Of 35 bridge collapses analyzed, floods caused 13, erosion of sediments around bridge foundations — scour — caused 16, a hurricane caused 1 and other influences (such as waterborne or hydraulic debris) caused 5. Superimposed H denotes sites where a hurricane or tropical storm occurred and may have influenced bridge collapse. Area of circles is proportional to drainage area of bridge sites. Credit: Flint, et al. The […]
MOSCOW At least 24 people were missing in south-Western Kyrgyzstan on Saturday after a landslide tore through a village, Kyrgyzstan’s Emergency Ministry said on Saturday. The landslide, caused by heavy rains, destroyed eleven houses in the village in Uzgen district of Osh region at around 0120 GMT on Saturday. The exact number of people hit by the landslide was unclear, the Emergency Ministry said. The press office […]
When it comes to repackaging bad loans in the eurozone, 2017 has been a tale of two peripheries. While global investors who had been hoping to buy debt backed by Italy’s non-performing loans have been left disappointed, in Ireland deals are gathering momentum. Lone Star this week priced its latest securitisation of Irish mortgages, with the US private equity firm selling €420m of bonds backed by distressed […]
By Nobuhiro Kubo | SASEBO SASEBO As tension spikes on the Korean peninsula, a French amphibious assault carrier sailed into Japan’s naval base of Sasebo on Saturday ahead of drills that risk upsetting China, which faces U.S. pressure to rein in North Korea’s arms programmes. The Mistral will lead exercises next month near Guam, along with forces from Japan, the United States and Britain, practicing amphibious landings […]
By Matt Robinson | BELGRADE BELGRADE Nationalists in Macedonia are “playing with fire” in refusing to relinquish power and the European Union should consider halting its accession process in order to break a dangerous deadlock, said the former envoy who helped avert civil war in the Balkan country. A long-running political crisis in the former Yugoslav republic turned violent on Thursday when supporters of the ruling VMRO-DPMNE […]
MANILA A strong earthquake measuring 7.2 struck off the coast of Mindanao island in the Philippines on Saturday, and the country’s seismology agency advised people to stay away from coastal areas but expected no major damage. There were no immediate reports of destruction or casualties, but witnesses said the quake was very strong and shook the ground and walls. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was […]
When the Nasdaq Composite index first spent two days above the 5,000 mark, it signalled the last gasp of a spectacular bull market. Confidence in internet companies’ power to change the world and mint fortunes was about to collapse. Seventeen years later the market has hit a milestone of 6,000, part of a run of record highs for global equity markets. While stocks have again been rising […]
By Alastair Macdonald | BRUSSELS BRUSSELS European Union leaders will endorse a stiff set of divorce terms for Britain at a summit on Saturday, rejoicing in a rare show of unity in adversity, but well aware that may start to fray once negotiations begin. Meeting for the first time since British Prime Minister Theresa May formally triggered a two-year countdown to Brexit in late March, the 27 […]
CAIRO: Pope Francis landed in the Egyptian capital on Friday to promote “unity and fraternity” with Muslims and Christians, who have suffered a series of jihadist attacks.The visit is a “voyage of unity and fraternity,” the pontiff told reporters before he disembarked in Cairo airport to be greeted by Catholic priests and Egyptian Prime Minister Sharif Ismail.It is “less than two days but very intense,” he said.He […]
Despite the proclaimed stand of Republican lawmakers to repeal and replace the Obamacare, or 2010 Affordable Care Act, the numbers are eluding the GOP (grand old party) lawmakers as factions within the party are divided on the matter. The GOP will require 216 votes to push their version of the healthcare bill. Factions, however, do not see eye to eye on many of the contentious issues incorporated […]
The US economy expanded at its weakest pace in three years during the opening months of the year, underlining the daunting task facing Donald Trump’s administration as it seeks to attain ambitious growth targets. Gross domestic product grew at a 0.7 per cent annual rate in the first three months of 2017, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, a sharp drop from 2.1 per cent at […]
‘Demagogic’ populism does not help cause of peace. The pope invoked Egypt’s “glorious history” as an ancient cradle of civilization to argue on Friday that the delivery of a more peaceful future required a new civility that appreciated differences, resisted the violent path of close-minded absolutism and condemned extremists who camouflage terror in religious language. Continue reading the main story “An education in respectful openness and sincere […]
Emerging market equities have been the darling asset class de jour in 2017, mainly in Asia and Latin America, despite the March FOMC rate hike, a US Dollar Index at or above 100 and a mini-swoon in crude oil after a Saudi-Russian output cut spat. Earnings growth (India/Thailand) a stabilized currency (China), policy reforms (India, Brazil, Indonesia) local interest rate cuts (Brazil) and lower US protectionist policies […]
Short-term borrowing costs in China have climbed to their highest level in two years as comments from President Xi Jinping fan investor expectations that a “regulatory windstorm” is part of a broader crackdown on the financial sector. China’s premier on Thursday described finance as the “core of a modern economy”, according to state news agency Xinhua, adding that “accurate judgment of potential financial risks serves as a […]
With Democrats seemingly unsatisfied with Republicans dropping border wall funding and adjusting on Obamacare-related items, it appears President Trump is calling Schumer’s and Pelosi’s bluff, proclaiming “If there’s a shutdown, there’s a shutdown,” adding that Democrats would be to blame if the federal government was left unfunded. Schumer today: *SCHUMER: TRUMP CONCESSIONS BRING SPENDING DEAL CLOSER TO FINISH *SCHUMER SAYS ‘SOME STICKING POINTS’ LEFT ON SPENDING BILL […]
By Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales | MANILA MANILA Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Friday warned that Southeast Asian countries needed to ensure their economic growth was inclusive, or risk marginalized populations turning to violent extremism or even overturning political systems. Speaking at an event for entrepreneurs during the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Manila, Najib said the region was posting […]
By Jennifer Ablan and Stephen Nellis | NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO Growing tensions with North Korea should worry global electronics firms such as Apple Inc as they source key parts from South Korea, but investors are brushing off such concerns and snapping up shares in key exporters, heartened by robust earnings and big investment plans. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday in an interview […]
WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday a major conflict with North Korea is possible in the standoff over its nuclear and missile programs, but he would prefer a diplomatic outcome to the dispute. “There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. Absolutely,” Trump told Reuters in an Oval Office interview ahead of his 100th day in […]
By Idrees Ali | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON As President Donald Trump’s administration drafts an Afghanistan policy, U.S. officials are seeking a way to reverse gains by militant groups without wading deeper into a 15-year-long war that has no end in sight. In the past month, three U.S. service members have been killed in operations against Islamic State militants near Afghanistan’s porous border with Pakistan, where armed groups still […]
By Phil Stewart and Yara Bayoumy | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON When U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis greeted Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister at the Pentagon last month, the first thing he did was joke about the time “the Iranians tried to murder you.” Mattis’ reference to a foiled 2011 plot, denied by Iran, was a telling sign of how much more aligned President Donald Trump’s administration is with Gulf […]
By Yeganeh Torbati | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The United States issued about 40 percent fewer temporary visas in March to citizens of seven countries covered by President Donald Trump’s temporary travel bans than it did in an average month last year, according to a Reuters analysis of preliminary government data released on Thursday. At the same time, the data showed that the total of U.S. non-immigrant visas issued […]
By Kylie MacLellan and William James | LONDON LONDON Armed British officers arrested a man carrying knives near Prime Minister Theresa May’s office in London on Thursday on suspicion of preparing an act of terrorism. The 27-year-old man was detained by counter-terrorism officers on Parliament Street, a stone’s throw from the parliament building and May’s Downing Street office, during a stop-and-search in an ongoing security operation, police […]
Would you like an always-ready smart speaker with a camera and a microphone in your bedroom? That’s what Amazon’s new Echo Look is all about. The original Amazon Echo was already always-listening so it wouldn’t miss any voice command, but adding a camera too is a whole different matter, especially since the new Echo Look is designed for the bedroom. Amazon Echo Look Purpose First things first: for […]
By James Pomfret, Lawrence White and Sumeet Chatterjee | DONGGUAN, China/LONDON/HONG KONG DONGGUAN, China/LONDON/HONG KONG In the digital age, footfall in bricks-and-mortar outlets is an incomplete measure of business activity, but HSBC’s empty branches in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) suggest it’s not all plain sailing for the bank’s expansion in mainland China. HSBC, the world’s sixth-largest bank by assets, announced in 2015 that it would hire […]
