BT Lens On

The World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa a global emergency yesterday; Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said yesterday he would be stepping down next month and setting off a scramble to replace him; footpaths situated next to more than 200km of cycling lanes will be turned into pedestrian-only paths progressively from the last quarter of 2024....

The United Auto Workers Union said overnight it has filed federal labour charges against Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk over attempts to threaten and intimidate workers. Police are investigating a murder case filed against Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and other officials over the killing of a grocery shop owner. And in Singapore news, growth in key exports expected to com...

Ukraine’s top military commander says his forces now control 1,000 square kilometres of Russia’s neighbouring Kursk region; gunmen ambushed a vehicle carrying a senior government administrator in southwest Pakistan yesterday, killing him and wounding two other people; and in Singapore, the economy grew 2.9% in Q2 from a year earlier, matching the official advance estimate and above market expectat...

Republican U.S. vice presidential candidate JD Vance supports Donald Trump's call for presidents to have a say in Federal Reserve Board policy-making. Bangladesh’s Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan has resigned following new protests by a group of students and other demonstrators. In local news, visitors to East Coast Park can now frolic on all its beaches after the park’s remaining sections reopened n...

Russia said yesterday it was fighting intense battles against Ukrainian forces that had penetrated its southern border; South Korea could rupture its US alliance if it started building nuclear weapons, the government said, dismissing calls for the country's own arsenal to deter North Korea; and in Singapore, the possibility of fitting electric vehicles with special licence plates is being studied...

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her newly selected vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, campaigned for the first time together overnight in Philadelphia. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus will head Bangladesh’s interim government and in Singapore, the Energy Market Authority will be able to direct generation companies and consumers to ration power. Synopsis: A...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said yesterday that a “standing army” of specialist police would be set up to deal with rioting; Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country yesterday after hundreds of people were killed in a crackdown; users of electric vehicles now have access to more than three thousand charging points at nearly half of the Housing Board carparks is...

Vice President Kamala Harris interviews three top candidates ahead of her VP choice announcement expected as early as this evening. Dozens of people were killed and hundreds injured as renewed anti-government protests swept across Bangladesh. And in Singapore,  Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said that the Boon Lay branch of the West Coast Town Council will relocate in 2025. Synopsis...

Intel said overnight that it would cut more than 15% of its workforce, some 17,500 people, and suspend its dividend starting in the fourth quarter. A Canadian warship passed through the Taiwan Strait, drawing a rebuke from China. In Singapore more rain expected in Singapore after 18-day dry spell in July. Synopsis: A round up of global headlines to start your day by The Business Times.  Written by...

Hamas’ top political leader was killed yesterday by an airstrike in the Iranian capital; the military regime that seized power in Myanmar three and a half years ago yesterday extended a state of emergency in the civil war-wracked country for another six months; ICA said it will start passport-free clearance trials for arriving Singapore residents at selected automated lanes at Changi Airport Termi...

Vice President Kamala Harris will tour battleground states next week with her soon to be named vice presidential candidate. S&P Global Ratings affirmed Indonesia's ratings at BBB investment grade with a stable outlook and in Singapore, at least 60 people fell ill after a major food poisoning incident at the office of TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance. Synopsis: A round up of global headlines...

What will we do when Disease X strikes? Scientists around the world are racing against the clock to prevent another global pandemic from happening. From cutting edge research labs to the sewers of Singapore, Claressa Monteiro goes virus hunting with the world’s leading experts on emerging infectious diseases. Professor Wang Linfa from Duke-NUS Medical School is working on a universal coronavirus v...

The US is leading a diplomatic dash to deter Israel from striking Beirut or major civil infrastructure in response to a deadly rocket attack on the Golan Heights; protesters taking part in a march in the Pakistani city of Gwadar attacked security forces deployed to guard them yesterday, killing one soldier and injuring 16 others; the East Coast Park beach section near the National Sailing Centre r...

In the U.S. Kamala Harris's election campaign said overnight that it has raised S$268 million. Lawmakers from at least six countries say Chinese diplomats are pressuring them not to attend a China-focused summit in Taiwan and in Singapore, more car owners are choosing to keep their vehicles for more than 10 years. Synopsis: A round up of global headlines to start your day by The Business Times.  W...

The U.S. economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter amid solid gains in consumer spending and business investment, Southeast Asian foreign ministers and top diplomats from key partners including the United States and China have gathered in the Laotian capital for three days of talks. And Singapore’s central bank kept unchanged its monetary policy stance which favours an appreciating t...

MAS proposes to simplify leverage requirements for all Reits; Netanyahu slams Gaza ceasefire demonstrators yesterday and the Philippines reaches an agreement with Beijing on resupplying a grounded naval vessel in the South China Sea. Synopsis: A round up of global headlines to start your day by The Business Times.  Written by: Lee Kim Siang / Claressa Monteiro ( claremb@sph.com.sg )  Recording eng...

Palestinian factions including rivals Hamas and Fatah agreed to end their divisions and form an interim national unity government. India's Finance Minister has backed her economic adviser's suggestion to allow more Chinese investment in the country and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC posted its weakest 20-year rolling returns in four years. Synopsis: A round up of global headlines to start y...

US Vice-president Kamala Harris wins the crucial backing of Democrat heavyweight Nancy Pelosi; the Indian budget is set to be tabled today and Singapore has donated more than S$17 million to Gaza. Synopsis: A round up of global headlines to start your day by The Business Times.  Written by: Lee Kim Siang / Claressa Monteiro ( claremb@sph.com.sg )  Recording engineer: Joann Chai Pei Chieh Produced...

President Joe Biden has dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House. Bangladesh’s top court scaled back a controversial quota system for government job applicants and in Singapore, the Japanese and Chinese gardens, which have been closed for redevelopment since May 2019, will reopen in September. Synopsis: A round up of global headlines to start your day by The Business Times.  Written by: Le...

US President Joe Biden is taking calls to step aside as the Democratic presidential candidate seriously and multiple Democratic officials think an exit is a matter of time; police and government supporters clashed yesterday with student activists trying to shut down transportation across Bangladesh; a 99-year leasehold plot in Zion Road drew lacklustre bidding interest, but it attracted a top bid...

Antony Blinken calls for the Americas to boost production of semiconductors; Xi Jinping unveils his long-term vision for China’s economy and Singapore’s AOG finds lapses in procurement and contract management in four agencies. Synopsis: A round up of global headlines to start your day by The Business Times.  Written by: Lee Kim Siang / Claressa Monteiro ( claremb@sph.com.sg )  Recording engineer:...

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said the accession of Ukraine to NATO would be a declaration of war against Moscow; Thai police are investigating the deaths of six foreign nationals whose bodies were found in a luxury hotel room at an upmarket hotel in Bangkok; and in Singapore, oil spill clean-up operations are now in the final phases after progressing faster than expected. Synopsis: A r...

Donald Trump selects Ohio senator JD Vance as his running mate; China posts weaker than expected growth; and Temesek plans to invest more in India, favouring India and turning cautious on China. Synopsis: A round up of global headlines to start your day by The Business Times.  Written by: Lee Kim Siang / Claressa Monteiro ( claremb@sph.com.sg )  Recording engineer: Joann Chai Pei Chieh Produced an...

Donald Trump will be formally nominated as the Republican presidential candidate later this week after surviving an assassination attempt; the IMF said it reached a new seven billion U S dollar loan deal with Pakistan in a bid to bolster its faltering economy; people who abuse animals may soon face stiffer penalties, while service providers found doing so may be looking at a lifetime ban on offeri...

U.S. President Joe Biden mixed up the name of his vice president, Kamala Harris, and his Republican rival Donald Trump. Germany will bar the use of critical components made by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE in core parts of the country’s 5G networks and Singapore’s gross domestic product grew 2.9 per cent year on year in the second quarter. Synopsis: A round up of global headlines to start your...