World

ISLAMAB: India said on Friday (Mar 11) it had accidentally fired a missile into Pakistan this week because of a "technical malfunction" during routine maintenance, giving its version of events after Pakistan summoned India's envoy to protest. Military experts have in the past warned of the risk of accidents or miscalculations by the nuclear-armed neighbours, which have fought three wars and engaged in numerous smaller armed clashes, usually over the disputed territory of Kashmir. Tensions have eased in recent months, and the incident, which may have been the first of its kind, immediately raised questions about safety mechanisms. "On 9 March 2022, in the course of a routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile," the Indian Ministry of Defence sa...

TOKYO : A jump in the price of oil and a yawning gap between yields at home and those of U.S. bonds have left Japan's yen with next to no chance of a quick recovery from the symbolic 120 level it fell to Tuesday, analysts say. The yen breached 120 per dollar for the first time in six years, extending its swift 4.5per cent fall in less than three weeks. Analysts at BofA said the yen could reach 123 per dollar by September. In the past, Japan would have welcomed a weaker yen, which would have boosted profits from exports. But with exports slowed by the pandemic and foreign manufacturing, those days are gone, analysts say. "You have a higher oil price, and you have the widening interest rate gap, and the university fund is supposed to start investing by the end of this fiscal year, so I th...

"MEANINGFUL STEP" Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr Gan said the accords provide a “useful guidance” of international cooperation on civil space exploration. It is also a “meaningful step” towards the development and promotion of international norms in space to support safe, sustainable and responsible space activities. Mr Gan noted that space-based technologies are important for many civilian and governmental functions. There is also economic potential in the application of these space-based technologies in areas such as aviation and maritime. Singapore has therefore been working hard to support the development of its “relatively nascent but fast-growing” space ecosystem. For instance, several centres of excellence focusing on space research and development have been estab...

Japan’s largest opposition party has submitted a bill to the Lower House that would allow Ukrainians fleeing the invasion of their country by Russia to work in Japan for one year after arrival. Current government policy allows Ukrainians who have fled their country to receive a temporary, 90-day status of residence, with refugee screening and employment during that time not allowed. The proposal by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), submitted Tuesday, would allow those from Ukraine and other countries who have left their homeland due to war or other reasons to obtain a special status of residence that gives them permission to work in Japan for one year from the date they enter the country. "In terms of specified activities (allowed for refugees), the government has discr...

:China's state-run Sinopec Group has suspended talks for a major petrochemical investment and a gas marketing venture in Russia, sources told Reuters, heeding a government call for caution as sanctions mount over the invasion of Ukraine. The move by Asia's biggest oil refiner to hit the brakes on a potentially half-billion-dollar investment in a gas chemical plant and a venture to market Russian gas in China highlights the risks, even to Russia's most important diplomatic partner, of unexpectedly heavy Western-led sanctions. Beijing has repeatedly voiced opposition to the sanctions, insisting it will maintain normal economic and trade exchanges with Russia, and has refused to condemn Moscow's actions in Ukraine or call them an invasion. But behind the scenes, the government is wary of C...

Hundreds of companies have said they are withdrawing or suspending operations in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, from energy producer Shell Plc to carmaker Hyundai Motor Co to PwC, a global professional services firm. The following is a look at how insurance and international arbitration might soften the blow to those companies, which stand to lose billions of dollars: DOES STANDARD INSURANCE PROVIDE COVERAGE? No, but companies can purchase political risk as an add-on to trade credit, property and aviation insurance. It covers government seizures of property and forced abandonment, cancellations of government licenses for operations such as mines and the inability to convert foreign currency. The insurance typically covers long-term energy or infrastructure projects, but can be pu...

U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the United States is forging “strongly” ahead on its growing Asia-Pacific priorities, despite the crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Hosting Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in the Oval Office, Biden said the world’s “rules-based order” faces “unprecedented challenges,” but that Washington has not been distracted by the Ukraine war. “Even as we address the crisis in Europe, my administration is strongly supportive of moving rapidly to implement the Indo-Pacific strategy,” Biden said. Describing the United States as “a proud Indo-Pacific nation,” Biden said he wanted to ensure that the region remains “free and open” — a reference to what the White House sees as attempts by rising power China to dominate international trade...

Bitcoin has leapt since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, bolstered by people in those countries looking to store and move money in anonymous and decentralised crypto. Bitcoin trading denominated in the Russian rouble went into overdrive when the invasion began on Thursday, with daily volumes rising 259per cent from a day earlier to 1.3 billion rouble ($13.1 million), according to data from CryptoCompare. In Ukraine, meanwhile, crypto exchange Kuna saw its daily trading volume more than treble to 150 million hryvnias ($5 million). Bea O'Carroll, managing director at Radkl, a digital asset investment firm, said the war and Western sanctions had seen a trend emerge of bitcoin being used to transfer value. "Basically, having a currency that is not controlled by the government, that is not aff...

COLOMBO: The International Monetary Fund warned crisis-hit Sri Lanka on Thursday (Mar 3) that its foreign debt was "unsustainable", and called for devaluation and higher taxes to revive the almost bankrupt economy. The pandemic pushed the South Asian island's tourism sector - a key foreign-exchange earner - off a cliff, and the government in March 2020 imposed a broad import ban to try to shore up foreign currency. But more than two years on, Sri Lanka is grappling with food and fuel shortages, which this week saw its public transport crippled as buses ran out of diesel and the state imposed blackouts. Following its annual review of the cash-strapped country, the IMF said its fast-dwindling foreign reserves were inadequate to service the country's current foreign debt of US$51 billion. ...

Bridgestone Corp. said Monday it will suspend operations at a factory in Russia later this week while halting exports of tires to the country immediately as the situation remains uncertain following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last month. The major Japanese tire-maker said it will suspend production at its passenger car tire plant in Ulyanovsk in western Russia from Friday and freeze all new capital investment. Bridgestone said it has only one factory in Russia, and sales from the country account for around 2% of the group's total revenue. In a statement, the company said it reached the decision "after examining the latest situations thoroughly and comprehensively." Bridgestone also said it will donate a total of around ¥500 million ($4.2 million) to the Office of the U.N. High Commis...