June, 2016

• 14 June

  Germany urges Albania on judicial reform, key to EU step

    TIRANA/ AP German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called on the Albanian political forces to pass a judicial reform package, considered fundamental to convince the European Union launch membership negotiations. Steinmeier, who is to visit Tirana on Tuesday, was quoted by the Albanian Mapo daily newspaper as calling on all political forces “to take over overall state responsibility and ...

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• 14 June

  Kosovo amends draft law to formally prolong EU’s mission

    PRISTINA / AP The Kosovo government has amended a draft law to prolong the European Union rule of law mission, known as EULEX, for two years. A statement received on Tuesday said the previous evening the Cabinet met to amend a draft law on prolonging of the EULEX mandate after a letter. The Cabinet acted after President Hashim Thaci ...

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• 14 June

  French cop killed in fresh terror attack

  

    Magnanville / AFP A man claiming allegiance to the IS group killed a French policeman and his partner, investigators said on Tuesday, in what authorities blasted as an “appalling terrorist act.” President Francois Hollande held a top-level security meeting after the overnight attack, which took place as France was on high alert for the Euro 2016 football championships. Sources ...

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• 14 June

  Operation to lift S Korean sunken ferry suspended

  

    Seoul / AFP Strong waves forced the suspension of an operation to lift a South Korean ferry that sank in 2014 in a disaster that shocked and enraged the country, a spokesman said on Tuesday. The Sewol was carrying 476 people when it sank off the southwestern island of Jindo in April 2014, with the loss of 304 lives—most ...

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• 14 June

  EU court backs UK’s migrant child benefit limits

  

    Brussels / AFP The EU’s top court on Tuesday backed Britain’s right to limit child benefits to European migrants, a hot-button issue in Britain’s referendum on its future in the European Union next week. The decision comes as a series of opinion polls show a growing lead for the campaign for a “Brexit,” despite Prime Minister David Cameron’s appeals ...

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• 14 June

  China gives hero’s funeral to UN peacekeeper killed in Mali

    BAMAKO / AP A Chinese peacekeeper killed while serving with the UN mission in Mali has been given a hero’s funeral in his home province. The ashes of 29-year-old first sergeant Shen Liangliang were interred on Tuesday in a cemetery for national heroes in his native Henan. State media reports said thousands of people lined the streets along the ...

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• 14 June

  Lufthansa monitors Nigeria as country owes $600mn in fares

  

    Berlin / Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG is closely monitoring its flights to Nigeria as the aviation industry awaits payment of about $600 million in outstanding air fares in the country, which is struggling to cope with depleted U.S. currency reserves. The German carrier has made “minor adjustments” to winter flights to Africa’s biggest economy, Claus Becker, managing director for ...

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• 14 June

  S African Airways subsidises low-cost Mango Airlines

  

    Pretoria / Bloomberg South African Airways SOC Ltd. said the airline subsidized its low-cost entity Mango Airlines by sub-leasing planes at a discount to market value, a move that may have given the carrier an advantage in the country’s highly competitive budget market. The state-owned carrier sub-leased Mango all 10 of its aircraft “at a significantly discounted cost” while ...

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• 14 June

  King Power buys $225mn stake in Air Asia

  

    Bangkok / AFP King Power, the Thai duty-free conglomerate behind the remarkable rise of English football champions Leicester City, said on Tuesday it had bought a $225 million stake in Thai Air Asia, the country’s largest budget airline. The purchase allows King Power’s billionaire owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha to further tap into Thailand’s booming tourism industry and expand beyond his ...

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• 14 June

  Qantas may be target for Chinese Airlines

    Sydney / Bloomberg Qantas Airways Ltd. could be China’s next investment target after conglomerates from the country bought stakes in the Australian carrier’s closest domestic rival, Credit Suisse Group AG said. Separate investments in Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. by HNA Group and Nanshan Group in the past two weeks have put around one third of the airline in Chinese ...

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