Philippines' inflation at 1.4% in June
Economists in a Reuters poll had expected inflation of 1.5 per cent last month, within the central bank's forecast range of 1.1 to 1.9 per cent.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was unchanged at 2.2 per cent in June.
Inflation in the first half of the year averaged 1.8 per cent, within the central bank's 2 per cent to 4 per cent target for the year. REUTERS
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AsiaOne
42 minutes ago
- AsiaOne
Regulators warned Air India Express about delay on Airbus engine fix, forging records, Asia News
NEW DELHI — India's aviation watchdog reprimanded Air India's budget carrier in March for not timely changing engine parts of an Airbus A320 as directed by European Union's aviation safety agency, and falsifying records to show compliance, a government memo showed. In a statement, Air India Express told Reuters it acknowledged the error to the Indian watchdog and undertook "remedial action and preventive measures". Air India has been under intense scrutiny since the June Boeing Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad which killed all but one of the 242 people onboard. The world's worst aviation disaster in a decade is still being investigated. The engine issue in the Air India Express' Airbus was raised on Tuesday (March 18), months before the crash. But the regulator has this year also warned parent Air India for breaching rules for flying three Airbus planes with overdue checks on escape slides, and in June warned it about "serious violations" of pilot duty timings. Air India Express is a subsidiary of Air India, which is owned by the Tata Group. It has more than 115 aircraft and flies to more than 50 destinations, with 500 daily flights. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency in 2023 issued an airworthiness directive to address a "potential unsafe condition" on CFM International LEAP-1A engines, asking for replacement of some components such as engine seals and rotating parts, saying some manufacturing deficiencies had been found. The agency's directive said "this condition, if not corrected, could lead to failure of affected parts, possibly resulting in high energy debris release, with consequent damage to, and reduced control of, the aeroplane". The Indian government's confidential memo in March sent to the airline, seen by Reuters, said that surveillance by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed the parts modification "was not complied" on an engine of an Airbus A320 "within the prescribed time limit". "In order to show that the work has been carried out within the prescribed limits, the AMOS records have apparently been altered/forged," the memo added, referring to the Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Operating System software used by airlines to manage maintenance and airworthiness. The "mandatory" modification was required on Air India Express' VT-ATD plane, the memo added. That plane typically flies on domestic routes and some international destinations such as Dubai and Muscat, according to the AirNav Radar website. The lapse "indicates that accountable manager has failed to ensure quality control," it added. Air India Express told Reuters its technical team missed the scheduled implementation date for parts replacement due to the migration of records on its monitoring software, and fixed the problem soon after it was identified. It did not give dates of compliance or directly address DGCA's comment about records being altered, but said that after the March memo it took "necessary administrative actions", which included removing the quality manager from their position and suspending the deputy continuing airworthiness manager. The DGCA and the European safety agency did not respond to Reuters queries. Airbus and CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric and Safran, also did not respond. The lapse was first flagged during a DGCA audit in October 2024 and the plane in question took only a few trips after it was supposed to replace the CFM engine parts, a source with direct knowledge said. "Such issues should be fixed immediately. It's a grave mistake. The risk increases when you are flying over sea or near restricted airpsace," said Vibhuti Singh, a former legal expert at the India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. The Indian government told parliament in February that authorities warned or fined airlines in 23 instances for safety violations last year. Three of those cases involved Air India Express, and eight Air India. [[nid:719732]]
Straits Times
43 minutes ago
- Straits Times
UK's Palestine Action bids to pause government ban
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox People wave Palestinian flags during a protest after British lawmakers voted to ban pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, outside Downing Street in London, Britain, July 2, 2025. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett LONDON - Pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action's co-founder on Friday asked a London court to pause the British government's decision to ban the group under anti-terrorism laws, with her lawyers arguing the move was an "authoritarian abuse" of the law. British lawmakers decided to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation this week, in response to its activists breaking into a military base and damaging two planes in protest at what it says is Britain's support for Israel. Proscription would officially designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, on a par with Islamic State or al Qaeda, making it a crime to support or belong to the groups. Palestine Action has increasingly targeted Israel-linked companies in Britain with direct action, but critics of the government's move say property damage should not be equated with terrorism. Huda Ammori, who helped found Palestine Action in 2020, asked London's High Court to pause the group's proscription – which comes into force at midnight – pending a full legal challenge due to be heard later this month. Her lawyer Raza Husain told London's High Court: "This is the first time in our history that a direct action, civil disobedience group which does not advocate for violence has been sought to be proscribed as terrorists." Husain described the government's decision as "an ill-considered, discriminatory, authoritarian abuse of statutory power that is alien to the basic tradition of the common law". REUTERS Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore $3b money laundering case: 9 financial institutions handed $27.45m in MAS penalties over breaches Singapore Seller's stamp duty hike will curb short-term speculation; market effect likely minimal: Analysts Singapore NTUC says some foreigners taking on platform work illegally, calls for work group address issue World Trump says countries to start paying tariffs on Aug 1, floats range of 10% to 70% Singapore Sengkang murder: Man accused of killing elderly mother escorted back to crime scene Singapore Tourism bump from Lady Gaga concerts raked in up to estimated $150m for Singapore economy Singapore Jail for man who recruited 2 Japanese women for prostitution at MBS Life Book review: OB Markers sequel Ink And Influence makes catch-22 proposal for The Straits Times
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Germany plans six-month voluntary military service, sources say
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox BERLIN - Germany plans to introduce a voluntary six-month military service scheme, sources familiar with the plan said on Friday, as Berlin tries to train more reservists and bolster national defences over security concerns about Russia. Volunteers would be sought for training in simple tasks such as guard duties under the scheme but a military draft to recruit more people could be considered if uptake were deemed too low, the sources said. With European states that are in NATO also under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to invest more in their own security since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius wants to increase the number of soldiers in service from 180,000 to 260,000. Germany hopes the voluntary six-month scheme would help double the number of trained reservists from the current level of around 100,000 and that some of the volunteers would go on to have a career in active service, the sources said. The defence ministry declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Participants in Germany's planned scheme will have the opportunity to extend their homeland security training to obtain a truck driver's licence or train as a tank driver, the sources said. New improvised barracks are also planned so that recruits can train closer to home, they added. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore $3b money laundering case: 9 financial institutions handed $27.45m in MAS penalties over breaches Singapore Seller's stamp duty hike will curb short-term speculation; market effect likely minimal: Analysts Singapore NTUC says some foreigners taking on platform work illegally, calls for work group address issue World Trump says countries to start paying tariffs on Aug 1, floats range of 10% to 70% Singapore Sengkang murder: Man accused of killing elderly mother escorted back to crime scene Singapore Tourism bump from Lady Gaga concerts raked in up to estimated $150m for Singapore economy Singapore Jail for man who recruited 2 Japanese women for prostitution at MBS Life Book review: OB Markers sequel Ink And Influence makes catch-22 proposal for The Straits Times The sources said Pistorius wants to have the legislation passed by the end of next month, with the first recruits to start training from May 2026. Questions remain about the plan, including who would be drafted for compulsory service if the government did not meet its recruitment targets. This element of the plan is also controversial within the minister's own Social Democratic Party. Germany ended its previous compulsory military service programme in 2011. Efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine have faltered, with Trump reporting no progress in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Russian officials have accused Western leaders of invoking a "fabricated 'Russian threat'" to justify increased defence spending. REUTERS
