Expo opens in South Korea
YEOSU, SOUTH KOREA, 14 May 2012: Tens of thousands of people flocked to South Korea’s 2012 international expo over the opening weekend of the three-month show with the theme of “The Living Ocean and Coast”.
The southern coastal city of Yeosu opened Expo 2012 to the public after four years of preparation and US$10 billion investment, with 104 participating nations showcasing their oceanic culture and science.
Ten international organisations and eight firms are also staging exhibitions at the 25-hectare (60-acre) seafront area, which features pavilions, a giant aquarium and a floating stage for performances.
Asian airlines in a bind
SINGAPORE, 14 May 2012: Premium airlines in Asia are rethinking their strategies and slashing costs as high fuel prices, global economic uncertainty and pressure from Middle East and budget carriers squeeze profits.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) reported Wednesday that its net profit for the financial year ended in March tumbled 69% to S$336 million (US$268 million), weighed down by a rare loss in the fourth quarter.
It was only SIA’s third quarterly loss in its 40-year history of uninterrupted full-year profit. The first took place during the SARS health scare in 2003 and the second during the global financial crisis in 2009.
Seoul opens three-month expo
YEOSU, South Korea, and 11 May 2012: After four years of work and US$10 billion in investment, an international expo will open Saturday at a glittering hi-tech venue on the site of a former dusty cement terminal in South Korea.
A total of 104 nations and 10 international organisations will stage exhibitions over the next three months in the city of Yeosu under the theme of “The Living Ocean and Coast”.
Organisers hope for about 10 million visitors, including up to 500,000 foreigners mainly from China and Japan, to the small south coast city.
SQ seeks partners
Singapore, 11 May 2012: Singapore Airlines said Thursday it is exploring partnerships in India and China as it looks to guard against increased competition and global economic uncertainty.
“There is always a constant look at how we can be nimble in response to changes in the market,” chief executive Goh Choon Phong told reporters a day after the group announced sharply lower profits for the fiscal year to March.
SIA’s profit slumped 69% year-on-year to S$336 million.
Emirates takes a profit dive
DUBAI, 11 May 2012: Dubai’s Emirates airline group posted a 61% slump in net profit in the year to 31 March due to unprecedented economic pressures and record high fuel prices, the company said Thursday.
Total profits for Emirates Group, including all of its subsidiaries, dropped to 2.3 billion dirhams (US$629 million) in 2011-2012 from 5.9 billion dirhams (US$1.6 billion) for the previous year, the company said.
Net profits for the airline alone stood at 1.5 billion dirhams (US$409 million), compared with 5.4 billion dirhams (US$1.5 billion) for the same period in the year before.
Air India strike halts flights
MUMBAI, 10 May 2012: The number of pilots involved in a wildcat strike at India’s national carrier Air India rose to 150 on Wednesday, as the walkout forced the cancellation of more international flights.
Some 100 pilots walked out on the first day of the strike at the debt-laden airline Tuesday and by day two the number had increased.
“About 150 pilots representing the Indian Pilots’ Guild have reported sick,” K. Swaminathan, a spokesman for Air India, told AFP.
Sukhoi plane wreckage found
CIDAHU, Indonesia, 10 May 2012: Indonesian rescuers Thursday spotted the wreckage of a missing Russian Sukhoi Superjet that disappeared in mountainous terrain during a demonstration flight with about 50 people aboard.
Russia’s first post-Soviet civilian jet vanished from radar screens south of Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on Wednesday, 50 minutes into what was meant to be a short flight to show off its capabilities to prospective buyers.
Lao Central Air and Orient Thai Airlines are two Mekong Region airlines that have said they were interested in the new Russian commercial jet, without providing details other than to say they had placed orders.
CX stock takes a dip
HONG KONG, 10 May 2012: Shares in Cathay Pacific plunged Thursday, after the Hong Kong flag carrier announced a raft of cost-cutting measures and warned of “disappointing” first-half results due to high fuel prices.
The firm, which is listed at the Hong Kong stock exchange, fell 5.54% to HK$12.62 in morning trade, while the benchmark Hang Seng Index was 0.93% lower.
Cathay said Wednesday there was “no sign of a sustained recovery” in its cargo business due to rising fuel costs, and that its 2012 financial results scheduled to be announced, 8 August “are expected to be disappointing”.
Top 10 endangered Asian historic sites
NEW YORK, 9 May 2012: The Global Heritage Fund, which promotes the preservation of historic architectural sites around the world, issued a finalised list earlier this week of the top 10 most endangered sites in Asia, some of them listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites.
On the endangered list:
1. Ayutthaya in Thailand, a former Siamese capital known as the “Venice of the East.”
2. Fort Santiago and Intramuros in the Philippines.
Hajj trip hand outs to end
NEW DELHI, 9 May 2012: India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the government to scrap subsidised travel for tens of thousands of Muslims on the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
“We hold that the policy is best done away with and it should be eliminated over 10 years,” said Justice Altamas Kabir, striking down New Delhi’s argument that pilgrims were entitled to the state help once in their lifetime.
The details of the court judgment were not immediately available.
