World

BRUSSELS: The European Commission said on Tuesday (Feb 8) it would take the unprecedented step of tapping into EU funding earmarked for Poland to collect a fine Warsaw racked up for refusing to close a coal mine. The EU executive has informed Poland of its decision, which will be carried out next week, a commission spokesman, Balazs Ujvari, told AFP. Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller said Warsaw would use "all possible legal means to appeal against this," Poland's PAP news agency reported. The cut will amount to nearly €15 million (US$17 million) for the period between Sep 20 and Oct 19 last year. The total unpaid fine amounts to around €70 million including interest, according to an AFP calculation. The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) hit Poland with the €500,000 a day fine l...

Tier 1 levies, which apply to up to 10 per cent of a company’s workforce, will also go up from S$330 to S$450 from September this year. It is expected to increase to S$650 by Sep 1, 2025. “In addition to quotas, qualifying salaries and levies are in place to ensure that S Pass holders are hired because they fill skills gaps, and not simply because they are cheaper than locals,” said MOM. JOBS EXCLUDED But firms will be allowed to hire workers for some jobs on work permits once the higher salary benchmarks kick in on Sep 1 next year. This is as some firms hire rank-and-file workers on S Passes due to the source restrictions for work permit holders. “We will introduce a Non-Traditional Source (NTS) occupation list, which is a tight list of rank-and-file occupations where employers will b...

UDUPI, India: A series of religious laws promoted by India's ruling Hindu nationalist party in the southern state of Karnataka, including a ban on the wearing of hijabs, is raising concerns the divisive measures will stoke sectarian tensions more prevalent in the country's north. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recently banned wearing the hijab in classrooms in Karnataka, the only one of India's five southern states it rules. A proposal to make religious conversions largely illegal is being considered by the local legislature. The moves have become an issue of contention involving India's Muslim minority. Opposition parties and many political analysts accuse the BJP of fomenting tensions in Karnataka to consolidate its appeal to majority Hindus, like they say ...

LONDON : Chelsea will not have a queue of buyers lining up outside Stamford Bridge, according to one of the advisors who helped Roman Abramovich purchase the Premier League club in 2003. Abramovich announced he was putting the west London club up for sale after 19 trophy-laden years on Wednesday in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "In all likelihood there aren't going to be 20 or 30 people queuing up to buy this," investment banker and corporate takeover advisor Keith Harris told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme on Friday. "It's like buying a house that's very expensive: it will appeal to a limited population of buyers. It's a rare beast that has the odd three billion pounds lying in a back pocket. "It's a big, big ask." Metals magnate Abramovich bought the team for 140 million ...

“It’s also important to recognise that with all the measures that we put in place, we have been able to keep the serious cases low, manageable (and) ICU cases are manageable,” Mr Gan said. “But at the same time, the large number of cases also means that our hospitals are very, very busy. So, it’s important for us to ensure that the healthcare system is protected and allow the patients to be taken care of properly. “This will then give us more capacity to open up.” Mr Gan, who is also Trade and Industry Minister, acknowledged that it is important for the economy to continue on the path to living with COVID-19. Safe management measures, including safe distancing and group size limits, “put a strain” on domestic sectors like retail as well as food and beverage, he said. “It is also impor...

Global sports fans are enjoying their second pandemic Olympics in little more than six months. In the excitement of watching individual and team competitions among the world’s best athletes, one can almost forget that one or both Olympics might easily have been canceled. We urgently need to consider how to future proof the Games. With the Summer Olympics, Japanese public opposition, driven by the pandemic and mounting expenses, almost forced the Japanese government to cancel. It is hard to imagine most other democratic governments, including future Summer Games hosts Paris (2024), Los Angeles (2028) and Brisbane (2032), being able to persevere in the face of such public opposition. For the Winter Olympics, China’s human rights record prompted strong calls in some countries to boycott. In ...

KHARKIV: Russian forces landed in Ukraine's second-biggest city on Wednesday (Mar 2) and triggered immediate clashes in the streets of Kharkiv, the military said, following Moscow's relentless air assault across the former Soviet state. At least 21 people were killed and 112 wounded in shelling in the last 24 hours, regional governor Oleg Synegubov said on Wednesday. The airborne operation came as US President Joe Biden branded Vladimir Putin a "dictator", warning the sanction campaign to cripple Russia's economy would escalate and its oligarchs were being targeted. In Biden's first State of the Union address, he hailed the resolve of the Western alliance and voiced solidarity with Ukraine as lawmakers in the US Congress gave a standing ovation to the Ukrainian people. "A Russian dicta...

A skier performs a jump during a contest as part of the "DXB Snow Week" at the Ski Dubai indoor resort. KARIM SAHIB | AFP | Getty Images DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Skiing in the desert might sound absurd, but in the heart of one of Dubai's busiest shopping destinations, Mall of the Emirates, this adrenaline-pumping pastime has been going strong since 2005. It's technically not real snow at Ski Dubai of course, yet this wintry wonderland remains hugely popular with tourists and residents who enjoy speeding down a 1,300-ft-long slope – or indeed tobogganing, bobsledding, ziplining, zorb balling, and hanging out with penguins. Boasting "fresh" snow all year long, the park is chilled to -24.8 degrees Fahrenheit and has even been named the world's best indoor ski resort for six years in a r...

DUBAI : Abu Dhabi-based crypto trading firm Hayvn is in talks with institutional investors to anchor a series B funding round that would value it at $400 million as it eyes an eventual initial public offering (IPO), its chief executive officer said. Hayvn, which raised $5 million in series A funding in 2021, hopes to raise $30 million in the series B round which it expects to close in about three months, CEO Christopher Flinos told Reuters. Crypto's move into the mainstream has gained pace, with large banks and companies starting to embrace it. Industry backers hope this will reduce digital coin price volatility. Series A funding usually secures cash for early development plans, followed by a Series B round to fund further expansion. Hayvn, which offers trading, custody, asset manageme...

TOKYO : Japan's factory output shrank for the second month in January as the auto sector grappled with production suspensions due to the pandemic, with Russia's invasion of Ukraine intensifying pressure on an economy facing the risk of a contraction. Even before the Ukraine crisis erupted, factories in the world's third-largest economy were struggling with global parts supply disruptions and coronavirus infections of the Omicron variant at home. "Car output decreased substantially due to a worsening chip shortage and supply bottlenecks," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute. "That spilled over (into other industries such as) steel, which also fell." Factory output slumped 1.3per cent in January from the previous month, official data showed on Monday, h...