AFP The number of war-displaced civilians in Kunduz has more than doubled to 24,000, the UN said on Sunday, as street battles persisted a week after the Taliban stormed into the northern Afghan city. Terrified residents facing a growing humanitarian crisis have been fleeing explosions and gunfights to neighbouring provinces of Balkh, Takhar, Baghlan and the capital Kabul. “Initial ...

  Berlin / AFP German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday left for Mali, the first stop on a three-day Africa tour focused on security and stemming the migrant influx to Europe. Merkel later heads to Niger and then Ethiopia where she is to visit the African Union headquarters in the capital Addis Ababa. Her talks with leaders of all three ...

  Ankara / AFP Eighteen people were killed on Sunday when a van packed with five tonnes of explosives blew up in Turkey’s restive southeast in an attack blamed on Kurdish militants, the prime minister said. The bombing, which killed 10 soldiers and eight civilians, was one of the single deadliest attacks on the Turkish security forces since the attempted ...

  Seoul / AFP Analysis published on Sunday of recent satellite images fuelled concerns that North Korea may be on the brink of another nuclear test or long-range rocket launch. Speculation that Pyongyang is preparing such a show of force has been linked to Monday’s anniversary of the founding of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party. Past nuclear tests and missile ...

  Sydney / AFP Australia’s richest woman and a Chinese property developer joined forces Sunday to bid for one of the world’s largest cattle estates, despite Canberra’s rejection of previous foreign offers. Australia’s biggest private landowner, cattle firm S. Kidman and Co, has attracted keen interest from Chinese firms wanting to secure the sprawling pastoral empire. But the government has ...

  Bloomberg Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s financial affiliate appointed a new chief executive officer as it prepares for a highly anticipated 2017 initial public offering. Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group Co. named finance veteran and President Eric Jing to take the helm from Lucy Peng, who retains her role as executive chair, according to an e-mailed statement ...

  Bloomberg Three of China’s largest cities plan to limit the pool of drivers for online ride-sharing services, dealing a blow to Didi Chuxing, the firm that agreed to acquire the Chinese business of Uber Technologies Inc. Draft rules issued by Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen said that only holders of local residency permits — called hukou — would be able ...

  Bloomberg Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison said he doesn’t see much appetite for further cuts to his nation’s already record-low interest rates, while stressing that’s a decision for new central bank Governor Philip Lowe. “From our perspective, the old pushing-against-the-string analogy is very relevant,” Morrison said in an interview at the International Monetary Fund’s headquarters in Washington. “It’s up to ...

  NEW DELHI / AP A section of the cargo terminal at New Delhi’s international airport was cordoned off Sunday after a suspected radioactive leak, but officials later said the radiation posed no danger to people and called off the emergency. The leak at Indira Gandhi International Airport was suspected to have occurred from a package containing cancer medicine that ...

  Bloomberg Shanghai, China’s financial hub, is putting in place new measures to curb a surge in property prices as part of the country’s latest push to ensure stable and healthy real estate development. The new steps announced by the city’s housing commission include increasing land supply and forbidding price increases in new home pre-sales without approval. In addition, punishment ...