SINGAPORE – Singapore was recently named the 11th most beautiful city in the world, in a list of 50 cities compiled by Canada-based online travel agency Flight Network.
Topping the list is Paris, with New York and London in second and third place.
Singapore was the highest-ranked Asian city, followed by Tokyo in the 18th position and Hong Kong in 24th place. South-east Asian cities like Hanoi and Bangkok also made the list, coming in at 37th and 43rd respectively.
The results are based on the votes of more than a thousand travel journalists, bloggers and agencies all over the world.
They were asked to consider which cities had the best combination of natural and man-made beauty, the juxtaposition of nature and architecture, city culture and local weather.
Hence, a variety of diverse destinations are featured in the list, from the bustling streets of Dubai to Rome, the historic heart of Italy.
Prominent filming locations were also highlighted, such as the picturesque city of Dubrovnik, Croatia, whose ancient fortresses served as the backdrop for the popular television series Game Of Thrones (2011 to 2019).
Two bodies were found yesterday in a secluded spot on the hilltop in Bukit Batok.
The pair, believed to be a mother and son, were pronounced dead by paramedics on scene.
The New Paper understands that they were Japanese.
According to the police, the body of the five-year-old boy was found in a car, while the body of the 41-year-old woman was found nearby.
The car, which appeared to be a black Honda Vezel, was found in Lorong Sesuai.
From images taken by Shin Min Daily News, the front driver’s side window appeared to be broken.
The police said they were alerted to the two cases of unnatural death at the site at about 6.40am. Investigations are ongoing.
The site, near the Bukit Batok Nature Park, is about a 10-minute walk uphill from the Old Bukit Timah Fire Station in Upper Bukit Timah Road.
The car was found next to a television transmission centre on the Bukit Batok hilltop, which occupies the site where a Japanese memorial shrine, Syonan Chureito, and a British Memorial Cross once stood.
SINGAPORE – Vandals have attacked a DBS branch in Hong Kong by scrawling vulgarities directed at Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, his family and the ruling People’s Action Party.
Photos of the vandalised DBS branch were posted late Thursday morning (Nov 14) on a Facebook group called the Concerned Citizens Band Together for a better Singapore. The post was shared more than 850 times in four hours.
A DBS spokesman told The Straits Times that the graffiti was cleaned off as soon as it was discovered on Thursday morning.
Some Hong Kongers have been upset by comments PM Lee made on the Hong Kong protests at the Forbes Global CEO Conference at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore in October.
During a dialogue at the event, Forbes Media chairman and editor-in-chief Steve Forbes asked PM Lee about the implications of the Hong Kong protests for Singapore.
Among other things, PM Lee said: “We thrive best in Singapore when the region is stable, when other countries are prospering and we can do business with them.”
SINGAPORE – Jurong-Clementi Town Council clarified on Thursday (Nov 14) that hose reel cabinets at Block 210A, Bukit Batok Street 21, where a fire erupted on Nov 1, were padlocked due to previous cases of vandalism.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) issued a warning to the town council after its officers were unable to use the fire hose reels when the fire broke out at the block.
SCDF firefighters from Bukit Batok and Jurong fire stations responded to a fire at the block around 4.30am on Nov 1.
The fire had to be extinguished using water from SCDF’s emergency vehicles after its officers found a few hose reel cabinets in the block locked with padlocks.
After breaking one of the padlocks, the SCDF officers found that there was no water supply for the hose reel inside the cabinet.
Three casualties were taken to Singapore General Hospital for burn injuries and smoke inhalation due to the fire.
Several netizens had questioned the town council’s decision to padlock the cabinets, which were installed for use in emergencies.
Security clearance at all immigration checkpoints in Singapore will be fully automated with fingerprint, facial and iris scan by 2025, as part of the nation’s plan to harness artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to deliver social and economic benefits.
Border security is one of five key national AI projects announced on Wednesday (Nov 13). The projects are part of Singapore’s new national AI strategy unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on the same day.
Speaking at the Singapore FinTech Festival and Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology conference, Mr Heng said: “Countries will need to keep pace with technology, and harness it to tackle common challenges and national priorities.”
Apart from border security, the other AI four projects announced are in logistics, healthcare, education and estate management, said the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office.
The five projects were chosen as they can deliver quick results, and have a high social and economic impact.
A piece of skin about the size of your thumbnail can be printed in less than a minute, scientists in Singapore say, a game-changing step for the future of non-animal testing for cosmetics and other products.
Made up of skin cells from donors and collagen, the in-vitro skin has the same chemical and biological properties as human skin, says Mr John Koh, lab manager at start-up DeNova Sciences, which is collaborating with Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University on the product.
“We can see that the industry is moving towards animal-free testing,” Mr Koh said.
“So we really want to offer a solution to testing on the skin without using animal or human skin.”
The team has accelerated the manufacturing process by using a printing machine to put in precisely patterned layers that mimic human skin. Each tiny piece of skin takes less than a minute to print, which is the distinctive quality of this project.
SINGAPORE: Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix released on Friday (Nov 15) “Super Early Bird” tickets for the 2020 race at promotional prices, offering patrons up to 28 per cent in savings.
The 13th edition of “the sport’s original night race” will be held from Sep 18 to Sep 20 next year, in the 16th round of the 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar.
The current batch of promotional tickets are up for grabs until Dec 3, with prices for the three-day ticket categories starting from S$268, Singapore GP said in a press release.
More ticket categories will be released in the coming weeks, it added, and regular prices will apply from May 13, 2020.
On top of the race along the Marina Bay Street Circuit, patrons with a valid ticket for the relevant zones will also be able to catch entertainment performances.
Visit www.singaporegp.sg to get your tickets or to find out more about the race.
SINGAPORE – The driver who took videos of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s son while giving him a lift home was fined $900 and disqualified from driving for eight months for a traffic offence.
Andrew Sim Kay Yong, 32, persuaded Mr Li Yipeng, 37, to get in his car. He then drove off and began recording videos of himself questioning Mr Li on various issues like his security arrangements and whether he had seen his uncle, Mr Lee Hsien Yang.
Sim pleaded guilty to one charge under the Road Traffic Act on Thursday (Nov 14).
The court heard that Sim had spotted Mr Li at the taxi stand at the Esplanade mall on March 15 and recognised him as PM Lee’s son.
Sim pulled up at the stand and offered Mr Li a ride. He initially refused, but after further discussion got into the car and asked to be driven to Rochalie Drive.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Tay Jingxi said that Sim then used his phone, a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, to record video clips of Mr Li.
He held up his phone with one hand while steering with the other.
In the course of the ride, Sim recorded four separate video clips of Mr Li, said DPP Tay.
SINGAPORE: Local zero-waste store Reprovisions, which was located in Jurong Point shopping mall, shut down this week, after about a year in business.
The store sold items like packaging-free food and snacks, refillable soaps and reusable items, in line with the zero-waste culture that advocates going packaging free, and reducing consumption.
The store’s co-founder Ms Yeo told CNA that the store was not getting enough footfall to cover the rental cost, which she did not reveal.
Demand was not consistent, she said, describing it as “volatile”.
The store put up a Facebook post on Monday (Nov 11) announcing that it was shutting down.
“In spite of all (this) – we clawed and clamoured and hung on to every sliver of hope. We ultimately have fallen short of curtailing high overhead costs,” the post said.
But it was not for a lack of trying. Ms Yeo said she and her partner tried “all ways and means” to stay afloat.
They widened the range of products, and stepped up their outreach to customers by printing posters and banners in Mandarin to educate them better. A membership scheme was also rolled out, she said.
They also put up a call for a partner on Facebook, hoping to attract an investor and approached Government agencies for grants.
“There wasn’t any glimmer of hope. We have exhausted our funds,” she said.
WAITING FOR THE BIG BOYS TO TAKE OVER
Eco.le is another zero-waste store facing difficulties. Tucked in a corner of Bukit Timah which does not get much footfall, the store is running in the red after about a year of operations, said owner Ms Thng Hui Hien.
She had quit her job in the oil and gas industry to open the store so she could help to kickstart the zero-waste culture, and show how supermarkets can adopt it.
Supermarkets would have an advantage through economies of scale, she said.
“They can make zero waste a norm, a culture. Consumers who are willing to be converted have already converted, the rest are followers,” she said.
She was passionate about the urgency for change to be made.
“It is an emergency. Climate change is real, people outside of Singapore are dying from it. By the time we feel its effect here, it might be too late,” she said.
Eco·Le, that sells dried food in bulk, is one of 15 eco-brands housed at The Green Collective pop-up store. (Photo: Tang See Kit)
When asked about the potential business consideration these bigger players might have, she said businesses who are worried about their bottomline if they go down the zero-waste path, should be aware that the profit might come to naught if there is a global food shortage, she added, citing growing threats in Europe.
In September, the European Environment Agency published a report titled “Climate change threatens future of farming in Europe”, warning of a decline in agricultural production.
UNIQUE CHALLENGES FACED BY THE INDUSTRY
Another store, Unpackt, which last year was the first zero-waste store to open in Singapore, is breaking even, said co-founder Florence Tay.
Demand is a “rollercoaster”, she said. When new stores open, traffic to her store dips, but stabilises, she said.
While footfall may not be a problem with a group of regular customers, and curious people walking in, she faces a different set of issues – customers causing wastage and spillage.
For instance, she said, customers dispense liquids like oils stored in an opaque container, just to see what is inside although there are labels, and signs requesting them not to do so. They also do not respect the hygiene required to keep the packaging-free foods fresh.
They open containers that are labelled “do not open”, she said. In order to deal with this, they changed the containers to make it harder for them to open.
Self-service dispensers are used to store food items in UnPackt. (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)
She tried to sell fresh produce, but had to take them off the shelves.
“We had students peeling the leaves off the corn, and someone even juggled with the tomatoes,” she said.
She put these down to curiosity. Demand is growing, but slowly, she said and believes there is currently more supply than demand.
SOME STORES ARE EXPANDING
However, Australia-based firm The Source Bulk Foods, which opened about three months ago, will be expanding, opening a store in Great world City larger than its current one in Cluny Court. So will Scoop Wholefoods, also an Australian brand.
The Source Bulk Foods’ master franchiser Rob Behennah told CNA that he spent 36 hours over three weeks observing the demographics in Cluny Court before deciding to open there.
“We have 54 stores in Australia, we have stores in the United Kingdom and the United States. We know who our shoppers are, what they look like, regardless of ethnicity,” he said.
Business at the store is already 50 per cent above target, with 85 per cent of his customers being locals, he said.
He has customers who come from Punggol and East Coast who call ahead to check on prices and stock availability to make sure that they don’t make a wasted trip. He also has students coming to the store to buy healthier snacks like nuts, he said.
The local support came as a surprise, Mr Behennah said. The firm had wanted to tap into the relatively small Australian customer base here as well as high income expatriates, as they thought they would need 50 per cent of customers to have an affinity to the brand.
THE ADVANTAGE OF A BRAND
Singapore Polytechnic School of Business lecturer Lim Xiu Ru Said that The Source Bulk Foods enjoys the advantage of economies of scale. This is important, as cost savings, rather than being environmentally conscious, is the priority of many, she said.
There are already pockets of customers who buy into the concept of zero waste, because they have been exposed to the messages, said Ms Lim,
“There is a small pool of customers that is slowly growing. But it is whether it’s growing fast enough to sustain the expansion of the zero-waste industry,” she said.
Signs promoting plastic free products and packaging are seen as shoppers browse the shelves at Budgens supermarket in Belsize Park, north London on Jul 2, 2019. (Photo: AFP/Tolga Akmen)
Nanyang Polytechnic senior lecturer from the School of Business Management James Sim said that the chain’s brand is also an advantage, with Singaporeans depending on the familiarity of brands as a sign of quality and safety.
However, he said that there is some way to go before people here adopt zero-waste out of habit.
He added that these stores need to find an e-commerce model that could work, as they are a facing “the tsunami tide” of online shopping.
“Many people still value convenience over everything else. So if they have to go personally instead of ordering online, and go to more shops than one because that one doesn’t sell everything, then that’s a barrier to the movement taking off,” he said.
Haidilao is known for many things — impeccable service, adorable robot staff, and most recently? A diner who clocked a fellow customer in the face with a bowl of sauce, all because he found the other’s behaviour unsanitary.
The incident occurred in the early morning of Jan 12 when the victim had gone out with a group of friends for supper.
According to Lianhe Zaobao, Lee was eating from a bowl while he waited in the queue at the condiment counter. When it got to his turn, he placed his used bowl onto the counter and picked up a sauce bowl to fill.
Gao, who was standing behind him, witnessed the entire scene. He felt that Lee’s actions were unhygienic and immediately demanded that he removed his used bowl immediately.
