Almost immediately after the glitz and glamour of winning the crown at Sunday night’s Miss Universe Singapore 2016 pageant, Cheryl Chou got down to beauty queen business after having just “one hour of sleep”.
“I could barely…
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Medals don't make people, says Larkin
History is written by the victors, so goes the famous quote by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Perhaps the saying is a bit simplistic, but there is no denying gold medallists are almost always celebrated the…
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Simulated attacks at multiple locations test Singapore's counter-terrorism response
The two-day, multi-agency exercise is meant to test Singapore’s readiness to deal with a major terrorist incident.
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Terror threat levels higher than what we’ve seen for years: DPM Teo
Speaking at an anti-terror exercise on Tuesday (Oct 18), Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean called on Singaporeans to stay alert, stay united, and stay strong in the event of a terror attack.
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Engineers, technicians among hard-to-fill job positions: Survey
SINGAPORE – More employers are having problems filling job vacancies, a survey has found, reflecting the mismatch in jobs and skills that government leaders recently highlighted while addressing the rising number of layoffs.
The Talent Shortage Survey,…
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Fire at Wisma Atria; about 100 evacuated
SINGAPORE – About 100 people were evacuated after a small fire broke out at Orchard mall Wisma Atria on Monday (Oct 17) afternoon.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at about 5.20pm.
The fire involved the contents of a cabinet in a shop on the second floor, and was extinguished by SCDF emergency responders using one water jet.
Four people were taken to the Singapore General Hospital for smoke inhalation.
The “minor fire” at a shop on the second floor was “confined to a small area of the unit”, SCDF said. The Straits Times understands that the fire started at Masterpiece Time & Jewels.
A staff member from Masterpiece, who declined to be named, said: “We didn’t see any flames but there was smoke coming out from the air vent.”
There were three staff members in the shop when it happened.
As a precaution, about 100 persons were evacuated from the building, it added. By 6.30pm, tenants and patrons were allowed back into the building, SCDF said.
Fire engines were lined along the road outside the mall.
A 23-year-old staff member at Paris Baguette Cafe opposite the affected shop said that there had been four or five staff members working when the fire alarm went off around 5.30pm.
She said that they had to throw away about $1,000 worth of goods including salad, sandwiches and pastries.
“They all got covered in smoke so we can’t sell them to customers any more,” the staff member, who only wanted to be known as Ms Lee, told The Straits Times.
Shopper Zhu Meishan, 45, was having dinner at Food Republic on the fourth floor of Wisma when she heard the announcement to evacuate the building.
“One woman was determinedly eating her noodles despite the situation while another one was standing near the escalator, eating her food while waiting for evacuation instructions,” Ms Zhu told The Straits Times.
Mrs Maria Cristina Pacayra , 46, a retail staff at TYAN, a clothing store two stores away from the affected watch shop, had been doing a stock check.
“When we first heard the alarm we weren’t really sure if it was a fire. In the end I smelt smoke and went out, luckily none of our goods were affected,” she said.
SCDF said it sent two fire bikes, two fire engines, two Red Rhinos, three support vehicles and two ambulances to Wisma Atria.
The cause of fire is under investigation.
This article was first published on Oct 17, 2016.
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How bad is hunger in Asia?
New Delhi – Placed 29 in a ranking of 118 developing countries, China has the lowest level of hunger in Asia, according to the newly-released Global Hunger Index. Many other Asian countries still stand out for their poor performance in reducing their overall hunger rate.
Besides China, Malaysia and Thailand are the two other countries which have been ranked highest in Asia with regard to keeping levels of hunger low- as defined by a number of metrics including child mortality.
Malaysia was ranked 44 and Thailand was ranked 51 in the Global Hunger Index, 2016 which is compiled by the International Food Policy Research Institute, an Washington-DC based research centre, with Germany’s Welthungerhilfe.
The GHI ranks countries on three equally weighted indicators: the proportion of people who are undernourished, the proportion of children under five who are underweight, and the child mortality rate.
While China has come closest to controlling hunger, its southern neighbours Pakistan and India suffers the greatest level of hunger in the region. India is ranked 97th, behind Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, among others, but ahead of Pakistan and three other Asian countries. Further, over 15 per cent of Indian children aged below five and 10.5 per cent of Pakistani children under five suffer child wasting or acute malnutrition.
Laos, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have also not been able to meet the challenge of eradicating hunger, as all three countries have fared poorly with rankings of 93, 90 and 84 respectively.
Myanmar, Nepal and Indonesia, with rankings of 75, 72 and 72 respectively, have demonstrated a poor record of keeping hunger at bay.
If hunger continues to decrease at the same rate it has been falling since 1992, around 45 countries, including India and Pakistan will remain far short of the United Nations’ goal to end hunger by that year.
Overall, the report said, South Asia, after sub-Saharan Africa, remains the hungriest region. In contrast, East and Southeast Asia represent low or moderate levels of hunger.
Temperatures could reach 35°C in next fortnight: Met Service
The Meteorological Service Singapore says that warmer conditions are common during the Inter-Monsoon season, when there is strong solar heating and the winds are generally light.
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Home Team Academy's new centre taps technology to improve capabilities
This aggressive push towards technology is part of plans being rolled out under the Home Team Transformation 2025 roadmap.
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Infrastructure investment a new vector for globalisation: World Bank
World Bank said infrastructure investment is a valuable source of long-term income streams that can help to address global challenges of an ageing population and lower levels of private investment.
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