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/ 26 September 2008
Torrential rain in Singapore on Friday and more forecast for the weekend reinforced the prospect of F1’s first night race being run in the wet.
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/ 24 September 2008
World championship leader Lewis Hamilton goes into Formula One’s historic night race at the Singapore Grand Prix knowing he needs to keep his nerve.
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/ 23 September 2008
Singapore will make history this week by staging glamour-fuelled Formula One’s first-ever night race.
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/ 22 September 2008
Lewis Hamilton is confident he will overcome any problems thrown up by racing at night around a street circuit at the Singapore Grand Prix this week.
Restrictions prohibiting HIV-positive people from obtaining visas or permits to travel or work abroad adds to the global stigma around HIV.
Oil edged down on Tuesday as worries about weakening oil demand overshadowed fears that the Atlantic hurricane season could threaten supply. United States light crude for July delivery fell 16 cents a barrel to ,60 by 6.38am GMT, reversing Monday’s 41-cent gain as the start of the hurricane season stirred concerns.
Burma insisted on Sunday that there must be ”no strings attached” to foreign aid destined for its hundreds of thousands of cyclone victims, triggering a sharp reaction from donor countries. Deputy Defence Minister Aye Myint told a regional security forum in Singapore that authorities were trying their best to help their people.
The world’s top airlines warned on Thursday that soaring fuel prices were hitting profits, prompting some to increase fares, and global leader American Airlines announced thousands of job cuts to counter higher costs. Airline stocks fell sharply in Asia and Europe after stock in American’s parent AMR shed a quarter of their value as investors fretted over the cost of jet fuel.
Oil smashed past $135 a barrel for the first time on Thursday, continuing its astonishing rise following unexpected drops in United States crude and petrol stocks in a tight market, dealers said. Large institutional investors continued to pile money into oil, which is giving better returns than investments in stocks and bonds, further heating up prices, they said.
The prices of staple foods such as rice could stay high for the next three years, hindering the battle against poverty, a top World Bank official said on Tuesday. Food prices had risen at a ”startling” speed, giving governments and communities little time to respond, the bank’s managing director, Juan Jose Daboub, said.
If farmers think they have a tough time producing enough rice, wheat and other grain crops, global warming is going to present a whole new world of challenges in the race to produce more food, scientists say. Farmers will have to change crop management practices, grow tougher plant varieties and be prepared for constant change in the way they operate, scientists say.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is taking large risks by investing more in private equity firms than it is allowed to and internal controls of such investments show ”serious weaknesses”, a media report said on Monday. The bank ”breached its capital allocation limit for private equity funds of 5%”, said the Financial Times, adding that it needed new risk management standards.
World oil prices paused within sight of the $120 level on Thursday after a mixed report on United States energy stockpiles, dealers said. In Asian afternoon trading, New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, slipped 25 cents to $118,05 per barrel.
International concern mounted as world oil prices edged closer to $120 a barrel Wednesday and the world’s top producer called for calm. Analysts said a weakening United States dollar, supply worries in Nigeria and the reluctance of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase output have all contributed to the price surge.
Oil prices held steady near record highs in Asian trading on Thursday. New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, was four cents higher at $114,97 per barrel after a record close of $114,93 at the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday. In electronic trading after Wednesday’s session, the price crossed $115 for the first time.
World oil prices touched new record highs above $112 a barrel in Asian trade on Tuesday as supply concerns and a sluggish greenback remained key factors behind the hike, dealers said. They said market sentiment remained bullish after the latest United States government data showed a surprise sharp fall in the country’s energy stockpiles.
Oil prices eased from recent highs in Asian trade on Monday after international finance ministers warned that near-term global economic prospects had weakened. In afternoon trade, New York’s main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, fell by 29 cents to ,85 per barrel.
Oil prices rose on Monday in Asia as prospects for further cuts in United States interest rates seemed more likely after poor US jobs data at the end of last week. The US Labour Department said on Friday that employers cut payrolls by 80 000 jobs last month, many more than analysts had expected.
Oil prices slipped more than a barrel on Monday as traders worried that the flagging United States economy would cause oil demand to soften. Oil’s sharp decline started last week. Crude futures started plunging after the US Federal Reserve-backed sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase created fears of deeper economic problems.
Travel and tourism are expected to bring ,6-trillion a year to the Asia Pacific region by 2010 despite the threat of a United States recession, according to a study released last week. Continued strong tourism growth within the region should help it weather the current stock-market instability.
The Airbus A380, the world’s biggest passenger plane, took off Tuesday from Singapore’s Changi Airport for its inaugural commercial flight to London, the jet’s first European destination. Flight SQ308, operated by A380 launch customer Singapore Airlines, departed Changi Airport’s new Terminal Three at 9.19am.
Oil prices were close to $109 in Asian trade on Wednesday, underpinned by the United States dollar’s dive to a new low against the euro and supply concerns, dealers said. In late morning trade, New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for April delivery, traded briefly at $108,90 a barrel, up 15 cents from its record closing high of $108,75 on Tuesday.
Platinum struck a record for the second straight day on Tuesday, catching up with gold as a weaker United States dollar and persistent supply problems in South Africa ignited buying from speculators and investors. Platinum’s gains pushed up sister metal palladium to a six-and-a-half year high.
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/ 21 February 2008
Virgin Galactic, billionaire Richard Branson’s space travel venture, plans to order five more spaceships and aims to turn a profit in five years from its commercial launch in 2010, an official said on Thursday. Prospective space travellers have so far placed deposits totalling more than -million for tickets that cost 000 each.
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/ 20 February 2008
The row over Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez’s squad rotation system continued to rumble on Wednesday as former Anfield goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar said lack of continuity was at the root of the Premier League club’s ills. One day after current striker Fernando Torres had supported his boss’s policy of switching the first team around, Grobbelaar hit out at the controversial method.
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/ 20 February 2008
Oil retreated on Wednesday, after surging nearly 5% to a record above a day ago, on fresh influx of capital into commodities, with focus turning to United States stocks data that are expected to show a build in crude. US crude slid 73 cents to ,28 a barrel by 6.47am GMT after investors paused for thought.
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/ 17 February 2008
Tough times are ahead for global aviation despite a return to profit last year, with many airlines mired in debt, rising fuel bills and fears of a looming United States recession, industry officials said on Monday. The global aviation industry returned to profitability in 2007 but earnings of $5,6-billion were only less than 2% of $4900-billion in revenue.
World oil prices eased further from the historic $100-a-barrel level on Monday after weak US employment data fanned worries about recession and demand in the world’s biggest energy consumer, dealers said. In afternoon trade, New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, was 71 cents lower at $97,20 a barrel.
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/ 31 December 2007
Gold rallied to a seven-week high on Monday and close to a record high of on speculative buying driven by a weak United States dollar and tensions in Pakistan following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Gold has risen more than 30% this year — the biggest annual gain since 1979.
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/ 28 December 2007
World oil traded near $97 a barrel in Asia on Friday, its highest level in a month, following the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, dealers said. They said the rise in prices was also supported by a United States report showing a higher-than-expected drop in US crude stockpiles.
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/ 26 December 2007
Self-confessed chocoholic Maria Sharapova will get a chance to taste some post-Christmas forbidden fruit in the privacy of her hotel as she arrives on Friday in Singapore for a weekend tennis exhibition. The Russian former number one is facing compatriot Anna Chakvetadze on Sunday night.
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/ 19 December 2007
A Singapore national serviceman who sashayed into a lift one morning wearing only a pink bikini has been handed a day’s jail and a $7 529 fine by a court in the city-state. Tan Wen Zhong (21) admitted to five charges, including "outraging the modesty" of the woman who shared the lift with him.