Singapore’s Changi Airport opened a cutting-edge terminal Tuesday with a fully automated check-in system including facial scanning and computerised baggage drop points, but some passengers struggled with the new technology.
Terminal 4, built at a cost of S$985 million, will have an annual capacity of 16 million people and is aimed at coping with an expected increase in passenger numbers through one of Asia’s top travel hubs.
It is packed with new technology, meaning passengers should in theory be able to check in and board without having to talk to airport staff.
On its first day of operations, more than 100 passengers arrived in the morning to take the inaugural service out, a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong.
But not everyone managed to get to grips with the self check-in machines, forcing travellers to use counters manned by airport staff instead.
“I think it’ll take a while for people and systems to get used to it,” Loh K Ling, who tried to use two self-service machines before giving up and going to a manned counter, told AFP.
At the boarding gate, several travellers also had trouble getting used to the facial scanning technology and were redirected to manned counters.
Changi, often voted the world’s best airport, is among hubs worldwide rolling out new technology as the fight intensifies for long-haul travellers.
Along with hubs such as Hong Kong and Dubai, Singapore is scrambling to attract the growing army of travellers – on trips such as Australia to Europe – who can choose the routing of their journeys.
A growing number of mainland Chinese are also visiting Southeast Asia, and there is competition between Singapore and other local hubs, such as Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, to attract the new passengers.
LOS ANGELES – The next season of Netflix’s award-winning “House of Cards” will be the last, a spokesman said Monday, as the series reeled over sexual misconduct allegations against its star Kevin Spacey.
The 58-year-old double Oscar winner, who plays ruthless President Francis Underwood in the hit show, is facing claims from actor Anthony Rapp that he “made a sexual advance” at a party 31 years ago while Rapp was underage.
“Season six is our last season,” a spokeswoman told AFP.
A source with knowledge of the issue told AFP however that the decision to end the series was unrelated to the allegations, having been made before they came to light.
Starring alongside Robin Wright, Spacey is also executive producer of the platform’s flagship series, which is adapted from a BBC drama of the same name and has earned 46 Emmy nominations and Golden Globes for its lead couple.
Netflix doesn’t release viewing figures. But the show has marked out its place in television history as the company’s debut in original programming, which has grown to include other highly regarded shows such as “Stranger Things” and “Orange is the New Black.”
Filming for season six is under way in Maryland, with season six expected to drop next year. No premiere date has yet been set but “House of Cards” has never debuted later than May.
Rapp, 46, told Buzzfeed that in 1986, while both he and Spacey were performing on Broadway, Spacey invited the then 14-year-old to a party at his New York home. Spacey would have been 26 at the time.
Rapp said he was in Spacey’s bedroom watching TV when Spacey, apparently drunk, came in after all the other guests had left, and lay on top of him.
“He was trying to seduce me,” Rapp told Buzzfeed. “I don’t know if I would have used that language. But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually.”
Spacey apologised on Twitter, and went on to say that Rapp’s accusation “encouraged me to address other things about my life” before confirming that he was gay.
His comments prompted a backlash from critics who accused him of deflecting from his misdeed by finally coming out, while reports suggested that he may face other accusers.
Netflix and “House of Cards” production company Media Rights Capital issued a joint statement saying they were “deeply troubled” the allegations against Spacey, who is currently not scheduled to be on set.
“In response to last night’s revelations, executives from both of our companies arrived in Baltimore this afternoon to meet with our cast and crew to ensure that they continue to feel safe and supported,” it said.
Less than two hours before he was killed, Grab driver Gerardo Maquidato Jr. sent a text message to his nephew, Mark Christian Solitario. It was to be his last.
“I’m down to my last passenger. I am coming home soon,” read Maquidato’s message, which Solitario received at 6.15pm on Thursday.
At 7.45pm, a witness said he saw a man in a white shirt pull the bloodied body of a man from the driver’s seat of a silver Toyota Innova (YV 7109) on Bonanza Street in Don Carlos Village, Pasay City.
The man left the body on the pavement before driving away in the Innova that was owned by a relative of the victim.
“I think it’s within our responsibility to do whatever we can to be able to apprehend the perpetrators of this crime. I want the cowards brought to justice as swiftly as possible,” Grab Philippines country head Brian Cu said in a statement on Monday.
He announced a P100,000 (S$7,065) reward to anyone who could provide information on the killer.
Tipsters can contact Grab through its dedicated hotline, 0917-617-8731, Cu added.
Maquidato’s wife, Brenda, and her family were informed by Pasay police about her husband’s fate on Friday morning. He had been shot in the back of the head, the bullet exiting through his left eye.
Earlier, they learned from Grab that his last completed transaction was at Dona Moning in Pasay City at 7:14 p.m. on Thursday. After that, Grab’s log showed three cancelled bookings.
Based on the police’s initial investigation, the victim’s valuables, including his wallet and ID cards, were missing.
“My husband just wanted to provide for our family. He was a very good husband,” Brenda said.
Maquidato, who would have turned 38 years old today, Oct. 31, left behind four sons, the eldest aged 16 and the youngest just 4 years old.
One of his sons said his last memory of his father was the meal they had at a fast-food restaurant after Sunday Mass.
“We only ate out whenever we had money but we did so last Sunday,” he told the Inquirer.
The youngest child, on the other hand, kept on asking Brenda when their father would wake up.
GOOD SAMARITAN
Maquidato’s act of kindness to a sickly passenger went viral last year, earning him recognition as one of Grab’s best driver-partners.
Following the killing, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said it was working with app-based transport companies to protect their drivers.
Among the early proposals are for passengers to send their photos to the transport network companies and for drivers to share their location with their loved ones.
LTFRB board member Aileen Lizada said these would be further discussed.
SINGAPORE: President Halimah Yacob welcomed Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, at the Istana on Tuesday (Oct 31) morning.
Arriving at around 10.30am, the prince received a ceremonial welcome at the Istana grounds, which included inspecting the Guard-of-Honour.
Prince Charles is on a four-day visit to Singapore. (Photo: Howard Law)
Prince Charles inspects the Guard-of-Honour at the Istana. (Photo: Howard Law)
Earlier in the week, the royal couple visited local athletes participating in the Queen’s Baton Relay, which is travelling around the world ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
President Halimah Yacob meets with Prince Charles at the Istana. (Photo: Howard Law)
This is Prince Charles’ second official visit to Singapore. (Photo: Howard Law)
The royal couple also met Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife Mdm Ho Ching while at the Istana.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife Ho Ching meet Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, at the Istana. (Photo: Howard Law)
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Prince Charles at the Istana. (Photo: Howard Law)
Mgm Ho Ching and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. (Photo: Howard Law)
This four-day visit is Prince Charles’ second official one to Singapore and a first for Camilla.
Zama, JAPAN – Japanese police have found nine bodies with their flesh stripped off and heads severed in containers in a suburban Tokyo flat, media reported Tuesday.
Police confirmed to AFP they had arrested 27-year-old Takahiro Shiraishi, who lives in the apartment in the quiet residential neighbourhood of Zama.
Police originally found two heads inside a cool box at the entrance to the apartment before making the grisly discovery of the other body parts, according to Jiji Press.
“During the course of the investigation, the heads of nine bodies have been discovered” inside various coolers and containers in the apartment, private TV network TBS said.
For the time being, police arrested Shiraishi on a charge that he dismembered one body and placed it inside a cooler, a charge that he was not contesting, according to a spokesman at Tokyo Metropolitan Police.
“He has said ‘I dismembered a body and placed it inside a cooler and poured cat litter over it. It was meant to hide the body that I killed and to hide evidence’,” the spokesman told AFP, declining to elaborate.
According to TBS, Shiraishi told police he “dumped cut flesh and organs in the trash”.
‘SMELL OF SEWAGE’
The bodies were of eight women and one man, media reported.
Jiji Press said Shiraishi had told police he chopped up the bodies in a bathroom and a saw was found in his room.
The police spokesman could not immediately confirm these reports.
The Sankei Shimbun newspaper quoted a neighbour as saying he had “smelled an odour he had never smelled before”.
“I thought it was the smell of sewage,” he said.
TBS said the body parts had been stripped of flesh.
Teams of investigators swarmed over the apartment as dozens of journalists joined curious neighbours on the narrow street.
Police used blue tarps to block views inside the two-storey building, and covered windows of the second-floor room where the bodies were discovered.
‘DIE WITH ME’
Authorities had been investigating the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman and discovered a connection between her and Shiraishi.
This woman had earlier tweeted “I’m looking for someone to die with me,” according to the Sankei Shimbun daily.
Other media said Shiraishi and the woman had connected via a website featuring information about suicides.
A CCTV image showed Shiraishi and the 23-year-old woman walking together last Monday, NHK reported.
She had been missing since September 21 and her older brother reported her disappearance to police, according to the Asahi Shimbun.
Japan prides itself on a low crime rate but is no stranger to high-profile violent crimes.
Earlier in October, a 32-year-old father was arrested on suspicion of stabbing his daughter to death. He admitted torching the house in which his wife and four other children were found dead.
In Japan’s bloodiest crime for decades, Satoshi Uematsu faces charges of killing 19 people and attempting to kill or injure 24 others at a disability centre near Tokyo in July 2016.
In 1997 a 14-year-old schoolboy decapitated an 11-year-old acquaintance and placed the head at the gates of his school.
It may be the wedding of the year, but little is known about Tuesday’s much-anticipated wedding of Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo, as the pair remain tight-lipped on the details.
The couple’s wedding is set to take place at 4 p.m. at The Shilla Seoul’s Yeong Bin Gwan, a Korean-style banquet annex that can accommodate about 300 guests. Only family and close friends will be in attendance, with the media being kept out. There will be no press conference or photo op for the media.
While a few details of the ceremony have been made public, the couple previously revealed that there will be no wedding officiant, but that a longtime friend of Song Joong-ki will host the ceremony.
Also, singer-turned-musical actress Ock Joo-hyun, Song Hye-kyo’s close friend, will sing for the couple.
The two will jet off to Europe for their honeymoon, amid expectations that they will settle down at a residence in Itaewon-dong, Seoul, that Song Joong-ki bought in January. Specific plans for the couple’s honeymoon are yet to be revealed.
All eyes are also on who will be attending what is likely a star-studded event.
The list of celebrity guests hasn’t been released, but local media have been speculating that actor Park Bo-gum, who shares the same agency as Song Joong-ki’s, and actor Lee Kwang-soo, Song’s longtime friend, are very likely to attend the wedding.
Favourite on-screen moments of Descendants of the Sun stars Song Joong Ki and Song Hye-Kyo
Other celebrities expected at Tuesday’s wedding include actor Zo In-sung, who starred in the movie “The Frozen Flower” with the groom, and actor Cha Tae-hyun, who is often described as Song Joong-ki’s lifetime mentor.
On the bride’s side, Song Hye-kyo’s close friends, including actresses Kim Hee-sun, Song Yoon-ah and actor Yoo Ah-in are expected to attend, according to media.
The celebrity-filled guest list may also include staff, production directors and writers of the hit drama series “Descendants of the Sun,” which brought the couple together.
The couple repeatedly denied rumours of a romantic relationship after starring in “Descendants of the Sun” last year, before making a surprise announcement in July that they will be tying the knot on Oct. 31. The couple is reported to have shot their wedding photos in Los Angeles last month.
Neither Song Joong-ki nor Song Hye-kyo has revealed plans for after the wedding.
Song Joong-ki, who recently starred in “The Battleship Island,” reportedly turned down several projects to spend time with his fiance and prepare for the wedding.
Song Hye-kyo, who debuted in 1996 as a model before expanding into acting, hasn’t announced plans for her next project since “Descendants of the Sun.”
The couple shared the grand prize at the KBS Drama Awards last year, as well as the award for best couple. The two also won prizes at the Baeksang Arts Awards held in June last year.
An autopsy will be performed on actor Kim Joo-hyuk who passed away after a car crash Monday afternoon in Seoul.
Gangnam Police station said Tuesday morning that it has asked the National Forensic Service to conduct an autopsy on Kim in order to verify the exact cause of his death. Police also said a court order for the autopsy was issued on Monday night.
Kim’s body was sent to NFS Tuesday morning at around 9 a.m. and the autopsy will take place on Tuesday as well, according to media reports.
Kim, 45, was driving a Mercedes-Benz SUV down Yeongdong Daero when it crashed into Hyundai Grandeur near an I-Park apartment complex in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, on Monday at around 4:30 p.m. Kim’s car then crashed into the wall of an apartment block and flipped down the stairs. Firefighters extricated Kim from the vehicle at around 5:07 p.m. and took him to Konkuk University Medical Center. Kim died at the hospital at around 6:30 p.m.
It has been reported that officials from the hospital named myocardial infarction as a possible cause that led to the car accident. Police are investigating the exact cause, while they are still searching for an electronic recording device from Kim’s car. No recording device was found in the Grandeur.
A representative of Kim’s agency Namoo Actors said it will reveal details of Kim’s funeral after the autopsy result comes out. According to media reports, Kim’s funeral is likely to take place at Asan Medical Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul.
SINGAPORE: Salads have beefed up, literally. And it is not just flame-grilled steaks that have been added to the ubiquitous bed of arugula leaves.
Pop into any salad stop along the Shenton Way belt and you will see that they have evolved to include ingredients such as smoked duck, sous vide chicken breast, pulled pork, onsen eggs, pasta, brown rice, soba and quinoa, to name a few.
Resembling upmarket cai fan (Chinese for economic rice) than salad, these go-to lunch options for the busy and health-conscious crowd are also known as macro bowls, so named for combining macronutrients – carbohydrates, protein and fat – in a bowl, said Ms Bibi Chia, principal dietitian from Raffles Hospital’s Diabetes & Endocrine Centre.
Customers typically fill up a form to customise their macro bowls, which generally consist of grain-based carbohydrates, a plant- or meat-based protein, and fat from a dressing and topping.
Customers typically fill in an order sheet to customise their macro bowls. (Photo: Pixabay/alphacreativa)
These one-dish meals seem well balanced from the outset but they can create a false sense of security that you have made a healthy lunch choice, said experts. Here is a look at some of the missteps and how you can order a better macro bowl.
CONTROL YOUR PORTION
Macro bowls can tip your calorie balance over if you are not careful with the portion, said Ms Chia. “Macro bowls can come in large portions and hence, people might be over-consuming calories from good food,” she said.
As a guide, said Ms Chia, fill a quarter of your plate or bowl with carbohydrates, another quarter with protein, and half with vegetables. “In general, the total calories for that meal should be less than 500 calories,” she said.
The amount of calories you need also depends on your day’s activities. “Pick a small or regular size if you are relatively sedentary for that day. If you have or are about to do a heavy workout, you can opt for a medium or large serving,” said Ms Jaclyn Reutens, dietitian with Aptima Nutrition and Sports Consultants.
Be conscious of portion. (Photo: Pixabay/bohed)
KNOW WHAT THE PROTEIN ITEMS ARE
Would you consider beans, edamame and chickpeas as vegetables or protein? If you answer vegetables, you have to relook the portion of protein in your order.
“Beans, edamame and chickpeas are protein that are often mistaken for vegetables. So if you order more than two protein items, you will unknowingly increase your fat intake as these foods also contain fat,” said Ms Reutens.
Her tip is to keep to one or two protein items from options such as beef steak, salmon fillet, tuna flakes, chicken breast, edamame, tempeh, tofu, chickpeas, hummus, nuts, seeds and beans.
Legumes like chickpeas, lentils and kidney beans are sources of protein too. (Photo: Pixabay/821292)
GO EASY ON THE GREENS
It can be too much of a good thing when it comes to vegetables. “You can end up feeling bloated from too much raw vegetables. Remember, it’s all about balance,” said Ms Reutens.
DON’T OMIT CARBS
There is a tendency to skip carbs thinking it might be healthier for you, said Ms Reutens. “However, you may end up feeling peckish one to two hours after your meal and end up reaching for a cookie or chocolate.”
Pick one or two carb foods from examples such as are sweet potato, potato, quinoa, couscous, brown rice, pumpkin and pasta.
“Note that [root vegetables like] pumpkin, sweet potato and potato are considered carbs and not vegetables,” she said. Quinoa, which some people think of as a protein, is actually a carb, she added.
Root vegetables like sweet potato are considered a source of carbs. (Photo: Pixabay/Einladung zum Essen)
WATCH THE DRESSING
Dressings such as garlic soy, Thai chilli sauce and ponzu are common in places that offer macro bowls. They may be healthy because they are not made with eggs, cream or mayonnaise. Still, try not to load up on the dressing.
“At times, an olive oil-based dressing can also be high in calories if most of it is made of oil,” said Ms Chia.
When in doubt, consider dressings with herbs and those that are “more liquid in nature”. Options that are less creamy and opaque include vinaigrette, lemon juice, and herbed Italian dressings, said Ms Reutens.
“Alternatively, ask for the dressing on the side and use it sparingly,” said Ms Chia.
GAIN FROM YOUR TOPPINGS
The toppings are a way to add more nutrients to your macro bowl, said Ms Reutens. “A sprinkling of seeds like chia or sunflower add zinc, potassium and healthy fats to your bowl. Dried fruit like raisins or cranberries add extra Vitamin C and iron to the mix.”
Try to avoid bacon bits, croutons, fried onions, sausages and sour cream as they are high in sodium and fat, especially saturated fat, said Ms Reutens.
HOW TO ORDER A HEALTHIER LUNCH FROM THE ECONOMIC RICE STALL
Steering clear of deep-fried dishes is one way to order a healthier plate from the economic rice stall. (Photo: Khoo Bee Khim)
What you can get nutritionally from the economy rice stall is not too different from a macro bowl, if you know what to order, said Ms Reutens. And you would probably pay at least half the price. Here are some tips from her:
Fill a quarter of your plate with rice. That is your carbs for the meal.
Choose a healthy protein dish; two if you are working out that day to feed your muscles. Healthy protein examples include stir-fried chicken in a brown gravy, stir-fried pork with ginger, stir-fried beef with black bean sauce, steamed fish, tofu, ikan bilis, steamed egg or stir-fried chilli sotong. Steer clear of deep-fried and oily dishes such as sweet and sour pork, lemon chicken, omelette and chicken curry.
Opt for two vegetable dishes. Ask the stall assistant to take vegetables from the top of the pile as most of the oil would collect at the bottom of the platter. Avoid the curried vegetables or those soaked in sambal.
Decline to have more gravy. That will save you the sodium and fat lurking in most gravies.
THE HUNT for former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has hit a snag as Interpol has not yet responded to a Thai police request regarding her whereabouts. Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Ministry has revoked her passports.
The ministry confirmed yesterday that Yingluck only possessed four Thai passports.
The ministry has also advised its embassies across the world that Yingluck’s passports have been revoked. Deputy National Police |Chief Pol-General Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said police were pursuing Yingluck, who was sentenced to five years in prison in connection with her government’s rice-pledging scheme, but they had not yet received confirmation from Interpol after seeking its co-operation.
Thai police early this month requested that Interpol issue a blue notice for Yingluck in order to locate her, before applying for a red notice, which would require police in other countries to arrest her.
An Interpol blue notice is a request for help to collect information regarding a suspect’s whereabouts or related criminal activities, while a red notice functions as an international arrest warrant.
Interpol then contacted Thai police asking for further information in regard to the blue notice request, but no further communication has occurred since. Srivara added that police did not have any information regarding Yingluck’s reported attempt to seek political asylum in the United Kingdom.
However, the deputy police chief said the Foreign Affairs Ministry had revoked four of the former prime minister’s passports.
Two were ordinary passports, and the others were diplomatic. The Nation contacted Pol Maj-General Udon Yomcharoen, who oversees police foreign affairs, to ask whether Thai police could continue pursuing her if she were granted political asylum, but Udon declined to comment.
Yingluck’s deadline for an appeal passed on Friday without any action by her. The prosecutor also refrained from filing an appeal, meaning the case against her is technically finished with her fugitive status apparently permanent.
Yingluck, who is reportedly in the United Kingdom, was sentenced for negligence in preventing corruption and irregularities in her government’s rice-pledging scheme before being toppled by the 2014 coup.
The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders convicted her in absentia and announced her prison sentence on September 27. The law allowed her to appeal within 30 days of the verdict, but she would have had to file the appeal in person from inside Thailand.
“We have not yet received a message from her, therefore we did not make any request to the court to extend the period of appeal,” her lawyer Norawit Lalang said on Sunday.
“As we did not make an appeal, the case is technically finalised.”
SINGAPORE: Three plots of land in Lim Chu Kang with longer leases of 20 years were put up for public tender on Tuesday (Oct 31).
The lots are located at Neo Tiew Crescent and are intended for fish farming, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said in a press release.
They range in size from 15,574.9 sq m to 23,961.2 sq m and are part of the 60 hectares of land set aside by AVA earlier this year for food farming in Lim Chu Kang and Sungei Tengah.
The first tranche of 36 plots was put up for tender in August earlier this year.
In the second quarter of next year, seven plots for vegetables, quails’ eggs and general food farming will be open for tender. The remaining 14 plots, for leafy vegetables, beansprouts and general agriculture farming will be available from 2019.
In June last year AVA had announced new 20-year leases for new agriculture land instead of the previously announced 10-year blocks.
The policy change was a result of engagement and consultation with farms, said AVA, and is meant to give farms more certainty and let them invest in more productive technologies.
The tender for the three fish farming land parcels will close at 12 noon on Jan 9, 2018.
More details are available at www.ava.gov.sg/landsales.
