World

SAN FRANCISCO/SHANGHAI: Qualcomm Inc is struggling to keep up with demand for its processor chips used in smartphones and gadgets, as a chip shortage that first hit the auto industry spreads across the electronics business, industry sources told Reuters. Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker, is experiencing a shortage of Qualcomm's application processors, the heart of smartphones, two people at suppliers for the South Korean giant told Reuters. Demand for Qualcomm's chips has soared in the past months as Android phone makers seek to win over customers abandoning phones produced by Huawei Technologies Co Ltd due to U.S. sanctions. Qualcomm has found it hard to meet this higher-than-expected demand, in part due to a shortage of some subcomponents used in its chips. One person...

YANGON: Three protesters were critically injured when security forces fired live rounds at anti-coup protesters in northwestern Myanmar on Tuesday (Mar 2), medics said, as regional powers met to pressure the junta over its deadly crackdown. The talks, held in a video call, comes two days after the bloodiest day of unrest since the military removed Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government a month ago, unleashing anger and mass street protests across Myanmar. Protesters, many wearing hard hats and clutching makeshift shields, had gathered behind barricades in different parts of the main city of Yangon to chant slogans against military rule. "If we're oppressed, there will be explosion. If we're hit, we'll hit back," demonstrators chanted before police moved in firing stun grenades to sca...

India continued their march towards a series-levelling victory after Ravichandran Ashwin's scintillating century on a turning track flattened England in the second test on Monday. REUTERS: India continued their march towards a series-levelling victory after Ravichandran Ashwin's scintillating century on a turning track flattened England in the second test on Monday. Chasing a record 482 for an improbable victory, England endured a top order collapse to finish day three on 53-3, still 429 behind at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium. Joe Root was batting on two at close while Dan Lawrence was on 19 with England, who managed 134 in their first innings, risking a defeat inside four days. The nature of the spin-friendly pitch dominated discussions on the first two days but home captain V...

BERLIN: The semiconductor crunch that has battered the auto sector leaves carmakers with a stark choice: pay up, stock up or risk getting stuck on the sidelines as chipmakers focus on more lucrative business elsewhere. Car manufacturers including Volkswagen, Ford and General Motors have cut output as the chip market was swept clean by makers of consumer electronics such as smartphones - the chip industry's preferred customers because they buy more advanced, higher-margin chips. The semiconductor shortage - over US$800 worth of silicon is packed into a modern electric vehicle - has exposed the disconnect between an auto industry spoilt by decades of just-in-time deliveries and an electronics industry supply chain it can no longer bend to its will. "The car sector has been used to the...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has formed an enforcement task force to examine misconduct related to environmental, social and governance issues as the regulator ramps up a focus on climate and other hot-button topics. WASHINGTON: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has formed an enforcement task force to examine misconduct related to environmental, social and governance issues as the regulator ramps up a focus on climate and other hot-button topics. The SEC has deployed a 22-person team that will focus on disclosures from public companies related to issues such as climate change, investment-advisor activities and funds dedicated to ESG investments, the agency said on Thursday. This is the latest in a series of SEC moves in recent weeks under President Joe Biden...

NEW DELHI: An overcrowded bus drove off a bridge and into a canal in central India on Tuesday (Feb 16), killing at least 40 people, an official said. Six people were rescued after the accident near Satna village in Madhya Pradesh state, District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Choudhary said. He said more than 46 people were on board the bus, which was designed for 34. Rescuers recovered 40 bodies and are searching for other passengers. It was unclear what caused the bus to swerve, but India's vast network of roads is poorly maintained and notoriously dangerous. Local media reported the bus was completely submerged, and images showed officials in orange life jackets using rescue boats to look for survivors. The state government has ordered an inquiry into the accident. An init...

The European Union said it is considering sanctions on Myanmar while the United States penalized two more generals for links to the military coup, as Western countries sought to press the junta to avoid a violent crackdown after weeks of protests. Junta leader Gen. Min Aung Hlaing called for energy to be put into reviving the ailing economy, state media reported, a day after a general strike shut businesses and huge crowds gathered despite a warning from authorities that confrontation could get people killed. U.N. Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said millions had marched on Monday in a "breathtaking" turnout, despite the junta's threat. "The generals are losing their power to intimidate and with it, their power. It is past time for them to stand down, as the people of Myanmar stand up," ...

Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the business that preserves and protects the author and illustrator's legacy, announced on his birthday, Tuesday, March 2, 2021, that it would cease publication of several children's titles including "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street" and "If I Ran the Zoo," because of insensitive and racist imagery. Six Dr. Seuss books — including "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street" and "If I Ran the Zoo" — will stop being published because of racist and insensitive imagery, the business that preserves and protects the author's legacy said Tuesday. "These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong," Dr. Seuss Enterprises told The Associated Press in a statement that coincided with the late author and illustrator's birthday. "Ceasing sales of ...