NEWS
Around Asia Pacific in seven stories… FOOD & DRINK
SPORTS
CONTROVERSY OVER THE BEIJING WINTER OLYMPICS
DOMINO’S DRONE DELIVERY EXPANSION GLOBAL PIZZA CHAIN Domino’s says that it is preparing to extend its drone delivery service in New Zealand and reassures its employees that delivery driver jobs are not in danger. The company achieved its first drone-delivered pizza order back in 2016, and has now made a deal with SkyDrop, a drone delivery company,
for further trials in the country. SkyDrop has developed a faster, safer and quieter drone that can carry up to 3.5 kilogrammes in its payload. According to Domino’s, drones will be key to the future of pizza deliveries, however it would not come at the expense of company drivers who are integral to the business.
THE BEIJING WINTER Olympics 2022 is underway, having started on 04-February. The Games will go on until 20-February, with around 3,000 athletes competing in 109 events. The government and businesses in China are spending almost $4 billion on the Games, however, the event has caused controversy in a variety of ways. Among worries regarding COVID-19 there are environmental concerns, such as China’s use of 1.2 million cubic metres of artificial snow across the Games, and even claims of poor performance conditions from athletes. A number of countries have declared a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics due to concerns regarding China’s human rights record, meaning that some top officials will not attend the Games.
TRANSPORT
CHINA UNVEILS HIGH-SPEED TRAIN PROTOTYPE CHINA HAS UNVEILED a prototype high-speed Maglev train that can reach top speeds of 620 kilometres (385 miles) per hour. China is the current leader when it comes to the largest high-speed rail network (over 37,000 kilometres) 6 | APAC Outlook issue 54
with its first Maglev train having begun operation in 2003. The new sleek 21-metre-long vessel was revealed in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, in January and runs on high-temperature superconducting (HTS) power that makes the train seem as if it is hovering across the magnetised tracks. According to experts who worked on the prototype, the train may be “operational” within 10 years’ time.
