Indonesian plane crashes after take-off with 62 aboard
By Stanley Widianto, Tabita Diela JAKARTA:A Sriwijaya Air plane crashed into the sea on Saturday minutes after taking off from Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on a domestic flight with 62 people on board, and their fate was not known. The Boeing 737-500, en route to Pontianak in West Kalimantan, disappeared from radar screens after taking off […]
Will introduce immigration bill ‘immediately’ after taking office: Joe Biden
NEW DELHI:US President-elect Joe Biden has said he will introduce an immigration legislation “immediately” after taking office, reversing the Trump administration’s policies. Biden will taken the oath of office on January 20. “I will introduce an immigration bill immediately and have it sent to the appropriate committees to begin movement,” he told reporters in Wilmington, […]
President Donald Trump won’t attend Joe Biden’s inauguration
By JONATHAN LEMIRE and ZEKE MILLER WASHINGTON:President Donald Trump said Friday he won’t attend President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, undercutting his message a day earlier that he would work to ensure a “smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power” to his successor. Trump offered no clues for how he would spend his final […]
Boeing will pay USD 2.5 billion to settle charge over 737 Max
WASHINGTON: Boeing will pay USD 2.5 billion to settle a Justice Department investigation and admit that employees misled regulators about the safety of its 737 Max aircraft, which suffered two deadly crashes shortly after entering airline service. The government and the company said Thursday that the settlement includes money for the crash victims’ families, airline […]
How 25th Amendment provides for transfer of power from US president
President Donald Trump faced a growing chorus of calls Thursday to be removed from office under the 25th Amendment for inciting the mob violence that swept through the US Capitol one day earlier. Adopted in 1967, the 25th Amendment lays out the provisions for a transfer of power from a US president who dies, resigns, […]
Donald Trump finally faces reality — amid talk of early ouster
By JONATHAN LEMIRE and ZEKE MILLER WASHINGTON:With 13 days left in his term, President Donald Trump finally bent to reality Thursday amid growing talk of trying to force him out early, acknowledging he’ll peacefully leave after Congress affirmed his defeat. Trump led off a video from the White House by condemning the violence carried out […]
Tesla CEO Elon Musk now world’s wealthiest person: US media
NEW DELHI: Elon Musk, the outspoken and envelope-pushing chief executive of Tesla, overtook Amazon boss Jeff Bezos to become the world’s wealthiest person, US media reported Thursday. Musk is a major shareholder of the electric car company and has benefited from Tesla’s surging share price over the last year. CNBC estimated Musk’s wealth at $185 […]
Donald Trump says his term is ending, transition will be orderly
By ZEKE MILLER and JILL COLVIN WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said there would be an “orderly transition on January 20th” after Congress concluded the electoral vote count early Thursday certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory hours after he appeared to excuse the violent occupation of the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. Trump acknowledged defeat in the […]
World Bank says Indian economy expected to contract by 9.6% in FY21
NEW DELHI: India’s economy is estimated to contract by 9.6 per cent in the fiscal year 2020-21, reflecting a sharp drop in household spending and private investment, and the growth is expected to recover to 5.4 per cent in 2021, the World Bank said on Tuesday. In its Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank […]
Water from air: Israeli firm helps bring drinking water to Gaza
A machine developed by an Israeli firm that can turn air into water using only the power of the sun is helping to bring much-needed drinking-water to the Gaza Strip, where a lack of rainfall and poor infrastructure is leading to a worsening water crisis. After capturing humidity, the machine condenses it into water and […]
WHO recommends two doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine within 21-28 days
GENEVA: COVID-19 patients should take two doses of the new Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine within a period of 21-28 days, the head of the World Health Organization’s immunization advisory group said on Tuesday. “We deliberated and came out with the following recommendation: two 2 doses of this vaccine within 21-28 days,” Alejandro Cravioto, chairman of WHO’s Strategic […]
UK Prime Minister cancels India trip
NEW DELHI: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was invited as the chief guest for the Republic Day parade, has cancelled his visit to India due to the serious coronavirus situation in his country. Officials said Johnson called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi and regretted that he would have to cancel his visit to India […]
Where is Jack Ma, China’s e-commerce pioneer?
By JOE McDONALD BEIJING: China’s best-known entrepreneur, e-commerce billionaire Jack Ma, made his fortune by taking big risks. The former English teacher founded Alibaba Group in 1999, when China had few internet users. Online payments service Alipay launched five years later, before regulators said such businesses would be allowed. Both long shots grew to dominate […]
Gulf Arab leaders sign declaration with Qatar to ease rift
By AYA BATRAWY and AMR NABIL AL-ULA, SAUDI ARABIA: Gulf Arab leaders signed a declaration Tuesday in Saudi Arabia to mark a new page in relations following the kingdom’s decision to end a 3 1/2-year embargo of Qatar, easing a rift that deeply divided regional U.S. security allies and frayed social ties across the interconnected […]
FTSE Russell cuts further three China firms from indexes after U.S. blacklist
LONDON: FTSE Russell will delete a further three firms from its global equity indexes after guidance on an executive order by outgoing President Donald Trump barring U.S. investments in some Chinese companies, a hardening of his stance against Beijing. China United Network Communications, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and Nanjing Panda Electronics will be deleted […]
Chinese firm gets contract for construction of underground stretch of Delhi-Meerut RRTS project
NEW DELHI : The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has awarded a contract to a Chinese company, Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Company Limited, for the construction of a 5.6-kilometre underground stretch, from New Ashok Nagar to Sahibabad, of the Delhi-Meerut RRTS project. The NCRTC, which is executing the country’s first Regional Rapid Rail Transit System […]