February, 2017

• 26 February

  Ghosn steps back from Nissan to focus on Mitsubishi turnaround

  

    Bloomberg Carlos Ghosn handed over the day-to-day running of Nissan Motor Co. to Hiroto Saikawa, who will take the mantle of president and chief executive officer while his long-time boss focuses on revamping struggling affiliate Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Ghosn, 62, will remain chairman of Nissan, a title he also holds at alliance partners Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors. He’ll ...

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• 26 February

  Auto lender backs away from ignition kill switch

  

    Bloomberg Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc., one of the country’s biggest subprime auto lenders, has decided not to use GPS-tracking and ignition kill swi- tch technology as regulators clamp down on the devices, an executive said. Car lenders use the devices to help them find and repossess cars when borrowers default on loans, which is becoming increasingly common amid ...

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• 26 February

  Aston Martin boosts sales

    Bloomberg Aston Martin’s bet on a new $215,000 luxury coupe is paying off as surging demand for the DB11 has the carmaker projecting a revenue bump of as much as 37% this year ahead of a potential initial public offering. Orders for the DB11, which debuted a year ago at the Geneva motor show, paced a 48% jump to ...

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• 26 February

  Malaysia: Poisoning of Kim caused paralysis, quick death

  

    KUALA LUMPUR / AP Malaysia’s health minister said on Sunday that the dose of nerve agent given to North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un’s exiled half brother was so high that it killed him within 20 minutes and caused “very serious paralysis.” Kim Jong Nam died February 13 at Kuala Lumpur’s airport in what Malaysian police say was a well-planned ...

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• 26 February

  Saudi king begins multi-nation tour of Asia

    RIYADH / AP Saudi King Salman has arrived in Malaysia to kick off a multi-nation tour aimed at boosting economic ties with Asia.The official Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday that the monarch’s tour will also take in Indonesia, Brunei, Japan, China and the Maldives. Salman will also visit Saudi Arabia’s neighbor Jordan before returning home. OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia ...

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• 26 February

  Iran begins navy drill off Strait of Hormuz as US newly wary

    TEHRAN / AP Iran’s navy began an annual drill on Sunday near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, its first major exercise since the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, state television reported. The TV report quoted navy chief Adm. Habibollah Sayyari as saying the two-day maneuver will cover an area of 2 million square kilometers (772,000 square miles) in the ...

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• 26 February

  Taliban leader encourages people to plant trees

    KABUL / AP Springtime in Afghanistan usually brings a spike in violence as the Taliban takes advantage of the thaw to launch a wave of fresh attacks. But the Taliban’s leader has just issued a statement calling on Afghans to plant more trees. In a public letter issued on Sunday in four languages, including English, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada says that, ...

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• 26 February

  ‘Commandos’ recapture new neighborhood in Mosul

  

    BAGHDAD / AP Iraqi militarized police captured two neighborhoods on the western side of Mosul on Sunday amid fierce clashes with IS militants, as thousands of people continued to flee the battle to government-controlled areas, security officials said. Iraqi forces, backed by aerial support by the US-led international coalition, launched a new push last week to drive IS militants from ...

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• 26 February

  Pentagon seeks to expand fight against extremists in Somalia

  

    WASHINGTON / AP The Pentagon wants to expand the military’s ability to battle al-Qaida-linked militants in Somalia, potentially putting US forces closer to the fight against a stubborn extremist group that has plotted attacks against America, senior US officials said. The recommendations sent to the White House would allow US special operations forces to increase assistance to the Somali National ...

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• 26 February

  Russian opposition figure freed; vows fight for human rights

    Moscow / AFP A convicted Russian opposition activist who says he was tortured in prison was freed on Sunday and has vowed to keep up the fight for human rights in Russia. Ildar Dadin was released from his jail in the remote Altai region in southern Siberia after Russia’s Supreme Court annulled his 2½-year sentence last week because of procedural ...

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