World

NEW YORK: US air safety regulators said Tuesday (Feb 15) they will perform final inspections on new Boeing 787 planes, retaining an authority normally granted to jet manufacturers. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the policy was needed until the agency is "confident" Boeing has addressed issues that have led to the halting of deliveries of new 787 Dreamliner planes since May. "The FAA today informed Boeing that the agency will retain the authority to issue airworthiness certificates for all Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft," the agency said. "This will allow the agency to confirm the effectiveness of measures Boeing has undertaken to improve the 787 manufacturing process." The policy will remain in place until Boeing meets the FAA's standards for quality and manufacturing p...

As the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing entered their second week, reports emerged of a controversy that symbolized a predicament threatening two of the globe’s biggest sporting events. It had nothing to do with doping, dubious scoring, collusion or corruption. Rather, the Olympic flame — that emblem of peace and solidarity ignited quadrennially in Greece by the sun’s rays — had apparently been snuffed out. In an echo of 2008, when a relay torch was rumored to have been extinguished during pro-Tibet protests in the buildup to the Beijing Summer Games, Chinese officials insisted the flame had in fact remained alight, and a snowstorm had merely “affected visibility.” In truth, the Olympic flame has been flickering unsteadily for some time, its longevity jeopardized by waning interest and r...

Major tech companies are opening offices in Atlanta, hoping to capitalize on the technology talent in the city, especially the Black talent. Silicon Valley-based Apple and Google parent Alphabet as well as Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft have all set up shop in Atlanta in recent years. Headquartered near San Francisco, payments giant Visa is also opening a new office in Atlanta later this year, and its chief diversity officer will be based there, with a focus on building connections with various start-ups and workers. "We know that our customer base at all levels includes the Black community, and we are not shy about wanting the Black community in our workforce," Visa's diversity chief, Michelle Gethers-Clark, told CNBC. Atlanta-based Georgia Tech produces the most technology gradu...

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s tourism numbers hit new lows in 2021, but there have been “encouraging signs of recovery” amid the introduction of vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs) and strong domestic consumption, said the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) on Tuesday (Jan 25). In 2021, there were 330,000 visitor arrivals and an estimated S$1.9 billion in tourism receipts – much lower than the 2.7 million arrivals and S$4.8 billion in receipts in 2020. It is also “only a fraction” of the 19 million visitors and S$27.7 billion in receipts from before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. But STB noted some upsides such as year-on-year growth in the last three quarters of 2021. “The introduction of various travel arrangements, such as VTLs, has encouraged the gradual return of international travellers. “Domest...

KUALA LUMPUR: Singapore and Malaysia are in talks about allowing more people to travel via vaccinated travel lanes (VTL), but a decision on the matter will depend on the COVID-19 situation in both countries, said Singapore’s High Commissioner to Malaysia Vanu Gopala Menon on Friday (Jan 28). Mr Menon said he was “hopeful” the quota would be increased in the coming months. Singapore and Malaysia launched air and land VTLs in November. The air VTL is between Changi Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport, with the land VTL via the Causeway by bus. In December, both countries froze all new ticket sales for VTL flights and buses between Dec 23 and Jan 20 amid fears of the spread of the Omicron variant. Ticket sales from Jan 21 on air and land VTLs have been capped at 50 per cent of ...

Throughout South and Southeast Asia, militaries have seized the reins of power or become increasingly involved in politics — more so than at any time in recent years. Just 10 years ago, there were no militaries fully in control of governments in South or Southeast Asia. Today, in Myanmar and Thailand, the armed forces are in direct or de facto control of those countries. In states such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines, the militaries play growing — even dominant — roles in civilian politics once again. The effects of renewed military meddling on democracies, societies and economies often are devastating. They tend to make it hard for countries to return to democracy, spark significant bloodshed and create governments that are terrible at ruling. Yet although coups an...

Let's talk about three data points since that nerve-wracking Fed meeting yesterday that help explain why the central bank is doing what it's doing. (1) GDP. It just surged nearly 7% last quarter, versus the 5.5% estimate. For the year, the economy grew at 5.7%. And that's in "real," ex-inflation terms. Add in the price gains, which were 4% for the year the way Commerce calculates it, and it means nominal GDP surged nearly 10% last year. That's way higher than the 4% pace it was meagerly advancing last decade, when the Fed had to keep reversing course on its tightening plans. And keep in mind, as of this moment, the Fed is still doing quantitative easing! For an economy booming 10%, and a prime-age employment-to-population ratio that has recovered in just two years to 79% as of December--s...

SINGAPORE: The head of technology at a company bought a camera online and stuck it to the ceiling of his workplace toilet, hoping to film his female colleagues in an attempt his lawyer called "amateurish ... beyond belief". Balasingam-Chow Yu Hui fastened the black and rainbow-striped pinhole video camera against the white ceiling with blu-tack and scotch tape, his lawyer said. However, it fell to the ground within half an hour and was picked up by a potential victim who flagged the crime. Balasingam, 44, was sentenced to 10 days' jail on Wednesday (Feb 9). He pleaded guilty to a charge each of attempting to insult a woman's modesty and criminal trespass. Two other charges were taken into consideration. The court heard that Balasingam bought the camera online sometime in May 2019. About...

Rail wagons for oil, fuel and liquefied gas cargo stand in sidings at Yanichkino railway station, close to the Gazprom Neft PJSC Moscow refinery in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, April 27, 2020. Oil prices surged on Monday over 2% to their highest in more than seven years as Ukraine's President said he had heard that Russia could invade the country on Wednesday. Russia is one of the world's largest oil-and-gas producers, and fears that it could invade Ukraine have driven the rally in oil closer to the $100-per-barrel mark. "The market remains hyper-sensitive to the developments over the Russian/Ukraine situation," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital in New York. "This is now intensifying to a terrific degree. Right now, it's buy now, ask later." Brent crude rose $2.04, or 2.2%, to ...

ROME : A very long table that drew world attention when Russian President Vladimir Putin used it for meetings this month with foreign leaders was made in Italy by a small family firm which has also furnished dozens of other rooms in the Kremlin. The white table - some six metres (12 ft) in length - spawned countless memes on social media last week when Putin hosted French President Emmanuel Macron for talks on the Ukraine crisis, and they sat at each end of the table. Renato Pologna said the table was just one of many items his firm Oak made for the Kremlin under contract in 1995-1997. "The table is really the tip of the iceberg. In all, we provided furniture and fittings for around 70 rooms. Some of the other tables are even bigger," he told Reuters. The scene of Putin and Macron seat...