Business

21 Jan 2019; DW: For months now, European countries have called for concrete action against entities linked to Iranian intelligence. Mahan Air reportedly maintains close ties to an elite group of Iran's security services.

The German government has prepared sanctions against Iranian airline Mahan Air in connection to Iran's illegal activities in Europe, including the discovery of a spy working as a translator for the country's armed forces , German media reported on Monday.

21 Jan 2019; AFP: British Prime Minister Theresa May unveils her Brexit "Plan B" to parliament on Monday after MPs shredded her EU divorce deal, deepening the political gridlock 10 weeks from departure day.

Britain will leave the European Union on March 29 without a deal unless MPs can force a delay or get their act together in time and come up with an alternative plan that Brussels is also happy with.

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Wealth inequality around the world is “out of control” and doing particular harm to women, anti-poverty campaigner Oxfam warned Monday ahead of the annual gathering of business and political leaders in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

SANTIAGO, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- A second batch of 100 Chinese-built electric buses joined the public transit fleet serving Chile's capital Santiago over the weekend.

Transport and Telecommunications Minister Gloria Hutt unveiled the new units on Saturday, saying the buses made by Chinese vehicle maker Yutong will serve alongside the first batch of 100 buses already in circulation.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump spoke over phone with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday over ongoing tension in Syria and bilateral ties, said the White House.

The two leaders "agreed to continue to pursue a negotiated solution for northeast Syria that achieves our respective security concerns," said the White House in a statement.

Trump and Erdogan also discussed "their mutual interest in expanding the trade relationship," the statement added.

BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's per capita disposable income stood at 28,228 yuan (4,165 U.S. dollars) in 2018, up 6.5 percent year on year in real terms, official data showed Monday.

Separately, urban and rural per capita disposable income reached 39,251 yuan and 14,617 yuan in 2018, up 5.6 percent and 6.6 percent in real terms after deducting price factors, respectively, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's Spring Festival travel rush started Monday, unleashing the country's largest seasonal migration of people as families reunite for China's most important traditional holiday.

The travel rush began 15 days ahead of the Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 5 this year.

In the following 40 days, from Jan. 21 to March 1, nearly 3 billion trips are to be made via China's transport system, as people rush for family gatherings or travel around the country.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Police in Barcelona have arrested seven people on suspicion of attacking cars that work with ride-hailing apps like Uber and Cabify as part of a protest by taxi drivers that turned violent on Friday.

The attacks occurred after taxi drivers announced an indefinite strike protesting a regional government plan to regulate the ride-hailing services, which they argued was too lax.

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — The founder of the World Economic Forum says U.S. President Donald Trump would have been an “interesting discussion partner” at its annual Davos event starting this week, but acknowledges that the partial U.S. government shutdown scuttled those plans.

Klaus Schwab says he saw Trump shortly before Christmas and heard he had been “very much looking forward to coming back.” Last year, Trump was a highlight attendee at the elite gathering in the Swiss Alps, where he dined with business executives and met foreign leaders.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a bid to break the shutdown stalemate, President Donald Trump offered to extend temporary protections for young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children and those fleeing disaster zones in exchange for his long-promised border wall. But while Trump cast the move as a “common-sense compromise,” Democrats were quick to dismiss it as a “non-starter.”