February, 2016

• 18 February

  Kenyan army kills Al-Shabaab deputy in raid on training camp

  

  Bloomberg Kenya’s army said it killed the head of Al Shabaab’s intelligence wing and 10 other leaders in a strike on one of the extremist-militant group’s training camps in southern Somalia. Mahad Karate, who was also a deputy commander of Al Shabaab, died in a “major strike” by the Kenya Defence Forces(KDF) on Feb. 8 at Nadaris, about 300 kilometers ...

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• 18 February

  Aid convoy enters besieged Syrian towns in ‘test’ for warring sides

  

  Damascus / AFP Trucks carrying aid entered four besieged towns in Syria on Wednesday, in what the United Nations described as a test for the country’s warring sides ahead of a hoped-for ceasefire. The Red Crescent said trucks laden with supplies entered Moadimayet Al Sham, near Damascus, the first delivery of aid since world powers agreed on an ambitious plan ...

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• 18 February

  Dozens of Syria health facilities attacked: MSF

  

  Beirut / AFP More than 60 health facilities in Syria supported by the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity were hit in attacks last year, with a dozen completely destroyed, the group said on Thursday. In a new report, MSF warned Syria’s health infrastructure “has been decimated”, with frequent aerial assaults and shelling of hospitals and clinics, in violation of international ...

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• 18 February

  Lockheed Martin offers to build F-16 warplanes in India

  

  New Delhi / Bloomberg Lockheed Martin Corp. has offered to build its flagship F-16 fighter jet in India, as the South Asian nation scrambles to modernize its aging defense fleet while trying to establish the country as a manufacturing base. Lockheed Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Marillyn Hewson, made the offer to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September, ...

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• 18 February

  Japan LNG imports fall most in 6 years

  

  Tokyo / Bloomberg The world’s biggest buyer of liquefied natural gas said imports fell the most in more than six years as nuclear reactors restarted and warm weather cut demand. Shipments of the super-cooled fuel to Japan fell 14.1 percent in January, the biggest drop since May 2009, to about 7.2 million metric tons from a year earlier, according to ...

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• 18 February

  Apple launches payments service in China

  

  Shanghai / AFP Apple on Thursday launched its mobile payment service Apple Pay in China, pitting the US technology giant against strong domestic rivals in a large but already crowded market. Success in the world’s second-largest economy is crucial for the California-based firm. Apple Pay is available in only a few other countries including the United States, Britain, Canada and ...

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• 18 February

  Toyota recalls 2.9mn vehicles worldwide over seatbelt defect

  

  Tokyo / AFP Toyota said on Thursday it was recalling 2.87 million vehicles globally due to the possibility that their rear seatbelt could come apart in a crash and cause injuries. The recall involved Toyota’s RAV4 sports utility vehicle made between July 2005 and August 2014 and between October 2005 and January 2016. The announcement also involves its Vanguard SUV ...

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• 18 February

  Vietnam’s VietJet Air signs US$3.04bn deal

  Singapore / AFP Vietnamese budget carrier VietJet Air said on Thursday it had signed a $3.04 billion deal with US engine maker Pratt & Whitney, underscoring the growth potential of Southeast Asia’s low-cost airline market. The engines will power the 63 Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft ordered by the carrier, VietJet said in a statement at the Singapore Airshow. The ...

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• 18 February

  An impending recession?

  

  It’s economists versus the stock market. Economists generally don’t forecast a recession anytime soon. The stock market does — or at least that’s one plausible interpretation of its recent roller-coaster behaviour. Who’s right? We’ll know in a few months. Meanwhile, the dispute highlights the incomplete nature of the present recovery, which has lasted a long time but, to millions of ...

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• 18 February

  Oil output freeze deal a positive sign

  The proposal to freeze oil output at January levels by Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela and Qatar is a silver lining for the market and crude producers, as it signifies a genuine attempt to reverse sharp slide in oil prices that has pummeled economies, markets and companies. While the deal is preliminary, it’s the first significant cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC ...

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