LOS ANGELES: United Airlines launched its daily non-stop flights between Singapore and Los Angeles on Sunday (Oct 29). 

Flight UA38 departs Changi Airport at 11am Singapore time daily, arriving at Los Angeles International Airport at 11.15am Singapore time the same day. The flight is about 15 hours 15 minutes long, according to United Airlines.

The returning flight, UA37, departs Los Angeles at 9.25pm (Singapore time), arriving in Singapore at 6.20am two days from departure. It is more than two hours longer than the journey from Singapore at 17 hours 55 minutes.

The 14,000-kilometre journey is currently the world’s longest non-stop flight to or from the United States.

Previously, the record was held by Qantas, which operates an 13,800-kilometre flight between Dallas and Sydney, as well as United’s San Francisco-Singapore route (13,592 kilometres) launched last year.

Both of United’s Los Angeles and San Francisco routes are operated with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft that can accommodate some 250 passengers.

United Airline is the only airline operating a direct flight between Singapore and Los Angeles. 

To celebrate the inaugural flight on Sunday, passengers departing Changi Airport were greeted by Hollywood celebrity impersonators and were invited to participate in a cake-cutting ceremony.

The celebration was attended by CEO of Changi Airport Group Lee Seow Hiang as well as the charge d’affaires at the US Embassy of Singapore Stephanie Syptak-Ramnath.

Commenting on the launch of the flight, United’s Vice President of Atlantic and Pacific Sales Marcel Fuchs said: “United is proud to launch the long-awaited Singapore-Los Angeles route for our customers in Singapore.

“The addition of this new exclusive service to our existing daily Singapore-San Francisco non-stop service gives more options for our customers to conveniently connect to our extensive US network over both gateways,” he added. 

David Hilfman, United’s senior vice president of Worldwide Sales, said the new route will consolidate the airline’s position in Asia, with Singapore a key destination for business travellers.

YANGON: Myanmar police have charged two foreign journalists working for Turkish state media – along with two Burmese locals – for allegedly breaching import laws after they flew a drone over the country’s parliament.

They will be held in custody until their first court hearing on charges that carry up to three years in jail or a fine for the import and export of “restricted or banned goods” without obtaining a license.

“We have opened a case against all four – two foreigners and two Burmese. They will be held on remand until Nov 10,” deputy police colonel Kyaw Moe said.

The foreigners, Lau Hon Meng from Singapore and Mok Choy Lin from Malaysia, were arrested on Friday (Oct 27) in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw while they were on assignment for Turkish state broadcaster TRT.

The pair was working with their interpreter and well-known Myanmar journalist Aung Naing Soe as well as local driver Hla Tin.

On Friday night, about 25 police staged an evening raid on the Yangon house of Aung, seizing his computer memory sticks and searching for documents.

Myanmar state broadcaster MRTV said the ministry of foreign affairs had informed the Singaporean and Malaysian embassies about the matter.

The incident comes as tensions surge between Myanmar and Turkey, which has led criticism of the Southeast Asian nation for its treatment of the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Myanmar of incubating “Buddhist terror” and carrying out a genocide against the Muslim group.

Several journalists have been arrested in Myanmar this year, fueling fears of an erosion of the press freedoms that blossomed after the end of junta rule in 2011.

Many have been charged with defamation or arrested for reporting on armed rebel groups.

SINGAPORE: The MySkillsFuture.sg portal was launched on Sunday (Oct 29) aiming to guide Singaporeans, starting from those in school, in charting their learning and career paths.

At the SkillsFuture roadshow in Bedok North, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam also unveiled SkillsFuture Advice, a series of free workshops conducted in venues such as community centres.

This is the third initiative launched under the SkillsFuture umbrella this month. A national programme to train workers in basic digital skills was launched in early October. Just this week, a S$70 million project was announced to deliver courses in sectors central to Singapore’s future economy.

Education Minister Ong Ye Kung, who attended the event, said the initiatives will better support Singapore’s workers by giving them the confidence to navigate the new economy.

“Technology is upon us,” said Mr Ong. “It’s not something that as Singapore, we can stop or regulate. When it comes to technological advancements, it’s a global thing.

“We’re really price-takers and the faster we can adopt, the better it will be for our long-term.”

The portal allows users to personalise their learning needs by assessing their interests and matching them to the type of training they will have to go through to embark on their desired career path.

It has targeted offerings for the different age groups. For example, adults and tertiary students will be able to use self-assessment tools to build a portfolio of skills. They will also be able to tap on resources such as industry insights, career-related articles and job listings, as well as apply for SkillsFuture Credit courses.

The website can be used to support education and career guidance for students from Primary 5 to pre-university. It will remain accessible even after they graduate, unlike the current MOE e-career portal it replaces. The aim is for MySkillsFuture.sg to follow the students through life.

Prior to entering junior college, 17-year-old Venkatesh Babu Dakshitaa wanted a career in environmental sciences. However, she realised that biology was not her cup of tea, she said.

“I did the test on the portal and it said I was more of a design person, like product design… and it suggested architecture,” said the Temasek Junior College student.

She has since applied for and will undergo a three-week internship in architecture during the coming school holidays to learn more about the field.

MySkillsFuture.sg has received more than 400,000 visitors since it went live on Oct 2. It builds on a nine-month pilot in 2014 called the Individual Learning Portfolio, which had 20,000 people try out a career analysis and job-matching tool.

In addition to the portal, there will also be offline support in the form of the SkillsFuture Advice workshops by SkillFuture SG and the Community Development Councils. 

These hour-and-a-half sessions are held for groups of up to 30 people and can be conducted in four languages. Residents can pick up information on key work trends and workplace skills, as well as develop a personal skills upgrading plan. They will also learn how to use MySkillsFuture.sg.

About 1,000 Singaporeans have taken part in the workshops since they were piloted in July this year. A total of 80,000 Singaporeans are expected to take part over three years. 

SINGAPORE: More patients are arriving at the hospital “early enough” for time-sensitive stroke treatments, the Ministry of Health’s Stroke Services Improvement team revealed on Sunday (Oct 29). 

The finding emerged from a study by the National Neuroscience Institute, whose results were revealed at the launch of the second annual Spot Stroke nationwide awareness campaign in conjunction with World Stroke Day. 

According to the study, the proportion of patients arriving within the crucial three-and-a-half hours increased from 28 per cent before the first campaign in 2016 to 41 per cent. This has inproved the chances of survival for patients undergoing clot-busting treatment.

The study also found that the percentage of patients coming within seven hours increased from 42 per cent to 58 per cent, improving chances of eligibility for those who require endovascular therapy.

“If patients come in too late, there isn’t anything we can do in the hyper acute period. These treatments are time-limited. Once they are outside the window, they are ineligible for these treatments,” said Associate Professor Deidre Anne De Silva, senior consultant at the National Neuroscience Institute.

However, while they will not be administered the time-sensitive treatments, such patients will still receive stroke care.

Assoc Prof De Silva added that the treatments significantly reduce disability after stroke.

“These disabilities can be physical, cognitive. Obviously it doesn’t affect just the patient, but also the family and society. If we are able to reduce these disabilities, the patient’s life after stroke will be significantly improved,” she said.

There are about 8,000 stroke cases in Singapore with the figure projected to rise with a rapidly ageing population, said Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor at the campaign launch. 

“The burden of stroke is substantial and has significant social and economic impact. More importantly, it has serious consequences on well-being: in Singapore, cerebrovascular diseases including stroke is the fourth leading cause of death and one of the leading causes of long-term physical disability,” said Dr Khor. 

She added: “While we would continue to deliver quality stroke care and rehabilitation, it is vital that we arm ourselves with the knowledge of what we can do when a stroke does happen so that we reduce complications and protect our health.”

The Spot Stroke campaign is focused on helping more Singaporeans recognise the symptoms of stroke using the acronym FAST – which stands for Face drooping, Arm weakness and Speech difficulty, as well as Time to call 995 – as a checklist. 

Also launched on Sunday was StrokeHub, an online portal aimed at increasing public awareness of the condition. The portal contains up-to-date materials for caregivers, healthcare workers and patients related to the prevention, recognition and treatment of stroke.

The resources will be available in English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil from December.