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Want to buy a ship? Oil tanker that received stolen fuel in Shell Bukom heist up for police auction
Asia, Market, USA, World

Want to buy a ship? Oil tanker that received stolen fuel in Shell Bukom heist up for police auction

SINGAPORE: Over the years, the police have auctioned off various items seized from crimes: Clothes, cameras, computers and, once in a while, a supercar or two. But the latest article up for sale is quite different – it is more than 100m long, weighs more than 3 million kg and, according to court documents, is valued at US$4.5 million (S$5.9 million). The item in question is the chemical oil tanker Prime South, which the police seized in 2018 after it was used to receive stolen marine gas oil worth an estimated US$7.1 million from Shell's Pulau Bukom refinery. The pilfering was part of the largest marine fuel heist from Shell's biggest petrochemical production and export centre in the Asia-Pacific. Not many items seized by the police and auctioned off are valued in the tens ...
Israel’s foreign policies won’t change much even as a new coalition looks set to take power, ambassador says
Asia, USA, World

Israel’s foreign policies won’t change much even as a new coalition looks set to take power, ambassador says

A new coalition may soon take power in Israel, but that doesn't signal a change in the country's foreign policies, according to Israel's ambassador to Singapore. "As far as foreign policy is concerned, we're about to see a continuation of previous policies of the government," Sagi Karni told CNBC's "Capital Connection" on Wednesday. That means Israel will still want to maintain and expand the Abraham Accords, engage with the rest of the world, and "see a change" in Gaza, he said. Israel's parliament, the Knesset, will be voting on a new government on Sunday. If successful, the coalition led by opposition party leader Yair Lapid will feature tech millionaire Naftali Bennett as prime minister, replacing Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving head of government. The coalition includes a...
Make-up’s ugly secret: The plight of India’s poor miners behind the beauty industry
USA, World

Make-up’s ugly secret: The plight of India’s poor miners behind the beauty industry

Mica is the mineral that gives a sparkle to an array of products, from eye shadow to lip gloss. But what consumers do not see is a deadly trade involving even children. The programme Undercover Asia investigates. JHARKHAND, INDIA: It sounds like an innocuous ingredient, a word among many hidden on the back of the packaging of your eye shadow palette. Mica: A mineral that can be ground down to make sparkly powders, and found in everything from eye shadow to lip gloss to foundation. Cosmetic companies value mica for its properties: Refractive, superfine and naturally occurring in different colours. It can be found all over the world, including India, which is known for having some of the world’s largest and finest deposits. But in India, there is a heavy price to pay for it, the progr...
Israel faces greater dangers than Hamas
USA, World

Israel faces greater dangers than Hamas

Israel and Hamas have taken to open warfare yet again. The sense of deja vu, as the militant group’s rocket attacks on Israeli territory are met by retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza, is compounded by Western politicians repeating an old formula: “Israel has the right to defend itself.” That’s undoubtedly true. And yet it’s equally clear that Israeli actions are unlikely to deter Hamas. Nor will re-establishing military superiority over a technologically primitive enemy obscure Israel’s new and acute vulnerabilities. The shocking images of lynch mobs and street fighting between Arabs and Jews within Israel underscore the fact that the most formidable threat to the country’s present and future stability is now internal. About one in five Israelis are Arabs, the descendants of Palestinians who...
Here are smart money moves to make now as the economy bounces back
USA, World

Here are smart money moves to make now as the economy bounces back

Getty Images Covid-19 vaccinations are on the rise. Mask mandates are being stripped away. Businesses are reopening. What should you do to get on track with your money during the economic recovery? The U.S. economy is showing signs of life as the country reopens and returns to a new normal following the coronavirus pandemic. Weekly jobless claims dipped to a new pandemic low of 406,000, and the economy added 266,00 jobs in April, a positive gain, though below expectations. More from Invest In You: How to get monthly child tax credit without a permanent address Lack of workers hurts small business ability to keep up with demand How this 26-year-old TikTok creator makes over $100,000 per month "What we've seen is some really bright spots, some very encouraging news. It gives me hope, and...
Ghosn gets US$6 million bill as Nissan-Mitsubishi case backfires
USA, World

Ghosn gets US$6 million bill as Nissan-Mitsubishi case backfires

A court in Amsterdam on Thursday ordered fugitive former car executive Carlos Ghosn to repay Nissan and Mitsubishi almost 5 million euros (US$6.1 million) in wages he received from their Dutch registered joint venture Nissan-Mitsubishi BV in 2018. AMSTERDAM -Fugitive former car executive Carlos Ghosn suffered a setback on Thursday when a Dutch court ordered him to repay 5 million euros (US$6.1 million) in wages to Nissan and Mitsubishi in a case he had brought. The case, one of a series of legal battles involving one of the best known figures in the auto industry, centres around the Dutch-registered joint venture Nissan-Mitsubishi BV (NMBV), where Ghosn was ousted as chairman in 2019. Ghosn claimed the Japanese companies violated Dutch labour laws when they dismissed him and had dem...
Jakarta start-up provides cleaning products without the plastics
USA, World

Jakarta start-up provides cleaning products without the plastics

JAKARTA: Just a few hours after using a mobile app to order some dishwashing liquid, Jakarta resident Juweriah opens the door to a motorcycle courier who provides a direct refill in her kitchen. Juweriah, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, is taking advantage of a rise in environmentally friendly businesses in a country that is the second-largest ocean plastic polluter in the world. The 38-year-old homemaker orders products through Siklus, a start-up that provides cleaning and sanitary products minus plastic packaging to homes and businesses in the Indonesian capital. "We can refill (the bottles) and reduce the amount of detergent plastic waste," Juweriah said. "Neighbours here have followed suit." A worker prepares to top-up dispensers with cleaning liquid at a Siklus off...
Long work hours are a killer, WHO study shows
USA, World

Long work hours are a killer, WHO study shows

Working long hours is killing hundreds of thousands of people a year in a worsening trend that may accelerate further due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization said on Monday. In the first global study of the loss of life associated with longer working hours, the paper in the journal Environment International showed that 745,000 people died from stroke and heart disease associated with long working hours in 2016. That was an increase of nearly 30% from 2000. "Working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard," said Maria Neira, director of the WHO's Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health. "What we want to do with this information is promote more action, more protection of workers," she said. The joint study, produced by the WHO and the Intern...
Lessons learned from a millennial who paid off $120,000 of student debt in 26 months
USA, World

Lessons learned from a millennial who paid off $120,000 of student debt in 26 months

Select’s editorial team works independently to review financial products and write articles we think our readers will find useful. We may receive a commission when you click on links for products from our affiliate partners. In an effort to help younger generations learn how to be debt-free and combat money taboo among the Latinx community, Sofia Bastida, a 24-year-old first-generation Mexican American, created @savingwithsofie. Through this platform, she shares her experience paying off $120,000 in student loans within the span of 26 months on an income below six figures. Like many college students, Bastida wasn't aware of many of the basics of finance until she got into student loan debt and felt obligated to pay it off on her own. Without a college fund, Bastida took out federal studen...
Missing Thai activist’s sister vows to keep searching
USA, World

Missing Thai activist’s sister vows to keep searching

BANGKOK: From the moment he was dragged into a car in broad daylight on the streets of Phnom Penh on Jun 4 last year, nothing has been seen or heard of Thai activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit. Thai and Cambodian police insist they are investigating, but with the probe into his apparent abduction going nowhere, his sister Sitanun has vowed to pursue the truth "to the last". Rights campaigners say the case sends a chilling signal of Thailand's willingness to pursue political dissidents beyond its borders. Wanchalearm, aged 37 at the time of his disappearance, was wanted by Thai police for running an acerbic anti-government Facebook page and for posting satirical videos criticising Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Sitanun's frustration at the lack of help she has had from the Thai author...