World

US Treasury agrees on loan terms with American, four other airlines
18Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
USA, World

US Treasury agrees on loan terms with American, four other airlines

The U.S. Treasury said on Thursday it has agreed on terms for government loans with five U.S. carriers, including American Airlines Group Inc . WASHINGTON: The U.S. Treasury said on Thursday it has agreed on terms for government loans with five U.S. carriers, including American Airlines Group Inc . The Treasury said it had signed letters of intent with American, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines , SkyWest Airlines , and Spirit Airlines under a US$25 billion emergency loan program created by Congress in March. American said in April it expected to apply for a loan from the U.S. Treasury of approximately US$4.75 billion on top of US$5.8 billion in payroll assistance. Treasury separately awarded airlines US$25 billion in payroll assistance bailouts with most of the aid in the form ...
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China says it must improve hygiene in markets after Beijing COVID-19 outbreak
8Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, World

China says it must improve hygiene in markets after Beijing COVID-19 outbreak

SHANGHAI: Low standards of hygiene in China's wholesale food markets and vulnerabilities in its food supply chain need to be urgently addressed after a new COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing, a leading body of the ruling Communist Party said. The resurgence of COVID-19 in the country's capital over the past week, infecting more than 100 people and raising fears of wider contagion, has been linked to the city's massive Xinfadi food centre. The Communist Party's top disciplinary body said the outbreak underlined the urgent need to improve sanitation standards and minimise health risks at markets. "The epidemic is a mirror that not only reflects the dirty and messy aspects of wholesale markets but also their low-level management conditions," the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (...
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India’s appeasement policy toward China unravels
8Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

India’s appeasement policy toward China unravels

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “not in a good mood,” U.S. President Donald Trump recently declared, as he offered to mediate India’s resurgent border conflict with China. After years of bending over backward to appease China, Modi has received yet another Chinese encroachment on Indian territory. Will this be enough to persuade him to change his approach? While India was preoccupied with the COVID-19 crisis, China was apparently planning its next attempt to change the region’s territorial status quo by force. Last month’s swift and well-coordinated incursions by People’s Liberation Army troops into the icy borderlands of India’s Ladakh region were likely the product of months of preparation. The PLA has now established heavily fortified camps in the areas it infiltrated, in additi...
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Stocks wobble as investors assess risks of second wave
8Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, World

Stocks wobble as investors assess risks of second wave

Asian stocks were set for gains on Friday although trade was likely to be choppy after a mixed Wall Street session with investor focus swinging between concerns about a second pandemic wave and more upbeat hopes about an economic recovery. TOKYO/WASHINGTON: Asian shares and U.S. stock futures teetered in choppy trade on Friday as lingering concerns about an fresh spike in coronavirus cases offset growing hopes for a quick economic recovery. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1per cent. U.S. S&P 500 e-minis moved in and out of the red, and were last up 0.21per cent. Shares in China rose 1.15per cent, led by gains in financials and the health care sector, but South Korean stocks fell 0.25per cent due to concern about diplomatic tension with North Korea. ...
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Looters target Myanmar temple treasures in tourist slump
8Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

Looters target Myanmar temple treasures in tourist slump

BAGAN, Myanmar: A squad of armed police patrol Myanmar's sacred site of Bagan under the cover of night, taking on plunderers snatching relics from temples forsaken by tourists due to coronavirus restrictions. Each evening as dusk falls, about 100 officers fan out across the plain of Bagan measuring 50 sq km, sweeping torches over the crumbling monuments to scour for intruders. "Our security forces are patrolling day and night," Police Lieutenant Colonel Sein Win tells AFP. "We have it under control for the moment, but it's a challenge." The central Myanmar city is strewn with more than 3,500 ancient monuments – stupas, temples, murals and sculptures – and was finally added to the prestigious United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Li...
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Exclusive: Boeing 737 MAX development marred by design, communications flaws – US IG report
8Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

Exclusive: Boeing 737 MAX development marred by design, communications flaws – US IG report

Boeing Co failed to submit certification documents to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) detailing changes to a key flight control system faulted in two fatal crashes, a long-awaited government report seen by Reuters has found. WASHINGTON/SEATTLE/CHICAGO: Boeing Co failed to submit certification documents to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) detailing changes to a key flight control system faulted in two fatal crashes, a long-awaited government report seen by Reuters has found. The flight control system, known as MCAS, was "not an area of emphasis" because Boeing presented it to the FAA as a modification of the jet's existing speed trim system, with limited range and use, according to the report. The 52-page report by the U.S. Department of Transportation's ...
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Singapore reports 202 new COVID-19 cases; 6 infections in community
7Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Singapore, World

Singapore reports 202 new COVID-19 cases; 6 infections in community

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 202 new COVID-19 cases on Monday (Jun 29), including six cases in the community, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). The community cases involve four Singaporeans and two work permit holders. Among the Singaporeans, one had already been quarantined as he had been in contact with a previous case linked to the Leo dormitory cluster. Another two cases were detected as part of MOH's screening of people working at dormitories or frontline COVID-19 operations. "Epidemiological investigations are ongoing for the remaining (Singaporean) case," said MOH. The tally of COVID-19 cases in Singapore stands at 43,661. Most of the new cases daily are work permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories, with 196 infections reported on Monday. Three ne...
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Greece is ‘ready to welcome tourists’, says prime minister
7Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, World

Greece is ‘ready to welcome tourists’, says prime minister

FIRA: From the emblematic island of Santorini, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Saturday (Jun 13) that Greece is "ready to welcome tourists" in complete safety after the coronavirus lockdown, whose impact on tourism will be "significant". "Greek tourism is back," said Mitsotakis, two days before the reopening of the tourist season. The return of tourists to Greece from around 30 countries by air, sea and land, begins on Monday. "Everything is ready in terms of making sure that we ensure the proper social distancing guidelines, said Mitsotakis, adding that safety and health is "our number 1 priority". "We want visitors to feel safe. I am not interested in making Greece the number one destination in Europe. I am interested in making Greece the safest destination in Eu...
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India says officer, 2 soldiers killed in ‘violent faceoff’ on Chinese border
7Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, USA, World

India says officer, 2 soldiers killed in ‘violent faceoff’ on Chinese border

NEW DELHI: An Indian officer and two soldiers were killed in a "violent faceoff" with Chinese troops on the contested border, the Indian army said on Tuesday (Jun 16) following weeks of rising tensions and the deployment of thousands of extra troops from both sides. Brawls and face-offs flare on a fairly regular basis between the two nuclear-armed giants over their 3,500km frontier, which has never been properly demarcated, but no one has been killed in decades. The Indian army said that there were "casualties on both sides", but Beijing made no mention of any deaths or injuries as it swiftly laid the blame squarely on India for the incident. "A violent face-off took place yesterday (Monday) night with casualties on both sides. The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an office...
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Vietnam, Philippines denounce China military drills in disputed waters
7Jul By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, World

Vietnam, Philippines denounce China military drills in disputed waters

HANOI: Vietnam and the Philippines on Thursday (Jul 2) criticised China's holding of military drills in a disputed part of the South China Sea, warning it could create tension in the region and impact Beijing's relationship with its neighbours. Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said China's exercises in the waters near the Paracel Islands were "highly provocative", while Vietnam's Foreign Ministry called them a violation of sovereignty that could be "detrimental" to Beijing's relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). China scheduled five days of drills from Wednesday near the Paracels according to a Jun 27 announcement by the Hainan Maritime Safety Administration. Vietnam has overlapping claims with China over the Paracels. Vietnam and the Phi...
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