High In The Air

Sands China (1928.HK), the Macau-based casino operator run by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, said 2010 net profit more than tripled, driven by surging demand in the world’s largest gaming market. The company said on Tuesday net profit rose to $666.5 million from $215 million a year ago, above a consensus forecast of $606 million from 14 [...]

German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg resigned on Tuesday after admitting to copying part of a doctoral dissertation, stunning Angela Merkel and depriving her conservatives of their brightest star. Guttenberg, 39, was the most popular member of Chancellor Merkel’s cabinet. His loss deals a severe blow to her Christian Democrats (CDU), who were crushed in [...]

The United States is urging Gulf ally Oman to show “restraint” and engage in dialogue in response to several days of anti-government protests that have turned violent and deadly. U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Monday Washington “regrets” the killing of several people in the protests and has contacted the Omani government to encourage [...]

A refugee crisis is looming on the Libyan-Tunisian border as thousands of foreign workers try to escape the fighting with concern also growing over how long food stocks inside Libya can last, aid agencies have warned. The UN high commission for refugees said 140,000 people have now fled Libya – half of them crossing into [...]

The death toll in the Christchurch earthquake has now risen to 154 and is expected to increase further, Christchurch police have confirmed. “These buildings have a red sticker because they are dangerous and could collapse at any time,” said Superintendent Russell Gibson. “We are also very aware of a growing frustration by people who have [...]

Germany has hit back at explosive remarks by Turkey’s prime minister, who told his compatriots that they should learn Turkish before German and resist assimilation into German society. During a visit to Germany, Recep Tayyip Erdogan told 10,000 members of Germany’s large Turkish community of his “growing unease” about the way immigrants are treated in [...]

South Korea’s military has dropped leaflets on North Korea that tell of pro-democracy revolts in the Middle East with the intention of provoking a movement against Kim Jong Il’s regime, a South Korean lawmaker said. The leaflets detail popular uprisings that toppled Egypt’s government and sparked a bloody crackdown in Libya, explaining that “a dictatorial [...]

Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was back before the courts on Monday on charges of tax fraud. This is one of four court cases slated to be resumed after Italy’s Constitutional Court last year stripped him of automatic immunity while in office. This is not the first time the 74-year-old Prime Minister has faced judges [...]