Visso /AFP Italy was counting the cost on Thursday after another major earthquake forced thousands to flee their homes in terror but “miraculously” did not cause any fatalities. Two months after a quake left nearly 300 dead in the country’s tremor-prone central spine, two powerful shocks ripped through the mountainous, sparsely-populated region on Wednesday evening. Despite numerous building collapses, …

  Seoul /AFP South Korean prosecutors on Thursday set up a high-powered “task-force” to probe a widening scandal involving alleged influence-peddling by a close confidante of President Park Geun-Hye. Choi Soon-Sil, an enigmatic woman with no government position, was already part of an investigation into allegations that she used her relationship with the president to strong-arm conglomerates into multi-million dollar …

  Bloomberg Boeing Co. will remain a cash-generating juggernaut even if weak demand forces deeper production cuts to the 777 jetliner, a crucial source of profit, Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg said. Cash flow will increase next year and in 2018 as the Chicago-based planemaker fills a record backlog of orders and reaps its first profits from the 787 Dreamliner, …