World

Flights are booked. Bags are packed. To cancel Christmas travel plans seems unfathomable at this point. But for many, so does the speed at which the omicron variant is spreading. The highly transmissible Covid-19 variant — which was first detected in late November but has since been detected in nearly 90 countries — is causing travel uncertainty around the globe. Still, some in the medical and research fields are striking a different tone this year than 2020's "stay home, stay safe" mantra — at least for now. "At this point in the pandemic, we've learned so much about this virus and how to keep ourselves from spreading infection to others — and from acquiring infection," said Stephen Kissler, research fellow at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, in an online discussion on Dec. 9 w...

The Hong Kong government has repeatedly said that rights and protections, including freedom of speech, are protected by a national security law that went into effect last year. In Sunday's election, only 20 out of 90 seats will be directly elected by the public, from a choice of 35 candidates. There are 153 candidates in the elections, all of whom were vetted before being allowed to run. Of these, only around a dozen moderates with different backgrounds say they are not aligned with the pro-establishment camp, with the rest comprising pro-Beijing and pro-establishment figures. A Hong Kong government spokesperson did not respond to Reuters questions on why the number of independent candidates running in the election is small. In February, police charged 47 Hong Kong democracy campaigners...

SEATTLE/PARIS : In Boeing Co's factory of the future, immersive 3-D engineering designs will be twinned with robots that speak to each other, while mechanics around the world will be linked by US$3,500 HoloLens headsets made by Microsoft Corp. It is a snapshot of an ambitious new Boeing strategy to unify sprawling design, production and airline services operations under a single digital ecosystem - in as little as two years. Critics say Boeing has repeatedly made similar bold pledges on a digital revolution, with mixed results. But insiders say the overarching goals of improving quality and safety have taken on greater urgency and significance as the company tackles multiple threats. The planemaker is entering 2022 fighting to reassert its engineering dominance after the 737 MAX crisis,...

LONDON : What was shaping up to be a gripping three-horse Premier League title race heading into Christmas is threatening to become a Manchester City romp to a fourth crown in five seasons. Pep Guardiola's side opened up an eight-point gap on Wednesday thanks to a 1-0 win nL1N2TE1PS at Brentford and will seek to begin the new year as they ended the old when they go to Arsenal on Saturday seeking an 11th straight league win. Should that happen they would be 11 points clear of Chelsea and 12 ahead of Liverpool, who have a game in hand, before their two rivals clash at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. While fourth-placed Arsenal have also been in impressive form with four successive wins, Mikel Arteta's side have fallen short against the big boys this season and were thrashed 5-0 away to City in...

BEIJING :The Chinese government has been expanding its practice of taking minority stakes in private companies beyond those specialising in online news and content to firms possessing large amounts of key data, two people with knowledge of the matter said. It has made a de facto special management stake or "golden share" arrangement with Full Truck Alliance Co Ltd, a Chinese platform arranging trucking services, according to one of the people. Troubled Didi Global Inc has also been in talks about a golden share for its core ride-hailing business, a third source with direct knowledge of the matter said. Seeking influence, Beijing began taking golden shares in private online media companies - usually about 1per cent of a firm - some five years ago. The stakes are bought by government-back...

Grand Theft Auto video game-maker Take-Two Interactive said Monday it would buy Zynga for $11.04 billion in a cash-and-stock deal that will add popular mobile titles such as FarmVille under its umbrella as demand surges for on-the-go gaming. The deal, the largest ever in the sector, will create a gaming powerhouse with a market cap of nearly $30 billion, spanning console, PC and mobile devices at a time that more people are gaming on their smartphones. Take-Two, also known for adventure game Red Dead Redemption, offered $3.50 in cash and $6.361 in shares for each Zynga share, a 64% premium to the last closing price. Including debt, the acquisition is worth $12.7 billion. "It's a bombshell deal. … Zynga was on the list of potential M&A transactions for a long time in the video game busin...

People wait outside a community center as long lines continue for individuals for COVID-19 testing during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Diego, California, January 10, 2022. Mike Blake | Reuters The World Bank slashed its global growth forecast for 2022 and 2023, and cautioned that a rise in inflation, debt and income inequality could jeopardize the recovery in emerging and developing economies. Global growth is expected to slow to 4.1% in 2022 and 3.2% in 2023 as more nations start unwinding unprecedented levels of fiscal and monetary policy support to tackle the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the bank said in its "Global Economic Prospects" report on Tuesday. The projections follow a strong rebound in global growth as demand soared after Covid-related ...

SINGAPORE: Shares of Singapore’s property firms fell on Thursday (Dec 16) after the Government unexpectedly announced a slew of new measures to cool the private residential and HDB resale markets. City Developments plunged as much as 4.1 per cent in early morning trade. The counter later regained some ground to close 2.7 per cent, or S$0.19 lower, at S$6.88. Other developers also managed to trim their losses in afternoon trade. UOL finished 0.8 per cent, or S$0.06, lower at S$7.04, after declining as much as 3 per cent when the market opened. Oxley Holdings fell as low as S$0.179 at the open before recouping some losses to close down 2.1 per cent at S$0.183. GuocoLand dropped 0.7 per cent, or S$0.01, to S$1.51, while Frasers Property shed 0.9 per cent, or S$0.01, to close at S$1.14. Pr...

For several decades, “people-powered” grassroots movements across Southeast Asia have fought for democratic reforms, human rights, improved access to quality education and health care, and, ultimately, an end to extreme poverty. These movements have been motivated by a vision of inclusive prosperity and social justice that stands as an alternative to the neoliberal “road to serfdom” on which much of the region has been traveling by default. Unfortunately, the hard-fought gains of recent decades are now in jeopardy. Southeast Asia is backsliding on democracy, and the erosion of accountability will lead to familiar outcomes, including concentration of power, massive corruption and rent-seeking by business and political elites, media repression and limits on freedom of assembly. Add to that ...

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law a bill banning goods from China’s Xinjiang region unless companies can prove they aren’t made with forced labor, in a move that will add to tensions over Beijing’s treatment of the nation’s Uyghur minority. The bill passed with unanimous backing in both the House and Senate earlier this month, showcasing how Republicans and Democrats are largely aligned on China policy despite Washington’s deep partisan divisions on most major issues. The measure is motivated by concern about the oppression of Uyghur Muslims in a region that holds a major place in global supply chains. Xinjiang is a source for cotton used in clothing and is a key location for producing polysilicon used in solar panels, which in turn are seen as crucial in the global sh...