World

PRAYAGRAJ, India: Police are reaching out to villagers in northern India to investigate the recovery of bodies buried in shallow sand graves or washing up on the Ganges River banks, prompting speculation on social media that they were the remains of COVID-19 victims. In jeeps and boats, the police used portable loudspeakers with microphones asking people not to dispose of the bodies in rivers. "We are here to help you perform the last rites,” police said. On Friday, rains exposed the cloth coverings of bodies buried in shallow sand graves on the riverbank in Prayagraj, a city in Uttar Pradesh state. Bodies of suspected COVID-19 victims are seen in shallow graves buried in the sand near a cremation ground on the banks of Ganges River in Prayagraj, India, Saturday, May 15, 2021. (AP P...

SINGAPORE: Mediacorp actor and food business owner Terence Cao was fined S$3,500 on Tuesday (May 25) over a 13-person birthday party held at his condominium unit during the COVID-19 pandemic, when social gatherings were limited. Cao, whose real name is Terence Choa Kwok Fai, pleaded guilty to one charge of permitting 12 guests who were not members of his household to enter his home for a non-permitted purpose. The court heard that Cao, 53, had planned a social gathering in his home at Daisy Road on Oct 2, 2020 to celebrate his birthday, as well as the birthdays of fellow actors Shane Pow and Jeffrey Xu, when the number of guests was capped at five. He had invited five guests initially: Pow, Xu, co-accused Lance Lim, as well as artistes Benjamin Heng and Jeremy Chan. However, Lim in...

In this article GM DETROIT — Since taking over the helm of General Motors in 2014, CEO Mary Barra has meticulously cut costs, slashed about 64,000 jobs, exited unprofitable markets overseas and audaciously pledged to make GM an all-electric auto company by 2035. Though controversial at times, each of those decisions took GM one step closer to where it is today: poised for growth in new markets. Barra's GM looks vastly different from the one she inherited out of the financial crisis. Leveraging its core business, GM is targeting trillions in future markets that stretch far beyond just selling cars and trucks. "This is just the beginning for the next generation of General Motors," Barra told investors Wednesday during GM's first-quarter earnings call. "We are well on track with our plans to...

BEIJING/HANOI: China's Lygend Mining said on Wednesday its nickel and cobalt smelting project in Indonesia had made its first batch of mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), becoming the first high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) project in the country to reach production. The US$1.05-billion project on Obi island in the province of North Maluku is among several cobalt-nickel HPAL plants in nickel miner Indonesia that are under the spotlight as a source of supply for the burgeoning electric-vehicle battery sector. "Our first batch of nickel and cobalt hydroxide products will be shipped to China soon, and gradually enter the global market," said Lygend's president Jiang Xinfang. Jiang said that Lygend Resources and its Indonesian partner Harita Group plan to build other projects on Obi island...

The foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea held their first talks in more than a year amid soured bilateral ties, but failed to narrow gaps over issues involving wartime history and Tokyo’s decision to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. Meeting with his South Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong on the fringes of the Group of Seven foreign ministerial gathering in London, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi demanded Seoul present at an early date a solution that would be acceptable to Tokyo with regard to the wartime labor and “comfort women” issues, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. Chung, for his part, said it would be impossible for the two sides to resolve the issues unless Japan has a “correct” perception of history, South Kor...

In recent years, air-frying has been heating up kitchens round the world, including Singapore. But does this cooking method bring with it health concerns? The programme Talking Point gets its teeth into the issues. SINGAPORE: Can you have fried food without feeling guilty, knowing that it is unhealthy? This is what manufacturers of air fryers promise — great-tasting food with minimal fat. Some even claim a fat reduction of up to 90 per cent as air-frying does not require oil. And people are buying into it. The global air fryer market is expected to reach US$1.18 billion (S$1.56 billion) in size by 2026, up from US$680 million in 2019, according to brand and consulting firm KBV Research. Air-frying involves creating and circulating hot air to “quickly cook the surface layer” of food...

The list of places that's welcoming vaccinated people is growing by the week. Proof of vaccines is easing travel restrictions to some places, and is the only way travelers can gain entrance to others. Yet from health forms to testing protocols, travel remains complicated even for the immunized. Rules differ from one country to the next. Some places reject certain types of vaccines, while others still require a quarantine period — often shortened. Travelers almost always have to be fully vaccinated — which is commonly defined as two weeks following the last required dose. However, several places allow travel the same day as a second shot. So travelers should read the fine print before booking a trip abroad, which includes understanding Covid-19 protocols that may be stricter than what’s req...

The U.N. Security Council called Friday for an immediate end to violence in Myanmar as stated in an ASEAN plan, giving unanimous approval to a statement watered down to satisfy China and Russia. The plan, which also calls for the naming of an envoy from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to address the crisis triggered by the Feb. 1 military coup, should be applied “without delay,” the council statement says. It was approved after a closed-door meeting of the council and forced Western countries to make concessions to China — Myanmar’s main backer — and Russia to win passage. At their request the council eliminated clauses that said it “once again strongly condemned violence against peaceful protestors” and “reiterated their call on the military to exercise utmost restraint.” A...

Tax season is almost over, with the extended May 17 federal tax filing deadline right around the corner. And while the IRS has asked taxpayers to file early — in part due to the enormous backlog of returns that it is still sorting through — many Americans will inevitably fail to file their returns by Tax Day. Individuals who owe federal taxes will incur interest and penalties if they don't file and pay on time. The penalty for not filing your taxes on time is 5% of your unpaid taxes for each month that the return is late, maxing out at 25%. For every month you fail to pay, the IRS will charge you 0.5%, up to 25%. For any month that you owe both penalties, the failure to file amount is reduced by the failure to pay amount. Interest also builds up daily, equal to the federal short-term ra...