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Islamabad / DPA The number of Koreans who travelled abroad reached a monthly high in January, according to figures from a government-run tourism agency. Pakistani banks have been allowed to restore normal financial relations with Iran in the wake of lifting of ban on Tehran by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) issued on ...

Dublin / AFP Ireland faced political uncertainty on Saturday after two exit polls indicated voters had punished the governing coalition in Europe’s fastest-growing economy, still feeling the pain of years of austerity. As counting got under way following the parliamentary election, it appeared PM Enda Kenny’s centre-right Fine Gael and its Labour junior partner would lose support as voters angry ...

Bloomberg After the pound’s worst week since Britain’s 2009 recession, traders are betting there’s more pain to come. Sterling plunged 3.8 percent versus the dollar this week after the referendum on Britain’s European Union membership was set for June 23. The cost of six-month options suggests traders are the most bearish on the U.K. currency since 2010. “It’s difficult for ...

London / Bloomberg London Mayor Boris Johnson said the U.K. would have a “great future” if it votes to leave the 28-member European Union in a referendum planned for this June. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Johnson told The Times newspaper in an interview. “It is not going to come round again. If we don’t do it now this thing ...

Bloomberg Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne warned he may make further cuts in public spending in his annual budget on March 16 after data showed Britain’s economic recovery is not as advanced as he hoped. Osborne will seek further “efficiencies” in government departments before making cuts to services, he said in an interview with the BBC in Shanghai, where ...

Paris / Bloomberg President Francois Hollande was heckled on Saturday as France’s annual agricultural fair kicked off against the backdrop of the “worst crisis ever” facing the country’s farmers. Livestock farmers booed and whistled as Hollande and Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll made their way through the vast hall in southern Paris, walking past a large banner reading: “I am ...

LONDON / Bloomberg London City Airport’s sale to a Canadian-led group of investors at a steep premium received a cool reception from both its biggest user and the top UK airline, which said they won’t accept the higher fees that might be imposed to justify the price. Willie Walsh, chief executive officer of International Airlines Group (IAG) SA, said that ...

London / AFP International Airlines Group, owner of British Airways (BA) and Iberia, said that net profit surged 52 percent last year on tumbling fuel prices and its purchase of Irish carrier Aer Lingus. Profit after tax jumped to 1.495 billion euros ($1.654 billion) in 2015 compared with 982 million euros one year earlier, IAG said in an earnings statement. ...

Indianapolis / Bloomberg Short-haul carrier Republic Airways Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy, blaming a lack of pilots for its failure to succeed when major airlines are enjoying record profits. Indianapolis-based Republic operates a fleet of smaller planes that provide flights for larger airlines including American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. Although it landed ...

PARiS / Bloomberg Air France told a workers’ council it will eliminate 1,605 jobs this year, with all cuts to come through voluntary departures, people familiar with the situation said. Ground staff, including mechanics and airport workers, account for the vast majority of the cuts, with 1,405 jobs set to go, or 3 percent of their total, the people said ...