AFP Sydney, Australia ● Wed, May 18, 2022 2022-05-18 13:28 0 02c2f042c5018a82e8094ec752599ba1 2 Asia and Pacific Australia,labor,election,Scott-Morrison,Anthony-Albanese,car-crash Free Anthony Albanese, the man narrowly favoured to become Australia's prime minister after May 21 elections, was rushed to hospital last year after a four-wheel-drive slammed into his car. "I thought that was it," he told a local radio station. At the time, his Labor Party trailed behind the conservative government in opinion polls, struggling to cut through during the pandemic. But the near-death experience changed his life, Albanese told media. In its wake, the opposition leader, 59, recovered on all fronts: overcoming serious injury, shrugging off rumblings of a party leadership coup and shedding 18 kilos (40 pounds) -- an image revamp that raised some eyebrows. His suits went from baggy to tailored, his bookish wire-framed glasses switched for "Mad Men"-style … [Read more...] about Australia PM contender overcame crash, party coup rumblings
India under 19 vs australia under 19
Jet Airways says proving flights done, awaiting AOC from DGCA
Jet Airways has successfully completed all its "proving flights" and is now looking forward to the grant of the air operator certificate (AOC) by the Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA), the owner Jalan-Kalrock Consortium said on May 17. Jet Airways on May 17 concluded its second set of two so-called proving flights with around 31 people, which also included DGCA officials. The airline had on May 15 conducted its first set of three proving flights with 18 people. The two proving flights on May 17 were on Delhi-Hyderabad and Hyderabad-Delhi routes using the airline’s Boeing 737. The same plane was used for the three proving flights—Delhi-Mumbai, Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad-Delhi—on May 15, they said. A proving flight is part of DGCA’s process for the induction of a new aircraft type in an airline’s fleet. The flight allows the operator to demonstrate to the DGCA the airline’s ability to conduct the flight safely and in accordance with all rules and regulations. … [Read more...] about Jet Airways says proving flights done, awaiting AOC from DGCA
Asia’s two richest men reap windfall from surging oil, coal
- A + A (May 18): Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani are profiting from a surge in global commodity prices triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, burnishing their fossil-fuel credentials even as Asia’s richest men publicly push their pivots toward greener energy. With coal prices skyrocketing to a record, Adani’s conglomerate is expanding a controversial mine in Australia to meet demand. Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd is snapping up distressed crude-oil cargoes at discounts to feed its refining complex, the biggest in the world. Reliance even deferred a scheduled maintenance of the facility to help churn out more diesel and gasoline, whose margins have shot up to touch a three-year high. The two Indian tycoons are stepping in at a time when many developed countries are scrambling for alternative sources of fuels as they try to back away from Russian supplies. This month, the Group of Seven most-industrialized nations pledged to ban imports of Russian oil. The … [Read more...] about Asia’s two richest men reap windfall from surging oil, coal
Malaysia to increase location production incentives to attract investors
Malaysia is set to increase the value of its location-based incentives from the current 30% to 35%, the government is expected to announce this week in Cannes. The Film in Malaysia Incentive (FIMI) was launched in 2013, around the time that the Iskandar Malaysia studios were opened in the south of the country, and is administered by the National Film Development Corp (Finas). Finas and Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa will lead a Malaysian delegation at the Cannes Market and is expected to reveal details of the FIMI upgrade at a Malaysia-focused conference on May 19. "Finas intends to use the Marche film market as a platform to promote Malaysia as an international filming destination that offers 30% cash rebate through FIMI and up to 5% [additional] through a cultural test," Finas chief executive Prof Dr Md Nasir Ibrahim told state news agency Bernama, in a pre-departure briefing. Details of the cultural test may be outlined at the Cannes presentation. … [Read more...] about Malaysia to increase location production incentives to attract investors
Sri Lanka turmoil to SC’s sedition verdict: News this week in 5 cartoons
Protests intensified in Sri Lanka this week over the country’s crippling economic crisis. Prime Minister Mahindra Rajapaksa resigned amid the mounting turmoil and was replaced by Ranil Wickramasinghe. In India, the Supreme Court put the sedition law on hold till the Centre re-examines it. The United States’ abortion debate raged on. A leaked Supreme Court document pointing to the possible overturning of the landmark Roe v. Wade verdict has triggered protests in the country. See how editorial cartoonists illustrated these developments. RC Pradeep Close The cartoonist illustrated violent protests in Sri Lanka. His sketch showed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the wheel of a vandalised car. #themorninglk 12.05.2022 #editorial #cartoon #SriLankaCrisis #SriLanka pic.twitter.com/NBHqPL33w2 — RCPradeep (@RcSullan) May 12, 2022 Sandeep Adhwaryu The Times of India cartoonist illustrated how the sedition verdict brought some respite … [Read more...] about Sri Lanka turmoil to SC’s sedition verdict: News this week in 5 cartoons
Asia’s SPAC Hopefuls Have Nowhere to Turn As IPO Market Shuts
- A + A (May 18): Asian sponsors of blank-check firms are facing a tough market for initial public offerings wherever they turn, as a combination of increasing regulatory scrutiny and fading investor demand shutters the window for new listings from the US to Asia. In the past three months, at least six Asia-related special purpose acquisition companies seeking a combined $1.3 billion from US IPOs have been scrapped, according to data provider SPAC Research. Of 12 blank-check firms that have filed to go public in Hong Kong, only one has actually started trading. It’s a similar pattern in Singapore, where SPACs have stalled after three inaugural IPOs in January. “The global IPO market has obviously been very quiet so far this year,” Paul Uren, JPMorgan Chase and Co.’s Asia Pacific head of investment banking, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “What we need to see for that to change is lower volatility and investors with more of a risk-on mentality.” Asia was … [Read more...] about Asia’s SPAC Hopefuls Have Nowhere to Turn As IPO Market Shuts
Asia’s SPAC hopefuls have nowhere to turn as IPO market shuts
- A + A (May 18): Asian sponsors of blank-check firms are facing a tough market for initial public offerings wherever they turn, as a combination of increasing regulatory scrutiny and fading investor demand shutters the window for new listings from the US to Asia. In the past three months, at least six Asia-related special purpose acquisition companies seeking a combined US$1.3 billion from US IPOs have been scrapped, according to data provider SPAC Research. Of 12 blank-check firms that have filed to go public in Hong Kong, only one has actually started trading. It’s a similar pattern in Singapore, where SPACs have stalled after three inaugural IPOs in January. “The global IPO market has obviously been very quiet so far this year,” Paul Uren, JPMorgan Chase and Co’s Asia Pacific head of investment banking, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “What we need to see for that to change is lower volatility and investors with more of a risk-on mentality.” Asia was … [Read more...] about Asia’s SPAC hopefuls have nowhere to turn as IPO market shuts
Skye Air Mobility, Aster DM Healthcare conduct trials for delivery of medicines with drones in Bengaluru
Representative image. New Delhi-based drone startup Skye Air Mobility along with Aster DM Healthcare is currently undertaking a seven-day trial for carrying out deliveries of medicines and diagnostic samples from Aster RV Hospital to Aster Clinics in Bengaluru. The beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operation began on May 14, and is expected to continue till May 20, a release by Skye Air said. According to an agreement signed by the drone startup and the healthcare provider, Skye Air, with its ‘Skye Ship One’ drone, is aiming to undertake 80 flights, each carrying blood samples and medicines for Aster clinics. BVLOS drone flights are those that go beyond 500–700 metres from the eye’s vision or beyond the visual line of sight. A Skye Air release said that firstly, a Skye Air cold chain professional will load the medicine and diagnostic sample in a temperature-controlled payload box. Then, the payload box will be loaded on the drone, which would be then manoeuvered by drone … [Read more...] about Skye Air Mobility, Aster DM Healthcare conduct trials for delivery of medicines with drones in Bengaluru
Thailand News Today | Crashed China eastern flight possible “intentional nosedive”
Black box data on crashed China Eastern 737 suggests possible “intentional nosedive” Investigators are now examining further if the crash of China Eastern Airlines 737-800 on March 21 was indeed due to “intentional action on the flight deck”. The early reports say that there is, so far, no evidence of a technical malfunction. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that flight data from one of the two “black boxes” on the Boeing jet indicated that “someone in the cockpit intentionally crashed the plane”. The comments were made by people the WSJ cited as “familiar with the preliminary assessment by US officials”. US National Transportation Safety Board officials have been working with engineers from Boeing and investigators from the Civil Aviation Administration of China since the crash. Boeing, the US manufacturer of the jet, has so far declined to comment on the early leaks and, instead, referred all questions to the Chinese regulators. At this stage, the CAAC, … [Read more...] about Thailand News Today | Crashed China eastern flight possible “intentional nosedive”
Goldman cuts China 2022 growth forecast to 4%
- A + A HONG KONG (May 18): Analysts at Goldman Sachs said on Wednesday they were lowering their China 2022 gross domestic product growth forecast to 4% from 4.5% as a result of Covid-19-related damage to the economy in the second quarter of this year. It was more likely China's economy would undershoot than overshoot their target, they added. "Even this lower growth projection embeds the assumption that Covid is mostly under control going forward, the property market improves from here, and the government provides substantial policy offset through infrastructure spending in coming months," they wrote. China's retail and factory activity fell sharply in April as widespread Covid-19 lockdowns confined workers and consumers to their homes and severely disrupted supply chains. China's uncompromising strategy to fight Covid-19 has placed hundreds of millions of people in dozens of cities under restrictions of some kind, and has disrupted a global rebound in … [Read more...] about Goldman cuts China 2022 growth forecast to 4%