Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
PARIS, France (AFP) — The French government said Tuesday it would lower the speed limit on two-lane highways to 80 kilometers per hour from 90 kilometers (55 miles) per hour, hoping to reverse an alarming rise in road deaths in recent years. Several previous governments had toyed with the idea as a means of reducing highway deaths, which reached nearly 3,500 in 2016, but backed off in the face of widespread public opposition. About 55 […]
PALEMBANG, Indonesia (AFP) — At least 13 people died after a passenger boat capsized off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, two days after another ferry accident in the archipelago killed at least nine, police said Friday. The boat was carrying 55 people along the Musi river when it hit a large wave and sank amid bad weather Wednesday, South Sumatra water police chief Robinson Siregar said. He said the police were still searching for […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Four Singaporean men were Friday charged over a scandal involving contracts for the metro worth almost Sg$10 million ($7.4 million), the latest problem to hit the financial hub’s train network. The prosecution of the group, which included former and current employees of metro operator SMRT, came after a series of breakdowns on the train system and a collision that injured dozens. The accidents have caused anger in the city-state where public […]
by Martin Abbugao / Elizabeth Law Agence France Presse SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — In the battle against the car, space-starved Singapore has deployed road tolls, massive spending on public transport, and a licence fee that bumps the cost of an average vehicle to over $80,000. But urban planners looking for solutions to gridlock may find the draconian measures hard to replicate in other less-compliant cities. Singapore has gone further than any other major city to […]
by Julie Charpentrat Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Uber’s tieup with Japanese tech giant SoftBank suggests the ridesharing giant is set to come of age in the business world, but it still faces a long road ahead. The deal is giving the world’s most valuable startup an additional $1 billion in capital and could allow SoftBank to acquire as much as 14 percent of Uber over time. While Uber has become a global phenomenon […]
by Glenn Chapman Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Waymo on Tuesday said that its self-driving cars are hitting the road without anyone behind the wheel as the Alphabet subsidiary steers toward launching an automated ride service. The subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet has been testing autonomous cars for years, but with a driver behind the wheel to take over if needed. Waymo chief executive John Krafcik used the Web Summit in Lisbon to announce […]
SINGAPORE (AFP) — Singapore, one of the most expensive places in the world to buy a vehicle, has announced it will freeze the number of private cars on its roads from next year but vowed to expand public transport. The growth cap for all passenger cars and motorcycles will be cut from 0.25 percent a year to zero with effect from February, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said. The affluent city-state of 5.6 million people […]
Reuters — Commuters rejoyce! A vehicle travelling above a central reservation line may become the fastest way to travel by public transport in the future. Dahir Semenov, a Turkish engineer of Russian origin and his team have come up with a new concept – a two wheel, gyroscopic vehicle travelling along a suspended monorail. Dahir’s team of twenty engineers have in the past designed futuristic buses and trains and the team is currently working on […]
by Glenn Chapman Agence France-Presse LAGUNA BEACH, United States (AFP) — Baidu chief executive Robin Li on Tuesday said the Chinese internet giant will have a self-driving bus on the road soon as it races for a lead in autonomous vehicles. Baidu is collaborating with an array of companies on autonomous cars, and is working with a large bus maker in China to have a self-driving bus running a route by next year, Li said […]
by Jean-Baptiste OUBRIER Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — James Dyson announced Tuesday he was investing £2.0 billion ($2.7 billion, 2.3 billion euro) into developing an electric car by 2020, a new venture for the British inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner. The 70-year-old British entrepreneur said work began two and a half years ago on a project which he hopes will help tackle the scourge of air pollution. “Dyson has begun work […]
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Dubai has edged closer to its goal of launching a pioneering hover-taxi service, with the authorities announcing a successful “concept” flight was made on Monday without passengers. Safety features for the two-seater air taxi include emergency parachutes and nine independent battery systems, according to Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA). It said the prototype, supplied by Germany-based Volocopter, can fly for 30 minutes at a maximum speed of 100 […]
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Uber said late Tuesday that it has hired Expedia boss Dara Khosrowshahi as its new chief executive. Khosrowshahi will be at Uber’s headquarters in San Francisco for an ‘all-hands’ gathering to meet workers at the controversy-battered company. “We are delighted to announce that Uber’s Board has voted unanimously to appoint Dara Khosrowshahi to be our new CEO,” Uber executives said in an email sent to employees late Tuesday. Khosrowshahi […]
