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  Mumbai / AFP India’s navy was put on high alert on Thursday in the city of Mumbai, an official said, after reports that four men dressed in black and carrying weapons were seen near a base. Security has been strengthened at several naval facilities along the coast in and around India’s financial capital, while officials investigate the reports. “The navy ...

  Manila / AFP Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday invited the United Nations’ chief and international human rights experts to investigate allegations of widespread extrajudicial killings, but insisted they also face him in a public debate. The acid-tongued Duterte had earlier used vulgar language to dismiss criticism from the two organisations and the United States of his bloody war on ...

  Kabul / AFP Afghanistan on Thursday signed a peace agreement with notorious warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, paving the way for him to make a political comeback despite a history of war crimes and after years in hiding. Hekmatyar, who heads the now largely dormant Hezb-i-Islami militant group, is the latest in a series of controversial figures that Kabul has sought to ...

  Rosetta / AFP Dozens of migrants were feared dead on Thursday after their overloaded fishing boat capsized off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, as authorities arrested four suspected traffickers following the tragedy that killed at least 42 people. The latest in a string of disasters to hit those undertaking the perilous sea crossing to Europe saw hundreds of mainly African migrants thrown ...

  Singapore / AFP Global airlines are expected to post record profits of almost $40 billion this year, the head of industry body IATA said on Thursday, but he warned the sector faced threats from terrorism, a sharp rise in oil prices and protectionism. Alexandre de Juniac, who took the reins at the International Air Transport Association on September 1, ...

  Paris / AFP US online retailing giant Amazon rolled out across Europe on Thursday its section where it features hand-crafted products sold directly by artisans. More than a thousand European artisans have joined Handmade, where they can present their wares on the e-commerce website as well as explain their craft and the unique properties of each object.Amazon emerged as ...

  Bloomberg IndiGo, India’s biggest airline, will buy 20 Airbus Group SE A321neo jets instead of smaller A320neos as planned, as carriers increasingly opt for planes that can transport more passengers and fly longer distances. “IndiGo has converted 20 A320neo aircraft into A321neo,” the Gurgaon, India-based company said in an e-mailed response to questions, without providing further details. The carrier’s ...

  Bloomberg Colombia’s Avianca Holdings SA and Avianca Brasil, the two airlines controlled by the Efromovich brothers, are seeking separate international partners while maintaining a long-term goal of merging, Jose Efromovich said. “We are under confidentiality agreements’’ and many companies have shown interest, Efromovich, the chairman of Avianca Brasil, said in an interview in Sao Paulo. “We are looking for ...

  Colombo / AFP Sri Lanka’s cash-strapped national carrier is in talks to lease some of its new Airbus aircraft to Pakistan and Iran to reduce a $1 billion loss, a minister said. State Enterprise Development Minister Kabir Hashim said SriLankan Airlines was about to conclude a deal with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to lease out one Airbus A330. “The ...

  Bloomberg FedEx Corp., owner of the world’s largest cargo airline, raised its full-year profit forecast as continued growth in e-commerce deliveries helped push earnings for the fiscal first quarter ahead of analysts’ estimates. Higher yields on air and ground shipments and rising package volumes bolstered quarterly results, the courier said in a statement Tuesday. FedEx continued to benefit from ...