World

Changes to Bukit Panjang bus services postponed to Aug 30, mitigation measures to be introduced: Chee Hong Tat
27Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Singapore, World

Changes to Bukit Panjang bus services postponed to Aug 30, mitigation measures to be introduced: Chee Hong Tat

SINGAPORE: A series of unpopular changes to bus services in the Bukit Panjang area, which were to come into effect on Sunday (Aug 16), will now be delayed by two weeks while mitigation measures are being introduced. The changes will now be introduced on Aug 30 to allow bus operators more time to implement the new measures, which include the provision of a direct bus service to the city, said Senior Minister of State for Transport Chee Hong Tat on Thursday (Aug 13). This comes after it was announced earlier this month that services 700 and 700A would cease operations, while service 171 would loop at Bukit Panjang MRT station instead of travelling to the Marina Centre bus terminal. From Aug 30, bus service 171 will loop at Bukit Panjang MRT station instead of travelling to the Marina ...
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5 things to know before the stock market opens Tuesday
26Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, World

5 things to know before the stock market opens Tuesday

1. S&P 500 to try again to close at a record high On Tuesday's economic calendar, the government reported much better than expected numbers on July housing starts and building permits. Starts surged 22.6% and permits jumped nearly 19%. 2. Walmart, Home Depot deliver strong earnings Shares of Walmart, which logged an all-time high Monday, rose as much as 6% in the premarket after the company blew away expectations with adjusted per-share earnings of $1.56 on a 5.6% total revenue increase to $137.74 billion. Online sales during the pandemic nearly doubled as customers got packages shipped their homes and used curbside pickup at physical stores. The stock has since pulled back. Shares of Home Depot rose 1% in Tuesday's premarket after the home improvement retailer delivered a 23% increase...
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Timeline: Three years on, a look at the Rohingya crisis
26Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
USA, World

Timeline: Three years on, a look at the Rohingya crisis

DHAKA: This month marks the third anniversary of the fleeing of more than 730,000 Rohingya from Myanmar's Rakhine State to Bangladesh after a military-led crackdown in response to an attack by Muslim militants on Myanmar security posts. Here is a timeline of events in the crisis: Aug 25, 2017 - Muslim insurgents of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attack 30 police posts and an army base in the north of Rakhine State. Aug 26, 2017 - As fighting spreads between the army and ARSA, thousands of Rohingya flee to Bangladesh. Sep 2, 2017 - More than 2,600 houses are razed in Rohingya-majority areas in the week following the Aug 25 attack, the government says. Sep 11, 2017 - The UN human rights high commissioner calls the military operation “a textbook example of ethnic clean...
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Relief efforts should cushion economy in months ahead, White House report says
26Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, USA, World

Relief efforts should cushion economy in months ahead, White House report says

WASHINGTON: Increased transfer payments and expanded liquidity measures aimed at companies should help buffer U.S. households and businesses from the worst of the economic crisis unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic in coming months, the White House Council of Economic Advisers said in a report on Thursday. Nonetheless, the economy would recover faster and with less scarring if agreement were reached on additional support, Tyler Goodspeed, the CEA's acting chair, told reporters in a briefing on the report. Republicans and Democrats in Congress are at an impasse over the size of another coronavirus aid package, with talks having broken down in the past week. "Very substantial headwinds remain," Goodspeed said. "What is going to be absolutely essential for continued economic recovery...
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Canada’s Trudeau says he has confidence in finance minister after report of policy clash
26Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, World

Canada’s Trudeau says he has confidence in finance minister after report of policy clash

related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. 2 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. OTTAWA/TORONTO: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday (Aug 11) said he had "full confidence" in Finance Minister Bill Morneau amid reports of a clash over policy between the two men, who also both face an ethics probe. The Globe and Mail newspaper cited unnamed sources as saying Trudeau was uncertain whether Morneau was the right person to handle the recovery from the coronavirus outbreak, prompting analysts to fret about Ottawa's becoming distracted. "Of course the Prime Minister has full confidence in Minister Morneau and any statement to the contrary is false," said a statement from Trudeau's office, praising Mornea...
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China’s factory activity beats expectations in July and expands for the fifth month, official PMI shows
26Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, World

China’s factory activity beats expectations in July and expands for the fifth month, official PMI shows

This photo taken on May 3, 2018 shows a worker cutting steel at a factory in Huaibei in China's eastern Anhui province. China's factory activity expanded in July for the fifth month in a row and at a faster pace, beating analyst expectations despite disruptions from floods and a resurgence in coronavirus cases around the world. The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) rose to 51.1 in July from June's 50.9, official data showed on Friday, marking the highest reading since March. Analysts had expected it to slow to 50.7. The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. China has largely managed to recover from strict lockdowns that had led to weeks of economic paralysis, although it is now battling the most aggressive return of the novel coronavi...
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Hillion Mall, Bukit Panjang Integrated Transport Hub among new locations visited by COVID-19 cases during their infectious period
25Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Singapore, World

Hillion Mall, Bukit Panjang Integrated Transport Hub among new locations visited by COVID-19 cases during their infectious period

SINGAPORE: Bukit Panjang Integrated Transport Hub and the Hillion Mall connected to it were among the new locations added on Thursday (Jul 30) to a list of places visited by COVID-19 cases during their infectious period. Four outlets within the shopping mall – My Briyani House, McDonald’s, Watsons and FairPrice – were added to the list, according to the Ministry of Health's daily update. Also on the list is the Mr Teh Tarik deli at Bukit Panjang Integrated Transport Hub, which is linked to Hillion Mall. The transport hub has been designated as a COVID-19 cluster, with eight cases linked to it so far. They include four new community cases reported on Thursday - a Singaporean and three work permit holders from Malaysia. The other locations added to the list include Causeway Poin...
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Why Microsoft wants to buy TikTok, plus everything else you missed: CNBC After Hours
25Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

Why Microsoft wants to buy TikTok, plus everything else you missed: CNBC After Hours

CNBC.com's MacKenzie Sigalos brings you the day's top business news headlines. On today's show, CNBC.com's Jordan Novet breaks down why TikTok, which has found itself at the center of a geopolitical conflict, would be an attractive acquisition target for enterprise giant Microsoft. Plus, CNBC's Sharon Epperson explains how much money Americans say they need to retire during the coronavirus pandemic. Trump says Microsoft should pay 'key money' to Treasury for facilitating TikTok deal President Donald Trump said Monday that it could be easier if Microsoft were to buy Chinese-owned TikTok in its entirety, rather than a small part of the social video app, because the name would be split across two companies, and suggested the company should pay the U.S. Treasury as part of the deal. "I thi...
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‘We must fight’: Thailand’s youth take on the establishment
25Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
USA, World

‘We must fight’: Thailand’s youth take on the establishment

BANGKOK: Leaderless, social media-savvy and inspired by Hong Kong's young activists, Thailand's budding pro-democracy movement is intent on overhauling the government, rewriting the constitution and even taking on a law that shields the monarchy. The kingdom has seen a decades-long spin-cycle of coups and violent street protests led by well-funded veterans for or against the establishment. But the new generation of demonstrators says its fight is very different, as they stage near-daily protests with crowds of up to several thousand angry young Thais. "I just want my rights," said 20-year-old Rawee, real name Nawiboon Chompoo, who helps fire up rallies with chants for reform and by burning pictures of the country's prime minister. "The government is unreliable and bad for the peopl...
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Japan and Myanmar agree to reopen borders for long-term residents
25Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Singapore, World

Japan and Myanmar agree to reopen borders for long-term residents

The foreign ministers of Japan and Myanmar agreed Monday to reopen borders for expatriates and other long-term residents as soon as early September, relaxing travel restrictions that were imposed to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi also confirmed at their meeting in Naypyidaw that they would speed up talks to facilitate short-term business travel, while taking measures to combat the virus, according to the Foreign Ministry. Motegi, in his final stop on a four-nation tour since Thursday, told reporters online that his country's pledges of economic and medical support to leaders in the respective countries demonstrated that "Japan leads international cooperation efforts" in fighting the pandemic. The ...
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