World

Travel from Japan to Vietnam will partially resume this week, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Tuesday, marking the first step in easing travel restrictions aimed at stemming the spread of the novel coronavirus. Several chartered flights carrying about 440 businesspeople are scheduled from Thursday through Saturday, with Vietnam agreeing to accept travelers on condition they agree to enhanced preventive measures, Motegi said at a news conference. Motegi said last Friday that Japan and Vietnam had agreed to ease travel restrictions “partially and gradually,” and that it “won’t take long” before travel between the two countries resumes. Japan currently has an entry ban in place for more than 100 countries and regions, with foreign travelers that have been to any of those areas with...

TOKYO: Japan's largest advertising agency, Dentsu Group, has evacuated its Tokyo headquarters after receiving a bomb threat, an internal company email reviewed by Reuters showed on Friday (Jun 5). The company, in an email to employees, cited a message sent to its website, saying: "Warning of explosion at Dentsu's Shiodome headquarters building with deadline past 7 am on Jun 7, Sunday." Dentsu confirmed it has closed the building due to a bomb threat, and said it has notified the authorities. Entry to the building was forbidden over the weekend, the company said in the email. Dentsu had already introduced work-from-home measures because of the coronavirus outbreak. The company is the focus of political scrutiny having been awarded almost US$700 million in government funds to help ru...

LONDON: Most people arriving in the UK from Monday (Jun 8) will have to self-isolate for two weeks under a new coronavirus restriction that has been roundly condemned by the ailing aviation sector. The measure, which applies to both residents and visitors with some exceptions, aims to prevent a second wave of contagion from abroad. But critics question why the UK - where the number of new COVID-19 infections per 100,000 people in the past fortnight was the second-highest in Europe - is inflicting more pain on hotels and airlines by reducing travel from countries with fewer virus cases. British Airways and budget carriers EasyJet and Ryanair have launched joint legal proceedings against the government over what they called a "disproportionate and unfair" step. Health Secretary Matt ...

SVP and Director at IBM Research Arvind Krishna speaks on stage during the 2016 Wired Business Conference on June 16, 2016 in New York City. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna called on Congress Monday to enact reforms to advance racial justice and combat systemic racism while announcing the company was getting out of the facial recognition business. The decision for IBM to get out of the facial recognition business comes amid criticism of the technology, employed by multiple companies, for exhibiting racial and gender bias. Amazon's own use of facial recognition was put to a shareholder vote last year, with 2.4% of shareholders voting in favor of banning the sale of the technology to government agencies amid privacy and civil rights concerns "IBM firmly opposes and will not condone uses of any tec...

WASHINGTON, DC: US retail sales increased by the most on record in May after two straight months of sharp declines as businesses reopened, offering more evidence that the recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic was over or drawing to an end. The report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday (Jun 16) followed news early this month that the economy created 2.5 million jobs in May. Layoffs are also ebbing and manufacturing activity is improving, though production remains at very low levels. The surge in retail sales last month recouped 63 per cent of March and April's decreases. But the journey to recovery could be long and difficult as some parts of the country are experiencing a resurgence of COVID-19 infections. In addition, enhanced federal government unemployment checks will ...

SINGAPORE: About 3,800 companies closed down in April, comparable to the average of 3,700 recorded in the same month over the past five years, said Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat on Friday (Jun 5). However, business cessation could see an “uptick” in the coming months as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to put a severe strain on the Singapore economy. The formation of new businesses will remain subdued for the same reason, he said in Parliament. About 3,800 business entities were set up in April, nearly a third lower than the average of 5,500 seen in the same period between 2015 and 2019. The fall was across most sectors. Mr Chee said the coronavirus pandemic is set to weigh on many sectors in the economy for the rest of the year. This includes ou...

WASHINGTON: Boeing Co deliveries worsened even further in May compared to April as the coronavirus pandemic's crushing impact on airlines added to a year of crisis following the grounding of its 737 MAX planes, company data showed on Tuesday (Jun 9). The US plane manufacturer said it handed over just four planes in May, down from six it delivered in April, its lowest total for the month in six decades and about 87 per cent fewer than it delivered to customers at the same time a year ago. Deliveries are financially important to planemakers because airlines pay most of the purchase price when they actually receive the plane. Customers also cancelled orders for another 18 planes last month, including 14 MAX jets that were the company's top-selling plane until a pair of crashes just ove...

BEIJING: China's producer prices fell by the sharpest rate in more than four years, underscoring pressure on the manufacturing sector as the COVID-19 pandemic reduces trade flows and global demand. The coronavirus crisis has disrupted trade to China's key export markets including the United States and Europe, heaping further pressure on the outlook for manufacturing investment and jobs in the world's second-largest economy. The producer price index (PPI) in May fell 3.7 per cent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement on Wednesday (Jun 10), the sharpest decline since March 2016. That compared with a 3.3 per cent drop tipped by a Reuters poll of analysts and a 3.1 per cent fall in April. "Negative reading for PPI is likely to be a new normal i...

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. SINGAPORE: Even as the country tackles the immediate challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak, Singapore must look further ahead and invest in areas that develop its “intangible strengths”, its infrastructure, as most of all, its people and businesses, said Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing. Mr Chan was speaking on Sunday (Jun 14) in the fourth of a series of six national broadcasts by Cabinet ministers laying out the nation’s plans for the future. The first of these speeches was delivered by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Jun 7. SINGAPORE’S INTANGIBLE STRENGTHS Noting the Future Economy Council, formed in ...

SINGAPORE: Singapore Pools will resume online sports betting from Monday and online horse wagering for overseas races from Wednesday, said the gaming operator on Sunday (Jun 14). Its branches, authorised retailers, Livewire venues and off-course betting centres will remain closed, "in line with the Government’s phased approach for safe reopening and resumption of business activities", said Singapore Pools in a press release. Lottery draws, such as 4D, TOTO and Singapore Sweep, will also continue to be suspended. "Customers who are holding on to tickets for postponed draws are advised to retain their tickets for upcoming draws," said Singapore Pools. Prize payment services also remain suspended. An announcement will be made for the extension of eligible prize-winning tickets for...