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Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen on smartpone in front of displayed logo of Facebook, Messenger, Intagram, Whatsapp and Oculus in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021. WhatsApp is already widely popular with U.S. consumers. Now Meta Platforms is turning more attention to building its small business base. The Facebook parent company launched WhatsApp Business in 2018 with free, simple tools to help small businesses keep in touch with customers, offering a way for them to directly interact, search for products and indicate purchasing interest. Soon the company will roll out a premium service to small businesses, and it's doubling down on a newer advertising format called "click-to-message," which allows consumers to click on a company's ad within Facebook or Instagram ...

Let's get you up to speed with the day's stories. The couple at the centre of an alleged multi-million-dollar luxury goods scam has been charged in court. Pi Jiapeng, 26, and Siriwipa Pansuk, 27, had been on the run for five weeks, before being arrested in Malaysia and handed over to Singapore police. Speaking to the court, Pi said it was "not right" for them to have fled the country and that he and his wife were "facing a lot of death threats and pressure" at the time. Fong Soong Hert was sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife, Pek Ying Ling, while they were on holiday in Newcastle. The minimum sentence in the UK for murder, and the judge ruled that Fong must serve 12-and-a-half years in prison before being considered for parole. Johnson & Johnson will stop selling talc-...

HONG KONG: Major currencies were holding steady on Wednesday (Aug 17), ahead of another day when central bank policy takes centre stage for traders with a Reserve Bank of New Zealand meeting and the Federal Reserve's minutes from its recent meeting both due. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six main peers, was at 106.46 in morning trade, having ended Tuesday largely unchanged. The index has recovered most of the ground it lost last week after cooler-than-expected US inflation but remains well off its mid July top of 109.29. "The Fed's beef with the market in recent days and weeks has been that they (the Fed) don't subscribe to the market's view that it will be cutting rates in 2023," said Ray Attrill, global head of FX strategy at National Australia Bank. "So if the...

JAKARTA: An Indonesian man jailed for his role in the deadly 2002 Bali bombings that killed hundreds of people could be released on parole in the coming days after the latest reduction in his sentencing, a law official said on Friday (Aug 19) Umar Patek, a member of the Al Qaeda-linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, was sentenced to 20 years in jail by an Indonesian court in 2012 after he was found guilty of mixing bombs that ripped through two Bali nightclubs a decade earlier. A total of 202 people were killed, including 88 Australians. Patek was also jailed for his role in the bombings of several Jakarta churches on Christmas Eve in 2000 that killed at least 15 people. He was granted a five-month reduction in jail time as part of a series of remissions regularly given to inmates on ...

NEW YORK : The dollar fell broadly on Wednesday following a cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation report for July that raised expectations of a less aggressive interest rate hike cycle than previously anticipated from the Federal Reserve. U.S. consumer prices were unchanged on a monthly basis in July as the cost of gasoline plunged, delivering the first notable sign of relief for Americans who have watched inflation climb over the past two years. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.2 per cent rise in the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) on the heels of a roughly 20 per cent drop in the cost of gasoline. The dollar index, which measures the currency's value against a basket of currencies, was down 1.025 per cent at 105.26 at 3:15 p.m. EDT (1915 GMT). "This is good news for FX ...

SINGAPORE :Qatari telecommunications firm Ooredoo is in talks to sell its Myanmar unit in what would mark the exit of the country's last foreign telecoms operator, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The people said Doha-based Ooredoo has informed Myanmar's Posts and Telecommunications Department (PTD), the country's regulator, of its intention to sell a unit that was Myanmar's third-biggest operator with nearly 15 million users in 2020, before the industry was disrupted by February 2021's military coup. The main potential buyers for the company include Myanmar conglomerate Young Investment Group, Singapore-headquartered network infrastructure operator Campana Group, and telecoms company SkyNet, one person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Skynet is owned by...

As the world cheers to the global easing of border restrictions, Princess Cruises is just as elated to welcome back guests with its popular itineraries. “We are thrilled that public confidence is back, with a surge in interest for cruises in Australia, Alaska, the Mediterranean, Europe and other global sailings,” said Mr Farriek Tawfik, country director for Southeast Asia, Princess Cruises. In celebration of this, the company is giving a lucky couple the chance to sail on a complimentary eight-day round trip journey from Sydney to Tasmania. Take in the spectacular mix of city and nature in Sydney before bidding farewell to the iconic harbour views of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge on the Majestic Princess. Sail on to Melbourne before arriving at Hobart, Tasmania, and embark on...

First, a question. When is the last time you read a news story in the international press about a Chinese technology company that was not overwhelmingly negative, pessimistic, or downright terrifying? To any objective observer of China-related media coverage, the volume of flawed and disputed reporting has seen a dramatic surge in recent years. Discussions around China have become increasingly negative as political rivalry and technological competition between China and the West intensifies. In particular, we are alarmed to witness a barrage of biased and substandard media reports on Chinese tech companies, which has undermined global confidence in technology governance and, in turn, further exacerbated technology decoupling and vicious confrontation. In the last few years, internationa...

In this article GLNG The Asia-Pacific gas market has suffered another blow after major natural gas producer Australia signaled it could potentially cut down liquified natural gas exports as the region battles tight gas supplies, high prices and competition from gas-short European buyers. Australia is looking to trim its overseas sales in favor of domestic consumption ahead of a projected shortfall in local supplies next year As energy protectionism takes hold globally, last week, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission called on Canberra to protect domestic gas supplies and curb LNG — cooled natural gas — exports after projecting the east coast of the country could face a shortfall of 56 petajoules of gas next year. For months, Asia-Pacific region has faced competition for fuel...

"When we started this 12 months ago, every conversation we had was, 'You're totally out of your mind, this is never going to work,'" said teenage CEO Aadit Palicha. Yet, Palicha's company has managed to prove those doubters wrong — it's now nearing unicorn status and is one of India's fastest-growing quick commerce apps. A unicorn is a startup valued at more than $1 billion. Zepto is a startup that promises to deliver groceries in less than 10 minutes. Despite being just one of many businesses to join the instant commerce wave, it has already caught the eyes of investors. Its latest cash injection of $200 million in May 2022 valued the business at $900 million, just nine months after its launch. We figured that was just a more exciting opportunity than studying in an elite university. Aad...