SINGAPORE — The police have detained a 39-year-old man in connection with an unattended bag which sparked security fears and a brief shutdown of the Hougang MRT station on Sunday afternoon.
On inspection, the bag was not found to contain anything dangerous, the police said.
The station was given the all-clear and reopened to commuters around 4pm.
Shortly after the station was reopened, police were seen escorting away a man in a singlet. He is believed to be the bag’s owner, and is assisting the police in their investigation of the incident.
According to SBS Transit, which operates the North-East line, an unattended luggage bag was discovered on the boarding platform of the Hougang station at about 2.40pm.
Shortly after, commuters were alerted to a “security incident” and told that all NEL trains would not stop at Hougang station.
“For the safety of all passengers, trains were made to bypass Hougang station and the Police were alerted,” the transport operator said in a statement.
The station was briefly shuttered as police conducted checks. Commuters, who were told to take alternative transport, milled around the entrances to the station despite the police’s advice to avoid the area.
“At close to 4.00pm, the bag was opened and its contents found to be non-dangerous,” said SBS Transit. “Train service resumed at 4.03pm at Hougang Station.”
Hougang MRT Incident: the shutters come down, with station staff telling commuters that “the station is unsafe” pic.twitter.com/uPQ6MyAZxU
British band Coldplay thrilled audiences in Singapore when they made up a song, yes just for us, during the second day of their two-day concert on April 1.
The lyrics went something like this:
“Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Well we played here four times before But the way that the crowd they roar Means we’re gonna play here a helluva lot times more
Singapore well there’s no forgetting For the whole gig I’ve been severely sweating Singapore where they cheer so well But Singapore is as hot as hell
Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Won’t you listen to that crowd when they roar Singapore, Singapore, Singapore We’ve played here a lot But we’re gonna play here a lot more”
Awww. The little ditty drew laughs and whoops from a very appreciative audience, some of whom queued up since the afternoon to get into the National Stadium on both days (March 31 and April 1).
Guess the band really meant it when they said it was one of the ‘hottest’ shows they’ve ever experienced.
A post shared by Coldplay (@coldplay) on Mar 31, 2017 at 7:35am PDT
The sold-out concerts also meant approximately 100,000 people caught frontman Chris Martin and band in action during their energetic and colourful two-hour performance.
Here are some of the top moments, according to fans:
Starbucks cardholders will be credited with two free 1-for-1 beverage treat voucher for ANY-size beverages redeemable from 3 – 7 Apr 2017. Applicable when you pay with your Starbucks card and redeem the one-time reward.
SINGAPORE: Renewal plans for Woodlands, Toa Payoh and Pasir Ris have been finalised and are ready to be presented to residents to gather their feedback, announced the Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Sunday (Apr 2).
The rejuvenation of the three towns was first announced in 2015, under the Remaking Our Heartland programme. In drawing up the plans, HDB said it had actively engaged residents and stakeholders to seek their views and suggestions.
Residents of Woodlands, for instance, can look forward to an improved Woodlands Waterfront with a new rustic park and nature promenade, said HDB, adding that there will be “interesting landscaping, pocket greens, and more shaded areas”.
A glimpse of what the Woodlands Waterfront could look like. (Image: HDB)
A new town plaza at Woodlands Central will allow the community to organise more large-scale activities for residents.
Artist impression of the new town plaza at Woodlands Central. (Image: HDB)
Pasir Ris Town Centre is also set to get a new town plaza, while Pasir Ris Park and Beach will be rejuvenated with more family-oriented spaces and recreational options, said HDB, providing a glimpse of what will be showcased to residents later this month.
As for Toa Payoh, HDB said the town centre’s pedestrian mall will be enhanced with more greenery, rest areas and shelters along selected stretches.
More greenery, rest areas for the pedestrian mall in Toa Payoh Town Centre. (Image: HDB)
HDB said for the first time, residents from the three towns were invited in the early stages of planning to take part in focus group discussions in 2015. A total of 11 discussion sessions were conducted, involving some 400 residents and community stakeholders aged 17 to 81.
“The finalised plans take into account the local context and specific requirements of each town, so as to strengthen their identity,” said HDB in a media release, adding that the plans focus on strengthening the character, community and connectivity of each town.
To gather more feedback on the plans, three exhibitions – one for each town – will be held, starting on Apr 16 for the Woodlands showcase, Toa Payoh on Apr 22, and Pasir Ris on Apr 29. Each exhibition will run for two weeks.
“In terms of building up stronger community within the town, it’s not just about provision of hardware, but through the remaking plans, we also intend to build up and strengthen the ‘heartware’ of the town”, said HDB physical planning director Choo Chin Hua.
“We’re going to improve and enhance many more community spaces and facilities to let the residents bond and interact with each other,” he added.
Residents say they welcome the plans, such as longtime Woodlands resident Siti Mariam, who has lived in the estate for 18 years.
“I hope that (Woodlands Waterfront) will have more for senior citizens to come and have a chitchat, do some Zumba, exercise, then children (can) play around, then we have ponds and greenery,” she said.
The rejuvenation is expected to benefit more than half a million residents upon its completion within the next five to 10 years, after the plans are approved.
Launched in 2007, the Remaking Our Heartlands programme aims to rejuvenate public housing estates into “distinctive and endearing homes for Singaporeans”.
Earlier towns identified for renewal include Punggol, Dawson and Yishun in 2007, and East Coast, Hougang and Jurong Lake in 2011.
SINGAPORE: In 1999, Slovenian director Dragan Zivadinov literally took his art to greater heights. The stratosphere, to be exact.
Inside a special aircraft used to simulate zero gravity conditions for training cosmonauts and astronauts, his company shot straight up and plummeted down 15 times to perform the world’s first weightless theatre performance over Moscow.
The theatre director, who had been a cosmonaut candidate under the Russian space programme Roscosmos, recalled: “Each time, you had 25 seconds of zero gravity (coming down). During the last one, the seatbelts in the chairs for audiences and theatre critics were unbuckled, and they also floated along with the actors. Every critic had a special pocket for puking, so if they became ill, they could just puke in it so they won’t destroy the performance!”
Zivadinov isn’t content with just performing in the stratosphere. One of his long-term theatre projects aims to eventually be able to launch 14 performers – or at least an “artistic satellite” representing each one – in orbit by 2045.
A demonstration of the kind of weightless theatre performance pioneered by Dragan Zivadinov during the media preview of The Universe And Art. In the background is footage of the 1999 performance done in zero gravity. (Photo: Mayo Martin)
A short video of the high-flying antics of Zivadinov’s group is but one of the examples of artists’ interest in dealing with space that can be seen in The Universe And Art, a fascinating new exhibition at ArtScience Museum, which runs from Apr 1 to Jul 30.
That same section includes replicas of artworks that are currently found on the moon, including a thumbnail-sized piece called Moon Museum. It featured drawings by the likes of Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg, and was secretly stuck on Apollo 12’s lunar landing module in 1969.
There are also sculptures of works that have been taken on board the International Space Station and Mir space station, and museum visitors can hear sounds that were recorded for the Voyager Golden Records, which are onboard the two Voyager spacecraft currently hurtling through space.
“Seeing art that is in space and was conceived for space can serve as a reminder that wherever we have humanity, we have art – and that includes the environment of space,” said Honor Harger, the museum’s executive director.
A detail from Jules de Balincourt’s Space Investors. (Photo: Mayo Martin)
But the section on Space Art is just the tip of the iceberg in the expansive show co-organised and co-curated by Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum.
Comprising 120 artworks, artefacts and manuscripts – including selections from the Asian Civilisations Museum – The Universe And Art encompasses views about the universe, from Eastern and Western cultures, both ancient and contemporary.
From ancient stupas and starmaps to sculptural robots straight out of science fiction to first edition books by the biggest names in science, the exhibition casts light on “how humanity has contemplated the universe… bringing in artists, philosophers and theologians in dialogue with scientists to look at this vast topic of the cosmos,” said Harger.
If Zivadinov’s gravity-defying exploits and the fact that there’s an Andy Warhol work on the moon still hasn’t piqued your curiosity, here are three more reasons why you should explore The Universe And Art.
***
A collection of first edition books from Copernicus, Newton and other big names in science, both in the East and West. (Photo: Marina Bay Sands)
1. THE BIGGEST NAMES IN SCIENCE ARE HERE
Does the name Galileo Galilei ring a bell? What about Charles Darwin, Nicolaus Copernicus, Isaac Newton and Johannes Kepler?
Extremely rare first edition copies of their most important work are in the show. Whether it’s Copernicus’ On The Revolutions Of The Heavenly Spheres from 1643 or Darwin’s On The Origin Of Species in 1859, one has to take a step back to let it all sink in – these books and the ideas in them have shaped the very foundations of our knowledge of the world and ourselves.
A first edition copy of Galileo Galilei’s The Starry Messenger from 1610. (Photo: Mayo Martin)
And if books aren’t your thing, somewhere there’s a replica of the telescope used by Galileo to go moongazing (there are his drawings, too). Looking through that same telescope, he would eventually discover that Jupiter also had moons.
But the show is far from being Western-centric – it also includes manuscripts from Egypt, Yemen and Iran that reveal just how forward-thinking Islamic cosmologists were even before their European counterparts. Among the works are Persian astronomer Zakariya al-Qazwini’s The Wonders Of Creation, which came out in the 13th century.
From left: Patricia Piccinini’s The Rookie and Hajime Sorayama’s Sexy Robot. (Photo: Mayo Martin)
2. IT’S GOT ANCIENT ALIENS AND OTHER WEIRD STUFF, TOO
In the 1800s, there were reports in Japan of a certain “hollow ship” that came out of nowhere, with a beautiful woman emerging from it. It came out in the newspapers of that time, which is on display at the show, and the stories include an image of what suspiciously looks like your quintessential UFO.
These and other works reveal our collective fascination with the unknown. Elsewhere, you’ve got comics and other pop culture works referencing life outside earth, and works of art that, even if they don’t exactly scream “alien conspiracy”, underscore mankind’s willingness to explore what’s strange and possible beyond the knowable world.
A copy of a news report about a “hollow ship” that arrived in Japan in the 1800s. (Photo: Mayo Martin)
From a video of an alien landscape (that’s actually a close-up of a piece of amber with insects in it) to sculptures of a tentacled baby-like creature and even a Sexy Robot (by the artist-designer of the Sony’s AIBO robot dog), it’s hard not to wonder “what if”?
Plus, if you’re a hardcore conspiracy theorist, there’s one photograph by American artist Trevor Paglen that might interest you. Called They Watch The Moon, it’s a shot of a secret government surveillance station in the forests of West Virginia. With telescopes normally used to look up at the sky, he trains his sights on this mysterious place. It’s actually where radio astronomers “listen” to the sky, but who knows if it’s another Area 51, right?
Bjorn Dahlem’s installation Black Hole (M-Spheres). (Photo: Marina Bay Sands)
3. INDULGE IN SOME AMAZING WORKS OF ART
The biggest names in science are represented in The Universe And Art, but so, too, are some of the biggest names in the contemporary art scene, such as photographers Hiroshi Sugimoto and Wolfgang Tillmans.
Among the awe-inspiring pieces in the show is Andreas Gursky’s large-format photograph of the Super-Kamiokande observatory in Japan. It’s the world’s largest underground neutrino detector, which hunts for one of the more mysterious particles in the cosmos. But through his lenses, it looks like a magical, golden temple straight out of a sci-fi movie set.
Tom Sachs’ detail sculpture of the ill-fated Challenger space shuttle. (Photo: Mayo Martin)
The show also isn’t lacking in spectacle – there’s a detailed sculpture of the ill-fated Challenger space shuttle by American artist Tom Sachs, and an imposing installation by German artist Bjorn Dahlem that’s his take on the idea of black holes.
Finally, there’s a new commissioned work by British artist Conrad Shawcross. Called Slow Arc Inside A Cube VIII, it comprises a metal steel structure lit up by lights, creating a rippling latticework of shadows that fill up an entire room. It’s supposed to reference the scientific notion of dark matter, but even if you don’t get that, entering the space is bound to be a truly meditative and hypnotic experience.
Laurent Grasso’s (from left) Pretre Jomon and Ancient Aliens. (Photo: Mayo Martin)
SINGAPORE: There are few parallels to the breakneck speed at which Singapore has transformed itself from a rural backwater into a gleaming, urban financial hub in less than 50 years.
And there is barely time to pause for breath as we now charge ahead towards transforming ourselves yet again, this time into a Smart Nation. Ours is already a hyper-connected society, heavily plugged into a digital world, and built on a core infrastructure comprising of numerous cyber systems. The current era of automation and big data is expected to further increase Singapore society’s dependence on the digital world.
It means Singapore’s exposure to such threats will also increase, and already, we have seen evidence of this.
Efforts are necessary to combat the shadowy networks of hackers carrying out attacks on vulnerable networks. (Photo: Reuters)
These incidents reiterate the need for a comprehensive cybersecurity policy and cyberdefence capabilities, on a national level. They also underline how, despite our best efforts, Singapore remains vulnerable to cyberattacks – reportedly about a million daily last year – and the intensity and frequency of such attacks are expected to rise.
But with increased risks also come opportunities that should be tapped.
CONCERTED PUSH TO PROTECT SINGAPORE AGAINST CYBERATTACKS
So far, the Government has been alert to the issue of cybersecurity, and has taken a proactive approach towards protecting Singapore and its interests from such threats.
Earlier this month, amendments to the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act were proposed to further deter cyberattacks and related activities. The proposed changes criminalise the use of hacked data and the act of obtaining or dealing with hacking tools. Swift amendments like these ensure the law stays abreast with evolving trends in cybercrime.
On the side of national defence, the recent announcement to set up a 2,600-strong Defence Cyber Organisation (DCO) is another proactive step. The DCO will safeguard military networks and resources under the Singapore Armed Forces, and also tackle unconventional cybersecurity challenges such as fake news and other forms of attacks.
Modern militaries can no longer ignore threats on the digital front, says Minister for Ng Eng Hen at MINDEF’s Committee of Supply debate on Mar 3. (Photo: AFP)
There is also a strong focus on building cybersecurity capabilities by recruiting and training skilled individuals looking to pursue cybersecurity as a career option within the public sector. Offering cybersecurity as a National Service vocation, and on-the-job training opportunities can pull in young and capable individuals, solving the manpower crunch that exists in the industry.
These measures are timely and there exists a general consensus in their favour, but there are some other measures that have received a more mixed response. The most prominent example has been the restriction of Internet services at work for public servants.
On the path towards cybersecurity, it is seen by some as a step back. However, one must realise that cybersecurity is after all a digital battleground, and a solid defence may necessitate a temporary retreat. In light of the massive capability building underway, it is in our best interest to minimise exposure while we wait for the said capabilities to come online.
NAIVE TO OVERLOOK POTENTIAL ECONOMIC BENEFITS
Although the primary objective of this massive cybersecurity push is to safeguard Singapore against cyberattacks, it would be naïve to overlook the potential economic benefits from this campaign. Cybersecurity expenditures hit US$75 billion globally last year, and is expected to cross US$100 billion mark by 2020. Locally, the cybersecurity market is expected to generate 2,500 jobs by 2018, and reach S$900 million by 2020.
So the Singapore Government’s efforts which extend to the private sector to reinforce a larger cybersecurity strategy is a step in the right direction – in building up human capital, developing new solutions and ultimately boosting innovation in this field.
Anchoring renowned cybersecurity provider Palo Alto Networks in Singapore, whose offices opened last week at Guoco Towers, underscores the critical role of the private sector in making rapid progress in cybersecurity. Industry players, by their nature of design, can better able to adapt to growing cyber-security trends faster and in a more targeted fashion.
On the level of human capital development, the Cyber Security Associates and Technologists programme recently launched trains fresh and mid-career ICT professionals in collaboration with four industry partners looking to switch to cybersecurity.
Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim graced the opening of Palo Alto Networks’ new Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore on Mar 22. (Photo: Palo Alto Networks)
Helping businesses, especially those who are not in the technology sector, build awareness and take action to protect themselves against such risks has been another useful and practical thrust. The launch of the Employee Cyber Security Kit by the Singapore Business Federation, which is a plug-and-play tool kit that assesses companies’ cybersecurity readiness and recommends education programmes is key to these efforts. A Cyber Risk Management project launched last April by NTU and MAS, which helps insurance firms shore up their defenses against cyberattacks also contribute in taking a sector-specific approach in building up cyber-resilience and identify potential weaknesses.
Local institutes of higher learning (IHLs) have also been roped in to accelerate Singapore’s understanding of the cyber domain. For instance, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has set up research centres such as the Cyber Security Research Centre @ NTU. These are able to focus on and flesh out new concepts in developing a holistic approach to cybersecurity for Singapore, in areas such as security by design, cyber-threat detection and attack attribution, cyber-enabled crime and forensics.
Republic Polytechnic has also set up a cluster of five labs to tackle new cybersecurity challenges while Ngee Ann Polytechnic has introduced cybersecurity courses that help students gain a firm understanding of the field.
Institutes of higher learning can play a useful role in education and innovation in cybersecurity. (Photo: AFP)
Indeed, cybersecurity is gaining currency as a vibrant area for research and development within IHLs. Partnerships among IHLs in the fight for cybersecurity are also helping to build needed capabilities in defending networks.
NTU Chief of Staff and Vice-President for Research Professor Lam Khin Yong who inked an agreement with Ben-Gurion University in Israel to jointly find innovative ways to tackle advanced cyber threats, said such partnerships will contribute in the research and development of innovative ways to fight Advanced Persistent Threats, which he described as “one of the most complicated problems in cybersecurity”.
“Such partnerships will leverage on the various core competencies of academia in combating this intractable problem,” he highlighted.
Partnerships between academia and the private sector to jointly develop concrete next-generation cybersecurity solutions, based on new methods that hackers use to breach computer security, are also underway.
In all these research and development efforts, often overlooked are the steps taken to capitalize on emerging cyber technologies to develop new solutions in other domains – such collaborations have developed solutions in sensing and communications in traffic enforcement, ensuring the cyber worthiness of autonomous vehicles and exploring highly inter-connected transportation methods.
A driverless vehicle being tested by NTU in December 2016. (Photo: TODAY/Koh Mui Fong)
SINGAPORE: LEADER IN CYBERSECURITY?
Unlike traditional industries that depend on large manufacturing capabilities, natural resources or cheap labour, cybersecurity is an expertise-driven industry. This fits in perfectly with Singapore’s vision of a Smart Nation anchored on knowledge and skills. The sentiment is echoed by the industry, which has seen a number of new start-ups grow alongside the expansion of capabilities by established players.
If all goes to plan, Singapore will not just emerge as a nation that is cyber-secure but also as a leading provider of cybersecurity services globally. This is the golden opportunity that lies beneath the threat that is cybersecurity.
Professor Thambipillai Srikanthan is the Executive Director of the Cyber Security Research Centre at NTU. He is also a professor at the School of Computer Science and Engineering at NTU.
SINGAPORE — They loiter around void decks at night, swooping in when they spot a prized catch. No, it is not Pokemons they are hunting – these “collectors” are after pregnant queen ants to kickstart their own ant colonies.
Keeping ants as pets seems to be slowly catching on among a small community here. Since last December, at least 30 local enthusiasts have banded together to form a Facebook group to share their new hobby.
(Instead of Pokemon Go,) you should try and catch ants. It’s similar. At the end of the day, you can keep your queen ant. You can get to make one big colony… I go ‘Ant Go’. Catch the ants.
Muhammad Iskandar Riza Bin Noor Affandi
Like in Pokemon Go, there are varieties to collect and “hot spots” where more-prized species can be found. More than 50 ant species can be found in Singapore, including a rarer one called the trap-jaw, characterised by its ability to open its mouthpiece up to 180 degrees wide and shut it in a snap.
Jurong Bird Park assistant curator Angelin Lim, like most local hobbyists, got intrigued after stumbling in February upon a YouTube channel called AntsCanada, which has been promoting the cultivation of pet ant colonies using queen ants since 2009.
The 32-year-old told TODAY: “In my workplace, we feed our baby birds with ant eggs, so I started out wanting to see if I can cultivate them.”
But her plans were soon scuppered as she fell in love with the six-legged critters.
“The more I learnt, the more amazed I got at how they take care of one other, how they take care of their queen, and the hive mindset. Their world is not me, I and myself, but me for the entire colony,” she said.
So whenever it rains or when there is increased swiftlet, bat or lizard activity, Ms Lim gets excited – as these are harbingers of a queen ant flying out to mate – which increases her chances of nabbing one.
Her biggest colony is made up of more than 10 worker ants, all of which were laid by one queen carpenter ant.
Her newfound hobby, however, is not appreciated by many around her. “My parents said: ‘What? You have nothing else to do, is it?’”
The draw, said Ms Lim, her fiance and other hobbyists, is they can relive their childhood adventures of catching spiders in the field and guppies in the drain.
There is also joy in being able to build a colony big enough to observe how the castes work – workers tending to hive’s daily needs and soldiers protecting the queen.
Designing the formicarium (or ant’s homes) can also feel like playing the once-popular computer game SimCity.
(Above) Member of the Ants Community Singapore Facebook group, Joshua Tan, holding up two 3-D printed formicariums of varying sizes he built at his workplace. He printed them using a 3-D file of the design that’s available online. The smaller one is his prototype. Photos: Joshua Tan
(Above) Ms Lim holding up a formicarium she built using plaster of Paris fitted in a small fish tank she got for about S$5. Below is a photograph she took in the process of her making it. Photo: Wong Pei Ting, Angelin Lim
(Above) Mr Iskandar shared this photo of a formicarium he built using clay moulded to mimic chambers. He connected it to a test-tube with a queen that has already bred some workers. Photo: Muhammad Iskandar Riza Bin Noor Affandi
(Above) A formicarium made of a mix of clay and fine sand built by Member of the Ants Community Singapore Facebook group, Ayid Kiddo. Below is a photo of her latest formicarium that was bought. Photo: Facebook/Ayid Kiddo
While ants might seem like hardy creatures, a whole colony can be wiped out by one wrong move, as Mr Muhammad Iskandar Riza Bin Noor Affandi found out.
His six-month-old colony of seven workers and one carpenter queen died last Monday (March 27) for reasons unknown, devastating the 29-year-old lifeguard who started keeping ants eight months ago.
At the peak, the founder of Facebook group Ants Community Singapore had a colony of 20. He suspects they might have suffocated because he used a cover that’s too thick to keep them in the dark, which they prefer.
Antkeepers who want to get a head start without hunting can buy their queens from suppliers. Listed on AntsCanada’s website are seven ant “farmers” in Singapore, offering 44 colonies for sale.
The biggest and most expensive at S$2,000 is a nest of over 1,000 yellow crazy workers with four queens, kept in a 0.6m enclosure. A collection of 50 to 100 weavers is also going at a high price of S$800, as queen weavers are harder to catch than trap-jaws since they mate high up in the air.
Mr Chris Chan, a former shipping executive, started ant-keeping a year ago. He supplies schoolboys starter carpenter ant colonies consisting a queen with at least one worker for S$15 to S$30. His biggest ant sale to date is a trap-jaw queen with five workers in a small formicarium for S$250.
In what the 29-year-old said is a sign of the growing trend here, he also managed to sell five formicariums he designed in recent months for between S$40 and S$300.
One room in his rental home is dedicated to housing his collection of at least 10 formicariums – each built differently – and about 40 recently-caught queen ants, six of which are trap-jaws.
His largest colony consists up to 1,000 red fire ants, known for their stinging bites, housed in a large fish tank lined with a paste of talcum powder and alcohol at its mouth to prevent them from escaping.
Mr Chua’s dream is to be the region’s go-to for all things ants-related, as it is an “in-thing in the US and Taiwan” at the moment, but has yet to catch on in as big a way locally.
Even so, not all ants are pets to Mr Chan. Pointing to pharaoh and ghost ants crawling across his room furniture, he said: “Because of their size, they can squeeze through tight spaces, steal all the goods and kill my whole colony.”
One reminder he has for beginners: “Keeping ants is as big a responsibility as keeping dogs and cats; if you release captive ants back into the wild, it can affect the ecosystem. Give them a home, or don’t home them at all.”
HOW TO START A PET ANT COLONY
1. Catch a fertilised queen ant
Around 6pm to 8pm is the best time to nab a queen ant, said Mr Chan.
Look for an unusually large winged ant with a swollen bottom. Some males may have wings too but they are more slender.
2. House it well
Put the queen into a test tube or small container with a piece of wet cotton wool. Keep the container in a shaded place, away from disturbances. The queen needs to feel settled enough to lay eggs.
3. Wait for the eggs
If the queen sheds its wings, that’s a tell-tale sign it may lay some eggs soon.
If it does not lay any eggs after two weeks, it might not be fertilised, so it is time to let it go.
Ant eggs are tiny, white and oval. Those that hatch will be your first worker ants.
(Photo: Muhammad Iskandar Riza Bin Noor Affandi)
4. Feeding your worker ants
Prepare some mealworms or crickets. Continue to keep the ants’ environment moist. You can also treat them to a drop of honey as a meal.
5. Rehouse your growing colony in a formicarium
After a few weeks or months, you may have enough worker ants to move them into a formicarium. Buy ready-made ones or make your own. To relocate your colony, simply leave the existing container open and let the ants explore.
SINGAPORE: In a digital age where fake news can spread far and wide, April Fool’s Day may be a good reminder to keep your guard up and be careful of stories that seem strange and suspicious.
This year, some companies have jumped on the April Fool’s bandwagon, putting their spin on what would capture your attention for a good laugh (or not). Here’s our wrap of the best pranks and fake news making their rounds this Saturday (Apr 1).
IKEA’S “PRESS-PLAY-GROUND”
In a Facebook post, IKEA Singapore declared that it will be converting the playgrounds in their stores into “a magical forest with a haven of sitting pods with tablets – recreating the way your kids play.”
You’ll be forgiven for thinking this was real. Many parents thought it was too, taking to social media to criticise Ikea for encouraging children to engage in more tablet time.
However, some saw it as a veiled message aimed at encouraging children to play less with their digital devices.
AMAZON TO LAUNCH IN SINGAPORE, MALAYSIA
In a bid to fool media outlets, Malaysian online shopping firm iPrice sent out a press release on Friday, announcing that Amazon is set to launch in Malaysia and Singapore.
It even made the effort to include a screenshot of what the homepages of Amazon Singapore and Amazon Malaysia would look like. New Straits Times Online and Techseen.com fell for it and published articles on the launch.
Already made plans to purchase a “merlion echo” for S$67.90 or access a Bomoh search engine for RM67.99 (S$21.46)? Sorry to ruin your plans but this is a hoax.
ARSENAL MANAGER TO COACH IN NEE SOON
Even politicians got into the mood for April Fool’s Day. Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam posted this message on Facebook which said: “As a long suffering Arsenal fan, I’m very happy to announce today that Arsene Wenger has agreed to become the new coach for the Nee Soon Football and Study Programme.”
“Fandi Ahmad who has been helping us, has agreed to this,” he added.
< Arsene Wenger joins Nee Soon Football Programme >
Minister Shanmugam wrote further down in his post that this was indeed an April Fool’s prank but pointed out that the Nee Soon football and study programme was genuine.
Wenger, under fire for leading the Premier League giant to a poor showing, remains at Arsenal – for now.
WHOPPER TOOTHPASTE ANYONE?
Fans of the Burger King’s whopper burger may now keep the taste of the signature burger in their mouths with the new Whopper Toothpaste, according to a video advertisement by the fast food giant.
The paste comes with “total whitening onion, daily fresh tomato and anticavity steak” and will keep users “whopper fresh”.
At the end of the flame-grilled gimmick, Burger King added that users should not use the toothpaste before 3pm and to consult the burger king restaurants before using.
PLAY PAC-MAN ON GOOGLE MAPS
Google Maps wants users to have a little fun. It launched an April Fool’s version of the map, allowing people to play the classic arcade game of Pac-Man.
Just tap on the pink Ms Pac-Man on the right side of the screen and you’ll be transported to a random location and must guide the yellow Pac-Man around the roads, eating up dots while avoiding colourful ghosts.
The last time Google turned its app into a game of Pac-Man for April Fools’ Day was in 2015. The year before that, it introduced a version of Google Maps that allowed users to catch Pokemons.
DURIAN BLACKCURRANT RIBENA
Ribena smelled an opportunity on April Fool’s Day, posting a photo on Facebook of a “lightly sparkling” durian and blackcurrent drink.
Some people were excited by the prospect of this weird and wonderful flavour but we say don’t hold your breath.
A dream come true – Sparkling Ribena Durian & Blackcurrant. Some will say they love it, some will say they don’t!
MITO – Japan’s cherry blossom season kicks off boozy parties across the country and draws tourists from far and wide, but the annual coming-of-spring ritual isn’t official until inspectors like Hisato Nishii sign off on it.
Over the past few weeks, local weather offices have been sending civil servants like Nishii out to so-called barometer trees that signal when sakura – cherry blossom in Japanese – have bloomed.
It’s no small matter. Millions of Japanese celebrate the explosion of white and pink flowers heralding the change of season, with the Tokyo area expected to hit full bloom this week.
A cat is seen on a cherry blossom tree at a park in Tokyo, Japan March 30, 2017.Photo: Reuters
Parks are full, restaurants are packed, and companies get in on the action with sakura-branded merchandise, from pink beer cans to flower-motif candy.
The festivities come at a time when Japan kicks off a new business year, many university graduates start their first full-time jobs, and older colleagues shift into new positions.
The very short season – full blooms only last about a week before the petals start falling off trees – has long been cast as a symbol of the fragility of life in Japanese art and literature.
“Sakura have soaked into Japanese people’s minds because they come at a time when many are starting a new chapter in their life,” Nishii said, as he inspected a barometer tree in Mito city, about 100 kilometres north-east of Tokyo.
“They capture people’s hearts because they bloom only for a short period of time.”
262919
2015-03-11 12:48:31
Photo Gallery
10 best places to enjoy sakura season
Source:
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
‘WE DRINK BECAUSE IT’S SPRING’
Blooms in a particular area – they start as early as March in southern Kyushu and as late as May in northern-most Hokkaido – are official when a half dozen or more flowers blossom on a barometer tree.
Inspectors initially come once a day, but once the buds start swelling up, the visits increase to twice daily, Nishii said.
The location of a sample tree is a tightly guarded secret to prevent pranks.”We carefully observe them so as not to miss any open buds and once we confirm it, we officially announce the blossom season’s start,” he said.
Women take selfie pictures in front of blooming cherry blossoms in a park in Tokyo.Photo: Reuters
The Japan Meteorological Agency has been monitoring cherry blossoms since 1953, but timing the blooms is still far from an exact science.
A big rainfall can wash out the delicate flowers while a cold weather snap sometimes delays their appearance.
It’s a nail-biting experience for some, including many tourists who book travel around the expected times for a full bloom when trees are covered in a blanket of flowers.
Parks in Tokyo have already been filling up as friends, families and colleagues stake out choice spots, laying plastic tarps on the grass as they start hours-long parties under the pretty-in-pink trees.
Yusuke Kinoshita was one of thousands of locals and tourists who gathered in Ueno Park, one of the capital’s most popular sakura viewing spots, even before the blooms started.”I’ve been drinking since 10 this morning,” the 39-year-old hotel worker said one recent weekday afternoon after his shift, noting that his boss would be joining the boozy party later on.
“It’s the Japanese way for the most junior colleagues to stake out a spot and get the party going once the boss comes.”We drink because it’s sakura season,” he added. “We drink because it’s spring.”
SINGAPORE: The Malay-Muslim population in Singapore has made significant social and economic progress over the years, and they can become a community that’s modern, vibrant and confident, said Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Saturday (Apr 1).
That was the vision he laid out for the Malay-Muslim society at an annual seminar organised by the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP). To achieve that, Mr Shanmugam said first, the majority of the community needs to do well and he highlighted the achievements it has made.
For instance, the proportion of Malay Primary 1 students who go on to post-secondary education has doubled from 45 per cent in 1995 to 93 per cent in 2015. Those who eventually receive polytechnic diplomas, professional qualifications or university degrees have “gone up over a five-year period to 21 per cent,” said Mr Shanmugam.
He added that the proportion of Malays working as professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) increased to 28 per cent in 2010 and the median real monthly income per capita has doubled since 1990.
Nearly 90 percent of Malay households own their own homes. “Even more significant is that more than 70 per cent live in 4-room and higher-end housing,” he said, noting that a Malay middle-class has formed.
“With a significant equity and assets that they own, they do not have to worry about where they are going to live, with a bright future for their children, confident that their children will go on to post-secondary education … The framework has therefore been created for tremendous success.”
“BEACON” FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD
Singapore’s Malay-Muslims can achieve even more, said Mr Shanmugam calling on the community to be an example for the rest of the world.
“Look around the world today. Many Islamic societies are searching for the path forward on how to be successful. They are asking themselves what is the correct path? How will they achieve success? What does successful mean? In that context, look at the future and see how our Malay-Muslim community can be the beacon for the rest of the world,” he told the audience.
This can be achieved, Mr Shanmugam said, not only through gaining material success but also understanding the community’s culture, religion, traditions and be proud of them.
“At a time of considerable change in Islamic societies around the world, our Malay-Muslim society is now in a position to be successful in science, technology, maths, computers, and at the same time, practise our religion and values, and be strong internally within the framework of a multi-racial, multi-religious society.
With a stable, strong political system, with a strong Government, with a guarantee for the minorities … with this framework, we can become the community that Muslim societies in other countries look towards and say, this is the example,” he said.
Community leaders at the annual seminar organised by the Association of Muslim Professionals. (Photo: MHA)
Already, Mr Shanmugam noted that a Singaporean Malay, in terms of education standing, skills and wealth, is better off than a Malaysian or Indonesian Malay.
“Look at the progress in education – our PISA scores, look at mathematics, science, reading. Compare a Malay PMET in Singapore and a Malay PMET in Malaysia, who is doing better. The same goes for the Indians, and for the Chinese in Singapore. Take them versus their counterparts across the causeway or around the region, we do better,” said Mr Shanmugam.
However, he cautioned that while Singapore is doing better compared to many parts of the world, “within Singapore there is still a gap,” he said. “Our competition is no longer just Malaysia or Indonesia, we are competing with the world.”
CHALLENGES FACING THE MALAY-MUSLIM COMMUNITY
While significant progress has been made, Mr Shanmugam singled out three challenges facing the Malay-Muslim community: Radicalisation, PMETs who have lost their jobs and the over-representation of Malays being caught for crimes and drug abuse.
The minister cited a Pew Research Centre study which showed that 10 per cent of Malaysian Malays had a favourable opinion of Islamic State (IS) and nearly one quarter were not prepared to come out and say that IS is wrong.
“We have to make sure that we do not get there. And a key part of that depends on you, the leaders of the Malay community – whether you can make sure that the right religious values are put forth. We have to work hard at this because the influences are on the Internet,” said Mr Shanmugam.
On drug abuse, the minister said 53 per cent of drug abuses arrested last year were Malays. This is an increase from 10 years ago when the proportion of Malay drug abusers arrested was 32 per cent.
“To prevent the offending and to reduce the re-offending, the recidivism, it is challenging,” he acknowledged and called on Malay-Muslim organisations to work with the ministry to help those caught up in drugs. “Your help will be essential in the area of sending the message across, education, aftercare. It is a general problem, it is not a specific problem, not specific to the Malay community.”
This is a long-standing problem, the chairman of AMP Abdul Hamid Abdullah told Channel NewsAsia after Mr Shanmugam’s speech.
“We acknowledge that preventing drugs is not our forte, but we want to focus on building stronger family units that will prevent people from committing crime,” he said, adding that AMP is working on a pilot project with the Singapore Prisons Service to help inmates with financial literacy and education, in the hope that they can reintegrate with the community when they are released from prison.
Mr Abdul Hamid said he is “heartened” by Mr Shanmugam’s concern over the state of affairs of the Malay-Muslim community. “He comes from a different minority group and he empathises well with the issues and concerns our community faces,” he added.
Ultimately, Mr Shanmugam said organisations like AMP and MENDAKI can play a key role in improving the lives of Malay-Muslims.
“More hard work and organisations like yours must continue to lead the community and the Government must continue to first lay down the rules clearly – racial and religious harmony, guarantee of equal rights for everyone, guarantee of minority rights, absolute, unquestionable.
“It is in Singapore’s interest to make sure that everybody succeeds and that the under-performance is not defined by race and religion,” said Mr Shanmugam.
“I think you can achieve a lot,” he concluded. “We can achieve a culturally and religiously vibrant, integrated, modern, successful Muslim community. And may that vision be achieved soon.”
