SINGAPORE – UK-based quality assurance firm Intertek said on Tuesday that one of its employees had been arrested by Singapore police in connection with an investigation into oil theft at Shell’s biggest refinery.
Muhammad Ali bin Muhammad Nor faces two charges of conspiring with Shell employees as part of a scheme to steal oil from Shell’s Palau Bukom industrial site, court documents show.
“We understand Muhammad Ali who worked for Intertek in Singapore is one of the suspects who has been arrested by the Singapore police as part of the criminal investigation,” a spokesman for the company said.
A fan-produced film titled Voldemort: Origins of the Heir, which has been approved by Warner Bros., has now been uploaded to YouTube.
As reported by Independent, Harry Potter fans have been anxiously waiting for the 50-minute movie for months, but it can now be seen on YouTube for free .
Origins of the Heir was originally funded through Kickstarter, when the Hollywood studio contacted the filmmakers midway through production, saying they would only allow them to continue if they agreed to release the movie for free.
Directed by Gianmaria Pezzato, the Italian movie has been redubbed in English.
Pezzato earlier explained that the movie looks into Lord Voldemort’s past.
The story seeks to explore how Voldemort, born Tom Marvolo Riddle, became He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and is inspired by JK Rowling’s sixth novel of the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
“We wondered, what made Tom Riddle become Voldemort?” Pezzato said. The director added that he wanted to know what happened in the years Riddle was at Hogwarts and when he came back.
“There are some clues in the books which have not been transposed at all in the movies, but a lot goes unspoken. This is the story we want to tell: the rise of the Dark Lord before Harry Potter and his first demise.”
SINGAPORE – Two Airbnb hosts charged in Singapore with unauthorised short-term letting of four apartments are expected to plead guilty next month, their lawyer said on Tuesday.
The two men face four charges under the city-state’s Planning Act for renting out four units in a condominium for less than six months without permission from Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, according to court documents last month.
They are liable to a fine of up to $200,000 per offence if found guilty.
Their lawyer, Wong Soo Chih, said they are expected to be sentenced on Feb. 27.
Singapore passed new rules last year giving officials the right to force their way into homes to check whether residents were renting them out illegally.
Airbnb says it has 8,700 listings in Singapore, where high population density and limited land area mean a majority of the 5.6 million people live in apartments.
The sudden death of Dolores O’Riordan, the 46-year-old lead singer of the popular Irish rock band The Cranberries, shocked many Chinese fans and fellow musicians after hearing of O’Riordan’s passing on Monday.
The band, especially the lead singer’s voice and singing style, has influenced many Chinese musicians.
One is Chinese pop icon Faye Wong, whose covering of The Cranberries’ song Dreams helped people see her as a pioneering singer when her career started in Hong Kong in 1994.
Her imitation of O’Riordan’s silky voice, feverish high pitch and willowy whisper, as well as a cropped haircut, enabled her to blow into the Chinese pop music industry like a fresh breeze. The recording immediately distinguished Wong from other female singers.
Other Chinese musicians, who were inspired by the band and the lead singer, include Beijing-based singer-songwriter Li Yuchun, who covered the band’s hit song Zombie on her 2005 talent show.
Founded in 1989 by brothers Mike and Noel Hogan, the band changed their name from The Cranberries Saw Us to The Cranberries after vocalist O’Riordan joined. They soon became one of the most popular Irish acts in the United States with their debut album, Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?, which sold more than 5 million copies in the US alone.
O’Riordan, who was born and grew up in Limerick, Ireland, began to collaborate with other musicians, launching a solo album in 2007. Noel Hogan started a new band and turned to producing. The other two members also continued their careers as musicians and producers by working with other bands.
The members didn’t set a timeline for a reunion until 2009, when O’Riordan called Mike and Noel Hogan about doing a casual performance with her. They found it felt good to play the old songs again.
Photo: Reuters
Shortly after their reunion, the band gave two concerts in Shanghai and Beijing in July 2011 as part of their Asian tour that year, their first on the Chinese mainland. The band performed unforgettable tunes, including Ode to My Family, Dreams, Zombie and Linger, as well as four tracks from their then-upcoming album, Roses, released in 2012.
“We are really excited about going to China,” said guitarist Noel Hogan in an interview with China Daily before the band left for China in 2011.
“Everything goes right for The Cranberries, the timing, the people and the music,” he said of the band’s reunion.
In 2017, The Cranberries had to cancel their China tour due to a “back problem” O’Riordan had. The band apologised to fans and wrote they were disappointed in the turn of events.
“Thanks for the many good wishes to Dolores posted on our social pages since the announcement of the cancellation of all our summer shows up to mid-August due to her ongoing back problems,” the band wrote on their Sina Weibo account June 19.
The band opened their Sina Weibo account, which has nearly 90,000 followers, before they came to China in 2011.
“I visited Dolores in Limerick, who was recovering from back problems. Along with Dolores and Noel, the guitarist of the band, we talked a lot about the past and future. Dolores is almost recovered and she hoped to return to China in November. She loves China,” wrote renowned Chinese singer-songwriter Gao Xiaosong Sept 3, on his Sina Weibo account with more than 40 million followers.
After hearing the death of O’Riordan, he wrote “it was shocking and sad to hear the news about the passing of Dolores O’Riordan. I cannot believe our meeting last year was the last goodbye. I miss her singing, which is so unforgettable and unique.”
He also notes that she once used the singer’s hit song, Zombie, to open his online talk show, Xiao Shuo, to pay tribute to the legendary singer.
Other Chinese fans shared their memories and favourite Cranberries lyrics online.
“Rest in peace, Dolores. You will be missed,” wrote a Chinese netizen.
“I bought all the CDs of The Cranberries when I was in university and now I listened to Zombie on repeat. What a voice and what a big loss to the music world,” wrote another.
SINGAPORE: Singapore could potentially become a test-bed to develop exportable models for food and agriculture technology (agritech) solutions, according to Senior Minister of State for National development and Trade & Industry Koh Poh Koon on Tuesday (Jan 16).
Speaking at the 3rd annual Indoor Agriculture Conference (Ag-Con) Asia, Dr Koh said Singapore’s environment can help companies expand into global markets.
“We are a well-positioned and efficient logistics hub, our stringent food safety standards also generate consumer trust and allow companies exporting from Singapore to enjoy premium quality branding,” said Dr Koh.
Dr Koh speaking to participants at the conference. (Photo: Vanessa Lim)
He added that the government is also currently studying the feasibility of co-locating various food-related industries in a cluster in future.
Beyond this, Dr Koh highlighted that Singapore has also cultivated deep research and development expertise in fields such as biotech and precision engineering, which can help to speed up the development of the precision agriculture and agri-biotech sector.
“We already have players in these areas like Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, which has strong capabilities in plant sciences and farming systems,” said Dr Koh, adding that Singapore’s strong intellectual property framework protects research findings and innovations.
As new industries may face regulatory hurdles, Dr Koh added that government agencies will work closely with companies to overcome these challenges.
Pointing to indoor farms as an example, he said that agencies had made provisions for companies to use private industrial land to kick start operations as they needed space. In addition, account managers were also introduced to facilitate interactions between the companies and other regulatory agencies.
A man was seen arguing with SBS Transit staff at a bus stop in Pasir Ris Central on Jan 12.
Stomp contributor CC, a crowd control officer who was deployed at the bus stop, recorded a video of the incident and sent it to Stomp.
According to the Stomp contributor, the dispute is believed to have been started when the man had missed a shuttle bus.
At around 1.15am, the man was waiting for Bus 7 when he missed the last bus as by the time the bus had arrived at the bus stop, it was already off service.
“There is no MRT due to early closure. The bus comes from Aljunied. By the time it reached Pasir Ris, it was already too late,” said the Stomp contributor.
In a video he sent to Stomp, the man is seen arguing with SBS Transit staff at the bus stop.
“You walk back with me… We take cab we have to pay (for) ourselves you know,” said the man.
The Stomp contributor said that the man wanted the SBS staff to pay his taxi fare.
He told Stomp, “We were very worried as he looked a little drunk. So, we had backup at the bus stop just in case.”
According to the Stomp contributor, the staff then offered to call for a taxi and the man brought them to a road divider nearby despite the fact that it was raining.
A man in a black shirt said to be from Certis CISCO also came in to try to help resolve the matter.
“The SBS staff even offered to pay for his taxi fare just to end the argument there,” said Stomp contributor CC.
However, the man continued arguing with them in the rain.
It is unclear what happened after that.
“Even though SBS is taking the blame, the early closure of the MRT is not their fault,” added the Stomp contributor.
Stomp has reached out to SBS Transit for a statement regarding this incident.
You see people walking their dogs all the time, but how often do you see a bird on a leash?
Stomp contributor JL was outraged when she saw a woman ‘walking’ her pet bird at Costa Ris, an estate located in Pasir Ris, yesterday afternoon (Jan 14) at around 4.30pm.
A video filmed by JL shows the yellow bird attached to a leash that the woman was holding and being dragged along the ground when it did not walk by itself.
The woman’s female companion also appeared to give the creature a nudge with her foot.
JL told Stomp: “I felt bad when I saw the woman treating a bird like this.
“Is this a new way of walking birds?
“The woman had tied a string to the bird’s leg and kept pulling it.
“The bird kept making noise. Both women kept smiling.”
While walking your pet bird is not altogether uncommon, most people simply use a harness to secure the bird to their own bodies and let the bird perch on somewhere comfortable, such as their shoulders or hands.
Meanwhile, placing your bird on a leash and letting it walk freely should look like this:
Corkie the bird on a leash.
The animal should not be forced to move or handled roughly.
What do you think of the two women’s actions? Let us know in the comments below.
DUBLIN – Dolores O’Riordan, the lead singer of Irish rock group The Cranberries, died suddenly on Monday (Jan 15) at the age of 46 during a recording trip to London, her publicist said.
The cause of death was unclear.
O’Riordan’s distinctive Irish lilt and yodel helped fuel the Cranberries’ rapid rise in the early 1990s with global hits Linger and Zombie.
The band went on to sell over 40 million records to become Ireland’s second-best-selling rock band after U2.
Irish President Michael D. Higgins described O’Riordan’s death as a big loss to Irish music, saying her influence was “immense”.
But a naturally reserved singer, O’Riordan often struggled with fame, leaving her native Ireland for several years to avoid the spotlight. During her separation from her husband in 2014, she was arrested for attacking a police officer.
The singer’s publicist said she died during a short recording trip to London, but declined to comment on the cause of death.
“Family members are devastated to hear the breaking news and have requested privacy at this very difficult time,” the publicist, Lindsey Holmes, said in a statement.
O’Riordan is survived by two daughters and a son.
Police in London said a woman in her 40s was pronounced dead early on Monday at a hotel on Park Lane in central London.
A spokesman said police were continuing inquiries into the death, which was being treated as “unexplained”.
The woman had yet to be formally identified, he said.
The Cranberries shot to fame with their 1993 debut album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? after the hit song Linger was picked up by MTV. The band’s first three albums sold a combined 28 million copies.
But the strain on O’Riordan, who was so shy that she performed with her back to the audience during some early concerts, was also becoming clear, with the band cutting short a tour in 1996 citing exhaustion and disillusionment.
O’Riordan left the Cranberries in 2003 and recorded two solo albums, before the band reformed in 2009.
O’Riordan pleaded guilty to headbutting and spitting at an Irish police officer in 2014 following an alleged air rage incident.
Last year, the Cranberries cancelled a number of concerts in North America and Europe, saying O’Riordan was suffering from back problems.
British pop band Duran Duran, whose tour manager, Don Burton, was O’Riordan’s husband from 1994 until they separated in 2014 and was father to her children, said in a twitter post that they were “crushed” by the news.
My first time hearing Dolores O’Riordan’s voice was unforgettable. It threw into question what a voice could sound like in that context of Rock. I’d never heard somebody use their instrument in that way. Shocked and saddened to hear of her passing, thoughts are with her family.
