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Indonesian rescuers hunt for dozens missing after floods kill 36
27Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
USA, World

Indonesian rescuers hunt for dozens missing after floods kill 36

MAKASSAR, Indonesia: Rescuers pulled bodies from under mud and debris Friday (Jul 17) as they raced to find dozens still missing after flash floods killed at least 36 people on Indonesia's Sulawesi island. More than 14,000 people left homeless by the disaster have taken refuge at temporary shelters in hard-hit North Luwu regency, with the country's search and rescue agency hunting for 66 people still unaccounted for. Several rivers burst their banks after torrential rains pounded the region on Monday, sparking the deadly flash floods. On Friday, officials said at least 36 people had died in the disaster, following the retrieval of more bodies. They also raised previous missing victim figures from a dozen to more than 60, citing new reports from concerned relatives. "The chances of...
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Sailing: Team New Zealand blames inside job for America’s Cup allegations
27Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

Sailing: Team New Zealand blames inside job for America’s Cup allegations

Team New Zealand have blamed "informants" for spreading "highly defamatory and inaccurate" allegations about the body organising their America's Cup defence, triggering government questions over "financial and structural matters". WELLINGTON: Team New Zealand have blamed "informants" for spreading "highly defamatory and inaccurate" allegations about the body organising their America's Cup defence, triggering government questions over "financial and structural matters". The team, who will defend the 169-year-old sailing trophy in Auckland next year, said suspicions that there were "informants" in the America's Cup Event (ACE) organisation were confirmed when leaked information came back to them from Europe. "The motives of the informants who had access to the Team New Zealand base ca...
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France needs 5G to attract investors – Iliad founder Niel says
27Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

France needs 5G to attract investors – Iliad founder Niel says

PARIS: A protest movement against the deployment of 5G mobile technology in France risks dampening the country's attractiveness to investors, French tycoon Xavier Niel said on Tuesday. "5G is an element of attractiveness for our country," Niel, founder of French broadband internet provider Iliad , said at a news conference. "There is a moment when we are going to have to generate jobs in this country, so we need foreigners and investors to come here." France plans to hold its much-awaited 5G spectrum auction at the end of September after several delays, including due to the coronavirus outbreak. Germany and Italy have already raised billions of euros through 5G spectrum auctions, raising questions in France over how much the French state will aim to raise. Orange , Altice Europe’s...
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Formula One scraps US, Brazil, Mexico and Canada races
27Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

Formula One scraps US, Brazil, Mexico and Canada races

PARIS: The Grands Prix in the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Canada have been scrapped this year but three races in Europe have been added to the coronavirus-affected season, Formula One said Friday (Jul 24). There will be an F1 debut for Portugal's Portimao track and a return for Germany's Nurburgring and Imola in Italy. The US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, had been scheduled for Oct 23, with a race in Mexico City a week later and Brazil on Nov 13, but with coronavirus infections rising in all those countries, organisers have abandoned attempts to hold races there. The race in Canada had originally been scheduled for June, but plans to hold it later in the season have been scrapped due to Canadian travel restrictions. The race at the historic Nurburgring circuit, which last saw ...
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India surges ahead of China in business and technology skills: Report
27Jul By Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

India surges ahead of China in business and technology skills: Report

The world's largest online learning platform Coursera has said that India has surged ahead of China in business and technology skills due to its growing younger population and that India could soon be the global talent hub for emerging technologies.In its latest Global Skills Index 2020, Coursera said India ranks 34th within the business domain whereas China ranks 45th. Within the technology domain, India ranks 40th globally whereas China ranks 50th.Looking across the 65 million learners on the platform and drawing on performance data of learners in the past 12 months, the report benchmarks skills proficiency for 60 countries, 10 industries and 11 fields of study in business, technology and data science.“Within the data science domain, however, India ranks 51th globally (lagging) and 12th ...
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Tesla extends rally as traders bet on potential S&P 500 entry
27Jul By News DeskNo Comments
World

Tesla extends rally as traders bet on potential S&P 500 entry

Tesla Inc's shares extended their rally on Wednesday ahead of a quarterly report from the electric car maker that might clear the way for it to join the S&P 500 and attract over US$40 billion in new demand for the stock. REUTERS: Tesla Inc's shares extended their rally on Wednesday ahead of a quarterly report from the electric car maker that might clear the way for it to join the S&P 500 and attract over US$40 billion in new demand for the stock. Investors watching the company's quarterly report after the bell will be laser-focused on one question: Was Tesla profitable? A net profit, under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, would mark four consecutive profitable quarters, a first for Tesla and a key hurdle for it to be added to the benchmark S&P 500 index. While analysts on ...
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Australia says China’s South China Sea claims are unlawful
27Jul By News DeskNo Comments
World

Australia says China’s South China Sea claims are unlawful

MELBOURNE: Australia has joined the United States in stating that China's claims in the South China Sea do not comply with international law in a declaration likely to anger China and put more strain on their deteriorating relations. The United States this month rejected China's claims to offshore resources in most of the South China Sea, drawing criticism from China which said the US position raised tension in the region. Australia, in a declaration filed at the United Nations in New York on Friday (Jul 24), said it too rejected China’s maritime claims around contested islands in the South China Sea as being inconsistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. "Australia rejects China's claim to 'historic rights' or 'maritime rights and interests' as established in the 'long ...
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Water wars: Mekong River another front in U.S.-China rivalry
26Jul By News DeskNo Comments
World

Water wars: Mekong River another front in U.S.-China rivalry

The Mekong River has become a new front in the U.S.-China rivalry, environmentalists and officials say, with Beijing overtaking Washington in both spending and influence over downstream countries at the mercy of its control of the river’s waters. It’s a confrontation in which the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump — which has largely maintained funding for Barack Obama-era environmental and development programs in the Lower Mekong — is losing ground. The two powers’ struggle recently moved into the realm of science — with the U.S. and Chinese governments each touting different reports about whether China’s 11 dams on the river were harming nations downstream. China’s dams have given it extensive control of the waters that flow down to Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vie...
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Thousands of Thai protesters take to street, calling for government to resign
26Jul By News DeskNo Comments
USA, World

Thousands of Thai protesters take to street, calling for government to resign

BANGKOK: Thousands of mainly young and black-clad Thai protesters converged on Saturday (Jul 18) at Bangkok's Democracy Monument as the city's largest and rowdiest protest in years stretched deep into the night. Thailand, a kingdom whose rambunctious politics is defined by coups and often deadly street protests, is facing an unprecedented economic shock due to the coronavirus pandemic. With the economy in freefall, anger is boiling against a government stacked with elderly former generals and supporters of the royalist establishment. The crowd of students sang vitriolic rap songs and waved placards denouncing the administration of former army chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha - and calling for the abolition of the Thailand's strict royal defamation law. "The government doesn't care about us,...
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Indonesia wants to grow its fishery industry amid slowdown, but needs better infrastructure and manpower
26Jul By News DeskNo Comments
World

Indonesia wants to grow its fishery industry amid slowdown, but needs better infrastructure and manpower

JAKARTA: Fisherman Iwan, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, has been in the industry for the last 10 years. Mr Iwan was born and raised in Natuna islands at Indonesia’s outermost area near the South China Sea, which is rich in fishery resources. Despite an abundance of fishes in the sea, the 44-year-old said he has never benefitted economically in a big way. There were times when Mr Iwan, who works together with two other fishermen on a 6GT (Gross Tonnage) wooden fishing boat, could earn about 5 million rupiah (US$355) per month. But nowadays he usually only earns about 1 million rupiah. “It is now harder to find fish, and the prices are getting cheaper,” Mr Iwan told CNA. He claimed that illegal fishing activities by foreign vessels has played role in depleting the ava...
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