The trip aims to reaffirm bilateral ties between both countries, as they seek to renew their co-operation in maritime, economic and educational sectors.
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President Tony Tan to make Singapore's first official state visit to Norway
Formula One: Rosberg edges Hamilton for Japan pole
Suzuka, Japan – Nico Rosberg stormed to pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix for a third successive year on Saturday, piling more pressure on world champion Lewis Hamilton.
The German, who has a 23-point lead over Hamilton in the Formula One championship with five races to go, will start alongside his British foe on the front row as the two Mercedes continued their domination in Suzuka.
Rosberg has been quickest all weekend, while Hamilton has been forced to play second fiddle after being cruelly robbed of victory in Malaysia by an engine fire six days ago.
The triple world champion asked questions of his bitter rival, but Rosberg produced a superb lap to pip Hamilton by just 0.013s in a nail-biting finish to qualifying for Sunday’s race.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen will start from third, next to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
“I knew I could do it. I just had to get my head down and nail it,” said Rosberg.
“The end of qualifying was pretty intense but I had a good feeling. I knew if I get the job done and put in a decent lap then it should be enough,” added the German, whose edge over Hamilton was calculated by Mercedes to work out to just 82 centimetres.
Rosberg, who is chasing his first win in Japan and his fourth victory in his last five races, failed to convert pole into victory at Suzuka in 2014 and 2015, losing out to Hamilton both times.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel clocked the fourth-fastest qualifying time but a three-place grid penalty for a first-corner crash with Rosberg in Malaysia means he starts seventh.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who inherited victory in Sepang after Hamilton’s misfortune, qualified fifth ahead of Force India’s Sergio Perez, while Vettel starts alongside Romain Grosjean’s Haas on the fourth row.
Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India and Esteban Gutierrez’s Haas rounded out the top 10.
However, there was frustration for McLaren in engine supplier Honda’s home race with Fernando Alonso on row eight and Jenson Button qualifying on row nine.
Hamilton insisted he could still halt Rosberg’s momentum by winning Sunday’s race after doing exactly that the past two years in Japan.
“I’m happy with qualifying,” said Hamilton, who courted controversy this week after hinting his Malaysia heartbreak may have been caused by sabotage from within Mercedes.
“I did as well as I could I think. History has shown you don’t have to be on pole to get the win.”
F1 race heats up in Singapore Grand Prix
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Abortion possible in Thai birth defect cases linked to Zika, officials say
BANGKOK – Predominantly Buddhist Thailand will allow abortion in cases with foetuses with proven birth defects linked to the Zika virus, health officials said on Thursday, in keeping with existing guidelines.
Thailand last week confirmed its first known cases of microcephaly linked to the mosquito-borne virus. The two cases of the birth defect marked by a small head were the first in Southeast Asia, following Zika outbreaks in the Americas.
Health experts who met this week to draft guidelines for expectant mothers with Zika concluded that abortions can be carried out at up to 24 weeks in case of serious birth defects.
“The difficulty with Zika is to determine microcephaly. It is usually found later in pregnancy,” Pisek Lumpikanon, president of the Royal Thai College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, told Reuters.
“Legal medical abortions can be done up to 24 weeks,” he added. “The reason is that at 24 weeks and after the baby already has a good chance of survival.”
What is the Zika virus?
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Abortion is illegal in Thailand, except in cases of rape or to save a woman’s life or preserve her health, and if carried out in up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. Beyond that time, hospitals must decide on a case-by-case basis and can carry out medical abortions at up to 24 weeks, Pisek said.
“This is what can currently be done in Thailand in cases of Down syndrome, for example,” he said.
There are no specific tests to determine if a baby will be born with microcephaly but ultrasound scans can identify it in the third trimester of pregnancy, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says.
Thailand has said it is considering testing all pregnant women for Zika.
Inadequate screening by health authorities across Southeast Asia is likely to lead to significant under-reporting of the spread of Zika, regional experts say.
Thailand has confirmed 392 cases of Zika since January, with 39 pregnant women among them, while the wealthy city-state of Singapore has recorded 393 cases, including 16 pregnant women.
Despite its laissez-faire reputation among travellers, Thailand remains largely conservative, and Theravada Buddhism, the form of the religion practised by up to 95 per cent of its people, regards abortion as a sin.
That might lead some doctors to decline to terminate pregnancies, Pisek said, adding, “Buddhism won’t affect the law, but some doctors might refuse.”
Raising a child with microcephaly
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Crocs: 30% Off Storewide Online Promo from 8 – 10 Oct 2016
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Worker falls through rubbish chute near Queenstown
The man in his 20s was later sent to the National University hospital for his injuries.
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Extra courses lead to bronze medal in regional competition for ITE graduate
After graduating from one course at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College East, she went back to pursue her dream course.
Miss Khloe Ng’s persistence and hard work was rewarded when she won a bronze medal in the Beauty Therapy category in the 11th ASEAN Skills Competition last month.
The ASEAN Skills Competition has been around since 1993 and, every two years, it lets competitors from regional countries showcase skills such as cooking and hairdressing.
Miss Ng, 20, a former Serangoon Secondary School student, enrolled in the Electrical Engineering course after missing the cut for the Beauty and Wellness course.
She performed decently in her course, but remained more interested in Beauty and Wellness.
Her twin sister, Miss Kaylyn Ng, was in that same course.
Miss Khloe Ng told The New Paper: “I really liked studying in Electrical Engineering, but I felt that the beauty and spa industry would be more appropriate for me. The hours required in Electrical Engineering were a little too long.”
Her teacher told her to change courses, but she wanted to finish what she had started.
After two years, she joined the Higher Nitec in Beauty and Spa Management course and she did so well she was shortlisted by her form teacher, Ms Heather Leung, 51, to enter the competition.
Ms Leung said: “Khloe is very reserved and can be very quiet in class, to the point that you don’t realise she’s there sometimes.
“She follows instructions to a T and picks up skills quickly, executing them professionally with high standards. She also thinks on her feet and that’s how I knew she would be fit for the competition.”
DRAINING
The days leading up to the competition in Kuala Lumpurwere mentally and physically draining for Miss Ng as she had finished her exams just two weeks earlier.
To add to her stress, it was mandatory for candidates to go through extra in-depth training classes outside of their curriculum to prepare them for industry-standard skills.
“I was nervous about the competition and wasn’t sure if I was ready,” said Miss Ng.
“But my friends and family encouraged me to seize the opportunity as it was an experience, so I did.”
She said she became so nervous during the competition that she did badly on the first day. She kept forgetting the steps and dropping her tools.
While she was taking a break, she walked around to calm herself down and tried to remember what the procedures were.
Said Miss Ng: “I had to tell myself to treat it as if it’s a normal training in school.”
The three days of competition included a segment on manicures, pedicures and facials on the first day, express facial and spa/body on the second day, and nail art and make-up on the last day.
When she found out she had won a bronze medal, both she and Ms Leung could not believe it.
Miss Ng’s mother, Madam Solvin Goh, 48, told TNP in Mandarin: “I’m so proud of my daughter and that her efforts have paid off. This competition wasn’t about winning the prize, but the experience and striving to do the best that you can.”
Miss Ng won the bronze medal with an Indonesian candidate, while two Malaysian candidates won the gold medal.
Dr Yek Tiew Ming, 56, principal of ITE College East, said: “The school and I are very happy for Khloe.
“I felt she worked hard and had an immense amount of self-discipline, given the fact that it was an international competition and she was pitting herself up against others who are the best in the country.
“I hope that she can continue to pursue her passion in this field and continue to prove herself, like others before her.”
This article was first published on October 08, 2016.
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Teen artist with Asperger's impresses big companies
Designing a T-shirt for lifestyle brand Timberland might be a tall order for most teens.
But Asher Ng, 13, turned to the tallest animal in the world for inspiration.
The Pathlight School student, who loves animals, drew the feet of a giraffe snuggled in a pair of Timberland boots – by hand.
Explaining his design, Asher told The New Paper: “The giraffe has long legs and I think it would look good in boots. Since it lives in the safari, the weather there is harsh so it needs a good pair of boots.”
The teen’s design was one of two chosen by Timberland to be printed on T-shirts, which went on sale yesterday for $39.
For each T-shirt sold, $5 will go to The Art Faculty, which sells products by students from the school. Pathlight School specialises in teaching autistic children.
Asher was one of 12 students selected by the school for Timberland’s design project, which was part of an effort to give back to the community.
He is one of the 36 students enrolled in the school’s Artist Development Programme. (See report above.)
Ms Daisy Tan, 38, general manager of VF Brands, the parent company of Timberland, was impressed with the standard of designs.
She said: “Asher’s design had everything that you find in our boots – the quartz stitch design, as well as the silhouette feel.”
Ms Loy Sheau Mei, 51, senior vice-principal of Pathlight School, said: “This is a platform for more people to understand about the talents and abilities of this special community.”
Asher has come a long way since he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a mild form of autism, at six years old.
His mother, Madam Lillian Ong, 47, a retail manager, said she and her husband felt very sad about his situation at first, but looked for solutions.
Madam Ong said: “(When he was about three), we wanted to know how to improve the situation instead, so we decided to enrol him in speech and occupational therapy back then.
“We eventually sent him to Pathlight School when he was seven as it provided a mainstream education in a special needs school.”
ARTISTIC TALENT
Two years later, they sent him to Very Special Art, a local charity dedicated to providing opportunities in the art for people with disabilities.
Asher won the first contest he took part in and his parents realised that art was a medium for him to express his dreams to the outside world.
Since then, his art has been bought by companies such as Credit Suisse and Jurong Port.
Asher also excels at the ukelele, has a great memory and is compassionate.
Madam Ong said: “He performed at the Esplanade (Theatres on the Bay) playing the ukelele and could remember every single piece of information he researched on very clearly.”
He also received the school’s Most Compassionate Student award for two consecutive years,
Madam Ong said: “He always tells me he wants to build an industrial hotel in Ang Mo Kio because there are a lot of workers there. He thinks that an affordable, nice hotel would be good as they would not have to travel all over.”
The teen, who just completed his PSLE last week, said: “I want to set up my own company and become an animator.”
About the artist development programme Pathlight School’s Artist Development Programme (ADP) aims to uncover and develop the potential of students. Under it, student artists are nurtured and taught by professional art teachers.
They are given opportunities to exhibit their works and where possible, their artwork is turned into art merchandise, and student artists can earn royalties.
The ADP made headlines two months ago when Ms Ho Ching, wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, arrived at the White House with a dinosaur-motif purse designed by a Pathlight School student, See Toh Sheng Jie, 19.
This article was first published on October 08, 2016.
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Migrant workers, teachers, students paint Race Course Road community mural
It is easy to miss the littlest artistic details along the bustling Race Course Road.
But walk a little slowly and you will spot a mural painted along the narrow alley between shophouse No. 50 and shophouse No. 48.
Depicting a racing horse cutting through a street market, the mural is aptly titled A Ride through Race Course Road. It spans 20m long, with the highest point touching 8m high.
This community art project is spearheaded by Singaporean artist Jaxton Su Jingxiang, 28, a Master of Fine Art student at The Glasgow School of Art.
Forty three people – 17 migrant workers, one painting assistant, as well as 23 students and two teachers from Raffles Institution – helped him paint during his month-long project back in June.
The project was sponsored by Singapore Turf Club, the National Youth Council (NYC), and Matchbox, a grant platform by the National Arts Council (NAC) for people aged 35 and below.
For almost every day, Mr Su painted his vision of a scene from the past.
He said: “I think many Singaporeans don’t know why the road is called Race Course Road, so I hope a mural would help passers-by understand our heritage.”
There were horse races, at what is now Farrer Park, from 1842 to 1933.
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MARKET VIBE
Trading goods from past to present – Chinese biscuit tins, Indian spices, Indian flowers, rattan products – were included to enhance the street market vibe he wanted to convey.
To paint the mural, Mr Su approached the NAC early this year, receiving advice on the communities to involve.
Some of the migrant workers staying in the shophouse at No. 50 helped him paint on Sundays.
Mr Su said: “Through this project, I got to chat with and understand them better. It was nice hearing that they had enjoyed the experience, and left a mark at the place they work and live in.”
Art Club students from Raffles Institution – 13 from Year 1 to 4, and 10 from Year 5 to 6 – and two teachers were also roped in.
Ms Ang Tze Qi, a teacher-mentor, saw it as an opportunity for her students to contribute to the community.
She added: “The opportunity to work with an artist was also a precious one as they could learn what it is like to be a practising artist in Singapore.
“It is definitely encouraging for the students to see that it is possible to pursue their passions here.”
Head of Corporate Communications at Singapore Turf Club, Mr Eric Loh, said: “We felt it was a great idea to celebrate the heritage and significance of the area where Singapore Turf Club first had its origin.”
An NYC spokesman said that the project was supported by the NYC’s Young ChangeMakers (YCM) grant.
YCM fosters leadership development by giving seed funding, support and resources to youths keen on launching their own community projects.
“Youths are also empowered as panellists to assess grants, and as mentors, guiding their peers’ projects,” the spokesman added.
Mr Su has painted at least nine other community art projects, and at least four other murals.
His latest project, Colours of Little India, features windows with ornaments close to the Indian culture, such as spices and garlands.
This article was first published on October 08, 2016.
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Bloody football could do with a large dose of common sense
Blood flows in a World Cup qualifier, and Brazil’s new coach tells the victim – Neymar – that he must learn to turn the other cheek.
A new England manager, Gareth Southgate, is ordained, and starts off with a statement of such studied calm that others rush to remind us that Southgate can also be as nasty as it takes to succeed.
Football, we know, is between the devil and the deep. It will remain so until someone, somehow finds ways to temper its license to print money without breaking every rule in the book.
First, it’s pleasing to report that Brazil is closer now to “The Beautiful Game” than at any time since Tele Santana led the national team back in 1982.
Santana’s “Selecao” did not then possess a Pele, but it has someone now, from the same Santos club where Pele began.
Alas, Neymar Jr, aged 24, is not as grown up as Pele had to be to win his first World Cup at 17.
The Neymar we see is too quick to showboat, and too quick- tempered, too petulant, which makes him susceptible to self- punishment through yellow cards.
Neymar on Thursday scored his 49th Brazil goal, putting him fourth on the country’s all-time list below Pele (77 goals), Ronaldo (62) and Romario (55).
He is one ahead of Zico, from a comparative number of starts in the Brazil shirt – Zico finished on 71 caps, Neymar has 73.
But Neymar, having led Brazil to the Olympic title in August, now needs to stand tall for Barcelona when Lionel Messi is injured, and needs to finish more games than he does for his country.
He is targeted by ruthless opponents, as all the great players tended to be. On Thursday, as Brazil hammered Bolivia 5-0, Neymar was the first scorer, he set up two others, and he had to be substituted after an hour when an opponent, Yasmani Duk, used an elbow to blood his face above the right eye.
Duk is not in Neymar’s class as a player, and never will be. The Bolivian, now 28, is on loan with New York Cosmos. Neymar plays for Barcelona.
But even before Neymar ran into Duk’s deliberately raised elbow, he was body checked by another Bolivian Edward Zenteno, Neymar was booked for belligerence.
The Colombian referee afforded him no protection whatsoever, indeed did not even blow for fouls on either of the martial arts blows perpetrated upon him.
Yet Neymar is now banned from the next qualifier, away to Venezuela.
This means that Neymar will miss four of Brazil’s 10 qualifiers in the process.
Tite, the sensible fellow who has taken over from the dull Dunga as Brazil’s head coach, has liberated attacking instincts that Dunga smothered in negativity. And Tite acknowledges that pandering to Neymar is no way to control him.
Dunga made Neymar captain and saviour, his only concession to star play.
Tite took the captaincy away, or at least the certainty of it. And, after three games, three wins and a great deal of uplift to the fans who despaired of Dunga’s Brazil, the new coach did not duck the issue of discipline.
“There were mistakes from the referee,” Tite said. “There was an excess of fouls derived from a lack of punishment. We – Neymar and me – need maturity to understand that we’ll have to bear these kinds of situations.”
Bolivia fouled to provoke Neymar, to get inside his skin. He reacted and was booked.
“You can say the fouls are from them and it’s the referee’s problem,” Tite told reporters. “It’s my responsibility as a manager to guide the player. It is inhumane to put everything on Neymar.”
Well said, Tite, and well managed. We have a chance now to enjoy Brazil again.
And England? Southgate has four games to impress the FA to give him the role they so ineptly and so hastily gave to Sam Allardyce.
Martin Glenn, the new FA chief executive, should have learnt that appointing an England manager requires rather more savvy than selling a packet of crisps, which was one of Glenn’s former roles as a marketing man.
Maybe, just maybe, the solution will be found in-house. Southgate was there anyway, coaching the Under-21s, some of whom like Tottenham’s Dele Alli were stepping up anyway to the seniors.
But while Alli, Marcus Rashford, John Stones et al are decent prospects, none of them has the God-given talents of Neymar. Nor, hopefully, the errant gene that sometimes persuades him to attempt to get his retaliation in first.
We can imagine what Southgate had in mind when he said last week: “There are lots about the industry of football that I don’t like, but it’s a sport that I love.”
He had the good sense not to elaborate on that. The implosion of Allardyce has yet to unravel, and we cannot yet judge whether he was an idiot engaging his mouth without using his head, or in fact open to corruption.
Southgate was appointed because he was “Johnny on the Spot”, possibly the only man on the FA payroll able to step into the breach. Also because of his reputation for being squeaky clean, for preferring the game to industry that permeates it. No sooner had Southgate spoken than a player from his past chimed in.
“Gareth’s a good guy,” said Roy Keane, the former Manchester United hard man. “I remember he tried to break my leg in a Cup semi-final.”
Keane settled that score on the field in 1995 by stamping down with his studs into Southgate’s chest as he lay grounded – for which Keane was red-carded.
“To be around the game for as long as he has been,” Keane said this week, “he must have that streak in him.”
He paused, smiled, then added: “Obviously not as nasty as me!”
In a curious way, Southgate might almost welcome the “nasty streak” connotation.
Why? Because the game, the industry, is so riddled with doubt that “nice guys” can manage in it.
This article was first published on October 08, 2016.
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Cathay Pacific flies Boeing 747 over Hong Kong one last time
Hong Kong – Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific bid farewell to its Boeing 747 fleet on Saturday with a final low-altitude flyby over the city’s iconic skyline.
The final route harked back to dramatic images of the planes flying low over rooftops of apartment blocks as they used to approach the old airport on the harbour.
Saturday’s flight, codenamed CX8747, flew over the city’s famous Victoria Harbour and the former Kai Tak Airport, which closed in 1998 and was considered one of the most challenging places to land an aircraft due to its crowded urban site surrounded by steep mountains.
Around 300 airline staff made a donation of HK$747 (S$132) to ride on the venerable aircraft, which was first used by Cathay Pacific in 1979, for the last time, the airline said.
Photos of the last flyby, at an altitude of 610m were posted on the airline’s Facebook page, which showed some 747 fans waving goodbye.
“Goodbye and thank you, our dearest Boeing 747,” Adonis Lau said on the airline’s Facebook.
“Cathay 747s brought me and my family between HK and our stays in US and Canada during my childhood. I’ll miss my time on the upper deck,” Denise Ho said.
9 insta-worthy spots in Hong Kong you’ve never seen before
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The airline had said the four-engine 747 aircraft played a significant role in growing Hong Kong into an international aviation hub.
It added the Boeing 747 had spent 3.1 million hours in the air, after its last commercial flight from Tokyo to the southern Chinese city on October 1.
The 400 passenger 747 Jumbo Jet was launched in 1970 and dominated international air travel and cargo over the next decades.
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