Doha / Bloomberg Qatar Airways Ltd. increased its stake in British Airways owner IAG SA for the second time in less than three weeks, as the Persian Gulf carrier seeks to benefit from closer ties with its European partner. The move lifts Qatar Airways’ holding in IAG to 15 percent from a stake of close to 12 percent, which ...

  London / Bloomberg Comair Ltd., the South African operator of British Airways flights, won a court ruling to continue flying in the country amid a legal investigation into whether the company breaches airline foreign-ownership limits. The High Court of Pretoria granted an interdict to the Johannesburg-based carrier that ensures its license won’t be withdrawn by the Air Services Licensing ...

  Singapore / Bloomberg Singapore Airlines Ltd., seeking to restructure its budget airline business, established a new holding company to manage its two low-fare carriers amid speculation of a consolidation in the region. Budget Aviation Holdings Pte will control long-haul carrier Scoot and short-haul carrier Tiger Airways, allowing for greater integration and sharing of operations and planning, Singapore Air said ...

  Sydney / AFP A two-hour flight from Sydney to London is a step closer to reality after the latest successful test on Wednesday of hypersonic technology in the Australian desert. A joint US-Australian military research team is running a series of 10 trials at the world’s largest land testing range, Woomera in South Australia, and at Norway’s Andoya Rocket Range. ...

Lagos / AFP A lack of jet fuel has led to the disruption of local and international flights in Nigeria, airlines said on Wednesday, warning travellers of cancellations. Arik, the country’s largest airline, said in a statement that scarcity of aviation fuel in the last few weeks had reached “alarming” levels due to an ongoing shortfall in imports. “Due to the ...

  Seoul / AFP After more than a decade of global dominance, South Korea’s shipbuilders face an unprecedented crisis that threatens the very survival of one of the flagship industries of Asia’s fourth largest economy. South Korea’s “Big Three” shipbuilders were once considered the holy trinity of Korea Inc. — controlling nearly 70 percent of the global market after seeing ...

  Mexico / AFP Sharks swim around a platform off Mexico’s east coast as scientists drill deep into the ocean floor, extracting the remains of the asteroid widely blamed for the demise of the dinosaurs. Some 30 meters (98 feet) above the ocean floor, the researchers pull out cylinders filled with rocks that could unlock the mysteries of life and ...

  Our Correspondent / Emirates Business As the largest US publisher of magazines worldwide, Hearst Magazines International, a unit of Hearst Corporation, has entered the hospitality industry in Dubai. Hearst Corporation, which encompasses 285 magazines and 200 websites in 34 languages across the 81 countries, has recently inaugurated the world’s first Harper’s BAZAAR Cafe in Dubai Design District (d3), in ...

  Our Correspondent / EMIRATES BUSINESS Founded in 1935, the family-owned business is based in Winnenden, Germany, and is the world’s leading supplier of cleaning technology to the private, commercial and industrial sectors. The Middle East subsidiary opened its doors in 1998 and is located in Dubai. The Karcher product range includes high-pressure cleaners, vacuum cleaners, steam cleaners, window vacs, ...

  CAIRO / WAM The Arab League commended measures taken by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in response to the impact of the decline in world oil prices. “There are promising signs emerging from the project implemented by the UAE to diversify sources of national income,” Arab League’s Secretary-General Dr Nabil Al Araby said in a keynote address at the ...