PARIS (AFP) -- Europe's aviation safety watchdog called Tuesday for the transmission time of tracking beacons fitted onto black box flight recorders to be extended from 30 to 90 days, a reform that may have made it easier to find the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.The aircraft disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board, and an intense search for the plane has been scaled back after coming up with nothing despite an air and sea hunt over 4.64 million square kilometres of the southern Indian

BEIJING (AFP) -- Six people were wounded in a knife attack at a Chinese train station Tuesday, after a string of violent episodes at transport hubs authorities blame on "terrorists" from the restive region of Xinjiang.Chinese media reports said there were as many as four attackers in white caps -- often donned by Muslims -- at the station in the southern city of Guangzhou. But police said later that there was only one and did not offer any details on attire. The suspect was shot and taken to a h

BRUSSELS (AP) -- A group of 11 European Union countries agreed to introduce a financial transaction tax from 2016 onward, Austrian Finance Minister Michael Spindelegger said Tuesday. The nations -- including economic heavyweights Germany, France, Italy and Spain -- will initially tax only the trading of shares and some derivatives, Spindelegger told a meeting of the EU's 28 finance ministers in Brussels. European officials started pushing for the tax following the 2008-09 financial crisis, to cu

The Group of Seven nations agreed to find new sources of energy and expand their natural gas infrastructure to prevent Russia from using its oil and gas reserves as a “political weapon,” German Economy and Energy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said. The world’s leading economies will also increase their efforts to save energy and to use renewable power as part of the agreement, Gabriel said at a press briefing in Rome where G-7 energy ministers are meeting today in Rome. The U.K. government is pushing

Australia issued an El Nino alert on expectations the weather-altering pattern will probably develop as early as July, potentially bringing drought across the Asia-Pacific region and heavier-than-usual rains to South America. The tropical Pacific Ocean has warmed steadily in recent months, the Bureau of Meteorology said on its website today, citing large anomalies below the surface and increasingly warm surface temperatures. Models suggested that the likelihood of an event is at least 70 percent

GENEVA (AFP) -- South Sudanese refugees have poured into neighbouring Ethiopia over the past three days to flee fighting in their homeland, the United Nations said Tuesday.Adrian Edwards, spokesman for the UN high commissioner for refugees, said that over 11,000 people had crossed into Ethiopia in the past 72 hours.The wave began after South Sudanese government forces captured the rebel stronghold of Nasir at the weekend.The refugees, all from the ethnic Nuer population of South Sudan, crossed t

PARIS (AFP) -- Setbacks for emerging markets and rising risks of fallout from the Ukraine crisis are holding back the global economic recovery, the OECD said on Tuesday.The global economy is now set to grow by 3.4 percent this year, it forecast, trimming its outlook by 0.2 points.The organisation held its forecast that the world economy would grow by 3.9 percent next year.Central banks, including the European Central Bank, must go on shoring up growth, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation a

PARIS (AFP) -- Setbacks for emerging markets and rising risks of fallout from the Ukraine crisis are holding back the global economic recovery, the OECD said on Tuesday.The global economy is now set to grow by 3.4 percent this year, it forecast, trimming its outlook by 0.2 points.The organisation held its forecast that the world economy would grow by 3.9 percent next year.Central banks, including the European Central Bank, must go on shoring up growth, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation a

CAIRO (AP) -- Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the former military chief who removed Egypt's Islamist president and who is now poised to win the post in elections this month, says the Muslim Brotherhood will never return as an organization, accusing it of using militant groups as cover to destabilize the country.El-Sissi spoke in the first TV interview of his campaign, aired late on Monday, vowing that restoring stability and bringing development are his priorities. The comments were a seemingly unequivoc

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world’s biggest maker of luxury autos, said first-quarter profit rose 2.6 percent as growth in demand for its sport-utility vehicles helped make up for added investments in expansion. Earnings before interest and taxes increased to 2.09 billion euros ($2.9 billion) from 2.04 billion euros a year earlier, the Munich-based company said today in a statement. Profit exceeded the 2.04 billion-euro average of 10 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue gained 3

NEW YORK (AP) -- Facebook wants to increase its advertising and get more clicks on all kinds of ads. It believes tapping into the lucrative small business market will help it achieve those goals.Sheryl Sandberg, the social media company's operating chief and "Lean In" author, says the key is showing business owners how to find new customers by creating Facebook pages and by buying ads that appear on individual Facebook users' pages. The company plans a campaign called Facebook Fit with workshops

SLAVYANSK, Ukraine (AFP) -- The death toll from a military offensive in a flashpoint town in east Ukraine rose to at least 34, officials said Tuesday, amid fresh warnings of civil war and the shutdown of a major airport in the region."Chaos and the risk of civil war" are now looming in Ukraine, said French President Francois Hollande, reflecting a frantic European push under way for a diplomatic solution before it is too late.There are fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin could yet order

BANGKOK (AFP) -- Thailand's Constitutional Court said it will rule on Wednesday whether to remove Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from office on abuse of power charges, a verdict that could plunge the country deeper into crisis.The premier appeared at the court on Tuesday to deny the allegation, filed by a group of senators who said that then-national security chief Thawil Pliensri was replaced after her 2011 election for the benefit of her party.But the court's president Charoon Intachan sai

Bayer AG agreed to acquire Merck & Co.’s consumer unit for $14.2 billion, solidifying its position near the top of the market for over-the-counter health products. The two companies also will collaborate on the development and marketing of a class of drugs that includes Bayer’s Adempas, which is approved to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension, Merck and Bayer said in a statement today. Merck will pay Bayer $1 billion for the collaboration, with additional payments possible if sales goals are m

JUBA (AFP) -- Rebel gunmen in South Sudan massacred "hundreds" of civilians in ethnic killings when they captured the oil town of Bentiu last week, the UN said Monday, one of the worst reported atrocities in the war-torn nation.In the main mosque alone, "more than 200 civilians were reportedly killed and over 400 wounded," the UN mission in the country said, adding there were also massacres at a church, hospital and an abandoned UN World Food Programme compound.Fighters took to the radio urging

ANSAN, Gyeonggi Province (Yonhap) -- Two in 10 students who survived last week's deadly ferry sinking require psychiatric treatment as they still suffer from serious mental stress and depression, a local hospital treating the students said Monday.The Korea University Ansan Hospital in Ansan, 42 kilometers south of Seoul, is treating 81 survivors, including 74 students from Danwon High School in Ansan."We're considering sending about 20 percent of the patients to a psychiatric clinic with consent

KIEV (AFP) -- Russia on Monday accused Ukraine of flouting an international accord meant to diffuse the crisis over its separatist east, as US Vice President Joe Biden was to about to arrive in Kiev in a show of support for its pro-Western leaders."The Geneva accord is not only not being fulfilled, but steps are being taken, primarily by those who seized power in Kiev, that are grossly breaching the agreements reached," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a Moscow press conference.He

DAMASCUS (AFP) -- Syria will hold presidential elections that are expected to return President Bashar al-Assad to office on June 3, the country's parliamentary speaker said Monday.As lawmakers met to hear the election date announced, mortar fire hit near the parliament building, killing at least two people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.The deaths underlined the fact that Syria's first presidential election -- after constitutional amendments did away with the old referendu

North Korea warned Monday that an upcoming Asian tour by US President Barack Obama could escalate military tensions, as South Korean media cited intelligence reports of increased activity at the North's main nuclear test site.Obama's April 23-29 tour includes visits to Japan and South Korea, the two main US military allies in Asia and key partners in the effort to curb Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said the "reactionary and dangerous" trip would

KATHMANDU (AFP) -- Expedition leaders and guides threatened Monday to cancel all climbing on Mount Everest after the deadliest avalanche in its history as hundreds of Nepalese sherpas paid final respects to their fellow guides.With heads bowed and many in tears, a procession of mourners filed through the centre of Nepal's capital Kathmandu amid growing anger over compensation levels for those bereaved by Friday's tragedy.At least 13 people were killed in the avalanche above base camp but the tol