Vienna / AFP Austria’s far-right Freedom Party said on Monday it has struck a “cooperation pact” with the party of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is courting populist movements across Europe in an anti-EU campaign. FPOe chief Heinz-Christian Strache signed the five-year agreement with senior United Russia officials during a trip to Russia, where he also renewed criticism of international ...

  Manila / AFP Philippine Catholic leaders and rights groups on Monday condemned as “barbaric” President Rodrigo Duterte’s plan to restore the death penalty and execute “five or six” criminals daily. Duterte, 71, has made reviving the death penalty in the mainly Catholic nation his top legislative priority as part of a brutal war on crime that has killed 5,300 people. ...

  Brussels / AFP Apple on Monday launched a legal challenge against a landmark EU decision that the tech giant pay billions in back-taxes to Ireland, claiming the EU has ignored the law. The European Commission, the EU executive arm, in August ordered iPhone maker Apple to reimburse a record 13 billion euros ($14 billion) in unpaid taxes in Ireland. ...

  Frankfurt am Main / AFP German industrial gases maker Linde and US competitor Praxair are set to announce a $65-billion merger to create a global leader in the sector in the coming days, the Financial Times reported on Monday. Linde and Praxair’s previous attempt at a tie-up failed in September, but they are now expected to reveal preliminary merger terms ...

  Bloomberg Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. agreed to buy insurer Allied World Assurance Co. for $4.9 billion in cash and stock in Chief Executive Officer Prem Watsa’s largest purchase. Fairfax will pay $54 per share, which is 18 percent higher than Allied World’s closing price on Friday. For every share, Allied investors will receive about $10 in cash — half ...

  Bloomberg Svenska Cellulosa AB will acquire BSN Medical for 2.74 billion euros ($2.9 billion) as the Swedish maker of Velvet tissues expands into wound care and orthopedics ahead of a planned split from forestry products. The purchase of the dressings-and-bandage maker from private equity firm EQT Partners AB, to be funded through debt, is expected to generate annual synergies ...

  PARIS / Reuters Iran expects to get its first new jet within weeks under a multi-billion-dollar deal with Airbus for 100 planes, a senior official said on Monday, as Tehran and Western firms race to reopen trade almost a year after sanctions were lifted. The first of the Airbus jets should be delivered in mid-January, part of plans to ...

  Bloomberg Airbnb Inc. is developing a service for booking air travel as the home-rental start-up looks to compete with Priceline Group Inc. and Expedia Inc. for more people’s online travel spending. Development of the flight-booking feature is early, and the company is considering various routes to break into the business, said people familiar with the plans. Airbnb may acquire ...

  Emirates Business Musafir.com, the UAE’s first premium-experience travel website, announced a partnership with Visa across the UAE, Qatar and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and launch of dedicated websites for Qatar and KSA. The move is a breakthrough in Musafir.com’s regional expansion and to the continuous increase in online travel bookings in the region. “At Musafir.com we like to ...

  Islamabad / AFP Pakistan’s embattled national carrier has been widely mocked for sacrificing a goat next to a plane to ward off bad luck, weeks after one of the country’s worst air disasters. A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) turboprop plane built by European manufacturer ATR plummeted into a mountain in a northern region on December 7, bursting into flames ...