The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.

  Tehran / AFP The European Union’s top diplomat Federica Mogherini arrived in Tehran on Saturday on her first visit since a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers came into force as tensions surface over its implementation. Mogherini, who was the lead negotiator for the six powers who struck the deal, was accompanied by other top EU officials. She ...

  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 ...

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 ...

  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 ...

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 ...

  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, ...

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 ...

  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 ...

  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 ...

  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 ...