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☆ Brutal cold seizes northeast U.S., shattering record lows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The air temperature at the peak reached minus 47 degrees F (-44 C), with winds gusting near 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour), according to the Mount Washington Observatory. In Providence, Rhode Island, the mercury dropped to minus 9 degrees F (-23 C), well below the previous all-time low of minus 2 degrees F (-19 C), set in 1918. Several cities took emergency measures to aid residents, including opening warming centers and conducting outreach to ensure homeless people were sheltered from the brutal cold. The frigid weather was expected to be short-lived, with temperatures forecast to be significantly higher on Sunday. The high temperature in Boston on Sunday will approach 47 degrees F (8.3 C), the NWS said.

☆ Onions are now so expensive in the Philippines that they've become a luxury item — and people have been trying to smuggle them across the border
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Onions are now a luxury item in the Philippines. The price of onions soared to $12.80 per kilogram in December, three times the price of chicken. Local authorities seized between $9 million and $11 million worth of smuggled onions in 2022. According to the country's Department of Agriculture, on January 9, onions were going for 600 pesos, or $11, per kilogram. Local authorities seized between $9 million and $11 million worth of smuggled onions in 2022, The Guardian reported.

☆ The Communities That Risked Everything to Rescue Jews
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Richard Hurowitz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A 1943 photograph of refugee children in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, France, with some of the adults who cared for them. Did King Christian X of Denmark actually wear a Star of David badge in solidarity with his Jewish subjects during the Nazi occupation of 1940-45? Religious bigotry was anathema in Denmark, and to avoid trouble, the Nazis had initially agreed to stand down from persecuting the country’s Jews. When Hitler himself finally ordered a round-up in October 1943, Danes came together to mount a massive clandestine rescue, transporting their Jewish neighbors in an amateur flotilla across the straits to safety in Sweden. Almost all Danish Jews survived the war.

☆ 'Seriously doubt' imminent invasion of Taiwan by China -Pentagon chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday he seriously doubted that ramped up Chinese military activities near the Taiwan Strait were a sign of an imminent invasion of the island by Beijing. "We've seen increased aerial activity in the straits, we've seen increased surface vessel activity around Taiwan," Austin said during a press conference alongside U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their Japanese counterparts. "But whether or not that means that an invasion is imminent, you know, I seriously doubt that," Austin said. Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. embassy in Cuba resumes full immigrant visa processing for first time since 2017
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] People wait in line to enter the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba, January 4, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandre MeneghiniHAVANA, Jan 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. embassy in Havana resumed full immigrant visa processing and consular services for the first time since 2017 on Wednesday in a bid to stem the record-breaking flow of illegal migrants from Cuba north to the United States. Cubans were instead required to travel to Guyana for visa processing, a costly trip well out of reach for most on the island. The U.S. embassy in Havana began limited visa processing last year and in September announced the 2023 full reopening, to "ensure safe, legal, and orderly migration of Cubans," it said. Cuba and the United States have also resumed once-regular talks on migration in a bid to tamp down the flow.

☆ Singapore is set to hike its goods and services tax in January. Here's how it will work
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Natalie Tham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Singapore's goods and services tax will be raised to 8% in January 2023. Ore Huiying | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesCome Jan. 1, Singapore will raise its goods and services tax, otherwise known as the GST, from 7% to 8%. The GST is a consumption tax imposed on nearly all goods and services in Singapore. With the change, all goods and services imported into Singapore, including imported goods purchased online, will be subject to the tax. Economists who spoke to CNBC held conflicting views on whether the tax hike will hit the nation's lowest earners harder than others.

☆ The tunnels and bridges linking Asia to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Lisa Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Sometimes called FSM Köprüsü, it’s another gravity-anchored steel suspension bridge similar in length to the First Bridge and costing a similar toll fee to use. Yavuz Sultan Selim BridgeThe Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge opened in 2016. irina lepnyova/Adobe StockIn 2016, a third suspension bridge opened up across the Bosphorus, near the Black Sea. With a 58.8-meter-wide single deck slab, it is the world’s widest suspension bridge, able to carry eight lanes of traffic and a double-track railway line. Çannakale 1915 BridgeThe 1915 Canakkale Bridge has the world's longest suspension bridge span. Measuring just short of 2.3 miles, it now claims the world record for the longest suspension bridge span.

Persons: peters, Fatih, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, Bridge, Fatih Sultan Mehmet, Mehmet the Conqueror, King Darius I, Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, Sultan Selim Bridge, irina lepnyova, Yavuz Sultan Selim, Tershanesi, It’s, OZAN KOSE, Sabiha, Sultan Abdülmecid I, Abdul Hamid II, Çeşmesi, Ryzhkov Aleksandr Organizations: Istanbul CNN, CNN, Istanbul Marathon, Adobe, Horn, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Atatürk Airport, Istanbul Kart, Ferries, Princes Locations: Istanbul, Bosphorus, Marmara, Europe, Asia, Princess, Photosensia, Turkish Republic, Ortaköy, Fatih Sultan, mehmet, Constantinople, Byzantine, Hısarüstü, Kavacık, Anatolia, Canakkale, Gelibolu, Lapseki, Turkey, OZAN, AFP, Kazlıçeşme, Göztepe, Istanbul’s, Eurasia, Ryzhkov, ’, Ottoman, Princes ’, Sirkeci, Bursa, Yalova, Mudanya, Taksim

[1/6] Commercial vessels, including oil tankers, wait at an anchorage in the Black Sea off Kilyos near Istanbul, Turkey, December 9, 2022. A total of 28 oil tankers are in a queue seeking to leave the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, the Tribeca shipping agency said on Friday. Turkey's maritime authority said it would continue to keep out of its waters oil tankers that lacked appropriate insurance letters. A shipping source said four of the tankers waiting to cross the Dardanelles were scheduled to go on Saturday with tug escorts. Millions of barrels of oil per day move south from Russian ports through Turkey's Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits into the Mediterranean.

☆ Oil tankers are getting stuck in the Black Sea. That could become a problem
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

A further nine tankers were waiting to cross southbound from the Sea of Marmara through the Dardanelles strait into the Mediterranean. The snag is linked to a Western price cap on Russian oil that came into effect on Monday. Countries including Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan use the Turkish straits to get their oil to world oil markets. The traffic jam in the Turkish straits arose following the imposition this week of the price cap on Russian oil. Turkish officials say this position is “unacceptable” and on Thursday reiterated demands for letters from insurers.

☆ Turkey is stopping oil not under Russian sanctions, raising global energy market supply concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Cargo ships and vessels transit the Bosphorus Strait, a body of water connecting the Black Sea to the Marmara and Mediterranean Seas through Istanbul, Turkey. Above, the Russia-flagged vessel Volga River Taganrog oil tanker passes south through the Bosphorus Straits in October 2022. "It appears that all but one of the roughly twenty loaded crude tankers waiting to cross the straits are carrying Kazakh-origin oil," a price cap official told CNBC. If delays mount, refiners will seek alternative supplies from other countries or they will reduce operating capacity because they don't have enough oil, which impacts the supply of gasoline and diesel, said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. "If this continues for another week we will begin to see an impact on the oil market," Lipow said.

☆ Russia is concerned over oil tankers build-up in Bosphorus - RIA
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The Maltese-flagged crude oil tanker Minerva Baltica sails in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Black Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey December 5, 2022. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik/File PhotoMOSCOW, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Russia is concerned about a build-up of oil tankers in the Bosphorus Strait and is discussing the issue with insurance and transport companies, RIA cited Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko as saying on Wednesday. After all, insurance companies insure, not the state," Grushko is quoted as saying. The European Union banned all seaborne Russian crude imports from Dec. 5, with a fuel import ban to follow in February. Kazakhstan, a large oil exporter, said on Wednesday that the build-up of the oil tankers at the Bosphorus is normal during the winter season.

☆ Oil tankers queuing to transit Turkish straits face more delays - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Ingosstrakh SPAO FollowISTANBUL, Dec 6 (Reuters) - At least 20 oil tankers queuing off Turkey to cross from Russia's Black Sea ports to the Mediterranean face more delays as operators race to adhere to new Turkish insurance rules added ahead of a G7 price cap on Russian oil, industry sources said. The new rule was announced before a $60 per barrel price cap was imposed on Russian seaborne crude this week, Western insurers are required to retain proof that Russian oil covered is sold at or below that price. Millions of barrels of oil per day move south from Russian ports through Turkey's Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits into the Mediterranean. Tribeca shipping agency said nine oil tankers were waiting to transit the Dardanelles southbound on Tuesday. The only tanker passing the straits after the deadline, Vladimir Tikhonov, was insured by Russia's Ingosstrakh (INGSI.MM), the source added.

☆ Five countries, other than China, most dependent on the South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Sean M. Holt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Territorially, there are seven claimants to the South China Sea: China, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Analysts name the top five countries, other than China, that are most dependent on the South China Sea. Aerial view of fishing boats setting sail to South China Sea for fishing on August 16, 2022 in Yangjiang, Guangdong Province of China. "Although they claim more than half of the South China Sea, China has pushed claimant states such as Vietnam out of traditional fishing waters and more into the South China Sea, causing excessive overfishing." South KoreaSouth Korea is "intentionally quiet about the South China Sea" as it wants to "maintain favor with China," Graham said, citing Seoul's primary focus on the North Korean issue.

☆ Days after Biden's face-to-face meeting with Xi Jinping, Kamala Harris is making a rare trip to a South China Sea hotspot
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Palawan looks over the South China Sea, where Beijing and its neighbors have competing claims. "This is another historic visit, as the vice president is the highest-ranking US official ever to visit Palawan," a senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday. It divides the Sulu Sea and the South China Sea, where the Philippines is one of several countries that dispute Beijing's expansive claims. The Philippine province of Palawan separates the Sulu Sea and the South China Sea. Asked on Tuesday how China should view the trip, the US official said, "China can take the message it wants.

☆ Shopee, the Amazon of Asia, has laid off around 7,000 employees in the last 6 months, after latest cuts: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Britney Toh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Shopee laid off around 100 employees on Monday, adding up to around 7,000 jobs cut in the last six months, per Bloomberg. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops — delivered daily to your inbox. On Monday, a number of Shopee employees in Singapore and China received marching orders via emails, Bloomberg said. Sources also told The Straits Times that the latest round of layoffs was more low-key compared to the layoffs that happened in September. Shopee parent Sea Limited — which employed more than 67,000 people at the end of 2021 — let go a low single-digit percentage of employees on September 19.

☆ Cuba hosts first U.S. business conference in years, seeks investment
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Marc Frank | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Cuba's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernandez de Cossio listens to Phil Peters, founder of FocusCuba, during a conference in Havana, Cuba, October 26, 2022. "Almost everything we do is with the new booming private sector," said Cuban-American Hugo , whose Miami-based Fuego Enterprises Inc (FUGI.PK) operates an online food market that processes 4,000 orders in Cuba per day. "It is important American businesses see this for themselves," said Cancio, who was attending the conference. The Biden administration has loosened some restrictions on Cuba around remittances, tourism and migration. It has also expressed interest in supporting Cuba's private sector.

☆ An airline has scrapped a controversial policy that forced flight attendants to quit if they became pregnant
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Stephen Jones | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Singapore Airlines has ended a controversial policy that forced pregnant flight attendants to leave. Previously, pregnant cabin crew were put on no-pay leave but can now apply for a ground role. The airline changed the rules in July, according to a memo seen by The Straits Times. Under the policy, when a flight attendant informed the airline she was pregnant, she'd be placed on leave without pay. Over recent years, some airlines have come under pressure for the strict rules they have put in place for female flight attendants.

☆ New money is pouring into Singapore, but a series of recent multimillion-dollar real-estate transactions show the old status symbols are as popular as ever
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Nidhi Pandurangi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Good Class Bungalows, or GCBs, are powerful status symbols for old and new money alike in Singapore. With land this scarce, the most elite level of property on the island is the Good Class Bungalow, or GCB. New money, old status symbolWith new money pouring into Singapore, a series of recent multimillion-dollar real-estate transactions show these old status symbols are as popular as ever. And in 2019, British billionaire inventor James Dyson purchased an SG$50 million bungalow opposite Singapore's Botanic Gardens, per the Straits Times. Moreover, some prospective Good Class Bungalow renters are not even living in these properties.

☆ F1 is the biggest party weekend of the year in Singapore, but it'll easily set you back thousands of dollars. We broke down the prices.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Amanda Goh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The 2022 F1 Singapore Grand Prix is taking place from September 30 to October 2. Around 268,000 fans attended the 2019 F1 Singapore Grand Prix — the second-highest on record since the 2008 inaugural race, race organizer Singapore GP told local news outlet The Straits Times. Here's how much it'll cost you to party big during F1 weekend in Singapore. The Marina Bay skyline as viewed from Marina Bay Sands. 4FR/Getty ImagesLAVO, an Italian restaurant also on the MBS rooftop, is holding a Race Weekend Party Brunch.

☆ Систему тестирования на коронавирус через дыхание начнут использовать в Сингапуре
▼ + stars: | 2021-04-20 | by ( ) nokta.md time to read: +1 min

Власти Сингапура планируют разместить новые аппараты для проведения дыхательных тестов на коронавирус в аэропорту, а также использовать их во время крупных мероприятий. При этом стоимость каждого исследования составляет примерно $20, что дешевле существующих аналогов, и результат можно получить в течение двух минут. Как ожидается, в июне приборы будут запущены в массовое производство, на первом этапе в месяц будут выпускать около 200 тыс. С конца прошлого года власти Сингапура постепенно начали снимать ограничения на проведение крупных мероприятий, в том числе конференций, выставок, семинаров. При этом одним из главных условий участия стало проведение тестов на коронавирус непосредственно перед началом мероприятий.

Persons: nokta, Белт Organizations: The Straits Times, Белта Locations: Сингапур, Чанги

☆ „Criminalul de pe Twitter” a fost condamnat la moarte; Este acuzat că a ucis nouă persoane
▼ + stars: | 2020-12-15 | by ( ) www.jurnal.md time to read: +1 min

Tânărul de 30 de ani a recunoscut că și-a ucis și dezmembrat victimele - aproape toate femei tinere pe care le-a abordat pe rețeaua socială. Peste 400 de persoane s-au prezentat marți pentru a urmări verdictul, în ciuda faptului că instanța are doar 16 locuri disponibile pentru public, a relatat presa locală. Totuși, Shiraishi a contestat versiunea propriei sale echipe de apărare și a spus că și-a ucis victimele fără consimțământul lor. Marți, judecătorul care a pronunțat verdictul a spus că „niciuna dintre victime nu a fost de acord să fie ucisă”. „Inculpatul a fost găsit pe deplin responsabil”, a spus judecătorul Naokuni Yano, a citat de ziarul The Straits Times.

Persons: Shiraishi, El Organizations: Times Locations: Japonia

Takahiro Shiraishi, supranumit „criminalul de pe Twitter”, a fost arestat în 2017 după ce în apartamentul său au fost găsite bucăți de cadavre. Tânărul de 30 de ani a recunoscut că și-a ucis și dezmembrat victimele - aproape toate femei tinere pe care le-a abordat pe rețeaua socială. Totuși, Shiraishi a contestat versiunea propriei sale echipe de apărare și a spus că și-a ucis victimele fără consimțământul lor. Marți, judecătorul care a pronunțat verdictul a spus că „niciuna dintre victime nu a fost de acord să fie ucisă”. „Inculpatul a fost găsit pe deplin responsabil”, a spus judecătorul Naokuni Yano, a citat de ziarul The Straits Times.

Persons: Takahiro Shiraishi, Shiraishi, El Organizations: Times Locations: Japonia

☆ В Сингапуре родился мальчик с антителами к коронавирусу
▼ + stars: | 2020-12-01 | by ( Mld Media Srl | ) noi.md time to read: +2 min

Ребенок появился на свет здоровым, однако как долго у него будут сохраняться антитела и защищен ли он от заражения коронавирусом в будущем, пока не ясно, сообщает eNews. Селин Нг-Чан, 31-летняя жительница Сингапура, родила ребенка, у которого выявили антитела к коронавирусу SARS-CoV-2, сообщило издание The Straits Times. Насколько долго у него будут сохраняться антитела к SARS-CoV-2 и обеспечивают ли они ему должный уровень защиты от инфекции, неясно: предположительно, с течением времени титр этих белков будет снижаться. Как отмечают специалисты из Королевского колледжа акушеров и гинекологов Великобритании, передача COVID-19 от будущей матери к плоду во время беременности или родов — скорее редкость. Судя по всему, иммунная система ребенка позволяет эффективно препятствовать репликации патогена внутри клеток организма, несмотря на его воздействие.

Persons: Селин НгЧан, НгЧан, Олдрин Organizations: The Straits Times, Национальная университетская больница (), Королевский колледж акушеров и гинекологов Locations: Сингапур, Европа, Великобритания

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