World

This is Part 2 of the series Watch Out! Biden wants to save the planet. Click to read Part 1. In his January 27 “Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” US President Joseph Biden declares that his administration aims at “putting the climate crisis at the center of United States foreign policy and National Security.” Taken literally, this statement – as I think any sober observer of today’s situation in the US and internationally will agree – is a piece of insanity. Joe, please tell us you don’t mean it. Whatever one might believe about an oncoming climate apocalypse, the urgent domestic and international problems the Biden administration will face in the immediate months ahead have little or nothing to do with the temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere. They i...

BEIJING: China will invest more in coal to power its economy over the next five years, according to a government plan released Friday (Mar 5) that only modestly increased renewable ambitions. Environmentalists had been hoping China's five-year national development plan, unveiled at its annual parliamentary session, would give a roadmap for its goal of carbon neutrality by 2060. However the plan, announced by Premier Li Keqiang, had few details and signalled little urgency in cutting the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. The lack of a cap on total energy consumption was one of the notable exclusions. "Without the energy consumption control target, there's even less in this five-year plan to constrain emissions growth than in the previous ones," Lauri Myllyvirta, fr...

SINGAPORE: A S$356 million contract has been awarded for the design and construction of a tunnel between the future Aviation Park and Loyang MRT train stations on the Cross Island Line, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Monday (Mar 8). The first phase of the Cross Island Line is expected to begin passenger service in 2030 with 12 stations, serving residential and industrial areas such as Loyang, Tampines, Pasir Ris, Defu, Hougang, Serangoon North and Ang Mo Kio. The contract for the tunnel between the future Aviation Park and Loyang MRT train stations was awarded to a joint venture between Taisei Corporation and the Singapore branch of China State Construction Engineering Corporation, said LTA in a news release. Construction works for the 3.2km bored tunnel are expected...

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...