News in brief
Iraq Kurd leader delays independence vote announcement
ERBIL, Sept 23 (AFP) - Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani on Saturday delayed a scheduled news conference on a controversial independence referendum he has called for next week as pressure mounts for a postponement.
There has been uncertainty about whether the vote will go ahead as Iraq's key allies the US and Iran, as well as powerful neighbour Turkey, have stepped up their opposition.
Iran tests new missile defying US warnings
TEHRAN, Sept 23 (AFP) - Iran said on Saturday that it had successfully tested a new medium-range missile in defiance of warnings from Washington that it was ready to ditch a landmark nuclear deal over the issue.
State television carried footage of the launch of the Khoramshahr missile, which was first displayed at a high-profile military parade in Tehran on Friday. It also carried in-flight video from the nose cone.
The broadcaster gave no date for the test although officials had said on Friday that it would be tested “soon”.
Previous Iranian missile launches have triggered US sanctions and accusations that they violate the spirit of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers.
Failing dam poses new crisis on Puerto Rico amid flooding from Hurricane Maria
SAN JUAN, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Emergency officials in Puerto Rico raced on Saturday to evacuate tens of thousands of people from a river valley below a dam in the island's northwest on the verge of collapse under the weight of flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
The potential calamity was unfolding even as Puerto Ricans struggled without electricity to clean up and dig out from devastation left days earlier by Maria, which has killed at least 25 people across the Caribbean, according to officials and media reports.
Residents of the area were being ferried to higher ground in buses, according to bulletins issued by the National Weather Service from its office in San Juan, the capital of the US island territory.
Britain's minister for London slams "blanket ban" on Uber
LONDON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - A British government minister has criticised the London authorities for deciding to strip Uber of its taxi licence, a major setback to the US technology firm that has become a big player in the city's transport system.
The British capital's transport regulator deemed Uber unfit to run a taxi service and said its licence would not be renewed when it expires on Sept. 30. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a member of the opposition Labour Party, backed the move.
“At the flick of a pen Sadiq Khan is threatening to put 40,000 people out of work and leave 3.5 million users of Uber stranded,” said Greg Hands, the government minister for London. He said Uber had to address safety concerns and it was important that there was a level playing field across the private hire market. “But blanket ban will cause massive inconvenience to millions of Londoners,” Hands said. Uber has turned to customers to help defend itself and an online petition to support Uber in London gathered nearly 430,000 signatures by early Saturday.
Bali volcano on highest alert level, thousands flee