World

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...

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...