Tech shocks to industry have only just begun
It used to take hundreds of men years to do the kind of metal bending this takes. But in this massive building, a little more than the size of a football field, I counted fewer than two dozen workers. They were directing robotic welding arms to carve massive pieces of steel in a fraction of the time that hand blasting takes. Virtual-reality helmets helped them to exactly match construction on new builds to parts yet to be fitted, something that used to involve guesswork and paper blueprints. Even painters were wearing sci-fi type 'exosuits' (think Matt Damon in the movie Elysium) to make their jobs exponentially easier and more comfortable.
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Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
With six months to go, 2026 Winter Games organisers say they'll be ready
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox ROME – Six months before the start of the Winter Olympics, Italian organisers say that, after years of ups and downs, they are on schedule. 'Preparations are progressing steadily and according to the timeline we have set,' Andrea Varnier, the chief executive officer of Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee, told AFP. The Olympic opening ceremony is on Feb 6, though curling kicks off the action two days earlier. The Paralympics open a month later on March 6, though curling again breaks the ice two days beforehand. 'We are currently in the core phase of operational implementation,' said Varnier. Simico, the public company responsible for delivering the Olympic facilities, last week promised that 'all the planned sports construction projects will be completed before the start of the Olympics'. Organisers have made a point of delivering a low-cost Winter Games after recent extravangances. Sochi, in Russia in 2014, cost at least US$40 billion (S$51.54 billion). Pyeongchang, in South Korea in 2018, came in at over US$12 billion. The Covid-hit Games in Beijing in 2022 officially cost $US4 billion, but financial analysts said that including infrastructure costs put the total at around US$38 billion. Milano-Cortina estimate their final bill will be €5.2 billion ($7.73 billion). Of that €3.5 billion is going on infrastructure and 1.7 billion on staging the Games. The Games are using a host of existing venues – emphasising the point by holding the closing ceremony in the almost 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheatre in Verona. Organisers say that avoiding new construction reduces not only costs but environmental impact. This approach also means the Games will stretch across northern Italy from Cortina in the Dolomites in the east 350 kilometres to the western suburbs of Milan, with other 'clusters' spread through the Alps. 'As with any complex global event, challenges are part of the process,' said Varnier. 'We are moving forward with confidence.' One of the few new venues will be briefly the Milano Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena, before assuming its intended role as the multi-purpose Eventim Arena after the Games. While organisers have managed to avoid being lumbered with a little-used speed-skating track by temporarily converting two exhibition halls at the Milan fair grounds, another group of sports with few participants created a political and construction headache. Because Italy did not have a track for the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton events, organisers considered using existing sites in Austria or Switzerland. Matteo Salvini, the second-in-command and Minister of Transport in Giorgia Meloni's hard-right government, insisted in late 2023 that the events be held in Italy. That meant a breakneck race to build a track in Cortina. It was completed just in time for pre-approval in March. Accommodation, which often poses a logistical and financial problem for Olympic organisers, seems to be locked up. The Milan Village, six seven-storey buildings to be converted into university dorms after the Games, will be delivered in 'early October' despite the recent legal troubles of its developer, the Coima group. In Cortina, 377 prefabricated modules will be installed by the end of October. While it is not clear if Italy's ski star Federica Brignone, who won the overall World Cup and a world title last season but smashed her left leg, will be fit to compete, the organisers revealed in July the design of the medals she would be chasing. They will weigh 420 grams in bronze and 500 grams in gold and in silver. The designer promised the medals will endure better than a few of those from the 2024 Paris Games. Some 220 medals, which contained a small piece of scrap metal from the Eiffel Tower, had to be replaced because they quickly turned black or rusted. 'We cannot allow what happened in Paris to happen again,' said their designer Raffaella Panie. That leaves just one unknown. The Italian meteorological service, contacted by AFP, said it was unable to predict whether there would be enough snow next February. The organisers said they were not worried. 'We'll be ready,' they said. AFP
Business Times
a day ago
- Business Times
Italian regulator hits Shein with 1-million euro greenwashing fine
[ROME] Italy's competition authority (AGCM) imposed a one million euro (S$1.5 million) fine on China-founded fast fashion online retailer Shein on Monday (Aug 4) for misleading customers on the environmental impact of its products. This is Shein's second financial sanction by a European competition authority in little more than a month, after France fined the company 40 million euros on Jul 3 over fake discounts and misleading environmental claims. The Italian fine was imposed on Infinite Styles Services Limited, a Dublin-based company that operates Shein's website in Europe, following a 'greenwashing' investigation by AGCM launched last September. Shein did not immediately respond to a request for comment. AGCM said the environmental sustainability and social responsibility messages on Shein's website 'were sometimes vague, generic, and/or overly emphatic, and in other cases omitted and misleading.' Shein's claims on circular system design and product recyclability 'were found to be false or at the very least confusing', and the green credentials of its 'evoluSHEIN by design' collection were overstated, the regulator said. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Shein promotes the 'evoluSHEIN by design' collection as clothes made using more sustainable and responsible manufacturing. AGCM said consumers could be misled to think that the collection was made with eco-friendly materials and fully recyclable, 'a fact that, considering the fibres used and currently existing recycling systems, is untrue'. The authority also took issue with Shein's 'vague and generic' commitments to cut greenhouse emissions by 25 per cent by 2030 and to net zero by 2050, noting they contradicted its increase in emissions in 2023 and 2024. The Italian regulator said its overall assessment was influenced by an 'increased duty of care' falling on Shein, 'because it operates in a highly polluting sector and with highly polluting methods' such as fast and super-fast fashion. AGCM is in charge of consumer protection as well as competition. When AGCM's investigation was launched last year, Shein said it was 'ready to cooperate openly with relevant Italian authorities, providing the necessary support and information to address any inquiries'. Founded in China, Shein is known for its cheap tops and dresses. Its treatment of workers and environmental record came under increased scrutiny last year after reports that it was planning to list its shares in London. REUTERS
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
Boeing's St. Louis union workers reject latest offer, will strike Monday
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The workers assemble Boeing's fighter jets and the MQ-25, an aerial refueling drone being developed for the US Navy. ST LOUIS - Unionised workers who assemble Boeing's fighter jets in the St. Louis area rejected Boeing's latest contract offer on Aug 3 and will strike at midnight on Aug 4, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union said. 'IAM District 837 members ... deserve a contract that reflects their skill, dedication, and the critical role they play in our nation's defense,' the union's Business Representative Tom Boelling said. Boeing said it was ready for the action. 'We are prepared for a strike and have fully implemented our contingency plan,' Boeing Air Dominance vice president and general manager Dan Gillian said in an email. 'We're disappointed our employees in St. Louis rejected an offer that featured 40 per cent average wage growth,' he added. Last week, Boeing sent a new contract offer to the union with some minor compensation changes that would benefit senior union members, according to the company. The offer also kept current overtime policies, which Boeing had proposed modifying in the last contract offer. The union had rejected the previous offer, saying that the offer was insufficient. The workers assemble Boeing's fighter jets and the MQ-25, an aerial refueling drone being developed for the US Navy. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore No plans to fully liberalise cross-border ride-hailing services between Singapore and Johor: LTA Singapore LTA, Singapore bus operators reviewing Malaysia's request to start services from JB at 4am World Trump is winning his trade war, but Americans will pay the price Singapore President Tharman meets migrant workers who saved driver of car that fell into sinkhole Singapore Singapore must stay socially progressive while conserving its cultures: President Tharman Sport A 'wake-up call': National coach Gary Tan on Singapore swimmers' performances at WCH 2025 Opinion The charm – and drawbacks – of living in a time warp in Singapore Life KPop Demon Hunters to get sequels, expanded universe to include musical, live-action remake Boeing's defense division is expanding manufacturing facilities in the St. Louis area for the new US Air Force fighter, the F-47A, after it won the contract this year. REUTERS
