Former President S R Nathan’s body will be transferred from his Ceylon Road home to the Parliament House, where members of the public can pay their final respects.
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Live blog: Former President S R Nathan to lie in state in Parliament House
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Hearse departs S R Nathan's Ceylon Road home for Parliament House
SINGAPORE – Former President S R Nathan’s body will lie in state at the Parliament House from Thursday (Aug 25) morning.
A private hearse departed his Ceylon Road home at about 8.45am on Thursday after a two-day private wake. Mr Nathan, who suffered a…
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Myanmar earthquake kills three, damages scores of ancient temples
YANGON – A powerful earthquake shook central Myanmar on Wednesday, killing at least three people including two children, and damaging scores of centuries-old Buddhist pagodas around the ancient capital of Bagan.
The 6.8 magnitude quake shook buildings across the Southeast Asian country, with tremors felt as far away as Thailand – where witnesses reported high rise towers swaying in Bangkok – Bangladesh and eastern India. “We felt quite heavy shaking for about 10 seconds and started to evacuate the building when there was another strong tremor,” said Vincent Panzani of charity Save the Children.
He spoke from Pakkoku, a small town about 25 km northeast of Bagan, the centrepiece of Myanmar’s rapidly expanding tourism industry.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake struck near the town of Chauk, on the Ayeyarwaddy River south of Bagan and about 175 km (110 miles) southwest of the country’s second city Mandalay, just after 5 pm (1030 GMT).
Fire department and Red Cross officials said two children were killed in the small town of Yenanchaung, south of Chauk. “Two young girls died when a pagoda collapsed on a river bank,” said Moe Thidar Win, deputy director of the disaster management team at the Myanmar Red Cross Society. “One man died in a Pakokku tobacco factory when the roof collapsed on him.” In Bagan, known as the “City of 4 Million Pagodas”, one female tourist was injured at a pagoda, said local official Khin Mya Lwin.
The Ministry of Information said nearly 100 of Bagan’s famed pagodas, mostly built between the 11th and 13th centuries, had been damaged.
Bagan has around 2,000-3,000 pagodas and temples, spread over a 42-sq km plain ringed by mist-covered mountains. It rivals Cambodia’s Angkor Wat and Borobudur in Indonesia as Asia’s premier archaeological site.
6.8 magnitude earthquake hits central Myanmar
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SCENES OF PANIC
Elsewhere, damage appeared to have been relatively light, although reports were still filtering through as night fell.
“My house shook during the quake. Many people were scared and they ran out of the buildings,” said Maung Maung Kyaw, a local official of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party in Chauk.
“Some of the old buildings have cracks. The biggest damage is to the bank building in the town.” The quake struck at a relatively deep 84 km (52 miles), the USGS said.
“Most of the reports of damage have been to the pagodas in the area, with dozens impacted, particularly around Bagan,” said Save the Children’s Panzani in Pakkoku. “There have also been reports of damage to smaller, more basic buildings… Several of our staff who’ve lived in this part of Myanmar their whole lives said it was the strongest earthquake they’ve ever felt.”
The quake shook buildings in Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon, and in other towns and cities, witnesses said.
Office buildings in the Thai capital Bangkok, to the east of Myanmar, shook for a few seconds, residents there said.
The quake was also felt in Bangladesh, to the west of Myanmar, where some people ran out into the street as buildings shook, residents said.
Myanmar is in a seismically active part of the world where the Indo-Australian Plate runs up against the Eurasian Plate.
In March, 2011, at least 74 people were killed in an earthquake near its borders with Thailand and Laos.
More than half of Bagan’s pagodas were seriously damaged in a July 1975 earthquake that sent the landmark Buphaya Pagoda tumbling into the Ayeyarwaddy.
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His heart for people of S'pore an inspiration: President Tony Tan
MR S R Nathan was one of the pioneers who built the foundations of Singapore, President Tony Tan Keng Yam said in a condolence letter to Mrs Urmila Nathan.
Mr Nathan “rose from humble beginnings to become the sixth and longest serving President of Singapore”, Dr Tan wrote.
Dr Tan and Mrs Tan were at the private family wake at Mr Nathan’s home in Ceylon Road yesterday afternoon. Mr Nathan died on Monday, aged 92.
He recounted Mr Nathan’s journey from a medical social worker in the 1950s to President of Singapore from 1999 to 2011 in his letter.
“Mr Nathan served with dedication and distinction each time he was called upon to take on leadership positions in various agencies and ministries,” he said.
Recalling the Laju hostage crisis in 1974, Dr Tan said Mr Nathan showed “utmost courage” in the handling of the crisis.
The former president, who was then director of the Security and Intelligence Division at the Ministry of Defence, was among a team who volunteered to take the place of some hostages and successfully negotiated with Palestinian and Japanese Red Army terrorists, he noted.
Singapore’s former president S R Nathan dies
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tabla!, The Straits Times, The New Paper, Berita Harian
After retiring from the civil service, Mr Nathan became the executive chairman of The Straits Times Press (1975), the predecessor of Singapore Press Holdings.
He was later appointed Singapore’s High Commissioner to Malaysia and Ambassador to the United States.
He also uplifted the Indian community as chairman of the Hindu Endowments Board and was a founding member of Sinda.
As president, Mr Nathan championed social causes such as the President’s Challenge, which he initiated.
“I will always remember S R as a courageous, approachable and honourable gentleman who was deeply committed to Singapore,” said Dr Tan.
“Whether as a steadfast diplomat or as a resolute advocate for social causes, S R’s lifetime focus was always on how Singapore can be a better home for Singaporeans.
“His heart for the people of Singapore is an inspiration for me and for all Singaporeans.”
chuimin@sph.com.sg
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Thursday, August 25, 2016 – 08:16
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TB screening begins at Bukit Batok pre-school
A PRE-SCHOOL in Bukit Batok started screening children and staff for latent tuberculosis (TB) yesterday after a teacher was diagnosed with the disease.
Little Greenhouse’s deputy chief operations officer Ruth Kua told The Straits Times that the female teacher had reported sick last Thursday, though she did not show any symptoms of coughing or fever before that.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed the TB diagnosis with the school last Friday afternoon.
“Our children’s health is always our priority. Without delay, we fixed an appointment with an MOH officer to assess the school environment and on Saturday morning, we fumigated and sanitised the whole centre,” Ms Kua said.
The actions taken covered fans, air-conditioners, furniture and toys in the centre.
Over the weekend, teachers also called parents to inform them about the situation and the steps being taken.
The centre, in Bukit Batok Street 31, has 104 pre-school children aged between two months and six.
An assessment by MOH was carried out on Monday and consent forms for the screening were given to parents the next day.
Yesterday morning, the MOH’s TB Control Unit conducted blood tests on the first group of 80 children, who are younger and more vulnerable.
The remaining children will undergo the tests tomorrow.
Twenty staff members will also be screened.
Said Ms Kua: “This morning, the parents came by to drop off their children as usual.
“Not many of them were concerned and, instead, they were appreciative that we had updated them immediately.”
She reported “close to full attendance” at the centre, which has not received instructions to close so far. She added that the school is monitoring the health of the children closely and there has been no signs of any of them falling ill.
The school will be terminating the contract of the teacher, who taught Kindergarten 1 classes at the centre for more than a year.
“This is for the safety of our children since she may have the disease active in her even after she has recovered,” she said.
As a follow-up measure, parents will be able to contact the TB Control Unit for X-rays to be taken of their children.
The costs will be fully subsidised by MOH.
nghuiwen@sph.com.sg
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Man jailed after killing security guard with one punch
Security guard Chew Choo Chian, 74 went to investigate a complaint about someone urinating in public at Fajar Shopping Centre in Bukit Panjang.
When he told the drunk man off, he was punched.
Mr Chew, who was posted to…
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They overcame adversity to become top students – and found love
He was a gang member at 15 and ended up in boys’ home. She was six when her father became a bankrupt and later suffered a brain aneurysm. But adversity toughened them up.
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S R Nathan treated everyone equal, including staff
It was supposed to have been a quiet Valentine’s Day lunch for former President S R Nathan and his wife, courtesy of grandson Kiron.
The place: Quentin’s, at the Eurasian Association just across the road from their home in…
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Man, 73, found dead in Keppel waters
A 73-year-old man was found dead yesterday in the waters behind Reflections At Keppel Bay condominium.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted at about 4.15pm and it sent a fire engine, a Red Rhino, two fire…
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