Author: Press Room

“POSTPONED” MNC chief and Trump ally Hary Tanoesoedibjo – who bought the Nirwana in 2013 – has previously cited lower consumer spending during the COVID-19 pandemic in explaining delays, but the project’s troubles predate the outbreak. Edwin Darmasetiawan, director of MNC’s property arm, refused to confirm how many Indonesians were sacked when the development was abruptly sidelined. He said “financial matters” had caused the years-long delays and said he hoped it would still be developed within two years, even though no work has begun. “I don’t see this project as a failure, but as postponed,” he told AFP. “We have…

James Edgar channeled entrepreneurial spirit and a gift for making people smile into changing the way the world celebrates Christmas.Edgar was the first department-store Santa Claus. An immigrant from Scotland, he opened the James Edger & Co. department store in downtown Brockton, Massachusetts in the late 1800s. He had a knack for clever promotion, a love of children and a patriotic zeal for hs adopted homeland, said Johnny Merian, a longtime Brockton businessman, who lights up like a child seeing Santa for the first time when he discusses the local legend.MEET THE AMERICAN WHO WAS THE FIRST PAID PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYER: PUDGE…

Cycling – TrackStars of the Track Champions League, including Laura Kenny and Harrie Lavreysen, explain what makes the Lee Valley velodrome – made famous by the London 2012 Olympics – so special. The UCI Track Champions League produced a very memorable season two, with Laura Kenny joining the party. The event is live and on-demand on discovery+. We also have extensive coverage across eurosport.com.00:02:10, 3 minutes ago Source: Euro Sports

Dina Boluarte has been sworn in as Peru’s new president after left-wing leader Pedro Castillo was removed in an impeachment trial and arrested following his attempt to illegally shut down Congress. The opposition-led legislature on Wednesday afternoon overwhelmingly voted in favour of removing Castillo, who earlier in the day had announced plans to “temporarily” dissolve the legislature and rule by decree. Castillo had said the move aimed to “reestablish the rule of law and democracy” in Peru but it was widely condemned by opposition leaders and others, including Boluarte, his vice president, as an attempted “coup”. Congress asked 60-year-old Boluarte…

Australian Local Government Association president Linda Scott says, “more innovative” approaches must be implemented when fixing flood damaged roads, so they are more “resilient”. “Road engineers describe water on roads as being like kryptonite, it really is just so destructive for the materials,” Ms Scott told Sky News Australia. “What we’re looking at in local government is ways of building a circular economy, re-using tires for example to build materials that can better withstand the pressures of water.” Source: Sky News

The upward channel triggered a rebound in Bitcoin price above the $16,740 level on December 09, and it is now trading above the $17,200 level. Similarly, Ethereum has risen above the $1,280 level ahead of the US PPI figures, which are regarded as the most important economic event.On December 9, major cryptocurrencies traded in the green, with the global crypto market capitalization rising 2.42% to $859.97 billion in the previous day. Over the last 24 hours, overall crypto market volume grew 1.75% to $37.47 billion.Let’s take a look at the top 24-hour altcoin gainers and losers.Top Altcoin Gainers and LosersTrust…

Good morning. The US Federal Trade Commission wants to block Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, citing (among other concerns) fears that Activision’s Call of Duty will become exclusive to Microsoft’s Xbox. But the real problem with Call of Duty is that it sucks. Minimising its player base, in our opinion, is a social good. Regrettably, the FTC has accomplished just the opposite. Email us your gaming hate list: robert.armstrong@ft.com and ethan.wu@ft.com.The crypto flame-outShould regulators let crypto burn? Our view, crudely stated, is yes. These poorly understood tokens should not be legitimated by financial regulators. Unhedged readers tend to agree. Alas…

HOUSTON — A multitude of security lapses such as inadequate strip searches, poorly applied restraints, a staffing shortage and an environment where correctional officers became complacent created the conditions that led to the May escape of a Texas inmate, resulting in the deaths of five people, according to two reviews of the incident that were released Thursday.After Gonzalo Lopez, 46, fled a prison bus on May 12 during an escape in which he was able to break free from his restraints and cut through a caged area of the vehicle. He remained free for three weeks. Authorities fatally shot Lopez on June 2 but not before…

China is starting to under-report coronavirus cases and fatalities, which experts warn is obscuring the scale and severity of the health crisis just as the world’s most populous country enters its deadliest phase of the pandemic.Official statistics on Friday revealed no new deaths and only 16,363 locally transmitted coronavirus cases in China, less than half the peak caseload reported last month.That is despite a stunning U-turn over the past week to relax President Xi Jinping’s heavy-handed pandemic controls, which means the virus is certain to spread.The sweeping changes to Xi’s zero-Covid policy allow asymptomatic or mild cases to isolate at…

Just 8 per cent of UK adults have taken financial advice over the past year and the regulator thinks this isn’t enough. The Financial Conduct Authority wants to make financial advice more accessible, by introducing a new type of “core advice” for people with about £10,000 to invest. In theory, this is a great idea, reducing the minimum level of assets required to access advice from around £50,000 now. Who could be against widening access to professional financial advice from the 3.1mn people in the UK who had an ongoing relationship with a financial adviser at the end of 2020, to…