Stockholm - The SAS Group, the operator of the joint carrier
Scandinavian Airlines, on Wednesday posted a pre-tax loss for third-
quarter 2008, citing high fuel costs, the economic downturn and a
goodwill writedown in its Spanish-based carrier.
SAS chief executive Mats Jansson said the group needed to implement
more belt-tightening measures saying the "crisis in the air travel
industry strikes indiscriminately."
He noted the recent bankruptcy of low-cost rival Sterling Airlines, one of some 30 carriers to fold so far this year.
The SAS Group posted a third-quarter pre-tax loss of 1.78 billion
kronor (231 million dollars) compared to a pre-tax profit of 457
million kronor in the corresponding business period of 2007.
Abuja - Nigerians were jubilant Wednesday after Barack Obama was declared the 44th president of the United States of America.
Many Nigerians stayed glued to their television sets to monitor the election.
The moment Obama was announced to have won Ohio and Pennsylvania, cheering erupted in beer parlours and homes across Africa's most populous nation.
Lai Mohammed, spokesman of Action Congress, Nigeria's main opposition party, whose 2007 presidential candidate is still contesting the election of Umaru Yar'Adua, hailed the poll as an example to other nations.
Beirut - The second round of Lebanon's national dialogue aimed at ending differences between the rival Lebanese factions and discussing the fate of Hezbollah arms started Wednesday, official Lebanese sources said.
They said the issue of increasing the number of participants in the dialogue would top the agenda of the talks held in the Lebanese Presidential Palace, 15 kilometres east of Beirut.
Mogadishu - Somali armed men kidnapped six foreigners, including four aid workers and two airline pilots in near the town of Dusamareb in central Somali on Wednesday, residents said.
Mohamoud Dhaqane, a businessman in Dusamareb, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa the six were taken when armed gunmen stormed the airstrip as they were due to depart for Nairobi.
There was some confusion over which organization they worked for.
Brussels - Croatia should be able to finish all talks on joining the EU by the end of 2009, paving the way for it to enter the bloc as early as 2011, the EU's executive body said Wednesday.
"Croatia is expected to reach the final phase of accession negotiations by the end of 2009 if it has taken the necessary preparatory steps," the European Commission said in an annual report on the former Yugoslav republic's progress towards membership.
It is the first time that the EU's Brussels-based executive has set out a timetable for Croatia to become the EU's 28th member since the Adriatic state became a candidate for membership in 2004.
Wednesday Islamabad - As celebrations erupted in many parts of the world over the victory of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, people in Pakistan, a key US ally in the fight against terrorism, remained generally indifferent and even apprehensive.
"What difference does it make for us? His victory can be good for America, perhaps for many people around the world. But for us, he seems as bad as Bush," said Bilal Ahmad, 35, a shopkeeper in Islamabad's main commercial centre, known as the Blue Area.
Abuja - Nigerians were jubilant Wednesday after Barack Obama was declared the 44th president of the United States of America.
Beirut - The second round of Lebanon's national dialogue aimed at ending differences between the rival Lebanese factions and discussing the fate of Hezbollah arms started Wednesday, official Lebanese sources said.
Mogadishu - Somali armed men kidnapped six foreigners, including four aid workers and two airline pilots in near the town of Dusamareb in central Somali on Wednesday, residents said.
Wednesday Islamabad - As celebrations erupted in many parts of the world over the victory of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, people in Pakistan, a key US ally in the fight against terrorism, remained generally indifferent and even apprehensive.
