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  Berlin / AFP German federal prosecutors said on Thursday they had brought charges against a 19-year-old Syrian man accused of having scouted targets in Berlin for a potential attack by the IS group. The man identified only as Shaas Al-M. allegedly joined the extremist group in 2013 and took part in various military operations in Syria, they said in ...

  Hanoi / AFP Vietnam customs officials have seized nearly one tonne of ivory hidden in a timber shipment from Kenya, an official said on Thursday, the third major illegal haul of precious tusks in less than a month. The communist nation is a popular transit route for illegal ivory from Africa heading to other parts of Asia, namely China, ...

  Brussels / AFP NATO and the European Union are partners in defence, not rivals, top officials said on Thursday, downplaying any suggestion EU military ambitions might undermine the US-led alliance which has protected Europe for decades. “I strongly believe it is absolutely possible to strengthen European defence without duplicating efforts by NATO,” alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said. “EU leaders ...

  Tokyo / AFP The United States on Thursday reassured its key Asian allies Japan and South Korea that its policy seeking North Korea’s nuclear disarmament remains unchanged, after its intelligence chief called it a “lost cause”. Washington has always maintained it cannot accept North Korea as a nuclear state and, under President Barack Obama, has made any talks with ...

  Visso /AFP Italy was counting the cost on Thursday after another major earthquake forced thousands to flee their homes in terror but “miraculously” did not cause any fatalities. Two months after a quake left nearly 300 dead in the country’s tremor-prone central spine, two powerful shocks ripped through the mountainous, sparsely-populated region on Wednesday evening. Despite numerous building collapses, ...

  Seoul /AFP South Korean prosecutors on Thursday set up a high-powered “task-force” to probe a widening scandal involving alleged influence-peddling by a close confidante of President Park Geun-Hye. Choi Soon-Sil, an enigmatic woman with no government position, was already part of an investigation into allegations that she used her relationship with the president to strong-arm conglomerates into multi-million dollar ...

  Bloomberg Boeing Co. will remain a cash-generating juggernaut even if weak demand forces deeper production cuts to the 777 jetliner, a crucial source of profit, Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg said. Cash flow will increase next year and in 2018 as the Chicago-based planemaker fills a record backlog of orders and reaps its first profits from the 787 Dreamliner, ...

  Berlin / AFP Strikes at German low-cost airlines Eurowings and Germanwings led to the cancellation of nearly 400 flights Thursday, stranding some 40,000 passengers, a spokesman for the two companies said. The airlines, owned by flag carrier Lufthansa, are locked in disputes with the Ufo flight attendants union. Eurowings staff are calling for salary increases and improved working conditions ...

  AMSTERDAM / Reuters Qatar Airways expected talks with the European Union on new air traffic services agreements will take several years, and Qatar will focus on ensuring the EU’s planned fair competition clauses do not disadvantage the carrier, its CEO said. “We’re still in the early days of negotiating with the EU, and one area of particular notice is ...

  Bloomberg GKN Plc said it’s preparing to take an earnings hit as Airbus Group SE halves the build rate for the A380 superjumbo, and it may cut 230 jobs at a United Kingdom helicopter-parts plant as the aerospace industry wrestles with ebbing demand for older models and production glitches afflicting new aircraft. Airbus’s decision to slash A380 output to ...