World

SINGAPORE: A man was fined S$42,000 on Friday (Apr 8) for possessing more than 4,200 obscene videos and photos. Wong Ming Jun, also known as Andy Wong, 28, had pleaded guilty to three charges of possessing obscene materials, with another eight similar charges considered for sentencing. Wong was the author of an opinion piece in Nikkei Asia that criticised the Government's handling of KTV lounges amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The piece was published in July last year, at the height of the infections linked to KTV lounges around the country. It drew a point-by-point rebuttal from the Ministry of Home Affairs, which called it "full of inaccuracies". Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam questioned Wong's motive at the time, saying: "We are left to wonder if the criminal investigation ag...

In a world where business needs are evolving at a blistering pace, technology needs to keep up. And as workforces remain distributed while applications and systems become increasingly data-hungry, the toll on an organisation’s IT infrastructure can be punishing. Instead of focusing on strategic projects, companies end up spending resources on maintaining and upgrading enterprise storage systems. To empower businesses of various sizes, Hitachi Vantara offers a comprehensive line of VSP (virtual storage platform) models at multiple price points, speeds and scale. With advanced storage virtualisation capabilities, businesses can maximise the value from existing infrastructure without needing to implement costly and time-consuming replacements. “Being data-driven is the new competitive DNA o...

E. Jean Carroll visits 'Tell Me Everything' with John Fugelsang in the SiriusXM Studios on July 11, 2019 in New York. Lawyers for ex-President Donald Trump and the writer E. Jean Carroll have agreed to resume a process for exchanging evidence and taking witness testimony under oath for her lawsuit accusing Trump of defaming her after she said he raped her in the 1990s, a court filing revealed. The agreement sets the stage for the possible testing of a DNA sample from Trump. Carroll's lawyers want to compare his DNA to a stain containing male DNA that is on a dress that she has said she saved from the day of the alleged attack. Trump denies raping Carrol. There has been no court ruling so far on whether he will have to provide a DNA sample. But Thursday's court filing, which says both s...

In the middle of last year, the World Health Organization began promoting an ambitious goal, one it said was essential for ending the pandemic: fully vaccinate 70% of the population in every country against COVID-19 by June 2022. Now, it is clear that the world will fall far short of that target by the deadline. And there is a growing sense of resignation among public health experts that high COVID-19 vaccination coverage may never be achieved in most lower-income countries, as badly needed funding from the United States dries up and both governments and donors turn to other priorities. “The reality is that there is a loss of momentum,” said Dr. Isaac Adewole, a former health minister of Nigeria who now serves as a consultant for the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On...

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts: The United States Federal Reserve will likely soon learn what gymnasts already know: Sticking a landing is hard. With inflation in the US surging to a new 40-year high and continuing to accelerate, the Fed is expected to lift interest rates by a half-percentage point at the end of its next meeting on Wednesday (May 4). It will be the second of seven planned rate hikes in 2022 – following a quarter-point increase in March – as the Fed tries to cool consumer demand and slow rising prices. By raising interest rates, the central bank is hoping to achieve a proverbial “soft landing” for the US economy, in which it’s able to tame rapid inflation without causing unemployment to rise or triggering a recession. The Fed and professional forecasters project that inflation ...

SINGAPORE: Contaminated bunker fuel was supplied to around 200 ships in the Port of Singapore, of which about 80 have reported various issues with their fuel pumps and engines, said the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on Wednesday (Apr 13). Preliminary investigations by MPA found that global commodities firm Glencore had supplied the affected fuel. In a media release, MPA said it had been notified on Mar 14 that a number of ships had been supplied with high sulphur fuel oil containing high concentration levels of chlorinated organic compounds (COC) in the country's port. "MPA immediately contacted the relevant bunker suppliers to take necessary steps to stop supplying the affected fuel and to also inform all the ships that were supplied with the fuel to exercise caution w...

GLASGOW, Scotland : Kemar Roofe struck in extra-time as Rangers beat Braga 3-1 on Thursday to reach the Europa League semi-finals, their first appearance in the last four of a European competition since 2008. Rangers, trailing 1-0 from the first leg, got off to a flying start when full back James Tavernier put them ahead in the second minute, sliding in at the back post to connect with a ball from Joe Aribo. Roofe had an effort disallowed for the Scottish side when VAR ruled that Borna Barisic had handled the ball in the build-up and the Jamaica forward hit the bar from close range. Rangers had failed to make the most of all their pressure but a minute before the break, Braga's Vitor Tormena was ruled to have brought down Roofe inside the box and French referee Francois Letexier sent of...

Select’s editorial team works independently to review financial products and write articles we think our readers will find useful. We earn a commission from affiliate partners on many offers, but not all offers on Select are from affiliate partners. The subject of inflation has been making headlines for months, and for good reason — according to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consumer price index has risen 8.5%, which measures the cost of everyday goods like rent, gasoline, food, medical care, energy and other essential items. Discussions regarding inflation are often met with few solutions for consumers other than to simply cut back on spending. While it's recommended that you work with a budget and do your best to live below your means,...

HONG KONG : Several Russian banks plan to issue payment cards that use the network of China UnionPay as well as that of home-grown payment system Mir, after Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc joined other Western firms in suspending operations in Russia. UnionPay and Mir are among few options left for Russians to make payments abroad since Russian banks were isolated from the global financial system following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation". Whereas many Western nations have condemned Russia's conduct, ally China has refrained from direct criticism, effectively allowing Chinese companies such as UnionPay to continue business as usual with Russian partners. Several Russian lenders already issue cards with UnionPay. Still, the Chinese payme...

Logo for Getaround peer-to-peer car sharing service on the side of a car in the Silicon Valley town of Mountain View, California, August 24, 2016. Smith Collection/Gado | Archive Photos | Getty Images In this weekly series, CNBC takes a look at companies that made the inaugural Disruptor 50 list, 10 years later. After a decade during which ultra-low interest rates and abundant market liquidity grew Uber and Lyft into start-up giants and eventual IPOs, the rideshare model is under a great deal of stress. Even with consumers bouncing back and ride numbers way up from pandemic lows, stocks of both companies are tanking after their latest earnings, and from wage inflation to unionization and gas prices, the current economy is not one that favors their business models. In many respects, Uber a...