By now you, our dear followers, would have noticed not just a revamp of our website, but a new AsiaOne logo.
After nearly three years, the familiar yellow-and-black design has been replaced by an orange logo, signifying not only a zestier, bolder flavour, but a maturing of the brand, cementing our position as one of Singapore’s leading digital media.
After all, AsiaOne is 25 years young in 2020, being among the region’s earliest entrants to the online space.
The new AsiaOne identity, including the individual verticals.
We have come to be known for an off-centre voice on the news of the day, bringing you what you want to know, instead of what you should know, while continuing to be anchored in solid journalistic standards, backed by an arsenal of best-in-class content partners.
“We are very impressed with the efforts they are making to find every case, follow up with contacts and stop transmission,” said director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Tuesday (Feb 18).
“Singapore is leaving no stone unturned, testing every case of influenza-like illness and pneumonia.”
Nonetheless, one of the best ways to stay safe is to stay informed. And the best way to stay informed is with data — lots of it.
The ‘queen of controversy’ Wendy Cheng (better known as Xiaxue) is back in the headlines, this time with her stance against glorifying morbid obesity.
But things spiralled into a social media spat when local actress (and fellow Clicknetwork host) Oon Shu An presented a dissenting opinion. Xiaxue followed up with a comment on Shu An’s Instagram post and called her a hypocrite on Instagram Stories.
Responding to AsiaOne last night (Feb 19) through an email, 35-year-old Xiaxue said: “I was so disgusted when I saw her post because I thought we were friends. She could have texted me first but I guess virtue signalling was more important to her.
“I maintain my stance that nobody should be telling the morbidly obese they are beautiful and okay the way they are, and she chooses to see it as being cruel to them. I think what’s being cruel is to let people die from obesity related diseases if they don’t wake up from their delusion that they are brave, gorgeous and their size 24 bodies should be celebrated.”
Netizens were disgusted by the act, with some commenting that the culprit should go to jail, and others who live in the area were saying that they would take the stairs instead of the lift.
SINGAPORE: The Buzz convenience store has apologised after cancelling the planned sale of face masks at 14 locations islandwide, prompting angry comments from netizens and some customers at its outlets.
At about 10am on Thursday (Feb 20), Buzz had posted on Facebook that it will sell V-Isolation surgical face masks in “limited quantities” at several of its stores located mostly in the heartlands, having advertised the sale in the day’s edition of The New Paper and Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao.
The sale would start at 3pm on Thursday, it said, with customers only allowed to buy one box of 50 masks at S$35 each.
Watsons Online’s price for a box of 50 surgical masks is S$12.
Several netizens initially complained about the seemingly steep price, questioning if this was yet another case of a retailer trying to profiteer from the greater demand for face masks and hand sanitisers amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.
“The sale was a misguided attempt to meet public demand for masks. We have decided instead to donate the masks to charities in need of the supplies,” it wrote. “It was an error in judgement and we are sorry for any inconvenience caused as well.”
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), of which Buzz is a wholly-owned subsidiary, told CNA that the convenience store operator had intended to make available to the public a limited number of surgical masks it had in stock.
The stock was left over after fulfilling a corporate order, an SPH spokesperson said.
“After further internal deliberation, we made the decision to call off the sale recognising that this limited quantity was unlikely to meet all the market demand,” he added.
They believe that the beneficiaries of the charities would have a greater need for the masks, he said.
He added: “We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to those who had queued up at our outlets for the masks.”
Netizens responding to Buzz’s Facebook post were not happy with the last-minute notification, with many describing crushed hopes and wasted time. Some had arrived early in anticipation of long queues, only to learn about the cancellation from the shopkeeper.
Facebook user Daniel Yap wrote: “A lot of elderly were queuing since 12pm relying on the job advertisement published on newspaper … there is also no reply when I try to call up SPH.”
When CNA visited four Buzz convenience stores on Thursday at about 4pm, signs had been put up apologising for the inconvenience caused.
A number of customers who were turned away said they accepted the decision, pointing out that they were in the area anyway. Some said they would just spend more time at home, and make do with the masks they already have.
CUSTOMERS UNHAPPY WITH MOVE
Others, however, were less than pleased.
A customer at the store’s Toa Payoh Interchange outlet said she had queued up for about half an hour with 10 to 15 people at about 1pm, before they were told that the masks were not on sale.
She said she wanted to buy the masks to wear to the hospital as she had frequent appointments.
“We also need the masks. Selling it to us and giving the masks to charity is the same,” she said.
While she said she was upset at the time wasted, she went to a nearby shop to get a box of 50 masks at S$50, she said.
Another customer who only wanted to be known as Madam Tan, 55, said she had been searching for face masks at several locations and felt that the move was a waste of her time.
Customers at the Buzz convenience store outlet in Bedok. (Photo: Rachel Phua)
“You advertise then you cannot sell,” she told CNA at the Tampines bus interchange outlet, adding that she was angry.
Mr Ricky Ling had rushed down to the Bedok bus interchange outlet because he had wanted to buy the masks for his grandchildren.
“It would’ve been okay if they were sold out,” he said, calling it a case of “misleading your customers”.
Snacc Attacc is a bi-weekly video series where we try out different snacks and let you know if it’s worth “snacc-(a)ttacking”.
This week, we go the healthy route and try vegan snacks to find out if they are really as yucky as we thought it to be, and if can they replace the sinful snacks that our tastebuds are familiar with.
Vegan food is usually associated with words like “bland”, “unappetising” and “tasteless”.
To dispel this common notion, we put some vegan snacks to the test to see if they can win over our hearts.
For the uninitiated, veganism isn’t all about sticking to a diet. It’s a philosophical lifestyle that abstains from the consumption and usage of animals, as well as the products derived from them. In terms of food, the diet is void of dairy, eggs and milk that comes from the animals.
If you’re looking for healthier alternatives to snack without the guilt, vegan snacks might just do the trick. Plus, they can be found in both vegan marts and the usual supermarkets as well.
SINGAPORE – Five Singaporeans quarantined aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship remain physically well after more than two weeks, The Straits Times understands.
This comes as two Japanese passengers in their 80s were reported to have died from the coronavirus, according to broadcaster NHK on Thursday (Feb 20).
They died in hospital, where they had been receiving treatment since being moved from the ship on Feb 11 and 12, NHK said.
Criticism of the Japanese government’s handling of the issue has been mounting.
More than 600 passengers have tested positive for the Covid-19 disease. This makes this ship, which has been docked off the coast of Japan since Feb 3, the largest single cluster outside of China.
The World Health Organisation has said that the cases on the Diamond Princess are “cases on an international conveyance” and should not count in Japan’s total.
About 440 passengers have been allowed to leave the ship as of Wednesday (Feb 19) as quarantine operations began to wind down.
SINGAPORE: A new portal for Singaporeans looking to support community efforts for the COVID-19 outbreak was launched on Thursday (Feb 20) by Social and Family Development Minister Desmond Lee.
This comes after Mr Lee said during a COVID-19 press conference on Feb 12 that it would be useful to have a “centralised place” to coordinate ground-up offers of help.
The portal, found at www.sgunited.gov.sg, is a one-stop platform for volunteer and donation opportunities from both charities and the public.
Despite the concerns over COVID-19 by Singaporeans “fearful of the impact of the disease”, the response has been “strong” and “encouraging”, said Mr Lee, at the launch of SG United portal at a food packing session for charity Food from the Heart.
“There’s concern, there’s worry, there’s fear, but equally Singaporeans are saying, ‘we will not be moved. We will act and act positively’,” he said.
“Equally, Singaporeans have asked us – with all this need on the ground, how would they know where to go to, what kinds of needs … And what they can do to play a part.”
The portal is “in response to people, to give better signposting of the needs on the ground”, said Mr Lee.
There are four tabs on the website: volunteer, donate, support and share.
Those looking to volunteer for COVID-19 efforts will be directed to an SG United-specific landing page on volunteer platform giving.sg.
Donations can be made to funds such as the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s The Courage Fund and the Community Foundation of Singapore’s Sayang Sayang Fund.
A Food from the Heart volunteer helps load a trolley. (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
Singaporeans can also make in-kind donations for items requested by social service agencies on cityofgood.sg.
Community stories of citizen-led initiatives and community-generated health resources on COVID-19 will also be available on the website. All stories and resources will be curated by the SG United team.
The portal will also allow Singaporeans to pen appreciative messages via links to other websites.
For real-time updates, interested parties can check the SG United Telegram channel. Those interested in volunteering may also refer to the SG Cares app for opportunities.
Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee helps volunteers pack food for the needy. (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
The portal was developed by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre.
The site will be live for the duration of COVID-19, after which it will be archived.
Members of the public who would like to post their own ground-up initiatives may do so on the SG United site. The team will respond within two to three working days.
HELP FOR SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES
The Ministry of Social and Family Development and the National Council of Social Service will also provide charities which are members of the Council with S$3,000.
This is “to help them with COVID-19-related expenses such as disinfection, such as cleaning, such as the procurement of additional PPE and safety equipment, and also to help them with business continuity measures”, said Mr Lee.
SG United will also help charities meet manpower needs, after some charities reported seeing volunteers pulling out.
Food from the Heart CEO Sim Bee Hia said that the charity had 22 sessions cancelled from Feb 10 to Feb 29, after corporations and schools pulled out of the sessions.
“So we were looking at 300 to 400 people that we needed to get the (food) packs out,” she said.
Although Food from the Heart has always used their own channels to call for volunteers, the portal will greatly expand their reach.
“With a new portal, what is different with this is the posting of (community) stories and it will help us to reach out to more people. People who don’t know us will now be able to go into a central portal where they can check out all the charities who need help.”
She added that sharing community stories was also “critical” during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“When you share stories and words of encouragement, it makes a lot of difference to us in the sector and to our volunteers, and you will be able to push us further,” she said.
As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases here edges closer to three digits, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has activated hundreds of general practitioner clinics across the country to allow people with respiratory symptoms to receive subsidised treatment and medication.
The initiative — the government’s latest attempt to contain the virus outbreak — will eventually see about 900 GP clinics activated as part of MOH’s network of designated Public Health Preparedness Clinics.
The important question: how much are we expected to fork out to fix our flu and cough at these participating clinics? Citizens and permanent residents will just have to pay a flat rate of $10 for consultation and treatment, while Singaporeans in the Pioneer and Merdeka generations will only pay $5.
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said in his Budget speech on Tuesday (Feb 18) that Singapore will have 28,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging points by 2020.
This will come as good news to early adopters of EVs, like Hyundai’s Ioniq Electric, as it’s a massive increase from the current count of around 1,600 charging points.
This move aims to support the government’s vision of a cleaner motoring fleet.
In tandem with this, Mr Heng also said that Singapore will phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2040 and that schemes will be implemented to make EVs more attractive.
To do that, the Vehicular Emissions Scheme, which metes out tax rebates and surcharges based on a vehicle’s emission levels, will be extended to light commercial vehicles.
Also, an early-adoption incentive scheme will be rolled out for EV buyers from 2021 to 2023. It will offer rebates capped at $20,000 per vehicle.
Finally, the road tax for EVs and hybrid vehicles will be revised.
