World

JAKARTA: Dina, who hails from Central Java but studies in the East Javan city of Malang, is dying to go back to her hometown during the upcoming Idul Fitri holidays. The 22-year-old university student has not been home since late last year after some physical classes resumed on campus. The first thing she wants to do when she reaches home? To convince her mother to get vaccinated against COVID-19. “My mother is a strong anti-vaxxer,” Dina, who only wanted to be known by her first name, told CNA. “She has been reading hoaxes forwarded by her friends over WhatsApp. She truly believes that vaccines are more dangerous than the coronavirus, even though some of her neighbours and friends have died from COVID-19.” Around 15 months after launching a massive national vaccination drive, Indones...

If peace in Ukraine looks depressingly far away, accountability seems beyond another galaxy. What are the chances Vladimir Putin will appear in a courtroom to answer for the hell he’s unleashed in Ukraine? They seem vanishingly small. And yet, national leaders, politicians, international organizations and an army of individuals are working to build the war crimes case against Putin and his regime. The International Criminal Court, the European Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice are all investigating crimes committed in Ukraine. Former U.K. prime ministers Gordon Brown and John Major have thrown their support behind an initiative to back a new tribunal. Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the U.S. had credible evidence of war crimes ...

OAKLAND, Calif. : Microsoft Corp President Brad Smith wrote to Ukraine's leader this month with a clear message: despite Kyiv's calls for it to sever all ties with Russia, the U.S. software behemoth would continue doing business in the country with non-sanctioned clients, including schools and hospitals. "Depriving these institutions of software updates and services could put at risk the health and safety of innocent civilians, including children and the elderly," Smith said in the previously unreported March 14 letter, seen by Reuters. Smith told President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that Microsoft was "mindful of the moral responsibility" to protect civilians. However, he said the company was discussing with U.S., British and EU governments whether "to halt any ongoing services and support" in...

One of the reasons why Sapporo is aiming to host the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics is to establish itself as a world-class urban snow resort. The city hopes to be better recognized globally so that it can welcome more tourists from abroad and boost its economy. Currently, foreign tourists are attracted to world-famous ski destinations such as Niseko, some 100 kilometers away from Sapporo, and tend to pass through Sapporo, tourism industry officials say. The city still has a long way to go to become an internationally renowned tourist attraction, as challenges remain, including the shortage of luxury hotels. Luxurious ski resorts “If you stay in Sapporo, you can not only ski but also visit tourist spots and enjoy food in urban surroundings,” Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto said ...

TOKYO: The yen hit its lowest level against the dollar in two decades on Wednesday (Apr 13), extending recent falls as the gap widens between Japan's ultra-loose monetary policy and US tightening. Despite being traditionally considered a safe-haven currency, uncertainty fuelled by the war in Ukraine has not caused the yen to strengthen. Instead, moves by the US Federal Reserve towards a more aggressive policy and the shock of rising oil prices in Japan - a major importer of fossil fuels - have pushed the currency lower, analysts say. One dollar bought 126 yen on Wednesday afternoon, the lowest rate since 2002. "The Japanese yen has been one of the weakest currencies anywhere in the world this year," Dutch banking group ING said in a recent commentary. "Driving the rally has been the p...

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. Nothing calls for a better time to get organized as the spring cleaning season. The rainy weather marks for a good opportunity to have a cozy day inside, tidy up your home or clean out your closet. It also serves as an opportunity to take a good look at your finances. With the end of winter and paying off holiday expenses, and the anticipation of warmer weather and summer travels, you're in the middle of getting your money in order. Below, personal finance experts weigh in on three ways to clean up your personal finances this season. Subscrib...

After the United States and China signed the Shanghai Communique 50 years ago, in February 1972, the U.S. pursued a policy of engagement with Beijing, hoping that China would become both a part of the existing international order and a democratic state in step with its economic growth. Such a stance, addressed by Henry Kissinger, the U.S. president’s national security adviser at the time, has largely changed course today. This year also marks 50 years since Japan and China normalized diplomatic ties in September 1972 after Washington and Beijing began moving closer to one another in the early 1970s. But will the recent changes in the U.S.-China relations lead to the creation of a new China-Japan relationship? Chinese President Xi Jinping’s administration, formed in 2012, began to call ...

Lippert sees a direct correlation between today’s lounge-y looks and those early suits. “It strikes me,” she noted, “that the loungewear trend is a reverse empowerment of the ‘power suits’ for an earlier generation of working women.” Sperling recounted buying up a series of soft cotton jumpsuits, in multiple colours and fabrics, all made in Thailand. “I like to wear clothes I might be able to dance in,” she said. She also cited “leggings and a tank top with a built-in bra” or a “men’s style linen button-down shirt” as favourite uniforms. Alys George, 45, a cultural historian, favours a similar uniform: Leggings and a long, tunic-like sweater or top, all in black. The height of pandemic lockdowns coincided with George’s recent pregnancy, which only increased her desire for bodily comfort....

In this article JPM Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase speaks to the Economic Club of New York in New York, January 16, 2019. Carlo Allegri | Reuters Jamie Dimon, CEO and chairman of the biggest U.S. bank by assets, pointed to a potentially unprecedented combination of risks facing the country in his annual shareholder letter. Three forces are likely to shape the world over the next several decades: a U.S. economy rebounding from the Covid pandemic; high inflation that will usher in an era of rising rates, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the resulting humanitarian crisis now underway, according to Dimon. "Each of these three factors mentioned above is unique in its own right: The dramatic stimulus-fueled recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the likely need for rapidly raising rates ...

Japan’s sovereign credit rating could fall one to three notches in the coming decade if the government does not implement a credible fiscal consolidation plan. This risk, which the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office highlighted in its recent annual consultation report on the country, underlines the challenges facing Japanese policymakers at a time of mounting global economic turmoil. Even before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan was struggling to maintain fiscal discipline in order to contain its government debt, which was and remains the highest in the world as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). But the government’s strong efforts, combined with sustained economic recovery following the global financial crisis, reduced the fiscal deficit from 8.7% of GDP in 2009...