World

WASHINGTON: The United States is shipping 3 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to Indonesia, with another 1.5 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine heading to Nepal and 500,000 Moderna doses to Bhutan, a White House official said on Friday (Jul 9). The shipments are part of the Biden administration's pledge to share an initial batch of 80 million U.S.-made vaccines globally amid concern about the wide disparity in vaccination rates between advanced and developing countries. Last week, the administration announced plans to ship 1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech to Malaysia. The shipment to Indonesia is part of 4 million doses promised last week and is one of the largest U.S. shipments of donated vaccines thus far. The re...

Private jet company Wheels Up made its market debut Wednesday after completing its SPAC merger, and the company's CEO is looking to take the business to new heights with technology. Company shares closed at $11.55 on Wednesday, rising 16.31% on the session. Trading was paused temporarily on Wednesday morning due to volatility. "Up a nickel, down a nickel, up 50 cents, down 50 cents — I'm not worried about it. I think the stock price, if we execute, is going to take care of itself in the long haul," Wheels Up founder and CEO Kenny Dichter said in an interview Wednesday on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." "We're looking for great short-term, medium-term and long-term holders that believe in us, and we're going to stand in there and deliver for them," he added. For Wheels Up to deliver, Dic...

WELLINGTON: Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group, including US President Joe Biden, Russia's Vladimir Putin, and China's Xi Jinping, pledged on Friday (Jul 16) to work to expand sharing and manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines to fight the global pandemic. The leaders, struggling to tame outbreaks exacerbated by the Delta variant, said they would encourage the voluntary transfer of vaccine production technologies "on mutually agreed terms" as the region prepared for future health shocks. "The pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on our region’s people and economies," the leaders said in a joint statement issued after a virtual meeting chaired by New Zealand. "We will only overcome this health emergency by accelerating equitable access to safe, effec...

SINGAPORE: From Jul 14, those booking a Grab ride from the central part of Singapore will be able to opt for a ride on a hybrid or electric vehicle, as part of the ride-hailing platform’s drive to become more sustainable. From that date, they will also have the option of paying an additional S$0.10 to contribute to eco-friendly projects to help reduce their carbon footprint. JustGrab Green will employ a fleet of vehicles which meet the Vehicular Emissions Scheme (VES) A2 emissions standard, such as the Hyundai Kona Electric or the Toyota Prius. This will allow carbon emissions to be reduced by an estimated 55 per cent compared to conventional petrol vehicles, Grab said in a media release on Wednesday (Jul 7). Screengrab of JustGrab Green, which aims to allow passengers to reduce ...

KABUL: The Taliban claimed Friday (Jul 9) to be in control of 85 per cent of Afghanistan after seizing key border crossings with Iran and Turkmenistan following a sweeping offensive launched as US troops pulled out of the war-torn nation. Hours after President Joe Biden issued a staunch defence of the US withdrawal, the Taliban said its fighters had seized two vital border crossings in western Afghanistan - completing an arc of territory from the Iranian border to the frontier with China. In Moscow, a visiting delegation of Taliban officials said they controlled about 250 of Afghanistan's 398 districts - a claim impossible to independently verify and disputed by the government. Map of Afghanistan locating the Islam Qala border crossing with Iran, captured by the Taliban, the insurge...

Shares and bonds in China Evergrande, the country's most indebted developer, plunged for a second day on Tuesday, after sales of two real estate projects were suspended by local authorities, escalating worries over its financial health. SHANGHAI: Shares and bonds in China Evergrande, the country's most indebted developer, plunged for a second day on Tuesday, after sales of two real estate projects were suspended by local authorities, escalating worries over its financial health. Evergrande's Hong Kong-listed shares tumbled more than 13per cent to a fresh four-year low, following Monday's 16per cent plunge, while its bonds also dived, in onshore and offshore markets. Local regulators in Shaoyang, a city in south central Hunan province, ordered a sales halt for two Evergrande resident...

HONG KONG: Hong Kong customs officials said Thursday (Jul 15) they had dismantled a money laundering syndicate that used cryptocurrency to process around HK$1.2 billion (US$155 million) in illegal funds, in what they said was the first successful operation of its kind. "It is the first time in Hong Kong that a money-laundering ring involved in using cryptocurrency to wash dirty cash and conceal the source of criminal assets was broken up," Senior Superintendent Mark Woo Wai-kwan told reporters. Investigators said four men - including the alleged local mastermind of the syndicate - had been arrested and bailed while some HK$20 million had been frozen. The men opened various local bank accounts with shell companies and made transactions through a virtual currency exchange trading plat...

SINGAPORE: For a second time in two months, Mr Frank Per has had to prepare his family-style karaoke business in Paya Lebar for an extended closure. Sing My Song Family Karaoke took a one-month hiatus in mid-May when dining-in was banned as part of the “Phase Two (Heightened Alert)” curbs. The local karaoke joint had turned to selling finger food and ice cream since last December. Its core business – singing – remains prohibited under current COVID-19 protocols. When it was announced on Friday (Jul 16) that all nightlife establishments operating as F&B businesses had to be shuttered for two weeks, Mr Per started going through a checklist that he was already very familiar with. “I am now packing the food that will expire within two weeks, so that we can bring them home or give aw...

Oil prices climbed to highs last seen in October 2018 on Monday as the United States and Iran wrangled over the revival of a nuclear deal, delaying a surge in Iranian oil exports, while investors eyed the outcome of the OPEC+ meeting this week. LONDON -Oil prices slipped on Monday after hitting more than 2-1/2 year highs earlier in the session, as a spike in COVID-19 cases in Asia put a brake on their rally before this week's OPEC+ meeting. Brent was down 33 cents, or 0.4per cent, at US$75.85 a barrel at 1326 GMT, after climbing to US$76.60, its highest since October 2018. U.S. crude was 27 cents, or 0.4per cent, lower at US$73.78 a barrel. But analysts said the rally had not yet run out of steam. "With sentiment running high, market watchers say crude prices are likely to keep ris...

Global share prices slid from record highs on Tuesday after U.S. inflation rose by the most in 13 years in June, driving the dollar up, the yield on benchmark U.S. government debt initially down and stocks on Wall Street to trade near break-even. NEW YORK/LONDON -Bond yields jumped and global share prices slipped after posting new highs on Tuesday as the biggest hike in U.S. inflation in 13 years rattled investors who fear rising interest rates could end a stock market rally that has doubled prices from 2020 lows. The yield on U.S. Treasury debt initially fell on news the U.S. consumer price index in June jumped 5.4per cent year over year, the largest gain since August 2008, the Labor Department said. But a weak Treasury auction sparked a 4.7-basis-point jump in the benchmark 10-yea...