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Indonesia's Sampoerna Agro fined record sum for 2014 forest fires

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JAKARTA – Indonesian plantation company Sampoerna Agro is considering how to respond to a recent court ruling that handed down the country’s largest ever fine to a company linked to forest fires, a company official said on Monday.

“We’re still studying this,” Sampoerna Agro spokesman Michael Kesuma told Reuters when asked whether the company would appeal the decision.

Kesuma referred to a Jakarta court ruling on August 11 that found Sampoerna unit PT National Sago Prima negligent in relation to fires on 3,000 hectares of its concessions in Riau in 2014, and handed down fines totalling 1.07 trillion rupiah (S$110 million).

According to a spokesman at Indonesia’s environment ministry, the fine is the biggest ever to be handed down to a company linked to fires.

Five other lawsuits are currently being pursued by the government against companies linked to forest fires, environment ministry spokesman Novrizal said in a written statement.

An intensification of law enforcement by Indonesia could help deter companies and individuals from using fire to clear land.

Last year PT Kalista Alam was fined 366 billion rupiah in relation to fires in Aceh province.

Indonesia’s efforts to penalize companies allegedly responsible for its annual forest fires suffered a setback in late 2015 when a judge rejected a US$565 million lawsuit against a pulp and paper firm, PT Bumi Mekar Hijau.

Fires in Indonesia, often set in the dry season by companies clearing land for plantations, cause an annual “haze” crisis that blankets large parts of the region in choking smog.

Home to the world’s third-largest area of tropical forests, Indonesia has been criticised by green activists and by neighbouring Southeast Asian nations for failing to stop the annual haze.

The heavy smoke from slash-and-burn clearing often comes from the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, where large forest concessions are used by pulp and paper and palm oil companies, some of which are listed in Singapore.

Singapore said in June it was planning to prosecute Indonesian polluters in Singapore courts under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act.

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'I had goosebumps': Joseph Schooling on being honoured in Parliament

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“It’s been pretty draining. But then again, it’s been a fun ride and I’m enjoying every moment so far,” says the 21-year-old Olympic gold medallist.

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S’porean family detained in M’sia for 2 weeks for verbally abusing immigration officer

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KUALA LUMPUR – A Singaporean family has been arrested and detained for 14 days in an investigation on alleged verbal abuse against an Immigration Department officer from Malaysia during a border inspection.
Johor Immigration Department Rohaizi Bahari said on…

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How to Excel in your Presentation & Communication with Modern Soft Skills

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How to Excel in your Presentation & Communication with Modern Soft Skills
from Friday, September 2, 2016 at 7:15 PM to Friday, September 2, 2016 at 10:00 PM

1 North Bridge Road

#06-01, High Street Centre, Singapore, Singapore

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"Smoke" at Tanjong Pagar MRT station caused by air-conditioning leak

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SINGAPORE – A leak of refrigerant gas from a train’s air-conditioning system caused what looked like smoke to billow from an underground station in central Singapore on Monday, train operator SMRT said.

There were no injuries, police said.

Videos on social media showed commuters rushing out of a train at the Tanjong Pagar station, covering their noses to protect themselves from grey gas.

Some of them were seen taking pictures on their phones.

The gas triggered alarm after Indonesian police arrested six suspected Islamist militants on Aug 5 on suspicion of plotting an attack on Singapore.

Margaret Teo, head of corporate marketing and communications for train operator SMRT Corporation Ltd, said there had been a leak of Freon gas.

“The discharge of Freon into the tunnel reduced visibility at parts of the station when the platform screen doors were opened for passengers to exit the train,” Teo said in an e-mailed statement.

“SMRT staff switched on the tunnel ventilation system immediately to disperse the odourless gas,” she said, adding that train services were not affected.

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Monday, August 15, 2016 – 19:27
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Pokemon 'goes' to Myanmar

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YANGON – Even though it hasn’t been officially launched in Myanmar, the game Pokemon Go is luring crowds of gamers there into the search for the virtual creatures.

The game was launched in other parts of Southeast Asia only one week ago.

Already budding Pokemon trainers heading to what may be one of the world’s most unusual PokeStops.

This one is set up at a local Chinese Fusan Temple in Yangon.

The players download an app for their phone from third-party providers, and then begin hunting for Pokemon.

But officials are also warning players to beware of thieves who appear to be heading to places where players congregate.

Gamer Myat Min Soe says that’s not the fault of the players. He said, “In Singapore, police officials have released warning signs for the gamers. But I don’t think we need this in our country. If gamers are robbed, this is not the gamer’s fault. The gamers are victims and shouldn’t be blamed.”

The game’s developers have urged players to be aware of their surroundings, but that may be hard to do when a trainer is in hot pursuit of a Bulbasaur.

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Monday, August 15, 2016 – 18:54
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Shanmugam, Low Thia Khiang cross swords on overpayment of volunteer police

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In Parliament on Monday (Aug 15) Workers’ Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang crossed swords with Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam over a lapse flagged by the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO), which found that the police had overpaid its Volunteer Special…

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Kingsmen raise funds for marginalised youth

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SINGAPORE – Kingsmen Creatives Ltd (Kingsmen or the Group), a leading communication design and production group, on Saturday organised a Charity Walk & Bike event, to raise funds for Students Care Service (SCS), in support of their programmes for marginalised youth.

SCS is Kingsmen’s official Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) partner for 2015 – 2016, and both parties have collaborated to build closer relationships with the less privileged and foster a more caring society.

Embracing design and sports, Kingsmen’s multi-disciplinary designers from over seven countries came together to show the SCS youth the limitless potential of creativity through the individual customisation of 50 bicycles which were presented to them by the guest-of-honour Dr Janil Puthucheary, Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of Education and Kingsmen’s management team.

The event was held at Bay East Garden (Promenade Lawn) and featured a 20km cycling route and 5km walk.

As part of Kingsmen’s CSR programme with SCS, the Group embarked on the upgrading of the Hougang centre, where the student activity hall was refurbished to create a fun and conducive space for the students to hang out in, and invested time, resources and rallied its staff to participate in various SCS activities such as Go for Goal! and Sports Mania – a community engagement project that involved the youth from the organisation and Kingsmen.

In addition, a charity golf event was held in June to raise funds for SCS. Together with the Kingsmen Charity Walk & Bike 2016, the two events raised over $350,000 for SCS thus far.

Mr Benedict Soh, Chairman of Kingsmen, said “We are pleased to be involved in such a worthy cause, one that seeks to maximise the potential of youth and their future. As a group, we are committed to giving back to the communities in which we operate throughout the region. I am heartened to see our staff dedicating their time and energy to participate in the activities.”

Dr Ang Seng Bin, Chairman of SCS, mentioned “Kingsmen’s growth over the last 40 years is phenomenal and the Group’s pursuit of quality and customer-centricity resonates strongly with SCS’ core values. We are privileged to be Kingsmen’s official Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) partner for 2015 – 2016. This partnership has strengthened SCS’ position in serving the youth within our community.

“Funds raised from Kingsmen Charity Golf and Saturday’s Walk & Bike event will enable us to continue providing quality programmes and services for youth who are in need of support. We would like to thank Kingsmen for its support and we look forward to future collaborations.”

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What did Singapore Airlines really give Schooling?

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Singapore’s Olympic hero, Joseph Schooling, returned home with the country’s first ever gold medal.

Before his flight back from Brazil, Singapore Airlines gave the 21-year-old 1 million Krisflyer miles along with a KrisFlyer…

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Still no plans to build MRT station between Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Gombak: Khaw

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The Ministry of Transport will “continue to monitor developments in the area and will reconsider our position if and when the ridership case becomes stronger”, said Mr Khaw Boon Wan.

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