World

JAIPUR: Faizuddin is still traumatised from the lightning strike that killed his three friends as they took selfies atop a 400-year-old fort in India, where climate change is making lethal strikes more common. Scores of people have met similarly gruesome ends this year in the western desert state of Rajasthan, where deaths caused by thunderstorms used to be uncommon. "I was hit by three thunderbolts, one after the other," said Faizuddin, his voice quivering as he lay wrapped in a blanket at his modest home in Jaipur. He and his trio of childhood friends had climbed hundreds of steps to a watchtower on top of Amer Fort during a July storm that also claimed eight other lives. "The sound was deafening, it felt like a huge bomb blast. My trousers and shoes caught fire, my limbs became stif...

NEW YORK : Global shares edged higher on Wednesday on the strength of U.S. equities markets that were boosted by rising oil prices and positive economic data out of the United States. U.S. factory production data showed that manufacturing was strong in August despite a slowdown due to closures related to severe storms and the ongoing microchip shortage. Earlier in the day U.S. import prices for August declined for the first time in 10 months. That followed Tuesday data from the U.S. Labor Department showing that inflation cooled last month and may have peaked. U.S. oil rose by more than US$2 on Wednesday after stockpiles fell last week to their lowest since September 2019. The MSCI All Country World Index gained 0.26per cent, and all three of the major U.S. stock indexes closed higher....

Tens of millions of Americans lost their jobs due to Covid-19. Their loss of income caused problems for themselves and their families – and for the Social Security system. The problem is that the Social Security system is paying out more money to retirees than it collects from workers. You see, the money coming out of your paycheck does not fund your future retirement. Instead, your money is given to current retirees; the next generation to pay for your benefits, and the generation after that will pay for theirs. This is how the Social System has always worked. It's performed just fine, thank you, for decades — because we always had lots more workers than retirees. Indeed, when the program started in 1935, there were 150 workers for every retiree. They provided more money than was needed...

Selangor has been Malaysia’s top investment destination for three years running, having received RM18.4 billion (S$5.9 billion) in foreign and domestic investment in the manufacturing sector in 2020 alone. While its strong manufacturing sector has contributed greatly to this achievement, Selangor is looking to bolster its digital economy in its vision for the future. This is in line with the Smart Selangor Vision 2025, which names four domains – smart government, smart economy, smart community and smart digital infrastructure – as being key to the creation of a thriving digital ecosystem, set to be complete in four years’ time. “At its core, Smart Selangor is an initiative by the state to empower its people, businesses and the public sector by optimising digital technologies towards deli...

From private-jet clubs to theme park memberships, subscription services are increasingly the way to go when it comes to vacations and other leisure trips. For example, Internet sites Tripadvisor and Scott's Cheap Flights — both free to users in their basic versions — this year have each rolled out premium membership plans that offer those willing to pay an annual fee extra perks and access to special pricing. Now, Travel + Leisure Co., which owns about 20 resort, travel club and lifestyle travel brands, is staking its claim to the space with its new online Travel + Leisure Club, tied to editorial content published in its signature Travel + Leisure magazine. While all readers will now be able to book trips to destinations featured in the publication via the new, free Travel + Leisure GO ...

NEW YORK/LONDON :A gauge of global equities posted its seventh consecutive month of gains and a record closing high on Tuesday, but stocks and the dollar mostly ended the day little changed after U.S. and Chinese economic data suggested slower growth ahead. Markets were subdued in quiet end-of-summer trading as investors wait for a U.S. jobs report for August on Friday that could shape how soon the Federal Reserve begins to withdraw its support of the economy when it begins to taper bond buying. Data on Tuesday wasn't inspiring. U.S. consumer confidence fell to a six-month low in August as soaring COVID-19 infections and rising inflation dampened the economic outlook, a view that data from China, Canada and the EU also implied. China's businesses and the broader economy came under incre...

BEIJING :China's factory and retail sectors faltered in August with output and sales growth hitting one-year lows as fresh coronavirus outbreaks and supply disruptions threatened the country's impressive economic recovery. Industrial production rose 5.3per cent in August from a year earlier, narrowing from an increase of 6.4per cent in July and marking the weakest pace since July 2020, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday. Output growth missed the 5.8per cent increase tipped by analysts. Consumer spending also took a big hit from rising local COVID-19 cases and floods with sales rising only 2.5per cent in August from a year ago, much lower than the forecast 7.0per cent rise and the slowest clip since August last year. "Recent economic data reflected the overal...

The number of unicorns - private held start-ups that are valued at more than US$1 billion - Estonia has produced is “remarkable” when compared to the size of its population of about 1.3 million people, she added. For example, video conferencing tool Skype was originally founded in Estonia, she noted. The MOU also covers cooperation and collaboration in terms of cybersecurity, which is “very prominent” in the minds of Estonians after the country suffered a major cyberattack in 2007, said Mrs Teo. “That, to Estonians, was a wake-up call. They completely reviewed their posture, stance towards cybersecurity. One of the things Estonia decided was important was they have to elevate this topic to global attention,” she added. Singapore is shifting its cybersecurity posture from emphasising pre...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong media group Next Digital announced on Sunday (Sep 5) that it aimed to go into liquidation and its board of directors had resigned to facilitate the process. Next Digital is owned by jailed tycoon Jimmy Lai and was the publisher of Apple Daily, a popular pro-democracy newspaper that closed in June after its newsroom was raided by police officers investigating whether some articles breached a national security law introduced in Hong Kong by Beijing last year. The company's assets were frozen as part of the national security investigation and its shares have been suspended from trading since Jun 17. In a filing to the Hong Kong bourse late on Sunday, Next Digital said the best interests of shareholders, creditors, employees and other stakeholders will be served by an o...

Oil prices rose 2% on Friday, posting their biggest weekly gains in over a year, as energy firms began shutting U.S. production in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of a major hurricane expected to hit early next week. Brent futures rose $1.63, or 2.3%, to settle at $72.70 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.32, or 2.0%, to settle at $68.74. That was the highest close for Brent since Aug. 2 and for WTI since Aug. 12. For the week, Brent gained over 11% and WTI rose more than 10%, which was the biggest weekly percentage gains for both since June 2020. "Energy traders are pushing crude prices higher in anticipation of disruptions in output in the Gulf of Mexico and on growing expectations OPEC+ might resist raising output given the recent Delta variant impact over cru...