Bhinneka News Online: Wednesday Briefing: Biden rushes to address global computer chip shortage

Wednesday, 24 February 2021

Wednesday Briefing: Biden rushes to address global computer chip shortage

Today's top stories

The sporting world is rocked by Tiger Woods' car crash, worries build over the global chip shortage, and an Australian sheep gets a makeover

President Joe Biden will sign an executive order today aimed at addressing a global semiconductor chip shortage that has forced U.S. automakers and other manufacturers to cut production and alarmed the White House.

Meanwhile, Taiwan chipmakers are buying water by the truckload for some of their foundries as the island widens restrictions on water supply amid a drought that could exacerbate the supply crunch.

The $1.9 trillion U.S. COVID-19 relief package would see urban states come out ahead, and rural states get less. That’s because Congress is giving greater weight to poverty and unemployment this time as it considers how to distribute money.

A grand jury in New York state voted not to indict police officers for the death of Daniel Prude, a Black man who died of asphyxiation while in police custody in March 2020 in the upstate city of Rochester.

Already in the final chapter of one of golf’s greatest careers, Tiger Woods may have penned a shocking end to that story. The winner of 15 majors was involved in a single-car crash and taken to hospital with multiple injuries yesterday.

↑ Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputies inspect the vehicle of golfer Tiger Woods, who was rushed to hospital after suffering multiple injuries, after it was involved in a single-vehicle accident in Los Angeles, February 23, 2021

WORLD

↑ Syrian defendant Eyad A. arrives to hear his verdict in the court room in Koblenz, Germany, February 24, 2021

A German court has sentenced a former member of President Bashar al-Assad’s security services to 4-1/2 years in prison for facilitating the torture of civilians, the first such verdict for crimes against humanity in the 10-year-old Syrian civil war.

Myanmar’s military-appointed foreign minister has flown into Thailand amid regional efforts to resolve a crisis that began when the army seized power. But some democracy activists fear any deal with the junta would confer legitimacy on it and its scrapping of the November election result.

India has renamed the world’s largest cricket stadium after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a move that drew immediate praise and criticism. Dedicating sports stadiums to former prime ministers is common in India, but renaming such a high-profile venue for a sitting leader is rare.

A wild and ailing sheep found in a forest in Australia, named Baarack by rescuers, has yielded a fleece weighing more than 35 kilogrammes - nearly half the weight of an adult kangaroo - after being shorn for the first time in years.

Business

The $6.2 billion-an-hour rise in the value of world stocks since March was dubbed the “mother of all asset bubbles” by analysts last week - and all of a sudden there is a high-pitched hissing sound.

Hyundai Motor will replace battery systems in some 82,000 electric vehicles globally due to fire risks - a costly $900 million recall that lays bare the thorny issue of how car and battery makers split the bill when problems arise.

In the past, shareholder votes on the environment were rare and easily brushed aside. Things could look different in the annual meeting season starting next month, when companies are set to face the most investor resolutions tied to climate change in years.

Stocks, bonds and commodities? Old hat. We take a look at the cash-flush amateurs hunting game cards, handbags and art.