Dhaka / AFP Four Bangladeshi fishermen were injured when Myanmar’s navy allegedly opened fire on them while they were fishing along the countries’ troubled border in the Bay of Bengal, an official said on Wednesday. A group of 14 fishermen, four of whom have been hospitalised with bullet wounds, told coastguard officials that a Myanmar navy ship had entered …

  New York / AFP The mother of Juana and Ines Alejandro took a deep breath, put on a brave face and handed her toddlers over to strangers at the Mexican border to be smuggled into the United States. That was 17 years ago. For the mother, going back to the poverty of her village in Oaxaca in Mexico was out …

  Bloomberg Airbus Group SE’s struggles with its A380 superjumbo jet are deepening as the planemaker delays deliveries of a dozen aircraft over the next two years to Emirates, the double-decker’s biggest customer. To make up for the financial drag from the tardier handovers, Airbus will accelerate cost cuts, according to an e-mailed company statement. The delay stems from an …

  Bloomberg Delta Air Lines Inc. scrapped an order for 18 Boeing Co. widebody Dreamliner jets valued at $4 billion at list prices, a commitment that was inherited with the company’s 2008 merger with Northwest Airlines. Atlanta-based Delta reached an agreement with Boeing on the cancellation, without disclosing terms, according to a statement from the carrier. The airline is sticking …

  Bloomberg China is looking to draw private investors, including those from outside the country, into its aerospace programme to supplement funding from the government for commercial satellite launches. Investment is welcome for commercial rocket development, satellite research, manufacturing and for applying aerospace technologies to public welfare, Wu Yanhua, vice minister of China National Space Administration, said at a press …

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business UK’s famous vitamin and supplement store – Holland & Barrett has opened retail operations at the ‘Town Square’, the vibrant retail destination within Al Forsan Village. The Town Square will now be home to several ‘community focussed’ brands. These outlets located at the community’s vibrant retail destination is spread across 15,000m. The brands at …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Joyalukkas, world’s favourite Jeweller, gives its customers more reasons to enjoy the world-famous Dubai Shopping Festival with up to 34 KG gold to be won by 100 winners across the UAE. Shoppers have the opportunity to win half a kilogram of gold first prize and quarter kilogram gold second & third prize in daily raffle …

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Etihad Airways Engineering and Lantal Textiles AG have launched the first Flammability Test Laboratory in the Middle East, for regional customers within the aviation industry, including VIP operators, MRO organisations, design and production organisations as well as cabin interior suppliers. Located inside the Etihad Airways Engineering facility adjacent to Abu Dhabi International Airport, the new …

  Nairobi / AFP When Beatrice Athiambo pulls the plastic covering off her stall in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi in the morning, her first customers are already waiting. They want to buy the earth that she sells – to eat. In Africa, geophagia, the eating of clay or stones, is widespread, especially among pregnant women, though estimates vary widely …

  Butembo / AFP In DR Congo’s war-infested Great Lakes region, carpenter-turned-sculptor Sauveur Mulwana has left a trail of monumental statues over the past decade as part of his self-styled mission to revive local history and boost peace. The 42-year-old moved back home to Butembo, a teeming city of more than a million near the borders of Uganda, Rwanda and …