April, 2016

• 16 April

  Afghan forces repel attack on Kunduz

    KABUL / AFP Officials say Afghan forces have repelled a Taliban assault on the northern city of Kunduz, which the insurgents had briefly seized last year. Gen. Qasim Jangalbagh, the provincial police chief, said on Saturday that security in Kunduz city has improved and that the Taliban were defeated in other parts of Kunduz province. Abdul Wasay Basil, spokesman for ...

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• 16 April

  Iraq MPs quit session aimed at replacing speaker

  

  Baghdad / AFP A group of Iraqi lawmakers said they would not take part in a Saturday parliament session to select a replacement for the speaker, apparently leaving it without the necessary quorum. Iraq was on course to have two rival claimants to the speakership, further increasing chaos in parliament, which has already seen a vote to sack speaker Salim Al ...

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• 16 April

  UNSC strongly condemns North Korea missile test

    United Nations / AFP The UN Security Council strongly condemned North Korea’s test-firing of a missile on Friday, saying that the launch violated UN resolutions even if it was a failure. The council demanded that North Korea refrain from further actions in violation of resolutions barring Pyongyang from developing ballistic missile technology. In a unanimous statement, the council said ...

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• 16 April

  Thousands mark 2nd anniv of S Korean ferry disaster

  

  SEOUL / AP Thousands of South Koreans participated in memorial events on Saturday for the more than 300 people who died in a ferry disaster two years ago that deeply rattled the country. Hundreds of people, carrying umbrellas in light evening rain, created long lines at a square in the capital, Seoul, waiting to place flowers on a makeshift altar ...

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• 16 April

  4 Indonesian sailors kidnapped off Malaysia

    Kuala Lumpur / AFP Gunmen have abducted four Indonesian sailors and shot and wounded one crew member on the high seas off the east coast of Malaysia’s Sabah state, waters where Abu Sayyaf militants are known to operate, a senior police official said on Saturday. If the Philippines-based Abu Sayyaf is confirmed to be behind the kidnapping off Borneo, ...

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• 16 April

  Ferrari’s luxury goals face policy reset as Prada hits skids

  

  Bloomberg Ferrari NV’s ambition to compete with luxury-goods brands like Hermes or Prada has failed to make headway in the six months since its initial public offering, raising pressure on the new board to reset the sports-car maker’s strategy. Scepticism over the company’s prospects has caused the stock to tumble about 20 percent since its October listing. The new board ...

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• 16 April

  Spain sells off ‘ghost airport’

    Madrid / AFP Spanish judicial authorities revealed that the ‘ghost airport’ of Ciudad Real, a symbol of the country’s financial excess in the boom years, had been sold off for 56 million euros ($62 million). Spain’s construction and property sectors boomed until the downturn hit seven years ago and one victim was the airport, initially touted as an alternative ...

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• 16 April

  Bang & Olufsen talks halted with Chinese suitor

  

    Copenhagen / AFP Bang & Olufsen, the Danish maker of upmarket consumer electronics, said that it had ended takeover talks with a Hong Kong investor after the expiry of a deadline for a bid. The Danish group said its board of directors had been given several deadlines, the last of which was on Friday, during its takeover talks with ...

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• 16 April

  Allegiant Air says it’s boosting safety facilities after mishaps

  

    Bloomberg Allegiant Airlines, which came under special scrutiny by federal safety regulators last year, said operations are improving after it increased spending on safety management, training facilities and younger aircraft. “We’re investing in everything we know to invest in,” Chief Operating Officer Jude Bricker told reporters. “Most of the indicators we watch are positive. Everything is moving in the ...

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• 16 April

  Polish shoe retailer CCC sees Q1 loss, keeps 2016 targets

  

    WARSAW / Reuters Poland’s CCC, Eastern Europe’s largest shoe retailer, swung to a net loss in the first quarter of 2016 due to poor weather and an earlier Easter than last year, but still expects a big rise in 2016 sales, its deputy chief said. “March was indeed very weak and there will be a net loss in the ...

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