in their ...

Seven Indonesian sailors kidnapped, held hostage: govt

The pound today collapsed to a 31-year low and there was pandemonium on currency, equity and oil markets as Britain voted to leave the European Union, fuelling a wave of global uncertainty.
	Sterling crashed 10 per cent to USD 1.3229 at one point, its weakest level since 1985, while the greenback itself slumped below 100 yen for the first time in two-and-a-half years as traders fled to safety.
	In the weeks leading up to yesterday's historic vote, there had been widespread warnings that a 'Brexit' would cause a rout across global markets that would wipe trillions off valuations, just months after a painful China-fuelled sell-off.
	The doomsday scenario appeared to be playing out as markets suffered one of their worst days since the 2008 financial crisis after final results confirmed one of the EU's big three economies would leave the bloc after four decades.
	Fears are also growing that other EU members will push for referendums, posing the biggest threat to the future of grouping ...

AFP

AFP

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