World

MUMBAI : India's trade with Afghanistan has dried up as borders and banks have closed since the Taliban took over the country, but industry officials said that the disruption was temporary and that it would be business as usual soon. New Delhi is one of the leading suppliers of essential commodities to Afghanistan, which exports mainly dry fruits to India. Shipments between the two countries were delayed or disrupted after Taliban insurgents started making military advances earlier this month, leading to the fall of the capital Kabul on Sunday, industry officials said. "There is a temporary glitch in trade as Afghanistan is witnessing a transition of power. But within a few days trade will restart," said Rahil Shaikh, managing director of Mumbai-based MEIR Commodities, which exports sug...

NEW YORK :Oil prices fell over 2per cent to a three-week low on Monday, extending last week's steep losses on the back of a firmer U.S. dollar and concerns that new coronavirus-related restrictions in Asia, especially China, could slow a global recovery in fuel demand. A United Nations panel's dire warning on climate change added to the gloomy mood after fires in Greece razed homes and forests and parts of Europe suffered deadly floods last month. Brent futures fell US$1.66, or 2.4per cent, to settle at US$69.04 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude lost US$1.80, or 2.6per cent, to settle at US$66.48. Those were the lowest closes for both benchmarks since July 19. In intraday trade, WTI fell to its lowest level since May. "Crude prices are declining as a slowdown in ...

SINGAPORE: More thundery showers are expected in the first half of August 2021 compared to the last two weeks, said the Meteorological Service Singapore on Monday (Aug 2). During the next two weeks, the prevailing southwest monsoon conditions are expected to persist over Singapore and the surrounding region, with low-level winds forecast to continue blowing from the southeast or southwest. As the monsoon rain band is forecast to lie close to the Equator, more rainfall over the equatorial Southeast Asia region is expected. On most days in the fortnight, short thundery showers are expected between the late morning and afternoon over parts of the island. The thundery showers could be heavy due to "strong day-time heating of land areas coupled with convergence of winds over Singapore and t...

WASHINGTON: The US Senate voted to advance a historic, trillion-dollar infrastructure package late Wednesday (Jul 28), a breakthrough after weeks of often-bitter negotiations on a Bill that President Joe Biden said could "transform America". The deal, if passed by Congress and signed into law, would pump historic levels of federal funding into fixing US roads, bridges and waterways, ensuring broadband internet for all Americans and expanding clean energy programs. The bipartisan measure passed 67-32, with 17 Republicans joining all 50 Democrats to formally begin debate on the Bill. The plan, part of Biden's sweeping domestic agenda, includes around US$550 billion in new spending. It came together despite a near collapse of the volatile talks, which Biden and his Democrats wanted to see ...

HAVANA : Cubans on Sunday celebrated their 14th place showing in the Olympics' medal ranking, hailed their gold medal winners and said goodbye to the Games that provided a welcome diversion from the many challenges they face. On the last day of the Games boxer Andy Cruz won Cuba’s seventh Olympic gold, surpassing its five titles at the Games in Rio de Janeiro (2016) and London (2012), as well as the three golds won in Beijing (2008). State-run television broadcast much of the Games with a 13 hour time difference, forcing residents to watch their champions in the early hours of the morning. Friends Victor Montiel and Pavel Ortega laughed upon recalling when Montiel, 61, called Ortega, 46, at 2am after boxer Julio Cesar La Cruz won the gold. "What happened, you scared me," a sleeping Ort...

NEW YORK :Oil prices fell on Thursday after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus would slow the recovery of global oil demand. Brent crude futures fell 13 cents to settle at US$71.31 a barrel. Earlier, Brent hit a session high of US$71.90. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 16 cents to settle at US$69.09 a barrel. The international energy watchdog's monthly report said rising demand for oil reversed course in July and was set to proceed more slowly for the rest of the year after the latest wave of COVID-19 infections prompted countries to bring in restrictions again. "Growth for the second half of 2021 has been downgraded more sharply, as new COVID-19 restrictions imposed in several major oil consuming countries, parti...

SINGAPORE: United States Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Singapore and Vietnam in a fortnight's time, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday (Aug 3), adding that such high-level visits to the region are "greatly valued". Ms Harris' visit to Singapore, made at the invitation of Mr Lee, was announced last week. It will be her first official visit to the country. Singapore is "glad" that the US is "actively visiting" Asia-Pacific countries at a high level, said Mr Lee in his opening remarks at the virtual Aspen Security Forum on Tuesday. He noted the recent visits of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to Japan and South Korea, as well as Mr Austin's visits to Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines. "Such high-level visits are greatly...

NEW YORK :Oil prices skidded on Thursday for a sixth session, hitting lows not seen since May, as investors pulled back over concerns about weakened global demand as COVID-19 cases climb and on the back of a rise in the U.S. dollar. The oil market rallied throughout the first half of 2021, but has lost about 15per cent since early July. The recent wave of coronavirus infections worldwide has sapped global travel and threatens economic activity, just as major oil producers are getting ready to increase supply. "There seems to be a lot of people getting squeezed out of long positions," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group. Brent crude lost US$1.78, or 2.6per cent, to settle at US$66.45 a barrel, after touching US$65.57, the lowest level since May 21. The most-active contract fo...

WASHINGTON :Facebook Inc and Amazon.com Inc have asked the U.S. government for approval to operate a new undersea data cable between the Philippines and California after China Mobile agreed to exit the plan, a government agency said on Friday. The two companies told the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) they intend to start commercial operation by late 2022 and said the new data connection will provide significant new capacity on routes where capacity demand continues to increase substantially each year. The companies in a joint filing said the new cable will help to support Facebook applications and provide Amazon and its affiliates with capacity to support Amazon’s cloud services and connect its data centers. A Facebook spokeswoman said the project parties agreed "the best path ...

Denso Corp., Toyota Motor Corp.’s top supplier, says production at the automaker should recover swiftly, leaving Denso on track to beat its own profit forecast for the current fiscal year. Denso will likely take a profit hit of about ¥20 billion ($182 million) to ¥30 billion in September due to Toyota’s production cuts, Chief Financial Officer Yasushi Matsui said. But that loss is more than covered by the ¥75 billion in potential losses Denso had earlier worked into forecasts for the fiscal year ending March, he said. “There are automakers that can’t up their production after stumbling, but if Toyota says it will recover, it really will,” Matsui said in an interview at the company’s headquarters in Kariya, Aichi Prefecture, on Friday. For Denso, which issued a relatively conservative pr...