World

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...

NEW YORK : The U.S. dollar index fell from 20-year highs and Wall Street equities closed sharply lower on Friday with the latest economic data and Amazon.com's disappointing quarterly report and outlook keeping the spotlight on surging inflation. In U.S. Treasuries the benchmark 10-year yield rose, capping off the biggest monthly gain since December 2009 after economic data. Equities were under pressure after data showed that monthly inflation surged by the most since 2005 while U.S. consumer spending increased more than expected in March amid strong demand for services. Also, first quarter U.S. labor costs surged by the most in 21 years, pointing to rising wage inflation, supporting Federal Reserve policy tightening ahead of its scheduled meeting next week. "With the weekend approachin...

HONG KONG/SINGAPORE :Wealth managers at the big global banks are tempering their expectations for Asia, their fastest growing market, after China's regulatory crackdown and COVID-driven slowdown helped to push clients to the sidelines, bankers and analysts said. Some wealth managers have cut the credit they extend to rich clients, they said, while many clients have moved their money elsewhere or put it in cash as they assess the changes in China, as well as the Ukraine conflict and other global uncertainties. The slowdown in wealth business was evident this past week in earnings results from Credit Suisse, HSBC, Standard Chartered and UBS, which have relied on Asia to drive up revenues. "We just have to bear this for a few quarters, there's no shying away from it," said a Singapore-base...

PARIS: Russia's war in Ukraine is still being counted in days, but images of atrocities already number in the hundreds of thousands. The conflict is the first to throw up such rich evidence in real time, but the sheer volume of material poses a huge challenge for those trying to use it as evidence of war crimes. "The amount of material that we see, we really haven't seen before," said Hadi al Khatib, whose organisation Mnemonic has gathered about 400,000 pieces of material since February. Wendy Betts, whose eyeWitness to Atrocities group has a bespoke app to allow non-governmental organisations to gather evidence, is equally deluged. "The last time I looked, we had roughly as much in the last six weeks as we normally would get globally in six months," she told AFP. International exper...