SHANGHAI (REUTERS) – China has approved construction of one of its tallest dams, a 239m hydroelectric structure on the upstream section of its longest river, the Yangtze, the state planning agency said on Tuesday (Jan 15). Hydropower is a clean and renewable source of energy but large-scale construction in south-west China has sparked accusations of damage […]
HONG KONG (AFP) – Hong Kong scientists claim they have made a potential breakthrough discovery in the fight against infectious diseases – a chemical that could slow the spread of deadly viral illnesses. A team from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) described the newly discovered chemical as “highly potent in interrupting the life cycle […]
SINGAPORE – SingPost on Monday (Jan 14) apologised to customers for its recent service failures, which it said were due to a “tremendously busy” peak season in November and December that was “beyond forecasts and expectations”. Due to an increase in the volume of packages, SingPost’s postmen had to make an extra 20 doorstep deliveries […]
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s economy could contract in January due to a slowdown in activity caused by fuel shortages, one of the government’s candidates to serve on the central bank board said on Monday. Jonathan Heath, one of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s nominees for the bank, told a congressional hearing the shortfalls stemming […]
SINGAPORE – A former employee of an Ubi Road workshop was on Sunday (Jan 13) arrested for allegedly stealing manufacturing equipment worth around $100,000. The 28-year-old man is believed to have later sold the equipment to a 31-year-old man, the police said in statement on Monday. The former was arrested for a suspected case of […]
Pakistan has detained a senior Afghan Taliban member in an attempt to put pressure on the militants amid talks with the US, sources in the group say. Hafez Mohibullah, religious affairs minister when the Taliban ran Afghanistan before 2001, was held in Peshawar, the sources told the BBC. The US has repeatedly called on Pakistan […]
Russia has hosted a landmark international meeting on Afghanistan in Moscow aimed at kick-starting peace talks after decades of war. It is the first time Taliban militants have attended such an event. Members of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, which oversees peace efforts but does not represent the Afghan government, were also present. But the Taliban […]
PARIS (Reuters) – Nissan (7201.T) expects alliance partner Renault’s (RENA.PA) board to back its ousting of Chairman Carlos Ghosn once it sees evidence from the Japanese carmaker’s investigation, Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa said in a Monday newspaper interview. Nissan understands that findings it provided to Renault lawyers more than a month ago have still not […]
(Reuters) – Argentina was sued on Monday for more than $83.7 million by Aurelius Capital Master Ltd, which cited an alleged shortfall of payments owed under two securities offerings linked to the country’s gross domestic product. In a complaint filed in the U.S. district court in Manhattan, Aurelius said Argentina owed money because its actual […]
KABUL (AFP) – A car bomb exploded near a heavily fortified foreign compound in Kabul on Monday (Jan 14), killing at least four people and wounding 44, officials said, in the latest attack to rock the Afghan capital. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the huge blast, which shook the city, but it […]