AS VEGAS: Electronics giant Sony unveiled Tuesday a new prototype of its Vision-S electric vehicle and announced the founding of a company to explore jumping into the rapidly growing market. The Japanese firm, better known for its TVs and video game consoles, will create the Sony Mobility subsidiary in spring 2022 as it weighs entering … Read more
WASHINGTON, Jan 4, 2022 (AFP) – The United States reported more than one million new Covid-19 cases Monday after the long New Year’s weekend, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, as the Omicron variant spread at a blistering pace. There were 1,080,211 new cases in the country, a global record, although the number of cases … Read more
RIEL, The Netherlands: In the flat expanse of the Dutch countryside, Corne de Rooij nostalgically strokes the muzzles of his calves, wondering how long he will be able to keep them. Livestock farming is one of the main emitters of greenhouse gases in the Netherlands, where climate change threatens to swallow up the low-lying fields. “It’s … Read more
BEIJING: The Beijing Winter Olympics begin one month on Tuesday with diplomatic boycotts, the coronavirus and the fate of Peng Shuai all hanging heavy over the Games. The Chinese capital on February 4-20 will become the first host of a Winter and Summer Olympics, having staged the Games in 2008, seen then as a coming-out party for … Read more
NEW DELHI, Jan 3, 2022 (AFP) – India extended Covid vaccinations to teens aged 15-18 on Monday, after officials tightened restrictions in big cities to avoid a repeat of last year’s devastating outbreak. More than 200,000 people around India died in a huge spring Covid wave that overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums. Health workers have since administered … Read more
WASHINGTON: Holiday events have been scrapped in droves, thousands of flights canceled, cruises are now off limits: the Omicron variant has wreaked havoc in the United States, and the New Year could see more issues exacerbating the worker shortage and price increases. “We are starting to see some initial signs that Omicron is having an impact … Read more
STOCKHOL: Ikea will hike its prices by an average of 9 per cent next year due to the ongoing supply and transportation disruptions, the company that operates most of the Swedish furniture giant’s stores said. Thursday’s announcement comes as pandemic-fuelled shortages and shipping challenges ramp up inflation and pinch economies globally, with consumers increasingly feeling the … Read more
JERUSALEM, Dec 30, 2021 (AFP) – Israel received Thursday a first shipment of Pfizer’s anti-Covid pill, with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett hailing it as critical amid a surge of cases driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant. “Thanks to our rapid action, the drugs have arrived in Israel quickly and will assist us in getting past … Read more
PARIS: A Covid “tsunami” threatens to overwhelm healthcare systems, the WHO said Wednesday, as record surges fuelled by the Omicron variant dampened New Year celebrations around the world once again. Governments are walking a tightrope between anti-virus restrictions and the need to keep societies and economies open, as the highly transmissible variant drove cases to levels never … Read more
PARIS, Dec 29, 2021 (AFP) – The world smashed a record number of Covid infections in a week, an AFP tally revealed Wednesday, as the WHO warned that Omicron poses a “very high” risk and could yet overwhelm healthcare systems. The highly transmissible variant propelled the United States, France and Denmark into fresh records on Wednesday. The … Read more
WASHINGTON, Dec 29, 2021 (AFP) – The United States has reached its highest-ever average of new Covid cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, as the Omicron variant spread at a blistering pace. The moving seven-day average of new cases was 265,427 as of Tuesday, surpassing the previous peak of 251,989 set in mid-January 2021, … Read more
KARACHI: Cryptocurrency prices went on another roller coaster this past year: surging, plunging and then cycling again. This price move trend usually comes from spot market manipulations by option sellers (mostly institutional traders) to push the spot price closer to the strike price at which the highest number of open options contracts expire worthlessly. Bitcoin, … Read more
US life expectancy dropped by 1.8 years in 2020, final official figures showed on December 22, the steepest drop in more than 75 years driven in large part by the Covid-19 pandemic. Life expectancy at birth was 77.0 years for the total US population last year, down from 78.8 years in 2019, according to the … Read more
A defiant rejection of his massive social spending bill by a single US senator, a fellow Democrat, and a surge in Covid cases are imperiling Joe Biden less than a year into his presidency. Returning to the White House from a weekend at his family home in Delaware, the 79-year-old president, wearing a black face … Read more
LAUDERHILL: The United States scored a famous and deserved T20 cricket triumph over Ireland on Wednesday to get the most important series in their history off to the best possible start. A brilliant 65 from Gajanand Singh helped the hosts reach a competitive 188 for 6 in their 20 overs and some disciplined bowling from Saurabh Netravalkar … Read more
SUMMERVILLE (United States): It had been a challenging day on the road and Desi Wade was ready for dinner. But as he pulled into a truck stop, Wade encountered a familiar frustration in the overstressed industry. The parking lot was jammed with other 18-wheelers, leaving just one narrow spot that the 50-year-old secured after several minutes … Read more
HONG KONG: Chinese artificial intelligence startup SenseTime said on Monday it will press ahead with its Hong Kong listing, a week after it was blacklisted by the United States over accusations of genocide in Xinjiang. An initial listing earlier this month was pulled when the US Treasury announced new sanctions, saying SenseTime’s facial recognition programmes were … Read more
MIAMI: Cricket in the United States will break new ground next week when Ireland embark on a landmark five-game tour as moves continue to establish the game in North America. The two Twenty20 and three one-day, 50-over international matches (ODIs) taking place in Lauderhill, Florida starting on Wednesday will be the first time the US national … Read more
LONDON: Oil prices slid on Friday, heading for a slight decline over the week, on concern curbs to slow the spread of the Omicron variant could hit demand, Arab News reported. Brent crude futures declined 1.5 per cent to $73.88 a barrel at 1.10 p.m. Riyadh time, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 1.4 per … Read more
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s economy shrank in the third quarter as a foreign exchange crisis wrecked its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, official data showed on Thursday. The GDP contracted 1.5 per cent on-year in the three months to September, the department of census and statistics said, ending four consecutive quarters of growth. The island’s tourism-dependent economy … Read more
HONG KONG, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) — Hong Kong’s Center for Health Protection (CHP) confirmed one additional case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on Wednesday. In an update on the latest investigations on an imported case announced on Tuesday, the CHP said the Omicron case involved a 21-year-old female patient who arrived in Hong Kong … Read more
MANILA, Dec 14, 2021 (AFP) – The Asian Development Bank warned Tuesday that the highly mutated Omicron coronavirus variant could have a “substantial” economic impact, as it trimmed its 2021 and 2022 growth forecasts for developing Asia. Despite a sharp drop in infections and increased vaccination across the region stretching from the Cook Islands in the … Read more
SHANGHAI, Dec 14, 2021 (AFP) – State-owned China Mobile has received approval to list publicly in Shanghai, documents showed, nearly a year after it was delisted in the United States along with two other Chinese telecom giants as tensions between Beijing and Washington soared. China Mobile plans to issue up to 845.7 million shares, according to … Read more
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has said that the inflows of remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis grew 9.7 per cent to $12.9 billion during the first five months (July-November) 2021/22. The SBP said that with $2.4 billion of inflows during November 2021, workers’ remittances continued their strong streak of remaining above $2 billion … Read more
BEIJING: China’s inclusion in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has not only helped China open up and promote free and inclusive trade liberalisation, but also the other countries, especially the developing world. Many developing nations have benefited since China’s inclusion in the WTO, Ambassador of Pakistan to China Moin Ul Haque told CGTN on the … Read more
LONDON, (Xinhua) — Britain reports 58,194 new coronavirus cases, reaching levels not seen since early January, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 10,719,165, according to official figures released Friday. The country also reported a further 120 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 146,255, … Read more
GENEVA: The Swiss medicines agency Swissmedic on Friday approved the vaccination of children aged between five and 11 with Pfizer-Biontech’s Comirnaty vaccine. “Clinical trial results show that the vaccine is safe and effective in this age group,” it said in a statement. The Comirnaty vaccine is administered in two doses of ten microgrammes three weeks … Read more
SAN DIEGO, the United States: Chinese language schools in the United States serve as cultural centres for their communities, Allan Yang, secretary-general of the Chinese School Association in the United States (CSAUS), told Xinhua on Friday. These schools can act as “bridges to facilitate not just educational and cultural exchanges but also promote friendship between … Read more
