World

LONDON: New Manchester City signing Erling Haaland marked a fine Premier League debut by scoring in each half as the champions began their title defence by strolling to a 2-0 victory over West Ham United at the London Stadium on Sunday (Aug 7). Haaland converted a penalty after 36 minutes and wrapped up the points with a composed finish in the second period to cap an impressive display, with his father and former City player Alfie celebrating in the stands. "It's nice that he saw both goals as it is a big moment for me as a debutant in this competition," the 22-year-old Haaland said. "Also now it is almost 30 minutes since I scored the last goal so I have to keep going." Haaland charged past the West Ham defence to latch onto a through ball and take it around Alphonse Areola before bein...

BEIJING: Chinese military exercises around Taiwan are set to disrupt one of the world's busiest shipping zones, analysts told AFP, highlighting the island's critical position in already stretched global supply chains. The drills - China's largest-ever around Taiwan - are a major show of strength after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi infuriated Beijing by visiting the island. The manoeuvres kicked off Thursday (Aug 4) and will take place along some of the busiest shipping routes on the planet, used to supply vital semiconductors and electronic equipment produced in East Asian factory hubs to global markets. The routes are also a key artery for natural gas. Nearly half the world's container ships passed through the narrow Taiwan Strait - which separates the island from the Chinese mainland...

SINGAPORE : As the United States pushes ahead with its steepest interest rate hikes in a generation, investors are unusually poised to buy in Asia's emerging markets, betting authorities can tame inflation without triggering the capital-flight chaos of previous cycles. While no rally is underway, steadying currency, debt and equity markets suggest investors may have already stopped rushing for the exits. Beaten-down currencies such as South Korea's won and the Malaysian ringgit rallied on Thursday, and stock and bond markets in Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Manila responded positively to the Federal Reserve's latest rate hike. The Fed, which met market expectations with a 75 basis point (bp) rise overnight, has now lifted rates by a total of 150 bps in two meetings - the fastest pace...

What a fine line we have to walk here. With employment still strong, we're likely to get another 75 basis point hike on the Fed's benchmark interest rate later this month. The central bank, led by Jerome Powell, may also reduce its bond holdings at a faster pace, which are being lapped as the ultimate investment for any European institution. At the same time, we have earnings season just around the corner, and while the companies that are benefiting from commodities coming down might have good things to say, they are the same companies getting hurt by the strong dollar. On the other hand, the banks that will report will have great things to say about the higher Fed funds rate, but will have to caution about the coming bad loans. Meanwhile, China has come to its senses and has started vacci...

Researchers have found that decay of tissues after death can be halted and cell functions restored based on early experiments in pigs that may eventually help increase the number of transplantable human organs. Sixty minutes after stopping the heart in the anesthetized animals, Yale researchers were able to restart the circulation using a specialized machine and a synthetic fluid carrying oxygen and other components that promote cellular health and suppress inflammation. Six hours later, treatment with the so-called OrganEx technology had reduced or corrected some of the damage, such as organ swelling and collapse of blood vessels, that typically results from lack of oxygen when cardiac arrest halts blood flow. The results show that when the heart stops, the body is "not as dead as we p...

BEIJING: American candy giant Mars Wrigley has insisted it "respects China's national sovereignty" and apologised after an advertisement for its Snickers bar referred to Taiwan as a country, sparking outrage on the mainland. Videos and pictures showed a Snickers website promoting a limited edition Snickers bar, saying the product was only available in the "countries" of South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan. The commercial, featuring South Korean boyband BTS, triggered an outpour of anger on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo on Friday (Aug 5). Mars Wrigley later published an apology on its Snickers China Weibo account and said the relevant content had been amended. "We are aware of reports on Snickers-related activities in certain regions of Asia, take this very seriously and express our ...

SINGAPORE: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) expects to cut the emissions intensity of its equities investments by up to 50 per cent by financial year 2030, as it continues to work towards its goal of a climate-resilient reserves portfolio. Measures to achieve that include the roll-out of a “portfolio overlay” by next year that would gradually tilt the equities portfolio towards less carbon-intensive investments, it said in its second sustainability report released on Thursday (Jul 28). The MAS, which manages Singapore’s official foreign reserves, will also exclude from its portfolio companies which derive more than 10 per cent of their revenues from thermal coal mining and oil sands activities. These exclusions will be “gradually implemented”, according to MAS chief Ravi Menon,...

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi waves with other members of the delegation as they board a plane before leaving Taipei Songshan Airport, in Taipei, Taiwan August 3, 2022, in this screengrab taken from video. Beijing said Friday it will cancel military phone calls between area commanders, defense meetings and cooperation on anti-drug efforts with the U.S., and will no longer take part in talks on maritime safety and climate change. Earlier, China took personal action against Pelosi, announcing sanctions on the speaker and her immediate family in response to what the Chinese Foreign Ministry called her "egregious provocations." The U.S. delegation's unannounced visit to Taiwan has fueled a mounting crisis, raising fears of conflict in the region and stoking tensions betw...

NEW DELHI : The International Cricket Council (ICC) will make a presentation to the Los Angeles Olympics organisers later this month in its bid for the sport to return to the Games after a gap of 128 years, sources told Reuters. Cricket has been shortlisted for potential inclusion at the 2028 Los Angeles Games along with baseball-softball, flag football, lacrosse, breakdancing, karate, kickboxing, squash and motorsport. Teams would play Twenty20 cricket - the sport's shortest international format which has inspired the lucrative Indian Premier League and similar franchise-based competitions in other countries. The host city can include any sport but needs approval of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The governing body is likely to take a final decision at the IOC session in M...

SINGAPORE: Measures taken by the authorities so far have helped to ensure uninterrupted energy supply and stabilised wholesale electricity prices here, said Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng in Parliament on Tuesday (Aug 2). This means there is no need to bring the electricity market under state control within the short to medium term, he added in response to a parliamentary question. The measures include setting up standby fuel facilities which generation companies, or gencos, can draw from to generate electricity when their natural gas supplies are disrupted. Authorities also required gencos to bolster their own stockpile of fuel. Dr Tan noted that the world has been facing an energy crunch since last September, with global gas prices increasing significantly. Globa...