Confirming the delay in a statement, Keppel says it will now deliver the five rigs to Transocean starting from 2020, instead of from 2018. It added that it “will be compensated by Transocean accordingly”.
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Keppel Corp, Transocean reach agreement to delay delivery of five jackup rigs
A quick guide to viewing the March 9 solar eclipse
Singaporeans will get the chance to lay their eyes on (actually, please don’t do it literally) a celestial event when a partial solar eclipse occurs over our skies on Wednesday (March 9) morning.
The rare phenomenon will…
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Indonesian province declares emergency as forest fires flare
JAKARTA – Indonesia’s western province of Riau has declared a state of emergency over forest and land fires blazing on the island of Sumatra, a government official said on Tuesday.
The fires, which send choking smog over Southeast Asia every year, raged uncontrollably across several provinces last year, costing an estimated US$16 billion (S$22 billion), and pushed average daily greenhouse gas emissions above those of the United States.
“The governor has declared an emergency now, to be able to prevent a repeat of the haze that occurred in 2015,” said provincial government spokesman Darusman, adding that life in the province continued to be normal.
About 500 military and police personnel and a water-bombing helicopter have been deployed to help fight the fires but the haze had not yet reached urban areas, he said.
The fires are often set by plantation companies and smallholders to clear land, and were particularly bad in 2015 because of a prolonged dry season caused by the El Nino weather pattern.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has urged authorities to contain so-called hotspots, where fires start and spread to their surroundings.
This year, Widodo set up an agency to restore around 2 million hectares (5 million acres) of carbon-rich peatlands which typically produce more smog than forest fires.
But past efforts by Indonesia and neighbouring countries to prevent the fires, or put them out once started, have shown little success. Last year’s fires ended only when the rainy season arrived to douse them.
For weather updates from AsiaOne, click here:
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Reuters, AFP, The Straits Times, Berita Harian
Skin and haircare tips to beat the haze
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Tuesday, March 8, 2016 – 19:49
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Is the haze coming back? Indonesian province declares emergency as forest fires flare
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TRS sedition trial: Ai Takagi convicted of 4 charges of sedition
SINGAPORE – Ms Ai Takagi, a former editor of defunct The Real Singapore website, was convicted on four charges of sedition today (March 8).
The 23-year-old Australian pleaded guilty to publishing inflammatory articles on the site and its Facebook page.
The seditious posts were aimed at fanning anti-foreigner sentiments among Singaporeans, targeting foreigners from the Philippines, India and China, prosecutors said, according to a report on Channel News Asia.
Ms Takagi also admitted to another three counts of sedition and one charge of failing to produce financial statements on the website’s advertising revenue to the police, reported The Straits Times. The judge will consider these in sentencing.
District Judge Salina Ishak adjourned sentencing submissions to March 23.
Ms Takagi and her Singaporean husband, Mr Yang Kaiheng, 27, were to face a joint trial on Monday (March 8). But before it began, she told the court she would be pleading guilty.
Her husband is denying the charges and claiming trial.
The articles posted on TRS between October 2013 and February last year are alleged to have promoted ill will and hostility between different races or classes in Singapore.
In one article, Ms Takagi used a Malay name “Farhan” to hide her identity while fostering xenophobia – an act Deputy Public Prosecutor G. Kannan found “outrageous”, reported The Straits Times.
The couple earned “enormous” sums from advertising revenue, he said.
Bank statements showed that they made between AU$20,000 (S$20,420) and more than AU$50,000 a month, he said. They earned close to $500,000 from December 2013 to April 2015.
The TRS website was closed down by its editors in May last year. The authorities suspended their licence to operate the site and ordered them to take it offline.
Related: Wife to plead guilty, husband to claim trial in sedition case
chenj@sph.com.sg
The Real Singapore duo arrested for sedition
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Tuesday, March 8, 2016 – 19:33
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TRS trial: Ai Takagi convicted of 4 charges of sedition
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IKEA Sale 9 – 27 Mar 2016 | SINGPromos.com
IKEA sale starts 9 Mar (1st day for Family members – membership is FREE, just sign up in-store or online)
Hit the link to check out some of the sale items. What’s more – FREE breakfast on 9 Mar for each member & 2 guests (9am – 10.30am)!
IKEA Sale 9 – 27 Mar 2016 | SINGPromos.com
IKEA will be starting a Sale from 9 March to 27 March 2016. The first day of the sale is exclusively for Family members, for which membership can be obtained in-store free
Private papers that give rare insight into 'Mr OCBC' to be showcased online for public soon
March 08, 2016 6:11 PM
SINGAPORE – In 1942, the late banker and philanthropist Tan Chin Tuan – who was then the managing director of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) – was instructed to re-establish the bank outside of Japanese control in Rangoon, Burma, to look after the interests of the bank in Allied occupied territories.
Dengue cases down but figures higher than previous years
SINGAPORE – The number of new dengue cases fell for the second consecutive week, although it remains high for this time of the year, compared to previous years.
For the week of Feb 28 to March 5, there were 415 cases reported, according to the National…
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Former TRS editor Ai Takagi pleads guilty to manufacturing articles for profit
The 23-year-old Australian had concocted “scandalous, provocative and racy material” in a bid to increase TRS’ following and garner “enormous” advertising revenue, according to the prosecutors.
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Scandal-plagued Chinese province says it's turned over new leaf
BEIJING – A corruption purge connected to disgraced former public security chief Zhou Yongkang has been highly effective and officials have turned over a new leaf, the top official in China’s scandal-ridden southwestern province of Sichuan said on Tuesday.
Populous Sichuan has emerged as a focus of President Xi Jinping’s crackdown against deep-seated corruption as it was a power base for Zhou, who was Communist Party boss there from 1999-2002.
Zhou was jailed for life for graft last year, and dozens of his associates have also been arrested, many in Sichuan.
“Sichuan has been an important battlefield for the fight against corruption. Especially in light of the negative influences created by Zhou’s case, the political atmosphere of the past few years has had many problems,” Sichuan’s current party boss, Wang Dongming, said.
“In this situation, we resolutely upheld the party centre’s measures, had a clear-cut stance on punishing corruption, resolutely and forcefully refreshed the local administration and achieved obvious results,” he said on the sidelines of China’s annual meeting of parliament.
Sichuan, famous for its spicy cuisine, has significantly reduced graft and re-emerged as a centre of new “energy” and “creativity”, he added.
“Right now, a good political environment has already taken shape. It is absolutely free from corruption and it advocates an honest pragmatism.”
Wang said the number of reported corruption cases in Sichuan fell by over 30 per cent in 2015, pointing to the fact that provincial officials were not just making “idle talk”.
Sichuan would continue to take preventative measures to ensure no corruption prevails in its system, including in 10 areas such as contract bidding and the use of financial funds, he said.
Officials continue to fall in Sichuan.
Last month, China’s main anti-corruption watchdog said it had formally begun an investigation into Sichuan’s former governor, Wei Hong, accusing him of serious “discipline violations”, the common official euphemism for graft.
Wei had spent virtually his entire career in Sichuan, according to his official resume, and was party chief in the second-tier city of Ya’an during Zhou’s tenure in the province.
China executes businessman linked to Zhou Yongkang
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Tuesday, March 8, 2016 – 17:55
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How Singapore has grown, from a policy perspective
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Essays by economists show how policies have worked (or not) in the last 50 years as Singapore – and the world outside – changed. -The Business Times
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Wednesday, March 9, 2016 – 06:30
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