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PHILLIPSBURG — Phillipsburg Mayor Shawna Newsom opened the Jan. 16 council meeting expressing appreciation for former Mayor Rebecca Ford’s actions and saying, “I will continue to look at her vision and try to achieve the goals she set for us as well.”
She reappointed Wendell Harleman as street and water commissioner and named Chris Steiner to be council’s liaison with the street and water department.
Heather Craft is fire department liaison, Donna Mullins is liaison with finance and Hope Hoard with parks.
Council named Councilman Brandon Myers as mayor pro tem for the coming year to fill in when Mayor Newsom is not available, approved Mary Combs as president of the board of public affairs (the “water board”) and appointed Keith Koontz to replace retiring member Sheryl Riffle.
Members also appointed Steven Booker to fill a long-vacant council seat.
Newsom asked Harleman, Hoard and Fire Chief Justin Saunders to meet with her and Fiscal Officer Shelley Phillips at 7 p.m. on Feb. 15 to review the proposed budget. She also will contact Police Chief Mark Wysong, Jr., who was necessarily absent, and said others were welcome to attend.
Saunders got approval for the $2,061 he spent to get the ambulance’s brakes repaired and thanked Clayton, Englewood and Union for their departments’ help while the ambulance was out of service.
He also said that in 2023 he had acquired $87,335 in grants to help the fire department with such things as replacing personal protection equipment.
Harleman reported he had ordered a box blade for $750 to help with grading village property, most immediately Jesse Haines Way outside the municipal building. He is also collecting estimates to replace the water heater at the Hunt Club, which he said, to laughter, “is as old as I am!” He warned that apparently the plumbing was put in after the water heater and would need redoing.
Newsom supported this, saying, “If we have time to do it over, we should have time to do it right the first time.”
Harleman said he had salted twice and said the village was getting free salt from Clay Township in exchange for plowing a township road too small for the township trucks to handle.
Craft questioned why zoning matters took so long to resolve, saying Union, for example, gave seven days to respond to notice of a violation instead of Phillipsburg’s 30 days. Newsom explained that changing the zoning code was a long process and said a committee might be formed in the future to start the process.
Newsom also said the Central Collection Agency will not set up a meeting with residents to help with taxes this year but has put forms in the municipal office. Residents could take the form, fill it out, send it in with their W-2s and 1099s, and the CCA would figure the tax for them.
The next council meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at the municipal building at 10868 Brookville Phillipsburg Rd.
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https://www.registerherald.com/2024/01/19/phillipsburg-appoints-new-officials/
| 2024-01-22T09:42:30Z
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EATON — Recently, students who are involved in the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council (MSSC) classes at Preble Shawnee, National Trail, Eaton, Twin Valley South, and Tri-County North High Schools all participated in field trips to the Eaton Parker Hannifin facility.
As students in the MSSC classes, they are learning and working to earn certificates in safety, quality, manufacturing principles, and maintenance.
The students were able to take a tour of the facility as well as learn a lot about Parker Hannifin as a worldwide corporation. They also were able to learn the importance of safety in the workplace and visit the safety Dojo space that is at the facility. The Dojo space is for all employees to learn, reflect, and refresh safe concepts necessary for a safe workplace.
Students were amazed at the varied opportunities that Parker Hannifin provides to its employees and the vast scope of Parker Hannifin as a worldwide corporation.
“By getting to experience the real world, the students were able to take back a whole new vision of what is offered here locally, and across the world through Parker Hannifin,” Harold Niehaus, Preble County ESC Career Connections Director said. Niehaus added, he was very appreciative of all the effort provided by Plant Manager Bradley Stahl and his staff to make this opportunity available to over 50 students.
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https://www.registerherald.com/2024/01/19/preble-mssc-students-visit-parker-hannifin-eaton/
| 2024-01-22T09:42:36Z
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MOSCOW - Russian energy company Novatek is likely to resume large-scale operations at its Ust-Luga processing complex and Baltic Sea terminal within weeks, after a fire started by what Ukrainian media said was a drone attack, analysts said on Monday.
Novatek said on Sunday it had been forced to suspend some operations at the huge Baltic Sea fuel export terminal and "technological process" at the complex due to the fire.
Kommersant newspaper also said on Monday, citing local authorities, that two storage tanks and a pumping stations were damaged due to the incident.
"We believe the plant is likely to return to significant capacity within weeks or, at worst, months," analysts at Moscow-based BCS brokerage said in a note.
Novatek declined to comment.
The complex gets gas condensate, a type of light oil, for processing some 7 million metric tons per year from Novaket's Purovsky plant in Western Siberia for further production of oil products, such as naphtha, jet fuel and gasoil.
Analysts also said that Novatek now will be forced to export more gas condensate instead of high-marginal fuel via other terminals.
Sinara Investbank said a quarter of Novatek's revenues could be affected due to the incident.
Novatek also exports gas condensate from the Arctic port of Sabetta. The exports grew by around 20% last year to 960,000 tons from 800,000 tons in 2022. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/analysts-see-russian-fuel-complex-resuming-operations-within-weeks-after-suspected-drone-attack
| 2024-01-22T09:49:24Z
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BEIJING - China's top court has pledged to "deepen judicial disclosure" after its plan to curtail access to court decisions faced unusual public criticism from lawyers and legal experts.
The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) announced in December it would create a new database of over 2,000 cases accessible to scholars, lawyers and experts. Academics believe the new database will eventually replace an existing, open database of 143 million court documents that remains online for now.
That decade-old archive, known as China Judgments Online, has been used by lawyers and activists in China and abroad, as well as by citizens involved in property and business disputes. It has also been used by human rights organisations.
After the clampdown plan was criticised on social media and through blog posts by lawyers and others, the SPC issued a statement on Jan. 15 saying more court rulings should be made available under its proposed new system.
The SPC said more documents from higher-level courts, and "all documents that serve legal guidance, education and warning purposes" should be put online.
"It is necessary to balance the relationship between the disclosure of documents and the legal rights and privacy protection of the parties involved," the statement said.
It was not immediately clear how the SPC decree would be implemented. The SPC did not reply to a request for comment.
Thomas Kellogg, executive director of the Georgetown Center for Asian Law, said while the new language was "welcome", it "probably doesn't herald much of a change from the current policy".
But he added the backlash to the court's move to limit disclosure, including from top legal academics in China, suggests there are "at least some reformist voices" looking to "put reform ideas back into public discourse".
China's economy has already become more opaque. Since 2022, Chinese authorities have restricted overseas access to Chinese academic journals and corporate databases and stopped publishing key economic indicators.
Legal experts said while the SPC's latest announcement appeared to be a partial concession to criticism that China's court system was also headed that way, concerns about its dwindling transparency remained.
Donald Clarke, a law professor at George Washington University, said the December announcement caused "considerable concern in the Chinese law community inside and outside of China" which SPC's statement did not alleviate.
"Only documents deemed suitably edifying by the authorities will be placed online," he said. "This is exactly what we all feared."
'SELECTIVE TRANSPARENCY'
Lawyers and scholars said China's court records would remain incomplete without fuller access to trial court rulings needed to study precedent and case law.
"The SPC seems to have made some concessions, but still insists on delisting a large number of judgments below the intermediate court," Yale Law School professor Taisu Zhang wrote on Weibo.
Ryan Mitchell, a law professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said it was positive that the top court had affirmed "the importance of publicising cases."
But he said the SPC could still move toward "selective transparency" where politically sensitive cases could still be "subject to arbitrary non-reporting."
David Zhang, a human rights lawyer in Beijing, said he hoped the SPC would fully implement its recent pledge. "I believe that court judgments should be made available to the public," he said.
The number of court judgments published online dropped to 10.4 million in 2022 from 19.2 million in 2020, according to official data. The number fell further last year to 5.11 million through late December, the SPC has said.
Since 2021, rulings have been removed from China Judgments Online relating to the death penalty, national security and "picking quarrels and provoking troubles", a criminal charge frequently brought against critics of government policies.
Columbia Law Review researchers found human trafficking-related verdicts were removed from the database after a public outcry over a January 2022 video of a rural woman chained to a shed. Six people including her husband were later jailed for crimes including human trafficking. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/china-vows-judicial-disclosure-after-outcry-over-plan-to-curb-access-to-rulings
| 2024-01-22T09:49:34Z
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TOKYO - Japan switched off its moon lander almost three hours after a historic touchdown to allow for a possible recovery of the craft when the Sun hits its solar panels, the space agency said on Jan 22.
With its unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (Slim) mission – dubbed Moon Sniper for the craft’s precision landing capabilities – Japan became the fifth country to achieve a soft lunar landing.
But after the touchdown at 20 minutes past midnight on Jan 20 (11.20pm on Jan 19, Singapore time), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) could not confirm that the lightweight craft’s solar batteries were generating power.
Before turning the lander off remotely, mission control was able to receive technical and image data from its descent, and from the lunar surface.
“We’re relieved and beginning to get excited after confirming a lot of data has been obtained,” Jaxa said on Jan 22, adding that “according to the telemetry data, Slim’s solar cells are facing west”.
“If sunlight hits the Moon from the west in the future, we believe there’s a possibility of power generation, and we’re currently preparing for restoration,” it said.
Slim is one of several new lunar missions launched by governments and private firms, 50 years after the first human moon landing.
Crash landings and communication failures are rife, and only four other countries have made it to the Moon: the United States, the Soviet Union, China and most recently, India.
Jaxa said it had disconnected Slim’s battery just before 3am when it had 12 per cent power remaining, “in order to avoid a situation where the restart (of the lander) would be hampered”.
The agency is now carrying out a detailed analysis of the data, to help determine whether the craft achieved the goal of arriving within 100m of its intended landing spot.
The mission was aiming for a crater where the Moon’s mantle, the usually deep inner layer beneath its crust, is believed to be exposed on the surface.
By analysing the rocks there, Jaxa had hoped to shed light on the mystery of the Moon’s possible water resources – key to building bases there one day as possible stopovers on the way to Mars.
Two probes detached successfully, one with a transmitter and another designed to trundle around the lunar surface beaming images to Earth.
This shape-shifting mini rover, slightly bigger than a tennis ball, was co-developed by the firm behind the Transformer toys.
Jaxa said on Jan 22 it was preparing to make more announcements this week on the results of the mission, and the status of the Slim craft.
Although not everything went to plan, “we may be able to produce plenty of results, and we’re happy that the landing succeeded”.
Previous Japanese lunar missions have failed twice – one public and one private.
In 2022, the country unsuccessfully sent a lunar probe named Omotenashi as part of the United States’ Artemis 1 mission.
In April, Japanese start-up ispace tried in vain to become the first private company to land on the Moon, losing communication with its craft after what it described as a “hard landing”. AFP
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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/japan-says-possibility-moon-lander-power-can-be-restored
| 2024-01-22T09:49:44Z
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TAIPEI – A pilots’ union on Jan 22 voted to strike at Taiwan’s Eva Airways in a dispute over salaries and working conditions, raising the prospect of industrial action that could impact flights over the crucial Chinese New Year holidays in February.
Taoyuan Union of Pilots said Eva has not raised salaries enough and has been recruiting foreign pilots to fill manpower shortages without adhering to the law. Eva said it has steadily been raising salaries and has not recruited any pilots in contravention of the law.
The union began balloting members in December about strike action, after talks with Eva broke down.
In a statement after the vote was counted, the union said pilots had voted to authorise it to launch strike action and that it expected strikes to take place around the Chinese New Year, but did not give exact dates.
The week-long Chinese New Year holiday starts on Feb 8 in Taiwan.
The airline, in a statement, expressed regret at the vote and called on the union to keep talking.
Eva “will not abandon negotiations with the trade union”, it said.
The union said the strike will be announced 24 hours before it starts. It expects long-haul destinations to be most impacted, but added that it is still willing to talk to the airline “until the last moment” to prevent the strike from taking place.
Eva said it has set up an emergency response team to respond to any strike and will announce affected flights on its website as soon as possible.
Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration said it hoped both sides would consider the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday and give priority to the rights and interests of passengers, uphold good faith and communicate rationally with each other.
Eva must provide timely information to passengers, it added.
Eva’s Taipei-listed shares closed 1.8 per cent lower on Jan 22, underperforming a 0.8 per cent gain for the broader market.
Eva, best known internationally for the Hello Kitty livery on some of its jets, operates flights to many destinations around Asia as well as to North America, Europe and Australia. It is Taiwan’s second-largest carrier after China Airlines.
In 2019, Eva cancelled hundreds of flights during an almost month-long flight attendants’ strike – the longest-ever strike for the island’s aviation industry.
In January, Eva finalised an order for 33 Airbus aircraft, with the airline previously indicating the deal was worth up to US$10.1 billion (S$13.5 billion). REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/union-strike-at-taiwans-eva-air-over-salary-dispute-could-impact-chinese-new-year-flights
| 2024-01-22T09:49:55Z
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SINGAPORE – After almost two decades, the Singapore Chamber Music Festival (SCMF) is back.
Presented by Resound Collective in partnership with the Yong Siew Toh (YST) Conservatory of Music, the festival brings together local and international musicians to perform and share their experience through workshops, masterclasses and public performances.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/life/arts/singapore-chamber-music-festival-returns-after-nearly-20-years
| 2024-01-22T09:50:05Z
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SINGAPORE – Local actress-host Nurul Aini’s husband Sofian Roslan has apologised after a TikTok video alleged that he was having an affair.
In the video posted on Jan 20, a man and a woman were seen leaving a car separately in an underground carpark. The TikTok account, with the caption “Check in Hotel”, claimed that they were Sofian and actress Fatin Amira, who are both property agents.
They were seen entering a door with the words “Welcome to Capri by Fraser, China Square” and later returned to the same car.
Nurul and Sofian, both 41, married in 2008 and they have three children, aged four to 13. The actress has shared several videos and photos of the family on social media.
Nurul, best known for her role as Durrani in the local drama Lion Mums (2015 to 2021), reacted to the TikTok video on social media on Jan 20.
“Salam everyone. This is an incredibly difficult time for my family and me,” she wrote. “We kindly request understanding and privacy as we navigate through these challenges. Your support and prayers are very much appreciated. Thank you.”
Sofian also reacted to the video on his Instagram account, which has since been made private.
“My dearest beautiful wife Nurul Aini,” he wrote. “24 years together. 16 years of marriage. 3 beautiful children. Allah blessed me with so much and you always reminded me to cherish what we have.”
He said he had “faltered” and “lost my way”, and could not imagine the amount of pain he had caused her and their family.
“I am sorry B. You mean everything to me. Everything,” he said. “And if you’ll let me, I want to spend the rest of my life making it up to you and our children. I love all of you so much.”
He asked his family, friends and clients for space so that he and Nurul could get through this difficult time.
Meanwhile, Fatin has also set her Instagram account to private.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/life/entertainment/actress-nurul-aini-s-husband-apologises-for-alleged-infidelity
| 2024-01-22T09:50:16Z
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A man allegedly trying to break into Taylor Swift’s home in New York City has been arrested.
According to the New York Post, witnesses said the man tried, but failed, to enter the American pop star’s townhouse in Tribeca on Jan 20 afternoon.
The American newspaper added that officers from the New York Police Department received a call about a “disorderly person” on Franklin Street. Upon arrival, the officers were informed that the “individual attempted to open a door to a building at the location”.
The authorities did not identify the trespasser.
Witnesses told New York Post that the alleged stalker frequently waited outside or near Swift’s Manhattan home. Her neighbours added that the same man had been lurking around for a few weeks.
CNN reported that the man had an active warrant. His arrest on Jan 20 was because of two open warrants from 2017, when he failed to answer a summons.
It was not the first time there has been an attempted break-in at the Grammy winner’s home.
In 2022, a man was charged with trespassing and stalking after he entered two Tribeca residences linked to the Karma singer.
In 2018, another man was arrested for trying to break into her townhouse. He was charged a year later with another break-in at the building.
Swift’s other homes in Beverly Hills, California, and Watch Hill, Rhode Island, have also been frequently trespassed by stalkers, and police have arrested some of these intruders.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/life/entertainment/taylor-swift-s-alleged-stalker-arrested-after-trying-to-break-into-her-new-york-home
| 2024-01-22T09:50:26Z
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SINGAPORE – A man cheated 20 people, including his family friends and acquaintances, of some $2.5 million in total in an investment scam between 2008 and 2013.
Murali Krishnan Naidu had duped them into thinking that their money would be invested in a moneylending business set up by his wife.
Most of the victims had drawn from their retirement savings to fund the “investments”, according to court documents.
The 53-year-old Singaporean, who has made no restitution, was sentenced to seven years and four months’ jail on Jan 22, after he was earlier convicted of 17 counts of cheating linked to nine people.
Another 43 charges, including those involving the remaining victims, were considered during sentencing.
The prosecution said that in August 2006, Murali’s wife incorporated in Singapore a licensed moneylending company known as San Tee Credit (STC).
She was its sole proprietor while he was a manager there.
Before STC was established, Murali worked at another moneylending company known as Diamond Credit from 2003 to 2006.
He was familiar with how such firms raised funds for their moneylending operations.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Jordon Li and Yeow Xuan said Murali knew it was common for moneylending companies to borrow cash from investors through investment agreements.
They would then lend out these monies to their customers.
The firms would pay the investors interest on the sums borrowed, which would typically be lower than the interest which they charge on loans.
One of Murali’s victims was a 69-year-old woman who had entered into six investment agreements totalling $335,000 with STC. She had funded the investments with her life savings.
His other victims included a 49-year-old woman who entered into two investment agreements totalling nearly $120,000 with STC. She funded them by refinancing her home in Malaysia.
The prosecution said Murali had made false representations to the victims by saying their monies would be invested in STC’s moneylending business.
He typically promised the victims returns of between 2.5 per cent and 3 per cent that would be paid out monthly, along with a repayment of their investment capital one year from the date of the investment agreement.
Murali then induced his victims to hand over their money, but completely stopped paying dividends to them in early 2013.
To date, it is unclear how he had utilised the victims’ money, said the prosecutors.
Screenings by the Registry of Moneylenders showed STC had not concluded any moneylending transactions between 2011 and 2013.
The DPPs told the court: “Despite the absence of any business activities undertaken by STC, the accused continued to pay the requisite fees to renew STC’s moneylending licence with the Registry of Moneylenders.
“This fortified the accused’s representations that STC was a legitimate and live moneylending business.”
It is not stated in court documents what happened to STC after 2013.
Court documents also did not disclose how the offences came to light, but Murali was charged in court in 2019.
The DPPs had urged the court to sentence him to at least seven years and 10 months’ jail.
“While the accused has claimed to have made some payments of ‘investment returns’ to the victims, the existence of such payments should be accorded minimal mitigatory weight,” they said.
“The returns were paid so as to lend a veneer of legitimacy to the scheme, and to encourage investors to continue pooling money in the scheme.”
They also said his offences had involved a high degree of premeditation and planning.
For each count of cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/jail-for-man-who-duped-20-victims-of-about-25m-in-total-in-investment-scam
| 2024-01-22T09:50:37Z
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SINGAPORE – The tensions in a dispute between two neighbours in Marine Parade boiled over when an elderly woman splashed water on her next-door neighbour, causing him to have superficial burns.
She also swore at the man and hit him with a broomstick, in a separate incident.
On Jan 22, Yeo Kaw Guek, 71, was sentenced to a fine of $3,000 after she pleaded guilty to two counts of voluntarily causing hurt to her neighbour, Mr Goh Tok Liang, whose age was not stated.
Two other charges of using criminal force and contravening the Protection from Harassment Act were taken into consideration for sentencing.
Yeo and Mr Goh have been neighbours in the same Housing Board block in Marine Parade for about 40 years, court documents state.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ashley Chin said the pair’s relationship turned from strained to sour in 2021, with both of them engaging in acts which provoked and antagonised the other.
On Dec 10, 2022, Mr Goh was walking back to his unit at about 9pm when he noticed that Yeo had thrown joss sticks outside his front door.
He knocked on Yeo’s door to confront her, and the two got into an argument.
Yeo then took a bowl filled with about 100ml of warm water from her kitchen and splashed it on Mr Goh, causing him to have superficial burns on his cheek, neck and upper chest.
In response, Mr Goh grabbed a shovel outside his unit and used it to gesture at Yeo. He subsequently called the police.
This was not the first time he had alerted the police about Yeo’s conduct.
In a separate incident in July 2022, Mr Goh was sweeping the corridor outside his unit when Yeo left her house. An argument broke out between the two.
Yeo swore at Mr Goh, took the broomstick he was holding, and used it to hit him on his back.
Mr Goh responded by pointing his middle finger at Yeo and scolding her, using vulgarities. He made a police report the same day. A harassment charge was brought against Yeo in relation to this incident.
Yeo also once poured an antiseptic liquid, Dettol, on Mr Goh’s legs from her window in January 2022. This amounted to another charge of using criminal force on him, according to court documents.
DPP Chin asked for Yeo to be fined $5,000 in total, to deter her from committing further offences against Mr Goh in the future.
For each offence of voluntarily causing hurt, Yeo could have been jailed for up to three years, or fined a maximum of $5,000.
The two neighbours are currently embroiled in a separate court harassment case that will be heard at a tribunal on Jan 26, in which Yeo is the claimant.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/woman-71-fined-after-throwing-warm-water-on-neighbour-hitting-him-with-broomstick
| 2024-01-22T09:50:47Z
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SINGAPORE - Holders of older adult ez-link cards that are not on SimplyGo, an account-based ticketing platform, will no longer have to update their cards by June 1 to pay for public transport.
Nets FlashPay cards will also continue to be accepted for adult fare payments, and there is no need to exchange them for a Nets Prepaid card to pay for bus and train rides by June 1.
The authorities said on Jan 22 that they are pulling the plug on the planned transition in the wake of public feedback.
Announcing the update in a Facebook post on Jan 22, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said the authorities will spend an extra $40 million to allow commuters to continue using ez-link and Nets FlashPay cards, which use a card-based ticketing system that stores transaction data on the cards.
The funds will be spent on maintaining and replacing the hardware of the card-based ticketing system.
Unlike the card-based system, SimplyGo processes fare payments at the back end.
“We have decided to extend the use of the current (card-based ticketing system) for adult commuters, and not to sunset the system in 2024 as originally planned,” Mr Chee wrote.
The decision, he added, was made after considering concerns among commuters since the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) announcement on Jan 9. A key concern is that passengers would no longer see fare deductions and card balances at fare gates and bus card readers with the switch to SimplyGo.
Mr Chee apologised for the delays experienced by commuters who tried to convert their older ez-link cards since Jan 9.
The Straits Times reported that the SimplyGo app became overwhelmed a day after the news broke, with people unable to use some of the app’s features. Passengers also faced difficulties in upgrading their ez-link cards to SimplyGo at ticketing offices and machines at MRT stations and bus interchanges, with the problem persisting into Jan 11.
“This could have been avoided with better preparation,” Mr Chee acknowledged, adding that LTA has worked to deal with these issues by updating the SimplyGo app and speeding up the card-conversion process.
Those who updated their ez-link cards to SimplyGo between Jan 9 and Jan 22, or bought SimplyGo-compatible ez-link cards during that period, will be able to exchange their cards for those that rely on the older ticketing system for free, if they prefer.
LTA said details about this card exchange will be made public by the end of February, citing the need for preparation time to minimise inconvenience to passengers.
Concession cardholders, such as students and seniors, will also be able to revert to non-SimplyGo cards as part of this exchange.
Mr Chee said he has given LTA the task of studying ways to improve account-based ticketing cards. In particular, he has asked the agency to look into possible solutions for these newer cards to display fare deductions and card balances at fare gates and bus card readers.
The minister noted, however, that for the moment, there is no technical solution for this problem, and Singapore is not alone in facing this issue.
Like SimplyGo, account-based transit cards used in London and Hong Kong do not display fare deductions and card balances at fare gates as well, he said.
Earlier, LTA had said in response to media queries that while it was technically possible for fare and card balance information to be shown at fare gates and bus card readers with SimplyGo, it would take a few seconds to retrieve this information from the back-end system and slow down the entry and exit of passengers. This would result in longer queues.
With SimplyGo, the idea was for a user to be able to view fare deductions and balances using a smartphone app, which can notify the user once he or she taps out from a bus or MRT stop.
Alternatively, users can also obtain fare information at ticketing machines at MRT stations and bus interchanges.
Other touted benefits of SimplyGo include enabling users to block further transactions through the app if they lose the cards and to top up their travel cards on the move.
Many who still use older ez-link and Nets FlashPay cards were frustrated by the reduced functionality after switching to SimplyGo. For instance, after the transition, the updated ez-link cards can no longer be used to pay for motoring expenses such as parking and Electronic Road Pricing charges.
After drawing flak from the public, a sign that the authorities had changed their minds came on Jan 19, when a free exchange of Nets FlashPay cards for Nets Prepaid cards that was planned to start that day was postponed “until further notice”.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/lta-shelves-plan-to-replace-older-public-transport-payment-cards-with-simplygo-by-june-1
| 2024-01-22T09:50:57Z
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DOHA – The second round of Asian Cup group games threw up a few surprises when the pre-tournament favourites were given a reality check as physical Arab teams showed they had closed the gap considerably on their more illustrious opponents.
Japan, four-time champions and the highest-ranked team in the competition, were upset 2-1 by Iraq while South Korea nearly lost to Jordan for the first time before an injury-time own goal spared their blushes.
Iraq had a clear strategy to unsettle Japan, who struggled with the physicality of their West Asian counterparts in a febrile atmosphere where the crowd of largely Iraqi fans made it feel like a home game for the Lions of Mesopotamia.
Iraq could probably have scored more if not for the injury to their striker Aymen Hussein, who scored both goals before the break but did not come out for the second half.
However, Iraq were even effective without the ball, dismantling Japan’s possession game with several tackles while they frustrated the Samurai Blue and resorted to tactical fouls to upset their rhythm.
“We knew how Iraq would play... they did play very aggressively. Unfortunately, we couldn’t handle it,” Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said.
Iraq coach Jesus Casas became a national hero after they claimed their first victory over Japan in 42 years and the Spaniard said he was proud of the players he picked for the tournament.
“I choose players that can be fighters but good players too. The difference in this level is you need balance between fighting and quality,” Casas said.
Likewise, South Korea were frustrated by a tactically disciplined Jordan in a 2-2 draw. Jurgen Klinsmmann’s South Korea side did not score from open play, netting one from the penalty spot and an own goal in added time.
Jordan were not only compact in midfield and defence but their forward line made life miserable for the South Koreans, constantly harrying them into making quick decisions and forcing turnovers.
“What they did really well was they overpowered us physically in the one-v-one battles. There’s an old saying in football that you have to win your one-v-one battles,” Klinsmann said.
“Jordan fought for every single ball as a unit, as a team. Different styles clashed there. Every game we play against Jordan, against Bahrain, we learn. We need to find solutions.”
He added: “I’m very pleased to see the reaction after we went 2-1 down. We won the last seven games and you lose the feeling of going a goal down. The team had to swallow the fact that Jordan were 2-1 up and had to react.”
South Korea skipper Son Heung-min, who plays in the English Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur, is no stranger to physicality but he said it was another example of how teams can hurt them, having been on the receiving end of crunching tackles against Bahrain as well.
“In the Asian Cup, there’s never an easy game. If you’re not ready mentally and physically, they can hurt you,” Son said.
“We learned something from this game. Luckily, it happened in the group stage.”
Jordan coach Hussein Ammouta said “Arab teams playing on Arab turf” in Qatar must take the fight to their opponents.
“Every national team must believe in their capabilities and should not go into a game insecure because of technical deficiencies. We went into the game with a positive attitude,” the Moroccan said. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/physical-arab-teams-prove-they-are-no-pushovers-against-heavyweights-at-asian-cup-0
| 2024-01-22T09:51:08Z
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KYIV - Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk arrived in Ukraine on Monday, his office said, in a show of support as the war with Russia nears the two-year mark.
Warsaw has emerged as a key ally for Kyiv as it defends itself against Russia and seeks more financial and military support from Western partners.
A video released by Tusk's office shows the newly installed leader, who assumed office last month, arriving at Kyiv's main train station.
Tusk's visit coincides with Ukraine's Unity Day holiday. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/polands-tusk-arrives-in-ukrainian-capital-kyiv
| 2024-01-22T09:51:19Z
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LONDON - Britain's rail network was disrupted, flights were cancelled and thousands of homes were left without power on Monday after the country was battered by Storm Isha overnight.
Scotland was worst hit as gusts of over 90 miles per hour (144 km/h) led to the cancellation of all train services. Dozens of flights from Edinburgh and Glasgow airports were also cancelled.
Trains in some parts of southern England were affected including services between London to Gatwick Airport.
UK Power Networks said it had restored power to most properties which had lost electricity in eastern and south eastern England, but about 45,000 homes in Northern Ireland remained without power.
Across the North Sea, Amsterdam's Schiphol airport on Sunday cancelled dozens of flights scheduled for Monday as a preventive measure because of the strong winds expected in the Netherlands.
Airlines also cancelled 102 flights into and out of Dublin on Sunday.
Scotland's train services will be impacted until Network Rail Scotland has inspected tracks for damage following the storm, ScotRail said on social media platform X. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/storm-isha-hits-travels-and-power-services-across-uk
| 2024-01-22T09:51:29Z
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LONDON - The war in Ukraine has dented Russia's confidence in its conventional forces and increased the importance to Moscow of non-strategic nuclear weapons (NSNWs) as a means of deterring and defeating NATO in a potential future conflict, a leading Western think-tank said on Monday.
NSNWs include all nuclear weapons with a range of up to 5,500 km (3,400 miles), starting with tactical arms designed for use on the battlefield - as opposed to longer-range strategic nuclear weapons that Russia or the U.S. could use to strike each other's homeland.
Monday's report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) raised the question of whether Russia might be emboldened to fire a NSNW in the belief that the West lacks the resolve to deliver a nuclear response.
"The Russian perception of the lack of credible Western will to use nuclear weapons or to accept casualties in conflict further reinforces Russia's aggressive NSNW thought and doctrine," it said.
It said the logic of using a NSNW would be to escalate a conflict in a controlled fashion, "either to prevent the US and NATO from engaging, or to coerce them into war termination on Russian terms".
Moscow denies wielding nuclear threats but several of President Vladimir Putin's statements since the onset of the war in Ukraine have been interpreted as such in the West - starting on day one of the Russian invasion when he warned of "consequences that you have never faced in your history" for anyone who tried to hinder or threaten Russia.
His warnings, however, have not prevented the U.S. and its NATO allies from providing massive military aid to Ukraine including advanced weapons systems that were unthinkable at the start of the war.
Putin has resisted hawkish calls to alter Russia's stated doctrine, which allows for nuclear use in the event of "aggression against the Russian Federation with conventional weapons when the very existence of the state is threatened". But he has shifted Russia's stance on key nuclear treaties and said he is deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
NUCLEAR DEBATE
Western analysts and policymakers have been closely tracking a debate among Russian military experts about whether Moscow should lower its threshold for nuclear use.
Last year, for example, Russian analyst Sergei Karaganov spoke of the need to threaten nuclear strikes in Europe in order to intimidate and "sober up" Moscow's enemies.
William Alberque, author of the IISS report, said Karaganov was part of a wider discussion in Russia on the failure of its military to win the Ukraine war decisively and quickly.
"They're afraid, according to their own debates, that that has further emboldened us, so that's why this nuclear debate is happening now, where they think 'we need to do something else to super-scare the United States'."
He told reporters that Western intelligence would be able to pick up a number of signals if Russia was actually preparing to launch a NSNW.
These would include the movement of weapons from a central storage facility to an air base, and possibly conventional strikes near the planned target area in order to cripple radar and anti-missile defences.
Putin at that point would probably move to a nuclear shelter and put Russia's entire nuclear command and control system on high alert in case of a major nuclear response by the United States, he said.
Alberque said any Russian use of NSNW would require Moscow to calculate the right "dose" to coerce its adversaries to back down rather than triggering a cycle of escalation.
The question of how to respond to such a scenario is what "keeps U.S. planners awake all night", said Alberque, who has previously worked at the Pentagon and NATO.
"Once the other side crosses the nuclear threshold, how do you prevent the logic of escalation, escalation, escalation to annihilation? How do you contain it, how do you keep it down? This is one of the hardest problems, this is a problem that has existed since the dawn of the nuclear age." REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/ukraine-war-drives-shift-in-russian-nuclear-thinking-study
| 2024-01-22T09:51:40Z
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Exeter thumping by Bayonne sets up blockbuster with England rival
Exeter crashed to a 40-17 defeat to Bayonne in their Investec Champions Cup clash in France.
The Chiefs, already assured of a home tie in the last 16, were punished for their indiscipline as the hosts, who sit fifth in Pool C, ran in six tries.
The defeat means Exeter will take on Gallagher Premiership rivals Bath in the next round.
The French side scored first as outside centre Sireli Maqala sliced through Exeter’s defence with some neat footwork before finding Tom Spring, who showed great pace to score. Thomas Dolhagaray converted to make it 7-0.
Exeter responded through Dan Frost and reliable kicker Henry Slade added the extras to level the score at 7-7.
But Bayonne bounced back after a mistake from Exeter’s Josh Hodge. The full-back failed to control the loose ball and Kote Mikautadze went over.
After Exeter’s Ollie Devoto was shown a yellow card, Bayonne took advantage through Aurelien Callandret, who crossed to make it 19-7.
Bayonne added the bonus point through Victor Hannoun, but the Chiefs scored two quick tries in the second half through Dafydd Jenkins and Rusi Tuima which helped the English side narrow the deficit to 26-17.
Despite Callandret picking up a yellow card for an intentional knock-on, Bayonne’s resolute defence withstood Exeter’s attacking pressure and they managed to score a try of their own through Federico Mori in the 65th minute, making it 33-17.
Yellow cards for Jenkins and Jack Yeandle, either side of Mori’s second try of the game, ended Exeter’s hopes and they lost another player in the closing stages as Joe Hawkins was shown a straight red for a head-on-head collision.
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https://www.rugbypass.com/news/exeter-thumping-by-bayonne-sets-up-blockbuster-with-england-rival/
| 2024-01-22T10:08:36Z
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BEIJING - China's chief intelligence agency posted on social media a comic strip featuring foreign-looking characters secretly extracting rare earths, in a story portraying the country's strategic metals under threat from covetous "overseas organisations".
The comic strip, published on Sunday on the State Security Ministry's official WeChat account, showed security officers uncovering "suspicious" exploration and mapping activities by a group of people supposedly doing survey work for real estate development.
No foreign government or agencies were named in the comic strip, and the ministry did not specify any measures to counter foreign "interest" in China's rare earths.
The ministry could not be reached for further comment.
China, the world's largest producer of rare earths accounting for nearly 90% of global refined output, last year introduced restrictions on exports of the elements germanium and gallium, used widely in the chip-making sector, citing the need to protect national security and interests.
It also banned the export of technology to make rare earth magnets, in addition a ban on technology to extract and separate rare earths.
The restrictions have fanned fears that the supply of rare earths might ignite tensions with the West, particularly the United States, which accuses China of using economic coercion to influence other countries. Beijing denies the claim.
The United States has previously imposed restrictions on China's access to advanced chips and chip-making tools that could fuel breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and sophisticated computers for its military.
Rare earths, used widely in lasers, military equipment and consumer electronics, have grown in demand along with the rapid development of new energy vehicles, wind power and inverter air conditioners.
"As technology grows in leaps and bounds, some primary minerals have become rare strategic resources," a police character in the comic said.
"China boasts rich resources of these minerals. Overseas organisations have already had their eyes on them."
Set in fictional Xishan Mining Area - described as an area rich in critical and scarce mineral deposits that could bring breakthroughs in super-semiconductor technology - the comic depicts two officers that were sent to the area undercover as lost hikers to gather information.
State-controlled Global Times described the comic as underscoring the importance of safeguarding key mineral resources as China-U.S. trade frictions and global geopolitical tensions have turned the global competition for rare earths into an issue of national security.
The newspaper said the United States, Japan and the European Union, among others, have for a long time "coveted China's rare earth mineral resources".
"They have even resorted to infiltration, bribery, and espionage to achieve their goals," Global Times said, quoting Li Baiyang, an associate professor of intelligence studies at Nanjing University. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/china-in-comic-strip-warns-of-overseas-threats-to-its-rare-earths
| 2024-01-22T11:21:52Z
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ISLAMABAD – Pakistan said on Jan 22 that Iran’s Foreign Minister will visit the country next week, signalling efforts to rebuild ties after the neighbours exchanged missile strikes last week at what they said were militant targets.
Ambassadors of both countries have also been asked to return to their posts by Jan 26, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Pakistan had recalled its ambassador to Teheran and had not allowed his counterpart to return to Islamabad, as well as cancelling all high-level diplomatic and trade engagements.
“At the invitation of Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, will undertake a visit to Pakistan on Jan 29, 2024,” a Pakistan foreign office statement said.
The tit-for-tat strikes by the two countries were the highest-profile cross-border intrusions in recent years and have raised alarm about wider instability in the region since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted on Oct 7.
Islamabad said it hit bases of the separatist Baloch Liberation Front and Baloch Liberation Army, while Teheran said its missiles struck militants from the Jaish al Adl group.
The militant groups operate in an area that includes Pakistan’s south-western province of Balochistan and Iran’s south-eastern Sistan-Baluchestan province. Both are restive, mineral-rich and largely underdeveloped. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/irans-foreign-minister-to-visit-pakistan-next-week-islamabad-says
| 2024-01-22T11:22:03Z
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Deciding that it was too expensive to break into her home after her electronic door lock malfunctioned, Ms Tammy Ng looked for an alternative way in.
Her solution? Hire a lorry crane to take her up.
The incident happened at an apartment building in Selangor on Jan 21.
Ms Ng, who lives on the fourth floor, told The Straits Times that she returned home on that day to discover that her lock had malfunctioned. She had left her master key inside the unit.
The 40-year-old getai artist said she considered engaging a locksmith but was told the issue could be resolved only by breaking the door, which would cost about RM800 (S$227).
This would also require her to replace her fire-rated door and the damaged anti-theft electronic lock, which would run up a further RM3,000.
Unwilling to pay, Ms Ng wondered what she could do instead, and found inspiration after she saw someone using a lorry crane to cut trees along the road near her home.
“The crane rental costs RM500, which I thought was very affordable,” she said.
A four-minute video clip of her returning home in style – and gleefully waving to onlookers below as the crane lifts her to her balcony – garnered more than 2,900 likes and 600 comments from netizens on Facebook.
In Ms Ng’s post, she said it was her first time riding a crane and it was a “cool” experience. Her wallet probably agrees.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/locked-out-of-her-home-malaysian-woman-rents-crane-to-take-her-four-storeys-up
| 2024-01-22T11:22:13Z
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KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia’s former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad on Jan 22 condemned the questioning of his son by the country’s anti-graft agency, calling it “selective” and driven by his political rivalry with the sitting government.
The 98-year-old former two-time leader is a political rival and fierce critic of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who came to power in 2022 vowing to stamp out high-level corruption.
Last week, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) summoned 66-year-old Mirzan Mahathir, the former premier’s eldest son, for questioning over his business activities and to declare all his assets in and outside the country within 30 days.
“As you can see, it is selective. It is all very political. The people who go against the government, will have the law thrown at their face,” Dr Mahathir told reporters in Putrajaya.
“I am worried for him. He has to reveal all transactions since he was 22 years old in 30 days. If he fails, he could face a five-year jail (term).”
The MACC order is part of the anti-graft agency’s probe following revelations contained in the so-called Panama Papers, “as well as his business activities involving the sale and purchase of government-linked companies”, it said in a statement last week.
The agency said in August 2022 it started probing “entities linked and named” in the Pandora and Panama papers, which shined a light on tax evasion by the rich and powerful around the world.
The move comes after the MACC said it was investigating Tun Daim Zainuddin, a former finance minister and close ally of Dr Mahathir.
Dr Mahathir added that he campaigned for Datuk Seri Anwar in the 2018 General Election, but is now being investigated.
“When he was contesting, I actually campaigned for him, and so did Tun Daim Zainuddin. Both of us campaigned for him, and now he wants to investigate me for wrongdoings,” he said.
Dr Mahathir also rejected the notion that it is hard for the authorities to investigate those with the “Tun” title, adding that he was prepared to be investigated.
“I am easy. You can investigate me anytime. You have the power. You can probe me,” he said.
Mr Anwar has been accused of using the MACC investigation to go after his political foes. AFP
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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-ex-pm-mahathir-condemns-son-s-questioning-by-anti-graft-body-and-blames-anwar-govt
| 2024-01-22T11:22:23Z
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NEW DELHI - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated one of the holiest Hindu temples and his government has been spending millions of dollars to develop many others, boosting tourism and his appeal among the majority community ahead of elections.
Apart from a $6 billion makeover of the northern city of Ayodhya, where Modi opened the first phase of a Ram Temple, the federal government has spent nearly $120 million to develop dozens of Hindu pilgrimage sites in the past decade, according to government data, and more funding is planned.
The Ram Temple, built on the site of a Mughal-era mosque that was razed by a Hindu mob in 1992 and where Hindus believe Lord Ram was born, is estimated to draw up to 100 million tourists a year, according to Jefferies analysts. In comparison, about 9 million people visit Vatican City in a year and about 20 million Mecca.
"The creation of a new religious tourist centre (Ayodhya) with improved connectivity and infrastructure can create a meaningfully large economic impact," the analysts wrote in a note.
Since Modi inaugurated the Hindu pilgrimage site of Kashi Vishwanath Corridor on the banks of the Ganges in 2021 in his constituency of Varanasi, more than 130 million tourists have visited the area, according to government data.
The yearly footfall in Varanasi, which like Ayodhya is in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh and is one of the oldest living cities in the world, was barely 7 million before that.
Analysts say tourism income for locals and hotels in Varanasi - by dying where Hindus believe to attain salvation and freedom from the cycle of birth and re-birth - have surged by up to 65%.
With nearly $200 billion in revenue, tourism contributes about 7% of India's economy, which is below most large emerging and developed economies by up to 5 percentage points.
The new temple and renovations of many others are likely to greatly boost the electoral prospects of the Hindu nationalist party of Modi, who is widely expected to win a rare third straight term in general elections due by May. Monday's inauguration fulfilled a decades-old election pledge of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"With today's event, definitely the momentum is with the BJP," political commentator Sandeep Shastri. "It may be fair to say that any political party would like to make the best of a situation they find themselves in, and the BJP seems to have mastered the art of managing the message."
Out of the 46 projects funded under the Ministry of Tourism's "Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive" since Modi came to power in 2014, only about half a dozen are Muslim or Sikh sites. Muslims account for about 14% of India's population of 1.42 billion, most of them Hindus. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/temple-tourism-set-to-soar-under-indias-modi
| 2024-01-22T11:22:34Z
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SINGAPORE – China may have surpassed its growth target in 2023, but weaker-than-expected consumer sentiment has raised questions about whether Chinese travellers – and their tourist dollars – will make a return this year.
Domestic travel for the world’s second-largest economy has rebounded beyond pre-pandemic levels, with tourist destinations on the mainland experiencing a robust rebound of visitors over the past year.
But overseas travel – a more expensive form of tourism – has been slow to recover. In December, China’s international air passenger traffic reached a high point of just 63 per cent of the corresponding level in 2019. For the full year of 2023, international passenger traffic was just 39 per cent that of 2019.
The absence of Chinese tourists has been keenly felt in South-east Asia, where for many countries, China had once been their largest source of visitor arrivals.
Between January and November 2023, Singapore received just 37 per cent of the visitors who had come from mainland China in 2019. Tourism receipts from mainland Chinese visitors in the first half of 2023 were just 56 per cent of the corresponding figure in 2019.
Even as China’s economic data suggests that its consumers remain cautious about spending, analysts and survey data are forecasting the continued recovery of overseas travel by Chinese tourists in 2024, albeit to sub-2019 levels.
A notable exception to Chinese consumers’ wariness of spending lies in the services sector, particularly in travel and entertainment, said McKinsey senior partner Daniel Zipser in a report in November 2023 analysing China’s consumption trends.
“After years of restricted mobility (owing to pandemic-related restrictions), there’s renewed enthusiasm for travel and socialising in restaurants and bars,” he added, noting that the slow recovery of China’s international travel in 2023 was due mainly to visa restrictions and high flight prices.
He observed that Chinese consumers were increasingly shifting their expenditures from goods towards services, and predicted that this trend would continue into 2024.
There is likely to be a 50 per cent rise in international travel by Chinese tourists this year, bringing outbound travel to 62 per cent of its pre-pandemic level, according to a forecast by Singapore-based digital marketing firm China Trading Desk.
The firm conducts quarterly surveys of Chinese residents on their outbound travel sentiment. Its survey for the fourth quarter of 2023, released in January, polled 11,000 respondents on their travel plans and preferences.
Over half of the respondents intended to spend more than 25,000 yuan (S$4,800) on overseas trips, excluding the cost of air tickets and accommodation.
The survey also found that the majority of respondents who went abroad in 2023 were first-time travellers outside of China’s shores.
Nearly 60 per cent of Chinese tourists in 2023 are female, while over half have bachelor’s degrees and live in a Tier 1 city – a reference to China’s most developed cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.
“There’s an intriguing rise in female travellers, highlighting a shift in the gender dynamics of Chinese foreign tourism. This development beckons marketers to tailor their strategies to engage this increasingly powerful consumer segment,” noted Mr Subramania Bhatt, China Trading Desk’s founder.
Singapore, for which mainland China was the largest source of visitor arrivals prior to the pandemic, stands to gain from the impending tourism recovery.
The Republic was the most popular travel destination among survey respondents, with 13.9 per cent of those polled picking it as one of their intended travel destinations. South Korea came in second, and Europe, third.
Separately, data from China’s biggest online travel agency Trip.com showed that Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, which have announced visa-free arrangements for Chinese passport holders, are among the top destinations favoured by Chinese tourists for the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday.
In a written reply to a parliamentary question on Jan 9, Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said that Singapore’s upcoming 30-day mutual visa exemption arrangement with China, expected to be implemented in early 2024, “will increase Singapore’s attractiveness as a tourist destination for Chinese visitors, and boost visitor arrivals and spending in Singapore across the retail, F&B (food and beverage) and related sectors in the tourism industry”.
Industry players here appear to be optimistic about a rebound in tourist numbers from China and beyond.
Marina Bay Sands, a popular destination among Chinese travellers, announced last week an additional investment of US$750 million (S$1 billion) to improve its luxury offerings.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/business/china-s-travellers-to-head-overseas-more-in-2024-says-forecast-with-s-pore-expected-to-gain
| 2024-01-22T11:22:55Z
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SINGAPORE - Stocks in Singapore ended lower on Jan 22 amid a mixed showing from regional bourses.
The Straits Times Index (STI) shed 0.1 per cent, or 3.17 points, to close at 3,149.12.
Across the broader market, decliners outnumbered advancers 328 to 224 after 1.41 billion securities worth $910.1 million changed hands.
The biggest gainer on the STI was real estate investment trust Mapletree Industrial Trust, which gained 2.1 per cent, or five cents, to close at $2.46.
At the bottom of the index was offshore and marine group Seatrium, which fell by 4.5 per cent, or 0.5 cent, to close at 10.7 cents. Its shares were also the most actively traded by volume for the day, with 434.4 million shares worth $47.5 million changing hands.
Markets ended mixed across the region. South Korea’s Kospi was down by 0.3 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell by 2.7 per cent.
On the other hand, Australia’s ASX 200 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index ended in the black.
Mr Stephen Innes, managing partner of SPI Asset Management, said in a note that Chinese stocks were hovering around five-year lows amid foreign capital outflows and a declining renminbi. He added that this has heightened pressure on Beijing to take action.
“However, policymakers are cautious due to concerns about an increased debt load and fears of triggering foreign exchange outflows,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ms Charu Chanana, head of FX Strategy at Saxo Markets, expects the Japanese yen’s bearish bias to stay, although intervention risks could “cap gains” in the currency exchange rate for the US dollar and the yen.
She added that the renminbi and Australian dollar could be supported ahead of Chinese New Year in early February. THE BUSINESS TIMES
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https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/singapore-shares-start-week-in-the-red-amid-mixed-regional-showing
| 2024-01-22T11:23:05Z
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BEIJING/HONG KONG - The number of foreclosed homes in China rose 43 per cent year on year in 2023, according to a private survey on Jan 22, highlighting a worrying trend of rising mortgage delinquencies amid a sustained property market slump and a patchy economic recovery.
The number of foreclosed homes up for auction stood at 389,000 units in 2023, said China Index Academy, a major independent real estate research firm. A total of 99,000 units worth a combined 150 billion yuan (S$28.26 billion) were successfully sold at auctions, the firm said.
Total foreclosures, including commercial, residential and industrial properties, land, garages and parking spaces, totalled 796,000 units, a record high. The number was up 36.7 per cent from 2022, showed the survey.
In 2023, the troubled property market saw the worst decline in new home prices in nearly nine years, dragging on the broader recovery.
China’s economy grew 5.2 per cent in 2023, as credit has been diverted from the property sector towards manufacturers and as investment into infrastructure held up.
The southwestern second-tier cities of Chongqing and Chengdu were the most affected by home foreclosures, logging in the most auctions in 2023, China Index Academy said.
The number of foreclosures has been gradually rising since 2020, the firm said, and the number has continued to rise in the early days of 2024.
E-commerce company JD.com’s said earlier in January 2024 its online auction platform has sold 11 homes worth more than 10 million yuan each in the first 10 days of January.
JD.com said it planned more auctions of luxury homes in top-tier cities including Beijing and Shanghai during the Chinese New Year holidays. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/china-s-residential-foreclosures-increase-43-year-on-year-in-2023
| 2024-01-22T11:23:15Z
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Kevin Zhu plays Shostakovich
Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique
Orchestra of the Music Makers
Esplanade Concert Hall
Jan 21, 5pm
American-Chinese violinist Kevin Zhu continued his fine streak of concerts in Singapore, following up his splendid solo recital on Jan 12 with a performance of Soviet-era Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto In A Minor (Op.99) with the Orchestra of the Music Makers, conducted by Chan Tze Law.
Composed in 1948, but premiered by violin great David Oistrakh in 1955, after dictator Joseph Stalin’s death, it is considered the greatest of all 20th-century violin concertos.
Zhu and the orchestra played as if they meant every bit of that billing, with the dark and bitter Nocturne probing the innermost depths of the soul. The searing intensity of his violin tone and pinpoint intonation made this an enthralling journey, one that also scaled the heights of parody, dripping with acid wit and sarcasm.
His razor-edged reflexes served the quicksilver Scherzo and klezmer-influenced closing Burlesque to a tee, but it was the sheer gravitas displayed in the dead-serious Passacaglia and cadenza that stood out.
As if to emphasise, Zhu’s encore of the slow movement from J.S. Bach’s Sonata No. 2 showed he was no mere showy virtuoso, but a serious and thinking musician as well.
The evening opened unusually with Maurice Ravel’s La Valse, a splashy showpiece which often closes concerts with a bang. It did not really matter if the orchestra chose fun and games first, because this was a portrayal of old Vienna and the beloved waltz at the end of an epoch.
Conductor Chan’s mastery of rubato, slowing at parts and later cranking up the velocity, gave this performance a sense of inevitability, like a dying empire swallowed up by an unwinnable war.
Polished string playing, which lent an indelible sheen to La Valse, was called for again in Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 In B Minor (Op.74), also known as the Pathetique Symphony, which closed the concert. Premiered just a week before the composer’s untimely passing, an eternal mystery revolved around the cause of death: Was it cholera or suicide?
This performance left little doubt that the 48-minute work was a farewell to life without a final flourish. The oppressive mood of its opening, the droll bassoon solo and descending melodic line on poignant strings left clues, with a furious fugato providing some semblance of struggle against fate.
Even the bittersweet waltz of the second movement was coloured by the timpani’s ominous beat, like a clock running down its time.
The third movement’s march, inexorable in its progression, was distinguished by crisply spun wind and brass playing. Its loud and pompous ending was merely a ruse, prompting nervous but premature applause, but the final tragedy had yet to unfold.
The Adagio Lamentoso finale said it all, but the vision of the Orchestra of the Music Makers was not one born of neuroses, but rather world-weariness and ultimate despair. The pacing was judged perfectly, with neither sentimentality nor histrionics as its guide, which made it all the more memorable.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/life/arts/concert-review-violinist-kevin-zhu-proves-he-is-a-serious-and-thinking-musician
| 2024-01-22T11:23:25Z
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SINGAPORE – A persistent light drizzle put a damper on crowds at arts cluster Gillman Barracks, but about 100 people – toting umbrellas and wearing ponchos – still congregated in front of a makeshift stage to watch art pioneer Tang Da Wu’s performance on Jan 20.
Tang, a rock star in Singapore’s art scene, played only a bit part in the one-hour work, Our Children.
He opted to cede the space to 20 young volunteers, who had rehearsed this new iteration of his struggle with filial piety and cultural transmission over the past month.
Compared to the more performative 2017 version of Our Children – the collaborating art school students acting out synchronised motions – Tang’s brief on Saturday was decidedly more vocal and chaotic.
In front of a large tapestry depicting the pastoral idyll of a goat suckling its kid, the young volunteers debated questions like “Where is the father?” and “What is the real cost of love?”
They trapped themselves in woven threads, forced their peers to declare their stand on issues and fought jealously over milk, accompanied by the angry twangs of an electric bass.
At parts, the presentation was slightly on the nose, beginning with a mime to the gospel No Charge by American singer Shirley Caesar. A boy tries to charge his mother for errands run, only to be told that she has borne and raised him without such calculation.
Yet, the rain and wet tarmac made actions like kneeling before a parent more brutal, requiring more unjustifiable submission.
At the end, Tang, who made his thanks in front of organiser Art Outreach’s space, looked pleased with the more focused, ambivalent homage to this natural dialectic between the old and the young.
The tapestry, along with five other works from private collections to do with the parent-child relationship, remains on show at Art Outreach.
Gillman Barracks’ other exhibitions also made the visitors’ trek worthwhile, including an impressively curated show of 15 works from the Pierre Lorinet collection, themed Rough; and a solo exhibition of Myanmar artist Htein Lin, titled Reincarceration.
Rough, at 22 Lock Road, is so called because of the raw and unrefined feel of the selected works, a theme that curator Edward Mitterrand says finds its echo in the more rugged surroundings of the barracks.
The bold creations by leading contemporary artists are split zonally and tagged helpfully with QR codes by Art Outreach that provide their context.
Greek artist Jannis Kounellis’ oddball sculpture-canvas of steel, metal, painted wood and wax finds a sleek echo in the shaped canvases of American artist Blair Thurman, recalling the curvatures of car parts and racetracks.
Across the room, the violent brush strokes of Colombian artist Oscar Murillo initiate a conversation about displacement and conflict in the Global South with the equally abstract and similarly weighty Soya Yooya, stitched together from charcoal jute sacks by Ghanaian Ibrahim Mahama.
Other pieces include Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei’s bent steel rebars, commenting on the 2008 Sichuan earthquake; Vietnamese artist Danh Vo’s pottery depicting torture scenes from the Middle Ages; British artist Thomas Houseago’s mythical mask; and two plaques by influential Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija, famous worldwide for his participatory installations.
Over at Richard Koh Fine Art at Block 47, curator Louis Ho pays tribute to Htein Lin, who was thrown into prison once more by the military junta in 2002, after his six-year jail term as a political prisoner in the 1990s.
His visually arresting, whimsical strokes compound the darkness of incarceration. In some cases, the human figures behind bars look like they can be taken apart, conjoined to their thorny surroundings.
But viewers will also find an abundance of resistance in each portrait: a suite of drawings was begun on tamarind sweet wrappers he found in prison, while in another, the artist’s head grows roots and branches that escape the confines of the prison cell.
A large-scale installation of alms bowls, constructed in the manner of rosary beads, makes an argument about how Buddhism has been used by those in power and its continued potential for healing and resistance.
View It/Our Children by Tang Da Wu
Where: Art Outreach, 01-06 Gillman Barracks, 5 Lock Road
When: Till Feb 4, 11am to 7pm daily
Admission: Free
Info: str.sg/fLDD
View It/Rough and Reincarceration
Where: Gillman Barracks, 22 Lock Road and 47 Malan Road
When: Rough – till Jan 28, 11am to 7pm daily (until 1pm on Jan 27); Reincarceration – till Feb 3, Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10am to 7pm
Admission: Free
Info: Go to str.sg/CU93 and str.sg/yKzg
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https://www.straitstimes.com/life/arts/crowd-braves-rain-for-tang-da-wu-performance-pierre-lorinet-collection-and-htein-lin-at-gillman-barracks
| 2024-01-22T11:23:36Z
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There is no denying that Hugh Jackman is committed to his Wolverine character.
The Australian actor – who played the clawed superhero in the X-Men film franchises (2000 to 2017) – took to Instagram on Jan 21 to show his training regimen amid filming of Deadpool 3, where Jackman will reprise his Wolverine role.
In the short video, the 55-year-old star was seen doing bicep curls in the gym.
“No days off – except for tomorrow. #becomingwolverineagain,” the Oscar-nominated actor captioned the post.
Deadpool 3 will see Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds playing the titular superhero again.
The movie, which will be the first Deadpool outing within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is set for a 2024 release.
Jackman had previously shared videos about his training for his Wolverine character.
However, the latest clip, which shows off his impressive biceps, received many comments ridiculing his “skinny legs” and suggesting that he should not overlook his “leg day”.
Many of Jackman’s 31.6 million Instagram followers defended him, highlighting his age and genetics, and asked the naysayers to “give him a break”.
In 2017, Jackman announced he would retire from playing Wolverine and that Logan – featuring an elderly and weary Wolverine – would be his swansong.
Reynolds, 47, reportedly convinced his good friend to don the famous yellow-and-blue Wolverine suit again in 2022, much to the delight of fans.
With the release of Deadpool 3, Jackman would have played Wolverine for 24 years.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/life/entertainment/actor-hugh-jackman-shares-gym-workout-as-he-prepares-to-be-wolverine-again
| 2024-01-22T11:23:46Z
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Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun Fat, who took part in the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon on Jan 21, was not satisfied with his timing.
Under the guidance and in the company of his coach, Chow clocked in at 2hr 26min 08sec for the 21km race.
“It was four minutes slower than my target,” the 68-year-old told the media.
As to whether he would take on the full marathon at some point, he joked: “I may take part if I can complete it in two hours. I may achieve it when I reach 90 years old.”
Chow, who recently starred in the film One More Chance (2023), said he planned to challenge himself with the half-marathon again in 2025, as he hoped to complete it five minutes faster.
This was not the actor’s first half-marathon. He took part in the inaugural Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HK Section) Half Marathon in November and finished his first half-marathon in 2hr 27min 56sec.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong model Inez Leong did not let her second pregnancy deter her from taking part in the event, as she completed 10km in 1hr 4min 18sec.
Leong, 35, and her husband, TVB actor Tony Hung, 40, announced her pregnancy on social media in December. They have a two-year-old daughter. Leong, an avid runner who has taken part in other running events, is in her seventh month of pregnancy.
Leong said she felt excited running the 10km with her baby girl in her tummy, and that the run was slightly strenuous when she was going upslope.
“I believe I can still handle the run as the baby is not too heavy and not too big,” she told the media. “I felt her kicking me while I was running, as if she wanted to give me some encouragement.”
Leong said her husband, who was there to cheer for her, was concerned about other runners knocking into her and asked her to put a “Child in car” sign on the back of her shirt.
She said other participants did give way to her, with many of them helping her along the way.
“I have not decided when to stop before giving birth,” she said. “I will continue to practise or run shorter distances as long as my physical condition permits.”
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https://www.straitstimes.com/life/entertainment/chow-yun-fat-68-not-satisfied-with-completing-half-marathon-in-2hr-26min
| 2024-01-22T11:23:56Z
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Mr Ron DeSantis’ campaign ended, as it began, on X. His live launch event was meant to show how au fait with the future the Florida governor was. Instead the glitchy launch turned into the equivalent of dad dancing.
Mr DeSantis took no such chances with his withdrawal from the Republican primary, which he announced in a video posted on the same platform. As a final act of self-degradation he endorsed Donald Trump, who has been bullying him for months about his height and his table manners.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/how-does-ron-desantis-dropping-out-change-the-republican-primary
| 2024-01-22T11:24:07Z
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SINGAPORE – The owner of a car trading firm was fined $6 million after evading payment of duty and goods and services tax (GST) for 1,828 vehicles he had imported.
Singapore Customs in a statement on Jan 22 said Low Han Siang, 46, was also sentenced to nine months’ jail for underpaying the additional registration fee (ARF) when registering the vehicles.
Low pleaded guilty on Jan 19 to two charges of evading duty for 1,141 vehicles, which came to $1,819,865, and to another two charges of giving incorrect information regarding the value of 738 vehicles.
During Low’s sentencing, other charges were taken into account. These were: two charges of evading the GST due on 1,141 vehicles worth $764,343, six charges of evading duty and GST for the import of another 687 vehicles worth $679,072, five charges of causing an incorrect declaration to be made, and four more charges for giving incorrect information on the value of 1,033 vehicles.
The incorrect information resulted in a loss of $16,256,433 in ARF collected.
The vehicles were imported over a four-year period between April 2017 and June 2021.
The under-declaration of the vehicles’ value resulted in a loss of duty and GST amounting to $3,263,280.
Investigations revealed that Low had instructed his employee Lee Pak How, 33, to falsify invoices with the suppressed value of the vehicles.
Lee, a Singapore permanent resident, was fined $10,000 by the State Courts on Jan 13 after he pleaded guilty to one charge of falsifying documents.
In January 2024, five people have been charged across three cases of duty and GST evasion, suppressing the declared value of vehicles imported into Singapore, making incorrect declarations or causing incorrect declarations to be made on the value of vehicles, and falsifying documents.
A person found guilty of evading the duty or GST of imported goods can be fined up to 20 times the amount evaded, jailed up to two years, or both.
A person found guilty of falsifying documents or making an untrue, incorrect or incomplete declaration may be fined up to $10,000 or the amount of duty and GST payable, whichever is higher, or jailed up to 12 months, or both.
If found guilty of providing incorrect information which affects the amount of ARF chargeable, a person may be fined up to $10,000 or jailed up to six months. This penalty can be doubled in the case of amalgamated charges, and the offender will also be ordered to pay the outstanding ARF owed to the Land Transport Authority.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/6-million-fine-9-months-jail-for-car-trader-who-evaded-duty-and-gst-on-nearly-2000-vehicles
| 2024-01-22T11:24:17Z
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SINGAPORE – A primary school physical education (PE) teacher asked a seven-year-old girl in his class to sit on his lap and play a game on his laptop in class while he molested her.
The girl alerted another teacher via social media about six years later, after she graduated from the school, as she was concerned that the offender was a teacher in her younger sister’s Primary 1 class.
On Jan 22, the PE teacher, now 55, was sentenced to 16 months’ jail after admitting to one count of using criminal force to a person with intent to outrage her modesty.
As he is over 50 and cannot be caned, he was sentenced to an additional 45 days’ jail in lieu of three strokes of the cane.
The teacher, victim and their school cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the girl’s identity.
Court documents state that the teacher joined the Ministry of Education (MOE) in 1993. He began teaching in the school in 2005, and mainly taught PE and Mathematics to pupils in Primary 1 to 6.
Some time in 2015, when the victim was in Primary 1, she attended the PE teacher’s theory class. He had set up a laptop on the desk at the front of the classroom and called up pupils one by one.
He told the pupils to sit on his lap and play a game on the laptop. When the victim did so, he molested her over her skirt.
It was only in 2020, when she attended a sexual education class as a Primary 6 pupil, that she realised that what the PE teacher had done was wrong.
After she graduated, she sent a message via Instagram in March 2021 to another teacher from the school, and told him what had happened.
The girl also expressed concern that her younger sister was in Primary 1 in the same school at the time, and the molester was one of her teachers.
The PE teacher later confessed to molesting several other female pupils like he did in 2015, after the school principal and another teacher confronted him about the allegation.
He gave a written confession to the principal, who advised the girl’s parents to make a police report.
The PE teacher also admitted that he chose to molest Primary 1 and 2 pupils, as he thought that older pupils would know what he did was wrong.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Selene Yap said that the victim felt very disgusted, scared and embarrassed whenever she thought about what her teacher had done.
The prosecutor asked for the teacher to be jailed between 20 and 24 months, aside from caning. She noted aggravating factors in the case, such as the victim’s young age and the teacher’s serious abuse of position.
“He had the knowledge of the sensitivities of these young children, he was put in charge of them, and he abused their trust,” said DPP Yap.
Lawyer Wendell Wong of Drew and Napier, who represented the teacher, said his client felt ashamed about his acts.
“He’s absolutely sorry for what he has done, and he wants to take responsibility,” said Mr Wong.
District Judge Kamala Ponnampalam agreed with the aggravating factors mentioned by the prosecution, and also took the teacher’s early plea of guilt and cooperation with investigations as a mitigating factor.
A spokesman from MOE told The Straits Times in 2022 that the teacher was suspended from duty in April 2021 and is no longer teaching in any school.
The spokesman said at the time: “MOE takes a serious view of staff misconduct and will not hesitate to take disciplinary action against those who fail to adhere to our standards of conduct and discipline, including dismissal from service.”
For molesting a child below 14 years old, an offender can be jailed for up to five years, fined, caned, or receive any combination of such punishments.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/primary-school-pe-teacher-jailed-16-months-for-molesting-7-year-old-girl-in-class
| 2024-01-22T11:24:28Z
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SINGAPORE - A 20-year-old youth who raped his schoolmate in a toilet at Admiralty Park, while her then boyfriend held her down, was sentenced to undergo reformative training for at least a year on Jan 22.
The incident took place in June 2020 when he was 16 years old, the girl 14, and her boyfriend 22.
He pleaded guilty in the High Court to a charge of rape on Oct 17, 2023, and a report was called to determine if he was suitable for reformative training.
On Jan 22, Deputy Public Prosecutor Yvonne Poon told the court that the youth was found suitable for reformative training, a regimen where young offenders are detained in a centre and put through rehabilitation programmes.
Nonetheless, DPP Poon pressed for a sentence of between eight and 10 years’ jail, and between six and eight strokes of the cane.
She argued that, in the reformative training report, the youth sought to justify his actions and minimise his responsibility by putting the blame not only on the co-accused but also the victim.
According to the prosecutor, the youth said he had been “forced” by the co-accused, who was older and physically larger, to rape the victim, and that the victim had enjoyed the act.
But Justice Pang Khang Chau said he did not think rehabilitation has been displaced as the main sentencing consideration in the present case.
Rape was a serious offence, but the overall seriousness of offending in the present case was not at the extreme high end, said the judge.
He noted that there was no premeditation, and that the rape was the result of instigation by the victim’s boyfriend.
The judge added that “certain defects” in the youth’s attitude and thinking, reflected in the report, indicated that he should be rehabilitated.
Speaking directly to the young man, Justice Pang reminded him that this was his last chance and urged him to live as a lawful citizen after his release.
The co-accused, who faces charges over abetting the rape and sexual assault, is being dealt with separately.
The victim had agreed to go drinking with her boyfriend on June 27, 2020, after he threatened to seek out other girls if she refused.
The couple headed for Admiralty Park with a bottle of whisky and set up a live stream of their drinking session at a playground.
The youth chanced upon the live stream and messaged the victim to ask if he could join them. At the time, he had just argued with his girlfriend, who was the victim’s best friend.
After the victim threw up and lay down on the ground, the youth and the girl’s boyfriend carried her to a toilet for the handicapped.
Her boyfriend took off her jacket and T-shirt, and the accused held the jacket over her face while the boyfriend carried out a sex act on her.
The boyfriend then moved to hold the victim down while the accused raped her.
After the assault, she asked her boyfriend why he had not saved her. In response, he blamed her for having sex with the accused, and they ended up quarrelling.
The victim eventually broke up with her boyfriend in September 2020.
On Feb 17, 2021, the victim told her teacher about the assault. The next day, the school authorities informed the girl’s mother, who made a police report on Feb 23, 2021.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/youth-gets-reformative-training-for-raping-schoolmate-while-her-boyfriend-held-her-down
| 2024-01-22T11:24:38Z
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SINGAPORE – 2023 was Singapore’s joint fourth-warmest year since records started in 1929, with sweltering temperatures logged in May and October breaking records for those months.
The Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said on Jan 22 that 2023 also ranked the seventh-wettest here in more than 40 years, with annual rainfall being 13.1 per cent above the long-term average, or the average over 30 years.
Meanwhile, the annual average temperature in 2023 at the Changi climate station was 28.2 deg C, tying with 1997 and 2015. This fell behind the warmest years of 2019 and 2016 at 28.4 deg C, followed by 1998 at 28.3 deg C.
At the climate station, the last nine months of the year clocked above-average temperatures, said the weatherman.
Nearly 20 temperature-related records in Singapore were matched or broken. This included the highest daily temperature of 37 deg C recorded on May 13, 2023, in Ang Mo Kio, which tied with that recorded in Tengah in 1983.
With a mean temperature of 29.5 deg C, May 2023 matched March 1998 for the warmest month on record.
October 2023 was also exceptionally warm, with the month’s average temperature at 29 deg C, topping the previous record for October in 2002 by 0.3 deg C. Its record also exceeded the long-term average for October by a “wide margin” of 1.1 deg C, said MSS.
Climate conditions in 2023 induced 37 days of high heat stress, which puts people at greater risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Such weather was felt on up to eight days each year between 2018 and 2022.
Despite the higher temperatures, the island also experienced cooler-than-normal temperatures in the first three months of 2023, with March that year being the coolest March in the last decade.
The extremities in temperature here were influenced by weakening La Nina conditions, which typically brings wetter and colder conditions to South-east Asia, in early 2023, said the weatherman.
The average rainfall for February 2023 was more than twice of the average rainfall for that month between 1991 and 2020.
The daily total rainfall of 225.5 mm recorded at Kallang on Feb 28, 2023, broke the previous record of 159.3 mm for the wettest February day by a wide margin.
The wet weather was followed by El Nino conditions, which usually results in drier and hotter conditions in the region, during the second half of that year, MSS said.
Although 2023 was generally wet, there were months with unusually low rainfall – April, May, August, and October.
These months turned out to be in the top 10 driest for their respective months since 1980, said the weatherman.
The MSS report follows recent confirmation from climate scientists that 2023 was the warmest for the planet, after global temperature records started getting smashed from midyear.
Averaged across that year, temperatures across the globe were 1.48 deg C higher than they were in the second half of the 19th century, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service announced in December.
The unabated rise in greenhouse gas emissions and El Nino were the main long-term drivers for the increase, climate scientists said.
The searing heat bore down in heatwaves in parts of North America, Europe and China. Canada felt its most destructive wildfire season recorded by far, with more than 18.2 million hectares burned, The New York Times reported.
Daily average temperatures in Singapore are set to soar further, with Singapore’s National Environment Agency’s latest climate change study anticipating that the temperature could climb by up to 5 deg C by the end of the century.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/2023-was-singapore-s-4th-hottest-year-on-record-tying-with-1997-and-2015
| 2024-01-22T11:24:48Z
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LTA shelves plan to replace older public transport payment cards with SimplyGo by June
The Transport Minister apologised for delays passengers experienced and said $40m will be spent to keep card-based system running.
Increase in lingering cough cases due to year-end rise in acute respiratory infections
Doctors say it is possible to contract multiple respiratory viruses successively or even concurrently.
Singapore-based Terraform Labs files for bankruptcy in US after $53.6 billion crypto crash
Reports said the firm had listed assets and liabilities in the range of US$100 million to US$500 million.
SAF medical team treating civilians from Gaza in Egypt
The two-man team has been providing medical aid on board a hospital ship from France.
ICA seizes 13,000 cartons of contraband cigarettes, largest haul for 2023
Cartons of contraband were hidden with cellophane tape in a Malaysia-registered lorry.
Jail for man who duped 20 victims of about $2.5m in investment scam
3 at large after hit-and-run accident along Farrer Road; machete found in car
Photos of the aftermath of the accident show a grey Honda car with a crumpled bonnet.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/evening-update-today-s-headlines-from-the-straits-times-on-jan-22-2024
| 2024-01-22T11:24:59Z
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SINGAPORE – ‘Chaos’ featured on the job for many in 2023, with a substantial number of respondents in a survey saying they engaged in work that is unstructured, unpredictable and lacking in defined procedures.
“Chaotic working” was the top workplace trend in the December 2023 survey of 1,211 Singapore workers by hiring platform Indeed, with 16 per cent of respondents saying they practised it.
Participation in this trend pulled ahead of eight other trends workers were polled on, which includes various practices that recently came to the fore.
For instance, moonlighting came in second with 13 per cent, while 12 per cent of respondents reported being a boomerang employee – the third-place trend.
Boomerang employees are those who start a new stint at an employer they previously worked at.
Conversely, only 7 per cent of respondents engaged in “rage applying”, which is the act of applying to as many jobs as possible as a reaction to building frustration, rounding off the ranking.
However, Indeed projects that rage applying and quiet quitting will gain traction and take the top two spots in 2024.
Ms Nishita Lalvani, Indeed’s marketing director for Singapore, India and South-east Asia, said these trends are closely tied to inadequate pay, workplace dissatisfaction, and limited opportunities for career advancement and flexibility.
“Workers are increasingly expressing their discontent by either impulsively applying for new roles or quietly disengaging from their current positions.”
She also said that as the cost of living increases, job seekers are increasingly likely to moonlight to supplement income, develop skills, explore entrepreneurial pursuits, and take advantage of remote work opportunities.
Indeed added that although boomerang employees were a major trend in 2023, it lies at the bottom of the list for the 2024 forecast.
“The shift away from the boomerang employees trend is influenced by the ongoing focus on improving workplace culture, a key factor in initial employee departures,” Ms Lalvani said.
Indeed also polled workers on the job characteristics they valued the most as part of the same survey.
Flexibility came out on top, with 20 per cent of employees deeming it a workplace priority for them in 2024.
Pay increases, promotion and career progression, and learning and development followed in that order.
Over half the respondents reported being content in their current job roles and that they were not looking to move jobs, though 31 per cent of workers said they would look for new jobs this year to meet their new goals.
The remaining 16 per cent were neutral or undecided about seeking new employment in 2024.
Additionally, Indeed said, employees who perceived themselves to be working in a job that has a negative workplace culture are four times more likely to leave their workplace compared to those who rated their organisation’s workplace culture as extremely positive.
Of the employees wanting to move jobs in 2024, 42 per cent stated how they wish to join a larger organisation for access to better resources, pay and career prospects.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/jobs/unstructured-unpredictable-chaotic-working-tops-s-pore-workplace-trends-in-2023-survey-finds
| 2024-01-22T11:25:09Z
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SINGAPORE – The mental well-being of Singapore’s young people has improved since 2020, but it has still not fully recovered from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the pandemic, a disparity in life satisfaction levels also surfaced between degree holders and non-degree holders, with the former reporting greater satisfaction. Before the pandemic, there was little variance in life satisfaction scores between the groups.
These findings from two studies were released on Jan 22 during the Singapore Perspectives 2024 online forum.
Data from the National Youth Survey found that 40 per cent of respondents in 2022 said the state of their mental well-being was good or very good, up from 35 per cent in 2020. Pre-pandemic, or in 2019, 52 per cent of respondents said the same.
The survey, conducted by the National Youth Council (NYC), studies the major concerns and issues of schooling teens and young workers in Singapore, aged from 15 to 34.
The other survey is Singapore’s first national-level longitudinal study of young people, which tracked 4,000 respondents born between 1993 and 2000 over six years from 2017 to 2022.
The Youth STEPS study, by NYC and the Institute of Policy Studies Social Lab at the National University of Singapore (NUS), also found that lower life satisfaction was reported among those who graduated during the pandemic and looked for jobs, compared with those did the same before the pandemic.
During a panel discussion at the forum, an audience member asked if employers could better help the young as they transition into the workforce.
In response, NYC’s deputy chief executive Tan Lin Teck, who was a panellist, said that corporates have a role to play in addressing the concerns that young people have, as their values and priorities may have changed.
He shared that in the past, a common question among jobseekers during interviews was about the kind of training offered to staff for their improvement. In recent years, however, a question he would often get was about the support systems the company has in place for mental well-being.
It is important from a business perspective to not only hire the best talent but also to support them, and ensure that young people feel supported as they move into a workplace setting, he said.
He added: “It will be a competitive advantage for corporates if they do have a strong support mechanism for mental well-being given the priority that youth place on that.”
The national survey by NYC also found the issues that most affected the mental well-being of the young differed according to age. Those aged 15 to 19 were largely affected by their studies, while those between 25 and 29 years old were most affected by finances.
A common area of concern for all respondents was burnout.
Another panellist, Associate Professor Vincent Chua from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology in NUS, said a question to think about is why people are experiencing burnout from such a young age.
Burnout does not appear out of nowhere and is accumulated, he said, wondering if it could be due to the hyper competition that students are exposed to in school.
He said: “(The competition) sort of hones in on a singular definition of success that seems to permeate society.”
NYC’s Mr Tan added that it is important to have conversations around the definition of success because it determines how young people look at themselves and the people around them – whether as competition or as people they can support and enable.
Fellow panellist, Assistant Professor at the University of Delaware Kwan Jin Yao, said that although he appreciates his education as it is a big part of his success today, he has had to unlearn some of the notions of competition that he learnt in school.
Prof Kwan said: “How do I learn to live a good life on my own terms without having to benchmark and compare against someone else?
“It is not easy to unlearn decades of trying to compete and be better than someone else... but I think a big part of it for individuals would be to have these conversations among themselves.
“These conversations can shape the way we approach life and how we pass on certain values and principles to children if we do choose to start a family.”
Prof Chua of NUS added: “We need to deconstruct what others have put on us in order to come fully to ourselves – that would be very good for young people.”
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/mental-well-being-among-youth-has-improved-but-still-suffers-from-pandemic-impact-studies
| 2024-01-22T11:25:20Z
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Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests.
The barricading of void decks in Singapore is like a game of societal chess – one where Sembawang Town Council played the ultimate “no ball games” card, barricading Block 638 Woodlands Ring Road’s void deck due to noisy school kids, stirring both controversy and reflection.
This was not a solo act; similar void deck blockades have hit Jalan Kayu and Tampines, creating a recurring match between communal play and resident grievances over the past few years.
The incident sparked a lively online commentary, with opinions ranging from “Give kids space!” to “Stray balls are public enemy #1.”
The barricades may be down, but the bigger questions persist: Have we taken for granted the community spaces we share? Do we still value conviviality, or have we become too individualised? Is there still room for spontaneous play and social cohesion, or are Singaporeans becoming more intolerant?
As the city evolves, the challenge remains – how can we rejig our infrastructure requirements to preserve the magic of free-access public spaces? The game is afoot!
In this episode, ST journalist Gabrielle Chan and assistant ST Now editor Sazali Abdul Aziz delve into this discussion with Professor Laavanya Kathiravelu, who specialises in sociology with a focus on urban planning in cities at the National Technological University of Singapore.
Highlights (click/tap above):
2:37 Why has the discussion of this issue evoked such strong emotions among Singaporeans?
7:44 Is too much balance and structure limiting the creativity of Singaporeans?
11:39 The “Not In My Backyard” syndrome
16:07 Are playgrounds still a good tool for social integration?
21:02 Are authorities too heavy-handed in dealing with complaints?
27:22 What other solutions are there to balance the needs of the community when it comes to shared spaces?
Read Gabrielle Chan’s original article: https://str.sg/iYrX
Read Sazali Abdul Aziz’s opinion column: https://str.sg/iggq
Produced by: Gabrielle Chan (gabchan@sph.com.sg), Sazali Abdul Aziz (msazali@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim & Amirul Karim
Edited by: Hadyu Rahim
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/play-in-shared-spaces-how-can-s-pore-balance-competing-needs
| 2024-01-22T11:25:30Z
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DOHA - India were not surprised by the physicality of the teams in their Asian Cup group but now have experience to test their strength against Syria, skipper Sunil Chhetri said on Monday.
India are bottom of Group B after losing to Australia and Uzbekistan, teams who outmuscled them as they struggled to win duels across the pitch and failed to score a goal.
"One thing we knew for sure was we would have to deal with their physicality. It wasn't a surprise when we drew Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria," Chhetri told reporters ahead of their final group game on Tuesday.
"What has helped us is we've had two games against teams that were quite physical. What's more important is we rectify the small mistakes we made (in the first two games).
"We can't change things completely, but knowing how we fared physically, we need to rectify mistakes. Playing those two teams has given us the experience we need to play physical games."
India coach Igor Stimac said they know what to expect as both teams look for a result that could help them qualify for the knockout stage.
"All three teams are similar, very physical and playing in a similar way. We didn't have many reasons to change our approach," Stimac said.
"What's interesting about Syria is they use the same 11 players, they have a small bench with two or three changes. They're obviously limited on the bench. We'll try and see how fresh they're going to be tomorrow."
Syria coach Hector Cuper said his team have played well "physically and technically" but scoffed at the idea that he needed to rotate his players more.
"There is an idea that the manager changes players for the sake of rotation, but we need more harmony among the players. This is what we ask them to achieve. We lacked that in the first match," Cuper said.
"All 26 players should have one focus, one objective. Push and press and try to build up from the low block. We have talented players who will try and control the ball.
"I believe the Indian team have the same motivation to win three points. So we need to be more calm and focused on the match to get the three points and qualify for (the knockout stage for) the first time in our history." REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/india-battle-hardened-to-tackle-syrias-physicality-chhetri
| 2024-01-22T11:25:40Z
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PARIS – Political bickering, ongoing grumbling about ticket prices and disruption to everyday life are souring the mood in the build-up to the Paris Olympics in July – something organisers blame on typical French pessimism.
Several recent announcements have led to a spike in negative publicity for the sporting mega-event which will start in just six months and draw a television audience of billions.
Many Parisians were dismayed in December by news that transport ticket prices are set to double for the duration of the event and that they should work from home to free up seats on busy metros and buses.
The unveiling of planned security measures led to claims some parts of the city would face Covid-style lockdowns, while controversy erupted about the environmental impact of a judges’ tower at the surfing venue in French Polynesia.
On top of it all, Paris’ Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo and President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist government fell out publicly after Hidalgo claimed that planned Paris transport upgrades would “not be ready”.
“There have been a succession of issues that have been badly handled from a communication point of view,” said Philippe Moreau Chevrolet, a lecturer in communication at Sciences Po university in Paris and the founder of the MCBG Conseil PR agency.
“Instead of getting people behind the Games, they have created mistrust.”
France’s association of hoteliers and restaurants owners issued an unusual statement earlier in January, condemning French politicians for their “anxiety-inducing” announcements around the Games and urging them to come together.
“In general, we would strongly urge all of our public authorities, collectively and with solidarity, to speak positively and responsibly,” the statement added.
Other recent complaints centre on the construction work that snares traffic daily around the capital, while resentment lingers over the handling of ticket sales in 2023 that saw many locals priced out.
Paris will see “the most expensive ticket prices in an athletics arena that we have witnessed at an Olympic Games,” said World Athletics president Sebastian Coe in December. Coe, who oversaw the 2012 London Olympics, added he was worried the families of some athletes would be unable to attend.
Paris 2024 organisers remain confident that sights such as beach volleyball in front of the Eiffel Tower, swimming in the river Seine, or the marathon through the capital’s fabled streets will lift spirits once the flame is lit on July 26.
They make a distinction between the often noisy and attention-seeking media and political debate and wider public opinion.
A survey by the Odoxa group for RTL radio in November suggested that 65 per cent of French people were in favour of the Games – a fall of 11 points in two years but still a large majority with positive views.
In the Paris region, slightly more than half of people were in favour.
Organisers also point to the orderly preparations, as well as their budget restraint in comparison with other modern editions.
Most of the sporting infrastructure is finished. The athletes’ village is almost ready to be furnished. Crucial metro and train line extensions will be ready in time, they insist.
“What if everything went ok?” asked a headline in the left-wing Liberation newspaper at the start of 2024.
“France is ready for the Olympics... but given the country’s gloomy mood and its unpopular leaders, there is no sign of popular fervour,” it added.
Tony Estanguet, the head of the Paris organising committee, has criticised “Olympics bashing” in the media and the former canoeing champion despaired of his compatriots’ tendency to look on the downside.
“We like to look at what is not going well, focus on things that are out of place, concentrate on our weak spots, whereas some countries like to play up their qualities and strengths,” he told France Inter radio in January.
Jennifer Minner, an academic at United States-based Cornell University who studies major international events, says grouchy locals are a frequent feature of the build-up.
“I’ve found that pessimism is not unusual immediately prior to the staging of a ‘mega-event’, especially when the realities of hosting become more apparent,” she said.
Performance anxiety is also natural for every Olympic Games host as it prepares to showcase the best of itself to the rest of the planet.
Surveys show French people are most nervous about a security problem, particularly at the spectacular opening ceremony being planned on the river Seine.
“It’s possible that once the Games are underway, if everything goes well, people get into the spirit of the Games,” added Moreau Chevrolet.
AFP
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/french-gloom-clouds-paris-olympics-six-months-from-start
| 2024-01-22T11:25:51Z
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India batter Virat Kohli has pulled out of the first two tests against England citing personal reasons, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Monday.
Kohli, 35, has scored nearly 9,000 runs in 113 test matches.
"Virat has spoken to Captain Rohit Sharma, the team management and the selectors... certain personal situations demand his presence and undivided attention," BCCI said in a statement.
"The BCCI requests the media and fans to respect Virat Kohli's privacy during this time and refrain from speculating on the nature of his personal reasons," it added.
India host England in a five-match series starting on Thursday in Hyderabad.
The England squad arrived at the venue on Monday. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/indias-kohli-to-miss-first-two-tests-v-england
| 2024-01-22T11:26:01Z
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MELBOURNE - A turbo-charged Carlos Alcaraz powered into the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time on Monday as the second seed dismantled Serb Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4 6-4 6-0 to leave fans on Rod Laver Arena awestruck.
Alcaraz came into the match full of energy after his third-round clash with China's Shang Juncheng was cut short due to the wild card's injury and the 20-year-old Spaniard was too good for Kecmanovic under the lights on Rod Laver Arena.
"I did everything almost perfectly. In our Miami 2022 match it was closer. It was a good match today as well. I pushed him to the limit in every point," said Alcaraz, who set up a clash with sixth seed Alexander Zverev.
"I could take my chances in every set ... I'm feeling better and better every day. Every match that I play, I've been feeling more comfortable."
Alcaraz broke in the third game of the match and held in the next one to stretch his lead to 3-1 with a fiery backhand winner - one of 18 in the opening set alone - as the 20-year-old set the tone for the match with an early display of aggression.
Kecmanovic, who came through two five-setters to set up his second meeting with Alcaraz, regrouped after dropping the first set and stayed firm until the seventh game of the next when his opponent struck with a break and then doubled his advantage.
"He played a lot of matches in five sets and a lot of tough matches, so probably he was not at 100%," said Alcaraz.
Things looked bleak for the 60th ranked Kecmanovic when he quickly found himself a double break down in the third set as an awestruck centre court crowd was unusually subdued when Alcaraz moved in for the kill.
There were huge roars when the twice Grand Slam champion sealed the victory, however, and Alcaraz was appreciative.
"It's a pleasure to play here on Rod Laver Arena. It's a beautiful court," he said.
"The people here in Melbourne are so kind and I enjoy playing in front of you. Thanks to you I play my best level. I feel at home." REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/tennis/alcaraz-mows-down-kecmanovic-to-reach-australian-open-quarter-finals
| 2024-01-22T11:26:12Z
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MELBOURNE - Czech teenager Linda Noskova does not need to look far for inspiration in a country with a proven track record of producing top tennis talent but the Australian Open quarter-finalist said she would always idolise American great Serena Williams.
Noskova caused the upset of the tournament so far when the 19-year-old defeated top seed Iga Swiatek in the third round and she marched into her first Grand Slam quarter-final on Monday after Elina Svitolina retired injured.
While Noskova has the likes of Hana Mandlikova, Jana Novotna, Petra Kvitova, Barbora Krejcikova and Marketa Vondrousova to look up to, the powerful youngster said she has always been a fan of 23-times major champion Williams.
"When I was younger, I didn't really watch tennis as much as my parents or people that were around it a little more," Noskova told reporters.
"But I think when I got into it, I was a big fan of Serena. I always am and always probably will be. I like her style a lot and the way she carries herself and the person that she is.
"She's definitely on top of my charts."
Noskova, one of eight Czech women in the top 50, also had kind words for Ukrainian Svitolina, who retired due to a back issue while trailing 3-0 in the first set.
"I'd actually say Elina might have been one of them as well," she said of her favourite players.
"I like her style a lot. She can change the direction or rhythm of the game really well, so I was always really appreciated of such a player that can go on the net or can do slice.
"Unfortunately, we didn't get to know each other on court," Noskova added. "Maybe next time when we play each other."
Brisbane semi-finalist Noskova will next face another Ukrainian in Dayana Yastremska, who knocked out twice Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka.
The Belarusian said emerging players like Noskova and Yastremska must aim for consistency.
"Noskova, she's a very young player. We've seen her play really well last year in Adelaide and then the next week it was not so great," Azarenka said.
"I think that there's for sure a learning curve for all these players there." REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/tennis/no-shortage-of-czech-stars-to-emulate-but-serena-tops-the-charts-for-noskova
| 2024-01-22T11:26:22Z
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GENEVA - Countries risk missing a May deadline for agreeing a legally binding treaty on fighting pandemics and this would be a big blow for future generations, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Jan 22.
The new pact and a series of updates to existing rules on dealing with pandemics are intended to shore up the world's defences against new pathogens after the Covid-19 pandemic killed more than 7 million people, according to WHO data.
"I must say I'm concerned that member states may not meet that commitment and there are several outstanding issues that remain to be resolved," said Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in an address to the global health agency's Executive Board meeting in Geneva this week.
"In my view, a failure to deliver the pandemic agreement and the IHR (International Health Regulations) amendments will be a missed opportunity for which future generations may not forgive us," he said, urging countries to seize the opportunity to shape the future of the WHO and global health.
Only once before in the organisation's 75-year history has the WHO managed to agree such an accord, and that was a Tobacco Control treaty in 2003.
In the same address, Dr Tedros was upbeat about prospects for battling Aids, which is one in a series of so-called Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) fixed by the global body to fight some of the world's most pressing problems by 2030.
"We are now beginning to see a pathway for the SDG target of ending the HIV pandemic," Dr Tedros said. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/countries-risk-missing-deadline-for-pandemic-accord-says-who-chief
| 2024-01-22T11:26:32Z
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SKOPJE - The European Union's 6-billion euro growth plan for the Western Balkans is a potential "game changer" that could double the size of regional economies in the next decade, an EU official said on Monday.
Leaders of the six Western Balkan countries -- Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia -- met on Monday in Skopje to discuss reforms needed to access the EU growth plan presented last October.
"Today the leaders will be discussing the common regional market and the integration of the region progressively in our internal market, which is a huge driver for growth," said Gert Jan Koopman, the European Commission's Director-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations.
"The growth plan is a potential a game changer and could double the size of your economies in the next decade," he said at the start of the meeting.
Having been promised EU membership years ago, the accession process across the region has slowed to a crawl, mainly due to reluctance among the bloc's 27 members and a lack of reform throughout the region.
Serbia and Montenegro were the first in the region to launch EU membership talks, and Albania and North Macedonia began talks with Brussels in 2022. Bosnia and Kosovo lag far behind their neighbours in the process.
"The growth plan means 6 billion euros for the whole region and the amount of the money we will get depends on the good works that we do," Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said ahead of the meeting.
The EU growth plan for the region would include the opening of its common market to the Western Balkan countries in areas such as free movement of goods and services, transport and energy.
But in return, the countries need to implement reforms and resolve all outstanding issues with their neighbours.
The EU's aim is to give greater stability to a region that emerged from the bloody 1990s break-up of Yugoslavia but is still racked by tensions.
The six leaders will present a joint declaration at a press conference in North Macedonia's capital Skopje later on Monday. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/eu-growth-plan-potential-game-changer-for-western-balkans-official-says
| 2024-01-22T11:26:44Z
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BRUSSELS – Israel’s attack on Hamas is failing to root out the militant group, the European Union’s top foreign policy chief said, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comes under mounting international pressure for rejecting Palestinian rule of Gaza after the war.
Instead of destroying Hamas, Israel is “seeding the hate for generations” with its retaliatory strikes on the militant group in Gaza, Mr Josep Borrell told reporters on Jan 22.
His comments came ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
EU’s foreign policy chief urged parties to start thinking more concretely about a two-state peace process.
Hamas gunmen attacked southern Israel on Oct 7, killing around 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. The group also took some 240 people hostage.
Israel responded to that assault with an aerial and ground offensive on Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas.
Israel’s military operation has killed at least 25,000 people in the enclave, according to Gaza’s health ministry. It has also displaced most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people.
In mid-December, the World Bank estimated Israeli bombardment had damaged or destroyed over 60 per cent of Gaza’s infrastructure.
With civilian deaths soaring and concerns growing about the war spiralling between Israel, Iran and its proxies and US forces, Israel is coming under increasing pressure, including from close allies, for rejecting Palestinian statehood after the war on Hamas.
Mr Netanyahu said last week Israel would insist on keeping security control of both Gaza and the West Bank, which Palestinians claim as a future state.
Those comments prompted a rebuke from the US State Department, while UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps told the BBC on Jan 21 it was “very disappointing”.
The sentiments were echoed by EU foreign ministers on Jan 22 ahead of a meeting in Brussels, where they will be joined throughout the day by the top envoys from Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt, as well as the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League.
Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel said if the Israelis do not think a two-state solution is an answer, then “they’re very isolated”.
“The support for Israel is at risk to shrink very quickly to a very low level,” Mr Bettel said, adding it is in their interest to come to the table.
The EU’s foreign policy arm has proposed ideas about a two-state solution to the bloc’s member states, including how countries might be able to impose conditions in the future to safeguard that solution, according to a senior EU official.
Israel rebuffed a settlement for post-war Gaza proposed by five Arab nations with US backing. The framework being pushed by the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, together with Israel’s neighbours Egypt and Jordan, offers aid on condition the Israeli government works towards Palestinian statehood.
Asked about the Israeli government’s rejection of a Palestinian state, Mr Borrell stressed the solution has been approved by the United Nations and the international community.
“So they don’t agree, we have to discuss,” Mr Borrell said. “Which are the other solutions they have in mind? To make all the Palestinians leave? To kill them?”
Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said Belgium planned to organise a peace conference in Brussels in the near future with the hopes of “restarting political dialogue”.
Several ministers of EU member states also renewed calls for the release of the Israel hostages held by Hamas. BLOOMBERG
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/eu-says-israel-s-attack-on-hamas-seeding-hate-for-years
| 2024-01-22T11:26:54Z
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Russia's parliament began considering a draft bill on Monday which would give the state the power to seize the property of people convicted for defamation of the armed forces or for calling publicly for actions that undermine state security.
The move has drawn comparisons with the witch hunts of the 1930s under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin with their "enemy of the state" rhetoric, and could affect thousands of Russians who have spoken out against Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Criticising what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine has effectively been a crime in Russia from the day it began almost two years ago, but the new bill aims to make penalties for that even tougher.
It would allow the state for example, to seize the property of Russians who have left the country and have criticised the war but who continue to rely on revenue from renting out their houses or apartments in Russia.
The speaker of the State Duma lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, has dubbed the new bill "the scoundrel law".
"Everyone who tries to destroy Russia, betrays it, must be pubished accordingly and repay the damage to the country in the form of their property," he said at the weekend while announcing the submission of the bill. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/russian-parliament-examines-plan-to-seize-dissidents-assets
| 2024-01-22T11:27:04Z
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WASHINGTON - The United Nations migration agency aims to raise $7.9 billion this year through a new funding push to bolster efforts to protect migrants, reduce displacement and expand avenues to migrate legally, it said on Monday.
The Geneva-based International Organization for Migration (IOM) is seeking funds from governments, private sector companies and individual donors, according to the announcement.
"The evidence is overwhelming that migration, when well-managed, is a major contributor to global prosperity and progress," IOM Director General Amy Pope said in a written statement. "We can and must do better."
The funding effort comes as the number of people forced to move reached 117 million by the end of 2022, including a record 71 million forcibly displaced within their own countries, IOM said in a report accompanying the appeal.
Illegal immigration and asylum have become contentious political issues in Europe, the United States and other nations in the past decade as more migrants have taken dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean and to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Pope, a former senior White House official, took the helm at IOM in October 2022 pledging to partner with the private sector to address migration issues.
As part of its fundraising goal, IOM is seeking $2.7 billion to prevent forced displacement, including in cases where people move due to climate change. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/un-migration-agency-seeks-79-billion-for-migrant-support
| 2024-01-22T11:27:15Z
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GAZA/DOHA - Israeli tanks storming southern Gaza's main city reached the gates of two hospitals on Monday, cutting residents off from trauma care as the bloodiest fighting of the new year tore through areas sheltering hundreds of thousands of displaced.
Residents said bombardment from air, land and sea was the most intense in southern Gaza since the war began in October, as Israeli tanks surged across Khan Younis from the east into the western areas close to the Mediterranean coast.
Video images filmed from afar showed scattered civilians wandering a ghost city, crowded with tents with abandoned laundry flapping on lines, as gunfire rattled and columns of smoke rose into the sky.
Israel launched an offensive last week to capture Khan Younis, which it now says is the principal headquarters of the Hamas militants responsible for the Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
The newest phase of the war has brought fighting deep into the last corners of the enclave now packed with those who fled bombardment that has killed at least 25,295 people since Oct. 7, Gaza health authorities said in an update on Monday.
The majority of Gaza's 2.3 million residents are now penned into two towns, Deir al-Balah and Rafah, just north and south of Khan Younis respectively. They are crammed into public buildings and vast camps of tents made from plastic sheets lashed to makeshift wooden frames.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it had lost all contact with its staff at its Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis, main base for the rescue agency, where Israeli tanks were parked outside.
Further west, advancing Israeli tanks had reached the al-Mawasi district near the Mediterranean Coast for the first time, cutting off its Al-Khair hospital and stationing themselves around nearby Al-Aqsa university, heaving with thousands of displaced civilians.
At Nasser Hospital, the only major hospital still accessible in Khan Younis and the largest still functioning in Gaza, witnesses said the trauma ward was overwehelmed with wounded being treated on the floor and in hallways.
Health officials said least 20 dead bodies had arrived there overnight and they expected many more later, as tanks on the streets made it hard for rescuers to recover them.
"The occupation has overnight launched an unprecedented ground and air war on Khan Younis. People are trapped near Mawasi, people are trapped in Al-Amal hospital, in Al-Aqsa University. People are carrying the dead and wounded on donkey carts," said a medic inside Nasser Hospital who declined to give his name for fear of reprisals.
Gaza health ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qidra said in a statement that dozens of dead and wounded were trapped in areas targeted by Israeli troops.
"The Israeli occupation is preventing ambulance vehicles from moving to recover bodies of martyrs and the wounded from western Khan Younis," he said.
NETANYAHU DEFIES WASHINGTON
A morning update on the fighting from the Israeli military made no mention of the huge battle in Khan Younis, giving details of combat only in other areas, in the north and south of the Gaza Strip.
The storming of western parts of Khan Younis is the culmination of a battle that Israeli officials have depicted as their last large-scale ground assault before they shift to lower-intensity, more targeted operations to eradicate Hamas.
They have not spelled out their plans for the remaining areas, Rafah and Deir al-Balah, where most Gazans are now sheltering, with food and medicine running out and nightly Israeli air strikes killing families as they sleep.
Israel says it will not stop fighting until Hamas is completely eradicated, and accuses Hamas of using civilians for cover, which it denies. But Palestinians and many Western military experts say that objective may be unachievable because of Hamas's diffuse and deeply rooted structure in Gaza, which the group has run since 2007.
Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu broke firmly with Israel's main ally the United States, disavowing any future plans for an independent Palestinian state.
Washington says that maintaining a path towards an independent Palestinian state, the bedrock of U.S. policy in the region for decades, is the only way to make peace with the bulk of Israel's Arab neighbours and rebuild Gaza after the war.
Though Israelis overwhelmingly support the war, a growing, outspoken number led by relatives of the remaining hostages say the government should do more to reach a deal to free them, even if that means reining in its offensive.
Netanyahu, leader of a coalition that includes far right parties, said on Sunday he would make no deal to free the hostages that required leaving Hamas unvanquished.
"I reject outright the terms of surrender of the monsters of Hamas," Netanyahu said. He said he had stood up firmly to "international and internal pressures" to step back from his position that Israel must permanently retain full security control of all land west of the Jordan River.
"My insistence is what prevented for years the establishment of a Palestinian state that would have posed an existential danger to Israel."
Sami al-Zuhri, head of Hamas' political unit in exile, told Reuters on Monday Hamas was open to "all initiatives and proposals but any agreement must be based on ending the aggression and the occupation's complete withdrawal" from Gaza.
A group of families of hostages, the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, demanded in a statement that Netanyahu "clearly state that we will not abandon civilians, soldiers, and others kidnapped in the October debacle.
"We must advance the deal now," it added. "If the prime minister decides to sacrifice the hostages, he should show leadership and honestly share his position with the Israeli public." REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/israeli-tanks-cut-off-two-hospitals-in-new-storming-of-gazas-khan-younis
| 2024-01-22T11:27:25Z
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MODIIN, Israel - Tami Varon needed a night out to laugh. With two of her sons just back from fighting Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, she joined some 400 others at a comedy show of visiting U.S. comics in Israel to try to forget about the war for a while.
For Varon and the show's organisers, comedy can help to heal those who remain deeply traumatised by the Oct. 7 attack when Hamas killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel, and triggered the war in Gaza. It was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
In the initial weeks, movie theatres and other forms of entertainment, even shopping malls, were closed. Photos of hostages held in Gaza and signs saying "Bring Them Home Now" remain plastered across buildings and bus stops.
But steadily some form of normality has returned in Israel. The country's leading TV satire show "Eretz Nehederet" resumed, treading cautiously at first before once again mercilessly attacking Israeli politicians. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld and other actors visited Israel to show solidarity.
Now, comedy shows are sold out as rocket attacks from Gaza have stared to subside.
"It's OK to get your head in a different space and to laugh," Varon, a therapist by profession, told Reuters at the stand-up show in the central city of Modiin, where the crowd laughed and cheered loudly.
"It's healthy and you don't need to feel guilty about it."
The series of shows, called Comedy for Koby, has been running for more than 15 years, bringing top American comedians to six Israeli cities including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, to raise money to support those who have lost loved ones "to terror or tragedy".
The current tour was briefly in doubt when two unnamed U.S. comics pulled out, before others stepped in.
Butch Bradley, a resident U.S. comic in Las Vegas who grew up admiring Bob Hope's trips to entertain troops in World War Two, told one show he had at least expected cheap flights on Israel's flag carrier El Al, as tourists stay away.
"And they're like, 'No. It's $6000!' But there's a war? 'Yeah, you'd be shocked. It's going up. Beaches will be packed. It's vacation time!'" quipped Bradley, who is not Jewish and was a frequent performer for troops in Afghanistan.
Brian Kiley, a longtime writer for the Conan O'Brien show in the United States, joked: "My agent doesn't follow the news. All weekend my friends would ask 'why are you going to Israel?' and I had to explain to them that Ukraine was booked."
While TV satirists have lampooned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his handling of the conflict, the U.S. comics have largely avoided referencing the war happening just hours away in Gaza, where the Israeli retaliatory offensive has killed more than 25,000 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Peter Berman did not consider cancelling.
"When October 7 happened, I just wanted to come even more to try and bring some comfort and ease to people," he said.
Avi Liberman, an Israeli-U.S. comedian who recruits the stand-ups for the twice-yearly series, said the best response to horror was for Israel to carry on: "Especially in times like this when people need a break."
The foundation behind the comedy shows have tried to help with that. It was founded by the family of teenager Koby Mandell who was killed in a Palestinian attack in 2001. It offers emotional support and runs camps to affected families. It expects the demand to rise.
"Laughter is healing," Eliana Mandell Braner, Koby's sister and head of the foundation, told Reuters. "This is going to be a really long war so we all need this for our morale." REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/us-comics-help-israelis-cope-with-trauma-of-hamas-attack
| 2024-01-22T11:27:35Z
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KYIV - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked Ukrainians abroad on Monday for their support during Russia's invasion, and proposed changing the constitution to allow dual citizenship.
Ukraine's constitution does not give Ukrainian citizens the right to dual citizenship, so millions of people of Ukrainian origin who live abroad are unable to hold Ukrainian passports.
In what appeared a symbolic gesture on Ukraine's Unity Day, marking the anniversary of the unification of eastern and western Ukraine in 1919, Zelenskiy said he was submitting draft legislation to parliament that would allow dual citizenship.
"Today I am submitting to the Verkhovna Rada a key draft law that will allow the adoption of comprehensive legislative amendments and the introduction of multiple citizenship," Zelenskiy said in a statement.
"And it will allow all ethnic Ukrainians and their descendants from around the world to have our citizenship. Of course, except for citizens of the aggressor country."
Ukrainian officials often refer to Russia as the aggressor country following its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24 2022 and occupation of swathes of Ukrainian territory.
Zelenskiy has frequently underlined the need for unity as Russia's war in Ukraine drags on, with Kyiv heavily dependent on military and financial aid from abroad.
Thanking the diaspora for its support, including those who had come to fight for Ukraine, Zelenskiy said the words "I am Ukrainian" carried a special meaning, and hailed the "indomitability of our people."
Changes to the constitution need the approval of parliament, a process that could take about a year, and the authorisation of the Constitutional court. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/ukraines-zelensky-hails-diasporas-support-proposes-dual-citizenship
| 2024-01-22T11:27:56Z
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When Georgia Toffolo started dating the multi-millionaire BrewDog co-founder James Watt last summer, she knew she had to get the canine seal of approval from her beloved dog Monty.
"But it's not a big deal if Monty likes you because Monty likes everyone," says the former I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here champion better known as Toff.
"But this was super interesting. We got in last night – James was staying over – and I thought Monty was going to have a heart attack, he was vibrating with excitement. I said to James, 'He doesn't do that when I come through the front door'. But James walks in and he's like, 'Oh my God, here's my person!'," she says, laughing.
Toff, 29, describes the four-year-old King Charles Cavalier and Cocker Spaniel mix as "the love of my life" and is part of the reason why last week the former Made in Chelsea star turned TV presenter, author and entrepreneur launched her campaign to improve standards in dry dog food.
A committed dog lover – he named his company in tribute to his old mutt – James is, luckily, a big fan of her four-legged friend. He even threw him a birthday party at one of his BrewDogs recently, providing doggy beer and lots of treats.
"James no longer has a dog, but then Monty and I came along," says Toff. "We've just spent a month in Ellon in Scotland [the home of BrewDog's HQ] and Monty went to work with him every day. It makes me giggle," she says, her voice brimming with pride and affection.
Their month-long visit in December to Aberdeenshire was another milestone in the blossoming relationship for the couple, who were first introduced on a blind date by friends.
"I was a bit worried because I grew up in Devon, which is the opposite end of the country, and he lives in north east east east Scotland – you can't get more rural. I was worried I'd feel a bit homesick over Christmas, and nervous about being away from my family, and being with another family was a big deal. But we went to James's dad's, who's a fisherman and goes out on his boat every day, and had the most amazing fish that he caught for lunch."
"I love it up there so much," she continues. "I've become so used to the rat race, and I thrive off the adrenaline and stress, but it's probably reflective of how settled I feel in my personal life, which is wonderful.
"We're both frantic and there's a lot going on in our lives, and having some boring normality was beautiful – walking the dog early in the morning together, cooking at home. The consistency of routine is not something we've had, but it was just so lovely to see how happy we are doing the nice, normal stuff."
They are, she says, similar. "We are very ambitious, we like to do the best in everything and we don't take no for an answer, which means we build and do brilliant things."
"We're also hugely competitive of each other," she adds. "It's a big part of our relationship – he loves it and I love it."
So much so that their holiday in the idyllic setting of the Maldives last November became one long round of exhausting pastimes. "I imagined sitting on the beach, reading our books, but no," she says, laughing.
"A holiday with James Watt is like boot camp. Out of bed by 7am – and that's a lie-in. And then the activities began – everything from tennis, water sports, backgammon. I was getting a bit frustrated by day three, but this is why he's so brilliant with his business," says Toff proudly about her boyfriend's craft beer company which he started with a friend aged 24 using hefty bank loans. "He replaced work with activities, but it suited me as well."
Going on holiday, spending 24/7 with someone is a test for any relationship, Toff admits. "When you travel you really find out about people. What if he was one of those people who gets to the airport four hours early?" she says, horrified. "That would really grate on me." Luckily, he wasn't.
In between juggling her talent business, VTA, and her new dog food company, Wild Pack, Toff is calling on the manufacturers of dry dog food – or "Big Kibble", as she calls it – to remove glycotoxins entirely from their products, in the hope that the nation's pooches can live longer, healthier lives. Last week she launched her "Pawtition" which she hopes will prompt a debate in Parliament.
"We know that ultra-processed food is really bad for humans, but it's on steroids when it comes to dogs?" says Toff, who was horrified when Monty became ill from eating dry dog food, she believes, losing his fur in clumps and having constant stomach upsets. It wasn't until she changed his diet that he improved, which is when she decided to develop Wild Pack, her own dog food brand which uses raw meat, veg and fruit.
With her business projects Toff has had less time to take on TV work, apart from the occasional travel assignment for This Morning, but is considering writing another novel, adding to the four she has already published with Mills & Boon. Does she have a James-shaped romantic hero in mind?
"I bet he'd absolutely love that, so no!" she laughs. "But weirdly the meet cute for my last book was going to be a couple of strangers sharing a carriage on the Caledonian sleeper train going to Scotland after a ticket mix up."
In real life, however, it seems that she's met her knight in shining armour. "I can't believe how lovely things are going and how happy we are," she says. "So maybe I have finally met my match. Let's see!"
More details of how to get involved with the Kibble Amnesty can be found on the Wild Pack social channels @jointhewildpack
Pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale now. Subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/511778/georgia-toffolo-opens-up-new-boyfriend-exclusive/
| 2024-01-22T11:48:16Z
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Sofia Vegara wasn't about to let a little thing like forgetting her swimsuit stop her from soaking up the sun in Miami over the weekend.
The America's Got Talent star revealed she'd jetted to The Sunshine State but left her bathers at home.
In an image shared on Instagram, Sofia appeared makeup free as she lounged on the balcony with the sun beating down on her.
Rather than flaunt her curves in a sizzling one-piece, the 51-year-old kicked back in a pair of hot pink pajamas that she'd fashioned into a strapless top and shorts.
"When u forget your bathing suit but you wake up in Miami," she captioned the post as fans commented on her makeshift outfit and added crying with laughter emojis.
Sofia has been globe-trotting in recent weeks to promote the release of her highly-anticipated new Netflix series Griselda. She stars as Griselda Blanco who was once one of the world's most prominent drug lords.
Speaking about her gripping new drama while visiting London, she said: "I didn't want to create a story where there was a happy ending. I wanted change."
However, it's since been revealed that the family of the real Griselda has filed a lawsuit alleging that Netflix did not seek authorization to use the family's image.
The suit has called upon a judge to halt the release of the series, which will air on 25 January 2024.Netflix has pitched the show as "fictionalized dramatization inspired by the life of the savvy and ambitious Griselda Blanco, who created one of the most powerful cartels in history".
The role is a far cry from her character, the lovable Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in Modern Family which made Sofia a household name.
Sofia has taken on the challenge of playing Griselda with gusto and explained why she wanted to embrace this role.
"There were many things that I loved about that character because as an actor getting the opportunity to be someone so complex was fascinating," she said. "I don't understand many things about her but I took on the role because I'm Colombian, I'm a woman, I'm a mother and I'm an immigrant.
"I don't feel like I need a man. I mean, no, I want one but I don't need one," she said with a laugh, referencing her 2023 divorce from second husband Joe Manganiello.
They confirmed they were divorcing after seven years of marriage last year.
Get the lowdown on the biggest, hottest celebrity news, features and profiles coming out of the U.S. Sign up to our HELLO! Hollywood newsletterand get them delivered straight to your inbox.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/fashion/511777/sofia-vergara-forgets-swimsuit-during-sun-soaked-vacation-photo-griselda-agt/
| 2024-01-22T11:48:22Z
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Jennifer Lopez took high fashion to another level during a recent appearance, and some might be surprised by her makeover. The 'Jenny From the Block' hitmaker stepped out for Paris Fashion Week while attending the Schiaparelli Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2024 show over the weekend and embraced the opportunity for a revamped look.
The 54-year-old looked super chic as she posed for photographers in the French capital outside the show's venue, and our eyes were immediately drawn to her quirky gold shades. The glasses were a different look for the award-winning singer and featured small, almond-shaped lenses with thick eyebrow-shaped frames – accentuating JLo's features beautifully.
Jennifer paired the glasses perfectly with gold, oval earrings and her bag and shoes also featured simple gold detailing.
While pictured in Paris, the singer made sure to keep out the cold January weather with an eye-catching, feathered-effect coat in pristine white, paired gorgeously with a high-neck white polo. JLo offset the big and bold coat with simple black tights and black heels.
Jennifer's makeup, as ever, was glowing. Opting for her usual bronzed look, the singer and actress went for a smoky eye and filled in brows and perfectly contoured cheekbones. Her lips were pale pink and lined perfectly.
The star normally has flowing tresses, but her attendance at PFW meant she went for a more haute couture style. Jennifer's hair was short and styled in a wet look with just her bangs framing her face.
The overall look was a different vibe for Jennifer, who is gearing up to release her new autobiographical movie, This Is Me… Now.
The film, which happens to share the title with her upcoming new record, is a narrative of the megastar's life and career, told through her music and "very personal" storytelling.
"This Is Me…Now: A Love Story is like nothing you've ever seen from Jennifer Lopez. Alongside director Dave Meyers, Jennifer has created a narrative-driven cinematic odyssey, steeped in mythological storytelling and personal healing. With fantastical costumes, breathtaking choreography, and star-studded cameos, this panorama is an introspective retrospective of Jennifer's resilient heart."
MORE: Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Jennifer Lopez: The Best Dressed Celebs at Paris Couture Week SS24
MORE: Jennifer Lopez opens doors to $60m mansion – and her dining room belongs in a royal residence
It also heavily focuses on her publicly scrutinized love life, blending fantasy with her signature humor and sensuality.
Jennifer's last public appearance was at the Golden Globes earlier this month alongside her husband, Ben Affleck when she spoke about the new project. "I am somewhat of an expert you could say in a real way. Not so much about marriage but on weddings," she joked.
Jennifer and Ben looked like Hollywood personified in their stunning outfits. Jennifer oozed glamour in her strapless rose pink gown, complete with gorgeous rose bouquets for sleeves, while Ben opted for traditional suave in his tuxedo.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/fashion/celebrity-style/511775/jennifer-lopez-54-shocks-with-new-look-and-the-quirkiest-shades/
| 2024-01-22T11:48:28Z
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Just like her hit song, Katy Perry was supernatural and extraterrestrial over the weekend as the singer underwent an eye-opening alien transformation. The American Icon judge, 39, and her fiancé Orlando Bloom, 46, revamped their look with an intriguing makeover and looked out of this world gorgeous.
Katy took her Instagram to display the finished look and the first photo showed off the full extent of her makeover, which even featured prosthetic antennae and ears.
The award-winning singer's skin was glowing, and her eyes were shades of lilac and pink complete with dramatic lashes to elevate the look. The popstar covered her brows to accentuate the alien vibes and wore her hair slicked back to keep the attention on the face.
Katy's outfit was no less impressive. The 'Firework' hitmaker's dress was shimmering in neutral, pearly tones and featured a dramatic, draped skirt that was cinched in at the waist perfectly.
The bodice of the dress highlighted Katy's curves beautifully and the fabric sleeves at the back extended out to give a winged effect. To complete the ensemble, Katy paired the look with sky-high glittering heels.
Although the actor donned a more subtle look, Orlando matched his fiancée with prosthetic ears and even covered his brows to join in with the alien makeover.
The Lord of the Rings star kept things simple yet smart by wearing a black tuxedo jacket with tailored trousers, complete with a smart stripe down the leg.
Naturally, the bold new look sparked some reactions from Katy's followers, many of whom were "obsessed" with her alien makeover. Although the singer didn't specify the reason or event for which she was rocking an ET look, both Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner wrote a comment saying how great the pair looked the night before, hinting that the makeover was for a star-studded party.
Meanwhile, the couple, who are parents to three-year-old Daisy Dove, are no doubt loving enjoying mom-and-dad date night after spending their eighth anniversary apart earlier this month.
MORE: Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom's daughter Daisy Dove is so grown up in first public appearance
The couple, who got engaged on Valentine's Day in 2019, have been dating since 2016 after meeting at a Golden Globes after-party. But due to this year's Golden Globes, the betrothed pair spent the milestone apart as Orlanda was presenting at the awards without his wife in attendance.
But they did enjoy a cute FaceTime moment, which Katy shared on social media. "Guess my face says it all," she wrote. The singer then shared another snap from behind the scenes of the award show, writing: "Happy 8-year anniversary doe. Guess the spell worked," she quipped with a selfie of Orlando sipping on a drink at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/fashion/celebrity-style/511779/katy-perry-stuns-with-out-of-this-world-alien-transformation-in-curve-hugging-dress/
| 2024-01-22T11:48:34Z
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When I had my first daughter, I had a totally "normal" pregnancy and recovery, so when my second daughter was born I planned to return to work soon after, thinking everything would be fine. It wasn't.
Physically, the experience of having a second baby was completely different from the first and I was left with incontinence issues that I wasn't expecting.
My job is centred around meeting people, so I immediately needed to travel and I realised on my first journey to work that I was slowly wetting myself. I was fine when I was sitting down all day at home, but the minute I started walking, I’d panic. I’d worry it was noticeable and wanted to get to a bathroom quickly to check nobody could see.
Journeys which normally I would be happy to do were no longer easy. I found I couldn't be away from a toilet for more than 30 minutes because I was leaking the whole way.
When it comes to going back to work after maternity leave, there's a pressure to not let your baby get in the way of your job. You return to work aware that you've had a year off and you're fighting to keep up, so you don't want to bring your baby into everything or be seen as 'just a new mum.'
I was reluctant to admit I was having issues and tried minimise it as much as I could.
You're not alone
I remember thinking I was alone in my incontinence, and I had to keep quiet about it. But I want other women to know they're not alone. I don't think I've met another mum who hasn't had the same experience.
Many of us chat about bladder weakness amongst ourselves secretly, but we never talk more widely, and I think if people were a little bit more open, we could tackle the taboo.
It's expected that you go straight back to normal after having a baby, but until you share what you're going through you don't realise how common postnatal incontinence is.
READ: Try this super-fun exercise to strengthen your pelvic floor – it's not a Kegel, I promise
Daily impact
People need to realise the impact incontinence has on day-to-day life. Incontinence adverts suggest women want to leap up and down at gigs, or run a marathon, but I'd just like to be able to walk down the high street without leaking.
Advice for others
Practical precautions are key – I'd recommend wearing dark trousers if you think you might leak, as it takes away one worry.
Talk to your friends, because I'm sure nine out of 10 will say them they have the same issue. There's strength in numbers and being able to talk about it makes such a difference.
DISCOVER: Why are women expected to stop having fun in our thirties?
Dr Samantha Wild, Clinical Lead for Women’s Health at Bupa UK, agrees, adding: "There is a perceived stigma around women’s health, which is why we feel so ashamed when these things happen. But speaking about experiences, whether with friends, family or a partner, can help to break the taboo and normalise.
“However, when these issues begin to impact day-to-day life, such as going to work, exercising or socialising, and lead to mental health concerns, it’s important to speak to a doctor who will be able to look into whether these symptoms are normal or need further investigation and guide you through a treatment plan.”
Find out more about how Bupa is supporting women’s health initiatives.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/health-and-fitness/511780/bladder-weakness-job-struggles/
| 2024-01-22T11:48:40Z
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Young Monegasque royals Prince Jacques and his twin sister Princess Gabriella looked utterly adorable as they posed for new family photos at the circus on Sunday.
The children of Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco were all smiles on their trip to the 46th International Circus Festival with their royal father.
Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques, age nine, were the centre of attention at the event, with the junior royals dressed in smart-casual attire for the fun event.
Gabriella looked very stylish dressed in a taupe coat, black leggings and cute gold Mary Jane style shoes, while her brother Jacques looked smart in a black coat, navy jeans and coordinating black shoes.
Gabriella held a bouquet of flowers in the pictures, just like the adult royal women present – a sweet touch. The Princess' brunette hair was very fashionable, with a pretty fringe.
The children look so much like their mother Princess Charlene, who was not present at the outing; Gabriella and Jacques were accompanied by their father and other members of the Monaco royal family, as well as Charlene's brother.
Also at the circus event were Prince Albert's sister Princess Stephanie and her children Paul Ducruet and Camille Gottlieb. Charlene's brother Gareth Wittstock was seen standing beside his wife Roisin and their children Kaia Rose and Bodie.
Earlier in the month, Princess Charlene and Prince Albert attended the Circus Parade with their two children, in one of their first public appearances of 2024.
The young royals, who marked their ninth birthday in December, marvelled at the floats, performers, live band, and elephants which descended upon the Place du Palais. This year marks 50 years of the event, which was dedicated to Prince Rainier III.
Prince Rainier is a fan of the circus and helped launch the first festival in 1974.
Prior to the outing, the couple had rounded out 2023 with the New Year's address, which was posted on the Royal Family's Instagram account. Exuding glamour, Princess Charlene donned a dark red Ralph Lauren dress with long sleeves and an asymmetric collar.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/511776/princess-charlene-children-princess-gabriella-prince-jacques-monaco-circus/
| 2024-01-22T11:48:46Z
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Paris Couture Week is back for 2024 and we couldn't be more excited.
Granted, the Haute Couture runways bring fashion at its finest - mesmerising displays of wondrous designs and manufacturing at the highest level. But the celebrities who sit on the prestigious front rows equally step up their sartorial game and bring a feast for the eyes.
It's hard to forget the avant-garde dress code of the VIPs last year - notably, Kylie Jenner's prosthetic lion head sat atop a slinky black maxi dress and Doja Cat (who arguably had the most impressive set of looks for the week) who stepped out at Schiaparelli adorned in 30,000 red Swarovski crystals in homage of his show based on Dante Aligheiri’s book Inferno.
Schiaparelli once again opened the week with a bang. Daniel Roseberry's SS24 week of shows on Monday drew in a crowd that included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and her Euphoria co-star sidekick Hunter Schafer - talk about starting as we mean to go on.
Our question is, can any celebrity top the front row drama of SS23? See below the best dressed guests of Couture Week (so far)...
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/fashion-trends/511774/paris-couture-week-ss24-best-dressed-celebrities/
| 2024-01-22T11:48:52Z
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Personally, January is my favourite time to give my bag collection a refresh. There’s something satisfying about heading into the new year with some new arm candy, particularly a piece I know is going to be bang on trend for the rest of the season.
Though I am unashamedly a minimalistic dresser, I love a statement accessory to add some fun to a look, and designers certainly came through for spring/summer this year.
You may also like
The SS24 runways were filled with bold prints, OTT bijoux and filled to the brim with statement energy and plenty of personality.
There are plenty of pieces available to shop now to get you geared up for the season ahead. These are the trends I'll be trying and the pieces I've picked for you to shop immediately...
The 2024 Bag Trends You Need To Know About...
The Wild Side
The fashion set, including Mia Regan and Kate Moss revived head-turning animal print this winter, and the SS24 runways solidified that it's back for good for the upcoming season. Michael Kors opted for bold blocky prints, whilst Alexander McQueen chose a more subtle and classic croc print.
Mob Wife Bling
A contender for my favourite trend of them all. leading on from the diamante and rhinestone craze of winter 2023, bags with dramatic bijoux adornments are on the cards for this year. I'm already romanticising a blingy bag glistening under a balmy sunset...
Ludicrously Capacious
Sorry, Tom Wambsgans, big bags are back in. The shows across fashion month showcased oversized bags, miniature micro bags and everything in between. Personally, I love the practicality of an oversized bag and I'm on board with it being a fashion must-have. The trick? carry it under your arm instead of using the straps, as proven by Ulla Johnson, Rokh, Victoria Beckham and practically every other brand.
Woven Haven
Woven bags for summer? Groundbreaking. We’re not talking your usual cult-adored Loewe wicker basket or Prada tote, however. From top handles to fringing, the classic summer-clad design has been elevated to the max.
Red Red Wine
Crimson hues were a major trend in the latter half of 2023, and they're not leaving anytime soon. Following on from 3D florals, rose print and balletcore - romantic aesthetics including the colour red are still going to be everywhere in 2024.
Chain Reaction
It's not just Chanel and YSL who've made chain straps an integral feature in their accessories this season. Loewe added chains for decoration, Givenchy said gold is out and silver is in with their double chainmail straps, and Gabriela Hearst upped the quiet luxury sophistication with statement gold straps.
The Bags:
The Wild Side - Must Have
Mini Farrow Bag
Sezane
Why I love it: Bucket bags were also plentiful on the runways, so combining this with a subtle animal print is going to put you on the right track with trends this season. The gold hardware against this decadent chocolatey colourway oozes chic - Sezane's signature aesthetic.
The Wild Side - Lust Have
Leopard Le Bambino Long Shoulder Bag
Jacquemus
Why I love it: Little to no explanation is needed for Jacquemus' Le Bambino bags. It's one of the newer designs that has arguably reached cult status. This bold leopard print design would give your look an edge, be that jeans and white shirt in the daytime, or a 90s-esque black satin slip dress in the evening.
Bolshy Bling - Must Have
Rhinestone Studded Clutch Bag
& Other Stories
Why I love it: This gold bag will become your party wardrobe staple all year round. I love the asymmetric handle to add interest (plus, I'm not one for holding a clutch so I love that this can hang off the wrist). I have multiple weddings abroad this spring, and this bag is currently at the top of my wishlist.
Bolshy Bling - Lust Have
Cecilia Rose Diamonds Clutch Bag
Verano Hill
Why I love it: This bag stopped me in my tracks as soon as I saw it. Verano Hill have an incredible range of textured statement bags to give any outfit some va-va-voom. 3D florals is a major fashion trend this season, so this bag is on trend in every single way.
Ludicrously Capacious - Must Have
Suede Tote Bag
Asos
Why I love it: Taylor Swift put suede bags firmly back on the map in one of her January street style looks and I'm completely onboard. The tip here is to find a large bag or tote bag you like and carry it under the arm to get the full SS24 aesthetic. This green Asos piece looks so much more expensive than it is.
Ludicrously Capacious - Lust Have
Anchor Leather-trimmed Cotton Canvas
JW Anderson
Why I love it: This bag gets me excited for the warmer months. I love the contrasting piping on this elegant yet playful cotton tote
Whimsical Woven - Must Have
The Fringe Bag
Nanushka
Why I love it: This bag is so much fun and is my perfect-sized handbag - not too bulky but enough room for my beachside lunch essentials. Woven from natural raffia and adorned with tassels across the base, it epitomises frivolous chic.
Whimsical Woven - Lust Have
St. Barths Medium Woven Tote
Naghedi
Why I love it: I'm unsure what I love most about this bag - the elegant olive colour, the woven top handles or the detachable matching pouch. "Quiet Luxury" just got an upgrade for this summer and I'm completely obsessed.
Lady in Red - Must Have
Cockade Crescent Hobo Bag
Charles & Keith
Why I love it: There's no denying it, this bag looks so much more expensive than it is. I'm a sucker for burgundy hues, they embody decadence and give any outfit a sophisticated edge.
Lady in Red - Lust Have
Cœur Small Leather Shoulder Bag
Alaia
You may be thinking Alaia's heart-shaped bags are so 2023, but you have my word - they're going to be just as popular in summer 2024. 'Post romance' is a trend predicted to dominate this year following on from the floral craze of last year. Amp up the allure with this flirty red colourway.
Chain Reaction - Must Have
Honey Nazar Bag
Beaches & Cream
Why I love it:: I have a wedding in Corfu this May, and this bag is high on my 'must have' list. It's elegant, glamorous and perfect for summer I love the opulent white-ish colourway with gold hardware.
Chain Reaction - Lust Have
Corvus 0.1 Chain-embellished Velvet Shoulder Bag
Neous
Why I love it:: This bag is the definition of luxurious. Crafted from plush velvet leather with a slinky gold chain, the strap can be adjusted on one side to make it as long or short as you like. I love the horseshoe shape and tab fastening at the top.
How we chose:
Each piece selected is based off of the SS24 runway trends. I used my expertise plus the fashion show guidance to pick out bags that are going to be on trend for the upcoming season. Plus, I picked a high-end and a more affordable option for each aesthetic to hopefully appease a variety of people.
HELLO!'s selection is editorial and independently chosen – we only feature items our editors love and approve of. HELLO! may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. To find out more visit our FAQ page.
From everyday essentials designed to last a lifetime to delicate diamond-encrusted dials designed for an evening out, here are just a few of our favourite timepieces...
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/wish-list/511614/bag-trends-to-shop-now/
| 2024-01-22T11:48:58Z
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Astrologer to the stars, Debbie Frank, reveals what's in store for you this week. Read your horoscope below...
ARIES
It can take a wake-up call to move you up to the next level so the recent arrival of intense Pluto into the people angle of your chart is alerting you to the places where others play power games. Taking it back requires you to stand in your truth and believe in your own creative spirit. Be the star of your show.
TAURUS
Thursday's Full Moon highlights a change of emphasis in your work/life balance which enables you to clear some space for the new to come in. As radical Uranus is turning direct in your sign next Saturday you're not resisting, but implementing changes which offer excitement and a chance to feel and act differently.
GEMINI
You're not interested in repeating the past as Pluto's new position opens up a sense of adventure. Pursuing those things which really add value to your life, even if they're positioned on a far horizon lifts you beyond what has defined you before. Get ready to make decisions which alter your trajectory.
CANCER
A Full Moon in the monetary sector of your skies suggests a completion is imminent. Perhaps also a recognition of what is most valuable to you in financial or personal terms at this point. You're absolutely ready to make a fresh start which involves having a totally upfront discussion with someone who needs to understand where you're coming from.
LEO
Thursday delivers the one and only Full Moon in your sign, bringing your inner feelings up to the surface and leaving others in no doubt that you're a force of nature. However much you want to let it all hang out, don't burn a bridge you may wish to cross later. Situations are moving rapidly and so will your perspective.
VIRGO
Perhaps the best way to tackle this week's twists and turns is to get stuck into those things which are reliably standard procedure. What you'll find is that you can't control whatever lies outside of that remit. Therefore, remain unruffled and adopt an open mind. As more is revealed you'll be glad you did.
LIBRA
Nothing is set in stone whilst the celestial picture is being re-arranged. You're looking at other people's input and seeing how it lands. Besides, a Full Moon on Thursday reveals who is willing to come through for you and whether you enjoy being part of that setting or feel it's time to move on.
SCORPIO
Remaining strong on the inside is the one thing that has stood you in good stead over the years. Scorpios do not flinch from seeing both the darker and lighter shades of life. However, you're no longer prepared to linger in those areas which do not feed your soul. Watch your star rise with Thursday's Full Moon in Leo - it will feel astonishing.
SAGITTARIUS
Whilst you're always prepared to discuss absolutely anything, perhaps the time has come to focus on finances. Having a long-term plan is becoming increasingly important and you're seeing the difference between fantasies and viable outcomes. Show others that you can be grounded and practical without compromising your enthusiasm.
CAPRICORN
The charms of Venus in your own sign will not be lost upon you once she arrives into Capricorn on Tuesday taking you through to mid-February. Full Moon fever is heating up certain situations but you're the one with all the answers. Don't hold back as others need you to be a guiding force.
AQUARIUS
The current celestial climate is plunging you in deep rather than allowing you to stay detached in the shallows. The Leo Full Moon aspecting the newly arrived Sun and Pluto into Aquarius creates a powerful pulse point which activates heat rather than a cool response. Allow yourself to let off that steam, at least let someone know how you feel.
PISCES
Saturn has been keeping you on your toes for so long, you're in much need of a rest. So let yourself float through the upcoming Full Moon and take some time out. Strangely it's when you're doing 'nothing' that your best ideas arrive. Clear the space so that you can tap into some incredible inspiration.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/news/511671/weekly-horoscope-22-28-january-2024/
| 2024-01-22T11:49:04Z
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The Princess of Wales appears to be getting back on track following her abdominal surgery. In a new report, it has been revealed that the royal will continue working during her recovery while Prince William does the school run.
A source told The Sunday Times that Princess Kate is set to maintain contact with some of her charities and specifically, her Shaping Us campaign. However, a lot would depend on her recovery but "her commitment to Shaping Us and the early years will continue".
On Wednesday, Kensington Palace revealed that the Princess is being treated in hospital after undergoing successful abdominal surgery.
The 42-year-old, who will be leaving hospital towards the end of this week or early next week, is likely to spend between two and three months recovering and is not expected to return to public duties until after Easter based on current medical advice.
Her husband, Prince William, will not undertake official duties while his wife is in hospital and during the immediate period following her return home. He will combine being at Kate's side with caring for their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Princes Louis, and has already postponed a number of engagements.
Prince William will no doubt remain at their home in Adelaide Cottage, where he will drive their children a few miles to and from Lambrook School in an attempt to maintain as normal a routine for them as possible.
The royal family tend to spend their weekends in Windsor because of the children's sporting commitments. They also usually visit Anmer Hall, their Norfolk base, during the school holidays.
During this period, Prince William will no doubt also have the support of the children's nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, as well as Kate's parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, who are very hands-on with ten-year-old George, eight-year-old Charlotte, and five-year-old Louis. The Middletons live in Bucklebury village about 40 minutes' drive away from the Wales' family home.
Spanish nanny Maria, who studied at the prestigious Norland College in Bath, has worked for the royals since 2014 when George was eight months old. At the time, an insider told HELLO! that Maria had "worked for other high-profile families and it was from there that the Cambridges heard of her and hired her".
They added: "She is not married and doesn't have a boyfriend, as her life is totally dedicated to the family she is working with. She is known for being totally professional – married to the job."
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/511781/sign-kate-middleton-recovery-going-well/
| 2024-01-22T11:49:11Z
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In the early hours of 22 January, the Russian forces attacked Ukraine with eight Shahed one-way attack drones, targeting primarily southern regions. Ukraine’s Air Force says the country’s air defenses have downed all the Shaheds. No damage or injuries were reported.
Russia continues its daily suicide drone attacks on Ukraine. Such attacks in recent days are rather limited, with only a handful of drones launched every evening. The Shahed attacks in late December 2023 and early January 2024 were often massive in scale, with dozens of drones targeting multiple cities all across Ukraine.
“Overnight into 22 January 2024, the enemy attacked with 8 Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs from the Primorsko-Akhtarsk area of Russia (southeast from Ukraine, – Ed.). All eight Shaheds were destroyed by anti-aircraft missile units and mobile fire groups of the Air Force and the Defence Forces of Ukraine within Mykolaiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kirovohrad oblasts,” the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.
The Ukraine South Defense Forces (USDF) said the Russian drone attack originated from Russia’s eastern coast of the Sea of Azov and targeted southeastern and central regions of Ukraine.
The USDF says its air defense units were repelling the attack for about three hours, destroying five Shaheds, with two in Kherson Oblast, two more in Mykolaiv Oblast, and one in Kirovohrad Oblast.
“There were no hits, damage, and the injured among the civilians,” the USDF noted.
The Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration says three Shahed drones were downed in Dniprovskyi district:
“The [drone] debris crashed on the premises of an enterprise. A fire broke out and was extinguished by rescuers. A building was damaged. No one was injured,” the Administration wrote.
Read also:
- Russian Shahed sucide drone attack damages residential buildings, injures civilians
- Russia attacks Ukraine with 90 explosive drones killing a teenager on New Year’s night, Ukraine downs 87 UAVs
- Ukraine forces neutralize half of New Year’s eve Russia drone assault, three Ukrainian oblasts affected
- Military: Ukraine downs 114 of 158 missiles and drones during Russia’s “most massive” air attack
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/22/ukraine-downs-all-eight-russian-suicide-drones-in-nighttime-attacks/
| 2024-01-22T12:14:12Z
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Melanie Griffith's famous mom, Tippi Hedren, celebrated her 94th birthday over the weekend and it looks like she did it in style.
The Working Girl actress, 66, paid tribute with an Instagram post and shared photos from Tippi's big day.
In the images, the Marnie star looked glamorous with her nails perfectly manicured and her hair worn in a neat bob.
She wore a delicate selection of necklaces and rocked pink lipstick as she posed for a close up before having some fun with a pair of glittery 'Cake Time' glasses.
Tippi showed off her silly side as she scooped up a fork full of birthday cake and pouted for the camera. "Yesterday Mom aka MorMor turned 94," Melanie captioned the post. "Always up for a party! Happy Birthday Mama Tippi."
Fans wished her happy birthday too and sent kind messages saying how happy and healthy she looked.
Tippi was grateful to celebrate with her family by her side and she opened up about her plans to People ahead of her birthday. She told the outlet: "It may not be exciting to the rest of the world, but as a mother and grandmother, it's the perfect way to celebrate."
Melanie had a unique upbringing as Tippi raised her around animals including tigers, elephants and lions before founding the Roar Foundation which supports the California-based Shambala Preserve for endangered exotic big cats.
"It was a crazy, beautiful, and dangerous time," Melanie revealed in a 2020 Instagram post that featured a throwback photo of herself with her mom and lions.
"The cats now live in the beautiful sanctuary my Mom has for them. People can not go in their compounds. You cannot physically touch them.
But they are magnificent to behold," she added.She has said that "being around all kinds of animals, greatly enhanced my life," and Tippi's granddaughter, Dakota Johnson, has also spoken about Tippi's love of big cats.
"She has 13 or 14," she revealed on The Graham Norton Show. "There used to be like 60 cats, and now there’s just a couple."
Dakota also addressed how Tippi used to live with some of the wild animals."By the time I was born they were all in huge compounds and it was a lot safer," she added. "It wasn’t as totally psycho as it was when they first started."
The living situation was documented in Life in 1971 when photos showed Tippi's lion, Neal, hanging out poolside with her and mingling with the family.
"It is what it is," Dakota said when the TV host showed her some of the photos, before confirming that her mother "didn't lose a leg" and everything worked out just fine.
Get the lowdown on the biggest, hottest celebrity news, features and profiles coming out of the U.S. Sign up to our HELLO! Hollywood newsletterand get them delivered straight to your inbox.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/511785/melanie-griffith-lookalike-mom-tippi-hedren-turns-94-looks-incredible-photos/
| 2024-01-22T12:14:34Z
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Just days after Will Kirk revealed his DIY mishap, he enlisted the help of his baby daughter to finish his painting project.
Despite keeping his family life with his wife Polly and their little girl relatively private, The Repair Shop star shared a rare photo with his daughter on his Instagram Stories on Sunday. Will had previously shared snaps of his mother's home as he painted the lavender walls white, but he joked that she was left "disappointed" by his work. "My mum was so disappointed with my painting that she's now called in the professionals for the final coat."
The doting father held the one-year-old – dressed in cute pink trousers and a Peter Pan collar over her cream jumper – by her legs so she could reach a high section of the wall.
Equipped with a paintbrush, Will's daughter proved she is already taking after her restoration expert father by getting stuck into DIY. And she didn't seem to be having any problems like her father!
Days earlier, Will had revealed he hadn't managed to keep the paint solely on the walls. Sharing photos of paint caked onto his hand and dripping down his face, he joked: "Capable of painting a mahogany wood grain effect... Maybe. Capable of painting mum's kitchen... Not so much!"
He continued that his mother had the best reaction to his decorating mishap: "Love the fact that when I shouted out, 'Mum, I dropped the tin of paint on my face" her first reaction was, 'I hope you didn't get any paint on my floor.'"
Will lives in Wandsworth with Polly, whom he married in August 2021, and their daughter, whom they welcomed in July 2022. Based on the rare photos he has shared of their home, it features a neutral home with white walls and wooden floorboards, while large glass doors leading onto a balcony flood the space with natural light.
Will shared details of one feature at his family home, which he cheekily joked he lied to his wife about in order to sneak into the property.
"My wife Polly said we didn’t need a bigger TV, but our last one was really old, so I lied, saying I’d got one in the sales – I might have lied about the price as well!" he told the Radio Times.
"So, we’ve got a lovely big TV now and underneath that is my PlayStation, which I’ve been told to give to charity. I never have time to play, but I won’t get rid of it!"
READ NEXT: Kaley Cuoco defends parenting style as she talks home life with baby Matilda
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/511786/the-repair-shop-star-will-kirk-daughter-1-takes-after-him-rare-photo/
| 2024-01-22T12:14:40Z
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There are gurgling noises coming from Princess Stéphanie's office in the Prince's Palace in Monaco. They are the sound of her first grandchild, Victoire, now nine months old, finishing her baby food in the arms of her parents, Louis and Marie Ducruet.
The couple, both 31, met as students in 2011 and married in 2019 and here reveal how they're taking to first-time parenthood...
Louis and Marie, you welcomed your daughter in April last year. How are you doing?
Marie: "Very well! Victoire is such a lovely child, she's making us forget all the small annoyances. She's sleeping well at night so we can't complain."
What kind of child is she?
Louis: "Very curious and lively. From two months of age, she started observing her surroundings."
M: "She's so interested in the world around her, she doesn't want to go down for her afternoon nap."
How did you choose her name?
L: "We agreed on it pretty quickly. I really wanted our daughter to have an old French name that's not common these days."
M: "Victoire has two middle names. Maguy is a homage to Louis's paternal grandmother, and Lam Huong is my grandmother's Vietnamese name."
Louis, Victoire is your mother Princess Stéphanie's first grandchild. How did she react when the baby was born?
L: "It was incredibly emotional. She came to the maternity ward the day after Victoire's birth, alongside my dad [Daniel Ducruet] and my paternal grandmother, as well as Marie's mum. It was a magical moment that I'll never forget."
How is Princess Stéphanie as a grandmother?
L: "She gives a lot of love to her grandchild. My mother has a busy daily schedule, but whenever it allows, she asks to look after Victoire. When she was born, my mother often asked us: ‘Do you want to go out to the cinema? I can look after the baby.'"
What has changed for you since Victoire arrived?
L: "Everything! We no longer have the same priorities. These days, we want to spend as much time as possible with her."
Marie, you were involved in organising the Centenary Ball in tribute to Prince Rainier last October. Was that hard with such a young child?
M: "It certainly wasn't a restful time! I came back from maternity leave a bit earlier than planned, part time, so I could work on it."
You've chosen not to show your daughter's face in photos. Why is that?
L: "We want to keep a bit of privacy and not expose her to the public straight away. She has all the time in the world for that, given the family she's been born into."
Is your beloved dog Pancake happy about Victoire's arrival?
M: "Totally! At first, he was a bit stressed when he heard Victoire crying, but he adapted very quickly. He's very protective, and often watches over her. They're both starting to play together and their relationship is wonderful."
You've both got several siblings. Are you planning to expand your family?
M: "We're not opposed to the idea. Victoire is such an adorable child, she's making us want another. Two children would be perfect for me."
L: "We'd like our children not to have a big age gap. We'll see what the future holds!"
Interview: HERMANCE MURGUE / POINT DE VUE
Photos: FRÉDÉRIC NEBINGER / PRINCELY PALACE, MONACO
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/511784/louis-marie-ducruet-reveal-what-princess-stephanie-monaco-is-like-grandmother/
| 2024-01-22T12:14:46Z
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GENEVA - China has been lobbying non-Western countries to praise its human rights record ahead of a key U.N. meeting where it will face questions and criticism over its actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, according to diplomats and documents.
Four diplomats told Reuters that China's mission at the United Nations in Geneva had been sending memos to envoys in the build-up to the review of Beijing's record by the U.N. Human Rights Council scheduled for Tuesday.
China's mission did not respond directly to a request for comment on the reported lobbying. In a statement, it said Beijing "firmly opposes the politicization of human rights" and "promotes a fairer and more just, equitable and inclusive global human rights governance".
Tuesday's review will be the first since the U.N.'s top rights official released a report in 2022 saying the detention of Uyghurs and other Muslims in China's Xinjiang region may constitute crimes against humanity. China denies any abuses.
Later that year, members of the U.N. Human Rights Council, including Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, voted down a motion backed by the United States and other Western members that called for a debate about the alleged abuses in Xinjiang.
In early January this year, a diplomatic note sent by China's diplomatic mission to countries, seen by Reuters, read: "I would kindly request your delegation to render valuable support to China and make constructive recommendations in the interactive dialogue ... taking into account the friendly relations and cooperation between our two countries."
Other notes sent to three non-Western countries seen by Reuters included specific speaking points to raise, including comments praising China's record on women's rights and disability.
An African diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed having received a request to show support for China at the meeting and said he would do as asked.
Antigua and Barbuda in its advanced questions to the U.N. used a favoured phrase of President Xi Jinping - referring to China's "whole-process people's democracy" and praising the "fuller and more extensive and comprehensive democratic rights" enjoyed in China.
Its mission did not respond to a request for comment.
RIGHTS 'TEMPERATURE CHECK'
Tuesday's review will be China's first since 2018.
China's mission told Reuters its government "attaches high importance to this UPR (Universal Periodic Review) cycle", referring to the U.N. rights council's regular reviews of countries' rights records.
Beijing would send a large delegation and hoped to conduct a "dialogue on the basis of equality and mutual respect," it added.
Diplomats said that other countries sometimes tried to influence others' statements at the U.N. council but that the scale of Chinese lobbying was exceptional.
"The UPR is a very important temperature check and a chance for countries to signal concern on the basis of U.N. documentation," Raphael Viana David from the International Service for Human Rights said. "It shouldn't be a joint effort of praising each other and holding hands."
An usually high number of countries, 163, have submitted requests to make speeches at the session.
The United States, which sent two pages of advanced questions, asked China to cease what it called human rights abuses including unjust detention, forced labour and reprisals across the country and in Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang, U.N. documents showed.
Germany asked how many people were in Xinjiang detention centres.
China routinely rejects foreign criticism of its human rights record, saying all Chinese are treated equally in accordance with the law and that foreign countries should not interfere.
While the U.N. council has no legally binding power, its debates carry political weight and criticism can raise pressure on governments to change course or elicit updates on the fate of individuals.
A protest is planned on Tuesday outside the U.N. building with Tibetan, Uyghur and Hong Kong activists and Chinese dissidents.
The U.N. will publish a list of recommendations later in the week and a report is due to be adopted in June or July. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/china-lobbies-countries-to-praise-its-rights-record-ahead-of-un-review-diplomats
| 2024-01-22T12:54:17Z
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NEW DELHI – The consecration of the temple for Lord Ram in Ayodhya will bolster Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image as a strong nationalist leader who fulfils the aspirations of majority Hindus, giving his 2024 re-election campaign a boost, said political analysts.
Mr Modi is already seen as the front runner in the upcoming general elections, due before May, as he seeks a third consecutive term in power.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/consecration-of-ram-temple-in-ayodhya-gives-modi-re-election-campaign-a-boost-say-analysts
| 2024-01-22T12:54:28Z
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SINGAPORE - The application period for a programme offering a simplified process to help micro and small companies here restructure their debts or wind up their business has been extended by two years.
The Simplified Insolvency Programme (SIP) will be open for application until Jan 28, 2026.
The extension comes after two previous ones in 2021 and 2022, said the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) on Jan 22.
The programme was introduced on Jan 29, 2021, to help eligible micro and small companies facing financial difficulties restructure their debts to rehabilitate their business, or wind up via a simpler, faster and lower-cost insolvency process.
These are companies with an annual sales turnover not exceeding $1 million for micro companies and $10 million for small companies.
MinLaw plans to make the simplified insolvency processes a permanent feature of its insolvency framework, said the ministry in a statement.
“Extending the SIP application period will provide continued support for financially distressed micro and small companies in the interim,” it added.
The initial application period for the SIP was for six months, from Jan 29 to July 28 in 2021.
This was subsequently extended by 12 months from July 29, 2021, to July 28, 2022, and further extended by 18 months from July 29, 2022, to Jan 28, 2024.
The SIP is administered by the official receiver, or the liquidator. It comprises two separate processes.
The first is assisting viable but distressed micro and small companies restructure their debts with their creditors via the simplified debt restructuring programme. The second is helping unviable micro and small companies wind up via the simplified winding-up programme.
Micro and small companies that wish to apply for the SIP may visit www.go.gov.sg/sip
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https://www.straitstimes.com/business/application-period-for-simplified-insolvency-to-help-small-firms-extended-to-january-2026
| 2024-01-22T12:54:29Z
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SINGAPORE - A total of 11 men will be charged in court with outrage of modesty after allegedly molesting women, including two girls who were just nine and 14.
The men, aged 21 to 67, acted separately between April 2023 and January 2024, the police said in a statement on Jan 22.
The oldest of the suspects, a 67-year-old man, was arrested on April 7, 2023, for allegedly molesting a 14-year-old girl in Bugis Street. He faces three counts of outrage of modesty.
On April 18, 2023, a 24-year-old man allegedly molested a nine-year-old girl in a Tampines housing estate. A police report was lodged five days later and the suspect was arrested within an hour. He will be charged with one count of outrage of modesty of a person below 14.
On Aug 6, 2023, a man, 48, allegedly struck thrice on the same day, molesting three women in Orchard Road. The youngest victim was 18 and the oldest, 40.
He also allegedly choked a fourth woman, 20, and shoved her backwards. He was arrested on the same day and faces three counts of outrage of modesty and one count of using criminal force.
Another man, 55, allegedly punched and kicked a 31-year-old woman, on top of outraging her modesty. He was arrested at the scene – a coffee shop in Kelantan Lane – on Sept 11, 2023.
Two men, aged 40 and 29, allegedly preyed on women in nightspots. The 40-year-old allegedly molested a woman, 29, at a club in River Valley Road, while the 29-year-old was arrested at a club in Bayfront Avenue.
A 57-year-old man was arrested 17 days after allegedly molesting a woman, 32, near the junction of River Valley Road and Nathan Road on Sept 1, 2023. The police said the suspect was identified and arrested after “extensive follow-up investigations and ground inquiries”.
If found guilty of outrage of modesty of a person below 14, an offender can be jailed for up to five years, fined, caned, or any combination of the three.
If found guilty of outrage of modesty, an offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined, caned, or any combination of the three.
The police said they will continue to work closely with public entertainment outlets and the community to prevent and deter molestation cases. The public are urged to remain vigilant and report any incidents of molestation to the police immediately.
The number of outrage of modesty cases have been rising in the last two years, with the 1,610 recorded cases in 2022 up by 9 per cent from the 1,474 cases in 2021.
The figures for 2023 have not been made public yet.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/11-men-to-be-charged-for-molestation-of-women-underage-girls
| 2024-01-22T12:54:39Z
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SINGAPORE – The Republic’s first islandwide Total Defence exercise will be held in February to increase Singaporeans’ readiness for crises and disruptions. This is among several events to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Total Defence in 2024.
From Feb 15 to 29, Exercise SG Ready will simulate an attack on Singapore using a variety of hybrid security threats from an anonymous aggressor deploying cyber attacks, disinformation campaigns and drones against various targets.
These attacks would cause simulated disruptions to power, water or food supply to some schools on Feb 15 and 16. Emergency food supplies and water will be provided during this time.
Community facilities and commercial and government buildings will also take turns to run simulated disruptions as part of the exercise over two weeks.
The simulated disruptions include temporary stoppage of escalators and air-conditioners on various days, while 20 prominent public buildings such as the Treasury, the Supreme Court, National Heritage Board museums, Esplanade Theatres and Suntec Convention Centre will switch off their facade lighting to simulate a blackout caused by a cyber attack on the power grid.
In all, some 500 educational, community, commercial, and government buildings will be involved in the exercise.
The decision to hold the exercise came about as a result of feedback from various government agencies and partners that there is a need to educate Singaporeans on what to do in the event of a crisis, said Brigadier-General Kelvin Fan, deputy secretary (policy) at Ministry of Defence, on Jan 22, during the launch of the Total Defence 40th anniversary (TD40) events.
“It is to enhance the readiness, resilience and the unity of Singaporeans whenever there is a crisis”, amid “increased volatility, increased uncertainty and increased turbulence in the world”, added BG Fan, also the chairman of the TD40 organising committee.
He listed climate change, cyber attacks and supply chain disruptions as some of the challenges the world faces.
Government agency Nexus, which is responsible for Total Defence and National Education, has launched an exercise scenario video to set the context for the simulated disruptions happening during the two-week exercise.
Members of the public who would like more information on the locations and dates of the simulated disruptions for Exercise SG Ready can go to the SGReadygowhere website.
Other anniversary events include a Total Defence convention, which will be held in April, and a roving Total Defence exhibition showcasing the contributions of Singaporeans to Total Defence over the past 40 years.
The exhibition will be held throughout Singapore over the year, according to BG Fan. Details of the exhibition will be announced later.
There will also be a Total Defence dynamic display at the National Day Parade 2024, which will be held at the Padang.
Singapore’s concept of Total Defence was launched on Jan 22, 1984, as a national defence concept to rally Singaporeans in the event of a military threat and build up the people’s determination to stand up for Singapore.
The concept’s original five pillars of Military Defence, Civil Defence, Economic Defence, Social Defence, and Psychological Defence were joined by Digital Defence in 2019.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/1st-islandwide-total-defence-exercise-held-in-feb-food-power-disruptions-will-be-simulated
| 2024-01-22T12:54:49Z
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SINGAPORE – Workers in South Beach’s office tower can now get purchases such as ready-to-eat meals, drinks and snacks from a nearby 7-Eleven store delivered directly to them by a robot.
The fleet of seven robots by home-grown start-up QuikBot Technologies can navigate the maze of lifts, walkways and office gantries autonomously, and even hand items over to one another along the way. Orders are placed through the QuikBot app.
Bot delivery is part of a host of concepts now in operation under Hive 2.0, a high-tech retail innovation hub at Esplanade Xchange. The air-conditioned underground retail strip linked to Esplanade MRT station is operated by SMRT’s business arm Stellar Lifestyle.
The 297 sq m hub comprises 10 unique retail experiences by start-ups focusing on automation, robotics and digital retail services. It was launched on Jan 22 by Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling.
One concept is 7-Eleven Shop & Go, the convenience store chain’s first unmanned and cashier-free store in Singapore where customers can tap into a gantry to pre-authorise their credit cards, pick items off the shelves, and exit.
Their credit cards are charged accordingly, and a QR code can be scanned to get an itemised receipt.
Artificial intelligence (AI) technology and smart cameras track and detect customers’ shopping behaviour in the store, which can currently hold up to five people at a time.
Other featured concepts include Mr.R Robotics, an adaptive robotics retail store where frozen, chilled and ambient products are picked up by a robotic arm once selected, as well as Le Tach Vending, a vending machine operator that stocks products like herbal teas, bak kwa and fresh fruit.
Ms Low noted that tools utilised by these busineses, such as AI, can help alleviate issues like the manpower crunch. “These innovations can help lower operational costs, boost sales and address manpower and logistics challenges often faced by retailers,” she said.
In October 2022, Enterprise Singapore unveiled an updated industry transformation map for the retail sector, with a focus on areas such as helping Singapore brands go abroad. A key strategy was to catalyse fresh experiential concepts and innovations to meet ever-changing consumer demands.
In the same month, the first iteration of The Hive was also set up. Ms Low noted how The Hive has since sped up the digital transformation of hundreds of retailers on Stellar Lifestyle’s network via the implementation of smart point-of-sale systems to their tenants.
“Consumers need novel ideas and experiences, so retailers that are quick and agile in adapting their business models and their products to meet ever-changing consumer needs will have a unique selling point, because they will be able to differentiate themselves from their competitors, and grow and transform,” Ms Low added.
Expansion plans
Speaking at Hive 2.0’s opening, Stellar Lifestyle president Tony Heng said: “What you see here today could scale across the train network in the future.”
The priority is to implement some of the concepts in SMRT’s transit retail spaces following their time in the test bed, he added.
He said: “As long as (the tenants) are confident after the validation period, we are prepared to move them to other spaces – depending on the profile of their customers and where suits them best.”
For instance, the 7-Eleven Shop & Go store will run for at least six months at Hive 2.0 while the company gathers and reviews feedback before deciding on where to implement it next.
The wheels are already in motion for QuikBot Technologies to roll out its seamless robot delivery system in other commercial establishments around the Republic.
From February, it will be rolled out at Suntec City, and eventually in office buildings like Marina One and Centennial Tower. There are also plans for the robots to service South Beach Residences and JW Marriott Hotel.
QuikBot founder and chief executive Alan Ng said the firm aims to serve 400 buildings in the next four years, servicing about 1.2 million professionals, managers, executives and technicians.
“Singapore is a stepping stone,” he added. “We are a smart city solution, so we are establishing our presence in cities like Dubai in the next three months, and then moving to Tokyo and Seoul.”
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/consumer/store-to-office-floor-robot-delivery-unmanned-7-eleven-store-among-concepts-at-hive-20
| 2024-01-22T12:55:00Z
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SINGAPORE - A male motorcyclist was taken to hospital after an accident involving a taxi and a motorcycle on the Ayer Rajah Expressway on Jan 22.
The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force said they were alerted to the accident along the expressway, after Lower Delta Road, at 9.05am.
The 25-year-old man was unconscious when taken to National University Hospital.
In a photograph of the accident that is circulating online, two motorcycles can be seen stopped behind a silver car, while a person is seen lying on the road.
Police investigations are ongoing.
- Additional reporting by Elaine Lee
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/motorcyclist-unconscious-when-taken-to-hospital-after-accident-on-aye
| 2024-01-22T12:55:00Z
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DOHA - Australia striker Mitchell Duke will miss their final Asian Cup group game against Uzbekistan with a hamstring injury while the starting lineup will see changes, coach Graham Arnold said on Monday.
Australia have already qualified for the last 16 and are guaranteed a spot in the top two of Group B with six points while Uzbekistan are two points behind in second.
"I'll be honest, Mitch Duke is out of this game. Just a slight hamstring (injury) and with the short turnaround that we have," Arnold told reporters.
Duke is the squad's top scorer in internationals (12) and Arnold said he hoped to see young hopefuls step up for Australia, who did not call up Melbourne City's prolific striker Jamie Maclaren and experienced winger Mathew Leckie.
"Since I've first been in the job in 2018, I coached the Olympic team as well, I had to develop players to strengthen the squad. Probably nothing has really changed too much today, the only thing is we have more depth today," he added.
"We've got some older players that probably may not make the next World Cup and I've got to find replacements for them while I'm expected to win the games.
"So there will be changes but it won't impact the strength of the starting 11."
Australia's set pieces have been a major strength but they have not made them count in the Asian Cup and Arnold said he had to give credit to how the teams have defended corners and free kicks.
"They've probably sat and studied the way that we take set pieces, the importance of Harry (Souttar) and other players," he said.
"Our delivery has been a little bit off but we'll be working on that again today. They're defending their six-yard box well and getting everyone back in those areas to try and stop our delivery."
Arnold had also championed clean sheets as the key to winning tournaments but brushed aside criticism that the 2015 champions play too defensively.
"We're an attacking team that knows how to defend. And if you look at the stats, probably from our first two games, you'll see we've had more touches in the penalty box than any other team in this Asian Cup," Arnold said. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/australias-duke-to-miss-uzbekistan-game-with-injury-says-arnold
| 2024-01-22T12:55:11Z
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MELBOURNE - In his first Grand Slam, Bill Chan, 17, wisely did what any junior player should. He soaked it in. He took a picture with the great Gael Monfils. He found himself a ticket to watch Carlos Alcaraz. And he went to observe the art of his hero, Novak Djokovic, at practice.
If Djokovic moves fast, then so – in manner of speaking – does Chan, who became the first Singaporean to make it to the Australian Open junior championships. Last July, Chan, once a kid from Anglo Chinese School (Independent), was ranked No. 577 in the ITF junior rankings. This year, having rocketed to world No. 63, he is worthy of a competitor’s pass in the main draw of the boys’ junior doubles.
“It’s a great experience,” he says. “Because honestly I didn’t see myself in this position many times.”
Chan played alongside Peruvian Luis Jose Nakamine and, as often happens in doubles, they arranged their partnership three days prior. The duo lost a tight match in the super tie-break, 2-6, 6-3, 8-10 to Kaylun Bigun and Jagger Leach, an American pair who held a slight advantage in pedigree. Leach’s mom, you see, is former world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport.
Chan, who lost in the final round of the boys singles qualifiers, was introduced as a boy to an array of pursuits by his parents. Tennis took his fancy. Now he schools online and is based in the Belgian town of Hasselt under the sharp gaze of tennis coach Philippe Gelade, fitness coach Jonas Wallens and mental coach Pieter Michiels. In a global, harshly competitive sport, he needs every piece of sophisticated help he can find.
Roughly 180cm tall now and very polite, Chan, who describes an earlier version of himself as “short”, is an altered competitor. “I used to take the ball really early because I was pretty talented. I used a lot of my timing.” But exposure brings wisdom and now he says, “as you grow up that doesn’t really work so well. You need to work a little bit harder to win points, you need to play differently, play a little bit smarter”.
Belgium has been his education. “I started training (there) on clay court and that helped my game a lot because the clay court game is totally different. You have to play from the back a little bit more and it’s a lot more physical. My game has changed in the sense that I’ve gotten a lot faster. I would say I’m an all-rounder. I’m pretty confident from the baseline.”
Chan will soon be thrust into the unforgiving world of senior tennis but first he plans to go to college and “after that I’m really open to going pro”. Till then he’s doing what the game requires, sweating five to six days a week and imitating his steely role model who hails from Serbia.
“Out of everyone on tour I feel like (Djokovic) works the hardest. His mental strength is insane.” He even went looking for the Serb, hoping for a selfie, but Djokovic had gone and the moment had passed.
Practice will take Chan places, but what he requires is sponsorship. Tennis comes with a cost – from strings to flights to coaches – and while his peers of his ranking have sponsorships, he only has one. “Just my parents,” he quips. “Singapore is not a country that’s so big on tennis.”
Till he waits for his talent to be supported, he’s doing the only thing within his control. Inspiring himself. Which means sitting in Rod Laver Arena and watching a young master at work. “(Alcaraz) is an amazing player. Watching him up close teaches me things I can’t learn anywhere else.
“It’s a huge privilege.”
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/for-young-singaporean-at-the-australian-open-playing-has-been-a-great-experience
| 2024-01-22T12:55:21Z
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DUBLIN - Scotland have flushed out their deep frustration at a below-par performance against Ireland which saw them exit the World Cup in France in the pool stages, coach Gregor Townsend said at the launch of the Six Nations Championship in Dublin on Monday.
Scotland met Ireland in Paris knowing a win could take them into the quarter-finals, but were barely in the contest as they trailed by 26 points at halftime and lost 36-14 to bow out with a whimper.
"It is important that we recognise the World Cup was the last tournament we played and our last game was a massive disappointment," Townsend told reporters.
"The players came together last week to process what happened in that game, and any other outstanding issues within the group. It was positive and now we focus on the Six Nations."
One of the casualties of the World Cup campaign could be skipper Jamie Ritchie, who Townsend admits is no longer assured of his place in the back row and has lost the armband to new co-captains Rory Darge and Finn Russell.
"Moving on from Jamie is really down to the competition we have in the back row, players who were not at the World Cup have put up their hand," Townsend said.
"That is now a focus for Jamie, to get into the team as a player, because he is competing with some in-form players."
Back row Darge and mercurial flyhalf Russell are likely to start in the Six Nations opener against Wales in Cardiff on Feb. 3, and Townsend says it will be decided on the day who deals with key issues such as communication with the referee.
"Rory and Finn are key players and leaders in different ways. We think very highly of them," he said.
"Finn has the experience of lots of test matches, while Rory is a leader in terms of our defence with his physicality, he leads by example.
"We will have to say to the referee before the game ‘who do you want to chat to, is it OK if you chat to two people?’. But there will be someone to do the coin toss and give the last word to the referee."
Scotland last won what is now the Six Nations in 1999 and finished third last year with three victories in five games. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/scotland-have-dealt-with-world-cup-disappointment-says-townsend
| 2024-01-22T12:55:31Z
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MELBOURNE - Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska and Czech giant-killer Linda Noskova continued their stunning runs into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Monday as Daniil Medvedev added another familiar face to the men's last eight.
While the men's seedings have held pretty much firm at Melbourne Park over the last nine days, there has been upset after upset in the top half of the women's draw to leave a field almost entirely denuded of household names.
Yastremska played her part by ousting Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the first round and added another former Grand Slam champion to the list of her victims with a 7-6(6) 6-4 victory over 18th seed Victoria Azarenka.
Riding a sizzling backhand, the world number 93 had to fight for her victory over the twice Melbourne Park champion as she came from behind in both sets and smashed 38 winners on Rod Laver Arena.
"I thought that I had lost this match 25 times," the 23-year-old said after her victory over the Belarusian.
"I played pretty aggressive, I think. In some moments I felt like I was too nervous and too emotional, but then I just relaxed and said, 'it's going to be like it's going to be'."
Yastremska, whose grandmother's house was hit by a rocket while she was playing a warm-up tournament in Brisbane, said the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine had made it tough to play over the last couple of years.
"It's tough emotionally to play, but the worst thing is you feel like you were already accepting this, what is happening," she added.
"And people are starting to forget about what is going on ..."
Ukrainian hopes of a third woman in the quarter-finals to join Yastremska and Marta Kostyuk were dashed in only three games on Margaret Court Arena after Elina Svitolina suffered a back spasm and was unable to continue.
Czech world number 50 Noskova, who did the most damage to the top half of the draw by removing world number one Iga Swiatek in the third round, will face Yastremska in what is also her first major quarter-final.
Svitolina left the court in tears but said she would be cheering on her compatriots in the quarter-finals.
"I don't want to look this as a missed opportunity, especially right now when it was not about my tennis today," the 19th seed said.
"It was just my body just shut down, unfortunately."
'PRETTY DEAD'
Medvedev made a bit of a meal of closing out his match but stormed across the line 6-3 7-6(4) 5-7 6-1 against Portugal's Nuno Borges to set up a clash with Pole Hubert Hurkacz.
The Russian said he had started to feel the impact of the marathon second-round match that finished in the early hours of Friday when Borges came back at him in the third set.
"Before this match I was feeling 100% but he made me run. That's why I missed so much in the third set, I was pretty dead," he said.
"In the fourth set I managed to raise my energy levels and now I'm tired again. One day off before the next match, I should be okay."
Medvedev has gone onto reach the final on both of the previous occasions when he got into the last eight in Melbourne but has yet to add to his single Grand Slam title at the 2021 U.S. Open.
Ninth seed Hurkacz brought an end to wildcard Arthur Cazaux's hot run on his Melbourne Park debut, beating the Frenchman at his own game by serving slightly bigger and slightly better in a 7-6(6) 7-6(3) 6-4 win on John Cain Arena.
Second seed Carlos Alcaraz later takes on Miomir Kecmanovic, looking to lock up a spot in his first Australian Open quarter-final and take another step on a path that the 20-year-old hopes will lead to a final against another Serb, Novak Djokovic. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/tennis/qualifier-yastremska-noskova-make-melbourne-quarters-as-medvedev-marches-on
| 2024-01-22T12:55:42Z
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MELBOURNE - Zheng Qinwen cruised into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open with a commanding 6-0 6-3 victory over Frenchwoman Oceane Dodin on Monday to match her best performance in a Grand Slam.
The Chinese 12th seed, who reached the U.S. Open last eight in September and ended the year as the WTA Tour's most improved player, barely put a foot wrong in the 59-minute masterclass on Rod Laver Arena and will meet Russian Anna Kalinskaya next.
"Second time in a quarter-final, I have more experience but I want to focus on the moment," said Zheng, who can emulate her idol Li Na by winning the tournament and has received plenty of tips from her compatriot who is at Melbourne Park.
"That's what she told me to do ... She's a really classic, powerful woman. She looks much more beautiful than when I saw her on TV when I was young."
Both players revved up their backhands early in the opening set but it was Zheng who drew first blood with a stunning winner down the line and the 21-year-old saved a break point to power ahead 3-0, tightening her grip on the contest from there.
Zheng then reeled off the points to blank her 27-year-old opponent and started the second set in a menacing mood but Dodin opened her account with a hold.
The unseeded Frenchwoman raised her arms and smiled as fans cheered but Zheng regained focus after the duo swapped breaks to rack up a 4-2 advantage to run away with the match, which she wrapped up when Dodin crashed a return into the net. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/tennis/zheng-glides-past-dodin-to-book-melbourne-quarter-final-spot
| 2024-01-22T12:55:52Z
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MOSCOW - Russia is taking all "necessary measures" to defend its citizens and key infrastructure from Ukrainian attacks, the Kremlin said on Monday, a day after Moscow accused Kyiv's forces of killing 27 people in shelling of a Russian-held city in eastern Ukraine.
Also on Sunday Russian company Novatek was forced to suspend some operations at a huge Baltic Sea fuel export terminal after what Ukrainian media said was the latest in a series of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian energy facilities.
"The (Russian) Ministry of Defence, our air defence assets, other relevant agencies are taking necessary measures to protect against this kind of terrorist attack," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a regular news briefing.
"The Kyiv regime is continuing to show its vicious side in that they are striking civilian infrastructure. They are striking people, civilians," he said, branding Sunday's attack on the city of Donetsk a "heinous act of terrorism".
Russian-installed officials in Donetsk said the attack, which also injured 25 people, had hit a busy area where shops and a market are located.
Ukrainian forces said on Sunday they did not bear responsibility for the death of people on occupied territory and blamed Russia for the heavy loss of life.
Thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been killed or injured by Russian air strikes and shelling since President Vladimir Putin sent tens of thousands of soldiers into Ukraine nearly two years ago.
Moscow said Sunday's incident was the second serious Ukrainian attack on civilians in less than a month. In December, Russia said 25 people, including five children, were killed during a Ukrainian missile and drone attack on the western Russian city of Belgorod.
Monday was an official day of mourning in the Donetsk region - one of four Ukrainian regions which Russia claims to have annexed since February 2022, in a move Kyiv and its Western allies say is illegal.
Kyiv has prioritised the domestic production of long-range drones, allowing it to strike targets deep inside Russia regardless of misgivings in the West about such attacks.
The head of Ukraine's main military industry manufacturer said in November that Ukraine had established serial production of "kamikaze" drones with a combat range of 1,000 kilometres (621 miles).
Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of waging an unprovoked war of aggression aimed at seizing land. Moscow says what it calls a "special military operation" is purely defensive and is aimed at bolstering Russian security against a hostile West. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/russia-is-acting-to-thwart-ukrainian-attacks-on-civilians-infrastructure-kremlin
| 2024-01-22T12:56:03Z
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JERUSALEM - A group of relatives of Israelis held hostage by Hamas militants stormed a parliamentary committee session in Jerusalem on Monday, demanding that the lawmakers do more to try to free their loved ones.
The action by about 20 people signalled growing domestic dissent in the fourth month of the Gaza war.
One woman held up pictures of three family members who were among the 253 people seized in the cross-border Hamas rampage of Oct. 7 that triggered the worst fighting in decades.
Some 130 remain held in Gaza after others were brought home in a November truce.
"Just one I'd like to get back alive, one out of three!" the woman protester cried after pushing into the Knesset Finance Committee discussion.
Other protesters, clad in black T-shirts, held up signs reading: "You will not sit here while they die there."
"Release them now, now, now!" they chanted.
U.S., Qatari and Egyptian efforts to mediate another release seem far from reconciling Israel's drive to destroy Hamas and Hamas' demand that Israel withdraw and free all of the thousands of Palestinians - including senior militants - from its prisons.
The fate of the hostages - 27 of whom Israel says have died in captivity - has riveted the country. But the relatives fear that war fatigue could soften that focus. Demonstrations that initially promoted national unity have become more aggressive.
Demonstrators have also been camping outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coastal home as well as the Knesset building, some demanding an unilateral end to the war or an election that might topple the hard-right government.
Parliamentary ushers, often quick to eject hecklers or protesters, stood by during the ruckus in the Knesset Finance Committee. One lawmaker covered her face with her hands.
Panel chairman Moshe Gafni, head of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish party in Netanyahu's coalition, stood up, called a halt to the economic briefing under way and sought to calm the protester.
"Redeeming captives is the most important precept in Judaism, especially in this case, where there is an urgency to preserving life," he said, but added: "Quitting the coalition would not achieve anything."
On Sunday, Netanyahu rejected conditions presented by Hamas to end the war and release hostages that would include
Israel's complete withdrawal and leaving Hamas in power in Gaza.
Following that, the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum demanded that Netanyahu "clearly state that we will not abandon civilians, soldiers, and others kidnapped in the October debacle."
"If the prime minister decides to sacrifice the hostages, he should show leadership and honestly share his position with the Israeli public," it said in a statement. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/relatives-of-gaza-hostages-storm-israeli-parliament-panel-as-protests-mount
| 2024-01-22T12:56:13Z
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Carrie Johnson shared the cutest snap on her Instagram Stories on Sunday, showing her two eldest children, Romy, two, and Wilfred, three, twinning in matching denim dungarees embellished with prints of farmyard animals.
In the adorable photo, which showed the children sitting at the kitchen table, the two youngsters were the spitting image of their parents, with Romy's blonde tresses resembling those of her mum, while Wilfred's lighter locks looked the same as his dad's!
Giving a shout-out to the brand behind the stylish dungarees, Carrie penned in the caption: "The best kids dungarees from @maisieandmoouk."
Carrie's latest post comes just weeks after she shared a reflective Instagram post about 2023, which saw the arrival of her third child with husband, Boris Johnson.
Taking to Instagram on New Year's Eve, Carrie shared a throwback photo to when she was heavily pregnant with her third baby, Frankie. The stunning black and white photograph saw the 35-year-old posing in her underwear and a long dressing gown while looking out of a window.
In the caption, she wrote: "2023. The year our dear Frankie arrived and we made the big move to the countryside. Have made some wonderful new friends this year and have made some incredible memories with the kids. I don't take any of it for granted. Not for a second.
"Thank you to everyone who helped make it such a good one and to all my lovely followers on this thing.
"This photo was taken in June by @romybecker.photographer just a few days before Frankie arrived onto the scene, just in case you thought I might be pregnant again. I plan to spend tonight with a Chinese takeaway on the sofa watching 'Lessons in Chemistry' on the box. I might toast midnight with a Baileys but equally I might be asleep by then. Bliss! Wishing you all a wonderful one, whatever you're doing."
Carrie and Boris, who have been married since 2021, welcomed their third child in May last year.
Taking to Instagram at the time, Carrie shared a carousel of adorable snaps from her first week as a mum to Frankie, including one of the newborn swaddled in a cream blank whilst being cradled by his mum.
In the loving caption, Carrie penned: "A week of Frankie. Welcome to the world Frank Alfred Odysseus Johnson, born 5th July at 9.15am."
Teasing her husband, she joked: "Can you guess which name my husband chose?!"
Carrie continued: "Am loving every minute of the sleepy baby bubble. Seeing my older two embrace their new brother with such joy and excitement has been the most wonderful thing to see. We are all very smitten."
The media consultant went on to express her "immense gratitude" to the "incredible" maternity team at University College London Hospitals, before adding: "Now, can anyone recommend any good series/box sets to binge while breastfeeding? Time for a drink."
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/511795/carrie-johnson-children-romy-wilfred-twin-blonde-hair-dungarees/
| 2024-01-22T13:55:26Z
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Penny Lancaster never misses when it comes to looking glamorous. Sunday evening saw the model and TV presenter step out with her husband, Sir Rod Stewart, for a date night and it's safe to say that Penny stole the show!
The 52-year-old wore a white lace dress with elements of sparkle around the bust, which was daringly low cut yet sophisticated. Penny's dress was the perfect combination of sultry and bridal chic with an extended hem just below the knee.
The Loose Women panellist made sure to keep out the London chill by draping a dark blazer over her shoulders with cut-out arms, paring the stylish jacket with black slingback heels.
Penny added a touch of sparkle to the ensemble with gorgeous diamond hanging earrings and a studded clutch bag. The star's blonde tresses were styled in her signature waves while her makeup was elegant as ever.
Rod, 79, looked equally impressive in his Tom Ford jacquard suit paired with sparkling shoes. The husband and wife were all smiles as they were photographed leaving the fancy hotel after enjoying a dinner alongside their close companion, former football player and manager, Sir Kenny Dalglish, as well as other friends.
Penny and Rod were then pictured leaving The Ritz in style by hopping into a white car together before heading off into the night, but not before posing for photographs in the back of their Rolls Royce, looking effortlessly cool in the process.
The rockstar couple have been married since 2007 and share two children together, Alistair, aged 18 and Aiden, 12. Rod is a father of eight, with his eldest being born in 1963 and Aiden being his youngest.
Meanwhile, Penny's outing in the capital comes just before her return to Loose Women after an extended break. The star, who also volunteers as a Police Special Constable, will be returning to the panel on the ITV daytime programme on Thursday alongside other familiar faces on the show.
MORE: Rod Stewart's epic shoe wardrobe at $70m LA mansion with wife Penny Lancaster will blow your mind
MORE: Inside Rod Stewart’s jaw-dropping Los Angeles mansion complete with soccer pitch - see the pics
"On Thursday, our Penny is back with a bang. Pressing pause on her jet-set lifestyle, back to make us laugh or cry but always full of fun. She'll fill us in on everything from touring to travelling, birthdays and blended families. All-round superstar and Special Constable, Penny Lancaster," read a statement from ITV.
Penny hasn't been on the show in recent months since she's been touring with her husband and keeping busy as a mother-of-two. It was reported last year that she had stepped back from the show, however, a representative poured cold water on these claims.
"There is no story here. Penny has been approached to appear on the show in September but is only available for one date in the near future; a date that does not work for LW," her agent told HELLO! last September.
"Penny has just returned from abroad after six weeks away; and she is off to South America shortly. LW and we have agreed to look at the diary again on her return in October."
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/fashion/celebrity-style/511788/penny-lancaster-52-amazes-in-plunging-bridal-dress-for-date-night-with-rod-stewart-79/
| 2024-01-22T13:55:32Z
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When Tina Fey's film Mean Girls arrived in cinemas 20 years ago, it became a cult hit overnight. The comedy about teenage high-school cliques governed by the cruel rules of popularity made a star of its lead, Lindsay Lohan, and catapulted its creator into the spotlight.
Now, the comedienne and actress, who played maths teacher Ms Norbury, has resumed her role and written a reboot of the movie, which was partly based on her own experience. "I was a total nerd. A theatre nerd. I was all big hair and turtleneck sweaters," says Tina, who also wrote and starred in American comedy series 30 Rock.
"I had no luck with boys whatsoever, but I was a pretty good student." As a result, the gossiping and backstabbing of adolescent girls became a familiar battleground for the younger Tina. "There were real Mean Girls back in my high-school days, for sure. With hindsight, I was maybe a Mean Girl to some degree for a while," she says.
"I remember being a freshman [in the first year of high school] and an older girl coming up to me. She told me I was pretty and when I thanked her, she was like: 'Oh, so you think you're pretty?' It was a trap.
"I'm 53 now, but I still think about it. I think all women have a Mean Girl moment. You've either been mean, been a victim of meanness or both." The star, who has two daughters – Alice, 18, and Penelope, 12 – with composer and producer husband Jeff Richmond, was also inspired by 'Queen Bees and Wannabes', a book about relational aggression in teenage girls. "It had no story, of course, but it made me want to write one," says Tina, who believes that girls still have to deal with catty behaviour.
"I have daughters; I know they do. And with social media, it's all the time."It's not just girls and teenagers; it's everywhere. I actually think women are doing better now, but Mean Girls behaviour has spread to everyone. That kind of relational aggression is everywhere."
Back in 2004, the former Saturday Night Live writer had no idea that the film, which was also remade as a Broadway musical, would resonate. "I just wanted to write a high-school comedy," she says. "I didn't think it would even get made, let alone that people would watch it and be quoting lines back to me years later."
This latest version is also based on the musical, which has run on Broadway since 2017 and starred Renée Rapp, who will reprise her role as Regina George on screen. Joining her are co-stars Angourie Rice, playing Cady Heron, as well as Lindsay – the original Cady – in a cameo appearance.
Making it a family affair, Tina relied on her husband for the musical element of the film, which includes half of the stage version's songs. "He has a long history in musical theatre," she says. "We worked on 30 Rock together and we have continued to work together over the years. He knows just about everything there is to know about using music to tell a story and how to make songs funny. I'm lucky."
But it was examining why the original was still relevant that most inspired her. "We started going back to the first movie to remind ourselves why it was such a big hit and why the relationships between the characters worked," Tina says. "That's when you realise that Mean Girls is about grievances and the mistakes we all make when we're that age.
"It was about working out which elements of the film and the Broadway show to keep and what to change, to keep it feeling new and fun, but also meaningful and surprising."
MORE: Why Saltburn director Emerald Fennell left Call the Midwife and would she ever return?
READ: Everything Lindsay Lohan and 'Mean Girls' taught me about Y2K style
Tina is regarded as one of the funniest people in Hollywood, so do her own family find her amusing? "Oh, hilarious. Mostly not in a good way," she says with a laugh. Her daughters are fans of her work, however. "They've seen the movie a bunch of times and they like it, which is a big deal for me," she says.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/511783/tina-fey-exclusive-mean-girls-reboot-how-she-updated-the-comedy-classic/
| 2024-01-22T13:55:38Z
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Simon Reeve has trekked through jungles in Burma, Borneo and Colombia, but none, he says, is as "sticky and bitey" as the Congo rainforest. His irritation with the inhospitable terrain is etched on his face as he wades through swamps during the first episode of his latest TV series, Wilderness with Simon Reeve. Does the amiable travel presenter with the boyish charm and self-deprecating humour ever throw a wobbly?
"There's some careful editing involved," he jokes, adding: "I don't lose my temper, but I'm definitely a grumpy middle-aged bloke. However, there's never a point when I forget I'm bloody lucky to be doing this. I've worked for the minimum wage, I've been on the dole – I know I'm lucky to be doing this job."
In the four-part BBC2 series, Simon, 51, heads to some of the most remote landscapes on earth – what he describes as "the last great wildernesses". As someone who has covered all four corners of the globe, visiting more than 130 countries over the past 20 years, he should know. Accompanied by a small TV crew and a medic, he travels 500 miles across the dense, tropical forest of Congo; voyages through the crystal-clear seas and verdant islands of the Coral Triangle in the Pacific Ocean; treks across the mountains, ice and wild grasslands of Patagonia in South America; and tracks wildebeest with the San, the indigenous people of the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa, an "awe-inspiring" experience that took him out of his comfort zone.
"I'm from Acton, for goodness' sake," he exclaims at one point. The desert trip was his highlight of the series, which was 13 years in the making, from conceiving the idea to filming it in 2023.
Knowing that it would be "physically knackering", Simon, who lives in Devon with his Danish-born wife Anya and their 12-year-old son Jake, had to do some serious training. "I was running around Devonin the wilds, chased by my two dogs, wearing a 15kg weight vest and getting some very funny looks. It's not the greatest of looks for a middle-aged man," he says.
The London-born adventurer, who began work as a post boy at the Sunday Times and carved out a career as an author and journalist, having left school with no qualifications, says he has a "personality type" that requires his life to have purpose and meaning. "If I've got my mini-mission, a project, a plan, something to aim for, that gives me a 'why?' And sometimes, when I've got there, I can have a sense of annoying anticlimax: 'Oh right – what now?' "I love the unpredictability," he continues. "That's the aspect of the journeys that I'm probably most addicted to, and I miss that when I return. But I've been doing this long enough to know that the trips aren't my normal. That's not what I was born to do. My normal is being a dad and a husband and playing my part in the family."
"Years ago, I had a proper wake-up call," he adds. "I'd just come back from a journey around the Tropic of Cancer, and I'd barely had time to take my shoes off and I had to rod out the sewers."
How does his wife cope with his absences – and returns? "You'd need to ask her, but I think she copes better in some ways when I'm away than when I'm back, as she has another small boy to deal with!" he says. "I live a spartan experience when I'm away, so I find the clutter of modern life overwhelming when I come back. There's so much stuff everywhere. So many people."
Anya was a camerawoman before she met Simon, and the couple have worked on some programmes together. "So she knows they're not jollies, but also knows how exciting they can be. She doesn't want me to think I can get away with moaning about the lack of food or the state of where I've been staying.
"She'll say: 'Don't just give me that – you've got to tell me what's been amazing as well.’ Then I’m like: 'Okay, darling, fair dos.'"
When he's away, a week can feel like a month, he says. "After a day, I'm really missing my lad, but he's barely noticed I've left, which is annoying," he says with a smile. After all, he reasons: "I'm not a squaddie going off on a six-month tour; I'm a TV presenter poncing off for a short time and then I come back.'
Simon is looking forward to a family trip to Spain, before his son reaches an age when he realises that "he doesn’t have to go away with his boring parents". But professionally, he's yet to decide where he's off to next. "I've got lots of ideas, but nothing on paper," he says. "I love going back to places I've already been, but secretly, between you, me and the readers, I'd love to go somewhere new as well."
Wilderness with Simon Reeve is on BBC2 on Sundays at 9pm and is also available on BBC iPlayer.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/511787/simon-reeve-talks-wilderness-show-family-life-exclusive/
| 2024-01-22T13:55:44Z
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Annabel Scholey can do no wrong at the moment. Following the amazing Paramount+ drama The Serial Killer’s Wife, the star is now set to join Merlin’s Colin Morgan in a new BBC drama - and it sounds amazing. Find out more…
The four-part psychological thriller is titled Dead and Buried. It follows a woman named Cathy, who encounters Michael - the man convicted of the brutal murder of her brother, 20 years earlier while at a supermarket with her son.
The synopsis reads: “Ignoring the advice of her best friend, Cathy takes to social media, uncovering the successful career and family life Michael has forged for himself since early release from prison, while she grieved for her brother.
“Re-traumatised by her past, Cathy instigates a clandestine relationship with the man she despises, embarking on a campaign of harassment and deceit. As Cathy’s obsession grows, dark fantasies of revenge and reality blur as she sets out on a campaign of psychological warfare to destroy Michael’s life.” Sounds amazing, right?
Chatting about the new show, Colin told the BBC: “I'm delighted to be embarking on Colin Bateman's dark, funny and compulsive new drama Dead And Buried. There's a brilliant team working on this and it already feels incredibly exciting, I can't wait for it to hit the screens and for it to pull viewers along its twisted path.”
Annabel added: “Cathy is a wonderfully complex character and I'm excited to be bringing her to life and to taking her to dark places with this brilliant team. Laura Way is a director I’ve worked with before and we have a wonderful shorthand, so it’s very exciting to be teaming up again for such a compelling story.”
The story has been penned by Colin Bateman, who said: “Very excited that Dead and Buried is coming to television. It has been a fascinating journey from the original short story, to the one-woman stage show, and now expanded into an exciting four-part drama.
“Although it has changed greatly, the actual conundrum at the heart of the story is universal and timeless - what do you do if you meet someone who has prospered after murdering one of your loved ones? Do you say something? Do you do something? How would you react?”
Eddie Doyle, Head of Commissioning, BBC Northern Ireland said: “Dead And Buried brings together the talents of writer Colin Bateman - the master of twisted plots and black comedy with a fabulous cast including lots of famous faces from Northern Ireland. We are delighted to have Virgin Media Television and All3 Media on board so audiences throughout the UK, Republic of Ireland and further afield can enjoy it when it hits our screens later this year.”
Fans have been loving Annabel’s The Serial Killer’s Wife, which follows Annabel as the wife of a man accused of several killings. Taking to X/Twitter to discuss, one person posted: “Just finished this… too good not to binge watch.” Another fan added: “Nice bit of telly that! More like this please!”
Dead and Buried in currently in production, with an unconfirmed airdate
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/511790/the-split-star-annabel-scholey-bbc-drama-dead-and-buried/
| 2024-01-22T13:55:50Z
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If, like most of the UK, you enjoyed Netflix’s Fool Me Once - then you are in for a treat! Netflix has confirmed that two new Harlan Coben shows have been greenlit - and we can’t wait! Harlan Coben, who is the author of Fool Me Once, is set to have his novels Missing You and Run Away adapted for the streaming platform.
The new shows will be the 9th and 10th on-screen adaptations from Harlan, whose works including The Stranger and Safe were also adapted by the streaming platform. So what are they both about?
The synopsis for Missing You reads: “Eleven years ago Detective Kat Donovan's fiancé Josh – the love of her life – disappeared and she's never heard from him since. Now, swiping profiles on a dating app, she suddenly sees his face and her world explodes all over again. Josh's reappearance will force her to dive back into the mystery surrounding her father’s murder and uncover long-buried secrets from her past.”
Run Away’s description reads: “Simon had a perfect life: loving wife and kids, great job, beautiful home. But then his eldest daughter Paige ran away and everything fell apart. So now when he finds her, vulnerable and strung out on drugs in a city park, he finally has the chance to bring his little girl home.
“But it turns out she’s not alone and an argument escalates into shocking violence that will shatter Simon’s life all over again. His search for his daughter will take him into a dangerous underworld, revealing deep secrets that could tear his family apart forever.”
While casting has yet to be announced, it is thought that Richard Armitage, who has starred in several Harlan Coben productions, could have a role in the new show.
Speaking to HELLO! and other reporters about starring in the crime dramas, Richard said: “They’re irresistible when they send you a script and say, ‘We’re thinking of this book’, you’re like, ‘Oh god, I can't wait, I can’t.’ And my first call is obviously getting the book. I interviewed him at the beginning of this year for his new release called I Will Find You and I opened it like please, God, don't let there be a character here that I want to play and on page two [there was]!”
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/511791/netflix-harlan-coben-dramas-confirmed-details/
| 2024-01-22T13:55:56Z
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The Princess of Wales is currently recovering from planned abdominal surgery at private hospital, The London Clinic, where she is expected to convalesce for up to ten to 14 days
Her husband Prince Willian is then in charge of looking after the couple's three children at their Windsor home, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, balancing parenting with his royal duties.
Now Global Parenting Expert and Childcare Specialist Jo Frost of Supernanny fame has shared her thoughts on the family's current situation with HELLO!, telling us that the combination of father William's consistency, their "nurturing" nanny Maria and extended family's help will maintain the family's strong unit.
"The Prince and Princess of Wales realise that same-same matters," explains Jo.
"The consistency of parental pick-ups from their father gives the children that secured predictable attachment in their daily routine, especially when they too will be eager to see their mother recover at God's speed.
"Thankfully one of the staples of this family is their professional career nanny Maria, and the blessing of her nurturing ways and wonderful service to the family leave the children in good steady hands, affording William the flexibility to be present as a father, attend to his royal duties where he can at home and be the emotional support he will want to be for his wife."
Jo adds: "The children will also have the love and emotional support of their extended family too! Together they put a plan in action to support their family first.
"Like many families going through unexpected circumstances, the importance of looking to those who we can depend on - maybe family members, friends, work colleagues or even outside resources - help us to remember a valuable life lesson: that we are stronger together when we can surrender to receiving help."
Kensington Palace previously announced Princess Kate's health news in a statement and gave details on when the royal mother will return to her official duties.
It read: "Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter. The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate. She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.
"Kensington Palace will, therefore, only provide updates on Her Royal Highness' progress when there is significant new information to share.
"The Princess of Wales wishes to apologise to all those concerned for the fact that she has to postpone her upcoming engagements. She looks forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible."
If you are in need of Jo's guidance and consultation service please go to Jofrost.com
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/511792/prince-george-princess-charlotte-prince-louis-cared-for-nanny-princess-kate-hospital/
| 2024-01-22T13:56:02Z
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College is calling for Heidi Klum's son Henry who is looking forward to the next stage in his education.
The 18-year-old appeared in a new video which the America's Got Talent judge posted on Instagram.
The short but sweet clip showed a glamorous-looking Heidi walking through a city as she exclaimed: "Looking at more colleges," before the camera panned around to Henry who was by her side.
The handsome 6ft 4in teenager was casually dressed in jeans and a hoodie and he had his hands casually placed in his pockets. Henry wore a beanie and wrapped up against the cold with a puffer jacket.
Last year, Heidi revealed Henry was on the hunt for which college he wanted to go to when she shared a video of him "exhausted" and fast asleep in the front seat of the car while she drove him around.
While Heidi appears to be taking this major milestone in her stride, it'll be a bittersweet day when Henry leaves home.
Although Heidi will still have her youngest two children, Lou, 14, and Johan, 16, living with her, Henry will follow in his big sister, Leni's footsteps and fly the nest.
During an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden last year, Heidi opened up about how challenging she's finding it watching her children, who she shares with her ex-husband, Seal, grow up.
"First they have a car and they drive, and that's hard," she explained. "Then they move across the country, and that’s harder. I'm like non-stop scared."
All four children are still incredibly close with their dad too and recently made a rare public appearance together when they graced the red carpet as a family for 'The Book of Clarence' premiere in LA.
In the photos Henry appeared taller than his 6ft 3 dad and Johan wasn't far behind him. They were also joined by Seal's longtime girlfriend, Laura Strayer, who was beaming.
The resemblance between Seal and his oldest son is evident, and even Heidi thinks they are the spitting image of each other. "He's the mirror image of his father," she said during the New York premiere of 'House of Z'.
"Not just the looks; even that characteristic little gap in his teeth. And let's be honest, Seal is quite the handsome man."
Seal and Heidi split in 2012 with their divorce being finalized in 2014, but despite their marriage breaking down, their children have always been their top priority. "I mean, it's never easy," she previously said on 'Today'.
The "Kiss from a Rose" singer told Us Weekly: "It can be challenging. It requires teamwork. If you are a team, if both parents are a team, then it's really easy and that's not a real challenge at all… But you have to be a team. And if you're not a team, then it can all fall to pieces."
Get the lowdown on the biggest, hottest celebrity news, features and profiles coming out of the U.S. Sign up to our HELLO! Hollywood newsletterand get them delivered straight to your inbox.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/511794/heidi-klum-6ft-4-son-appears-in-video-famous-mom-college-tour-photo-seal-tall/
| 2024-01-22T13:56:08Z
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Picture this - it’s Friday night, and you’ve spent all day working, counting down the minutes till 5 o’clock because you’ve got a dinner date with the gals that’s been planned for well over a month. You open your wardrobe for something to wear, but alas, there isn’t a single item of clothing you’d put near your body, you revert to the girl's group chat to see what everyone else is planning on. Within moments three of your pals respond with a simple "jeans and a nice top." Nothing more, nothing less. Simple, elegant and achievable.
If you’ve ever been in the previously stated predicament (don’t lie, we all have) then you know all too well that said jeans and a cute top are harder to style than you might think. Fear not, I’ve done the research so you don’t have to.
Are "Jeans and a Nice Top" in for 2024?
Rather a silly question because jeans and a nice top are forever and always on trend. Over the last few years, baggier silhouettes have been championing the streetwear scene, however, skinny styles and balloon cuts have been making a comeback.
Scroll on for 10 ways to elevate your "jeans and a nice top" ensemble, inspired by those most stylish....
With a biker jacket:
If your destination of choice is somewhere cool and casual, then you can absolutely get away with a well-fitting pair of jeans, a plain tee and a funky biker jacket. Kendall Jenner proved that pairing the ensemble with a pair of sunglasses, your go-to side bag and black boots elevates the look into ‘It’ girl territory.
MORE: Best bomber jackets to amp up your outerwear collection
RELATED: Jackets to wear with dresses: the failsafe outfit combos
With a white shirt:
It kind of goes without saying that adding a oversized white button down to basically any look instantly makes it chic. I love how Sofia chose to sport a pair of baggy blue jeans, with a loose white shirt and Chanel two-tone pumps. I love the proportions on this look.
With a bold boot:
Adding a pop of colour or pattern to your jeans and top combo can turn it from something traditionally boring into something tastefully and thoughtfully styled. Emily Ratajkowski chose to style a simple black baby tee and blue jeans with a pair of bold-coloured boots, instantly making the outfit look intentional and ready for a date night.
With a blazer:
If in doubt add a blazer. The simple addition of a structured blazer will make your jeans and top outfit appropriate for any occasion as well as adding a much-needed layer of warmth. Bella Hadid recently styled a pair of blue skinny jeans with a black blazer, a bold belt, a v-neck blue top with denim accents, a pair of chunky gold hoop earrings, black sunglasses and a chain shoulder bag.
With a pair of oversized earrings:
If you’ve got the base of your outfit down-packed but feel it’s lacking a little something something, then a bold earring is your BFF. The bigger and sparklier the better.
With a micro bag and heels...
Although I stipulated that tiny bags are 'out' for 2024, I can’t help but feel that when paired with a denim and chic top look like these ones Darja Barannik has so perfectly styled, they look cuter than ever. Adding a micro bag to any outfit can instantly turn it into a going-out ensemble because where else would you take such an impractical bag? I also think that the key to this outfit looking so chic is the choice of jeans. When perfectly baggy they offer a modern contrast against the luxe element of a stiletto, the ‘fit looks put together and sexy.
Turn the top into a dress:
Technically this doesn't sit within the jeans and a cute top sphere, but this look is just too good not to include. Rita Ora paired her classic blue jeans with a lace-trimmed slip dress and a chunky cropped jacket. I love the idea of wearing dresses over jeans or trousers because it opens up your wardrobe options and gives you a whole new set of ingredients to work with.
With a bomber jacket and loafers:
Now that we’re smack bang in the middle of the cold season, it's more essential than ever to keep cosy. I love how Elsa Hosk styled her blue jeans and simple top combo, adding a cosy puffer jacket and a pair of sturdy loafers. If you’re in need of an extra layer, pop a pair of tights under your jeans.
With oversized faux-fur:
One of the biggest trends right now is obnoxiously large, oversized faux-fur jackets, so why not lean right in and spice up your simple ensemble with a larger-than-life layer? Dua Lipa perfectly proves that even a subtle pair of jeans and a top can be elevated into a luxury look with the right styling choices. I love how Dua opted for patent boots and a handbag in the same red wine hue.
Double Denim:
Coined the Canadian Tuxedo, double denim is a Y2K trend that never fails to serve. If you’re stuck for ideas on what to wear, just think to yourself, "add more denim." In my personal opinion, I don’t feel like the types of denim even have to match in texture or colour, in fact, the more mismatched the better as then it looks intentional.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/fashion-trends/511048/jeans-and-a-nice-top-outfit-ideas/
| 2024-01-22T13:56:14Z
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If we were one of the Beckham children, we'd probably never leave the £31million family home in London's Holland Park, but Romeo Beckham, 21, clearly fancied a taste of freedom.
The footballer has flown the next, moving into a snazzy London flat with his model girlfriend, Mia Regan – and the décor couldn’t be more different from the minimalist interiors of David and Victoria's London townhouse.
While much of the Beckham family's London home is decked out in monochrome furniture, Romeo's taste is more adventurous, with he and Mia adding neon splashes of colour around their first home together.
Mia and Romeo have given fans several glimpses into their abode, including a shot that showed a huge LED neon light on the wall, reading Hello Gorgeous.
Opposite the bold art choice is a framed Messi shirt. Lionel Messi is on David's soccer team, Inter Miami, who Romeo used to play for before he switched to Brentford U21, allowing him to be London-based, spending more time with Mia in their first home together.
As well as the ultra-bright lighting and football memorabilia, other snapshots inside Romeo and Mia's home shared that it appears to be newly renovated, with fresh white walls, gleaming tiling and black fixtures and fittings – very chic!
The pair also has several skateboards mounted on the wall, and Romeo has shared a collection of snaps of artwork he's procured, though these don't appear to have been hung yet – perhaps they're working on a gallery wall?
LOOK: Romeo Beckham’s girlfriend Mia Regan shares unseen look into private Wiltshire home
Romeo and Mia haven't shared where their new home is, but eagle-eyed fans suspect they might have moved to Battersea after Mia posted a photo of the iconic power station from their window.
Battersea is a 21-minute drive from Holland Park, where David and Victoria, along with their two younger children, Harper and Cruz live, so Romeo hasn't moved too far from his beloved family.
Brooklyn, on the other hand, has made a home for himself in Los Angeles reportedly buying a home for himself and his wife, Nicola Peltz, for a huge $11 million.
That said, the eldest of the Beckham brood still spends plenty of time in London, even opening a pop-up restaurant in partnership with Uber Eats this month.
His eatery will offer just five dishes, with the chef sharing on Instagram: "I’m so excited to be working with @ubereats to launch my ultimate takeaway menu. Five of my favourite recipes, inspired by my travels around the world, will be exclusively available on the app in London this January, delivered exclusively by Uber Eats."
We wonder if Romeo and Mia will be ordering the food to their Battersea home?
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/homes/511793/romeo-beckham-lovenest-mia-regan/
| 2024-01-22T13:56:20Z
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Artificial intelligence cannot replace the majority of jobs right now in cost-effective ways, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found in a study that sought to address fears about AI replacing humans in a swath of industries.
In one of the first in-depth probes of the viability of AI displacing labour, researchers modelled the cost attractiveness of automating various tasks in the US, concentrating on jobs where computer vision was employed – for instance, teachers and property appraisers. They found only 23 per cent of workers, measured in terms of dollar wages, could be effectively supplanted. In other cases, because AI-assisted visual recognition is expensive to install and operate, humans did the job more economically.
The adoption of AI across industries accelerated in 2023 after OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other generative tools showed the technology’s potential. Tech firms from Microsoft and Alphabet in the United States to Baidu and Alibaba Group Holding in China rolled out new AI services and ramped up development plans – at a pace that some industry leaders cautioned was recklessly fast. Fears about AI’s impact on jobs have long been a central concern.
“‘Machines will steal our jobs’ is a sentiment frequently expressed during times of rapid technological change. Such anxiety has re-emerged with the creation of large language models,” the researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory said in the 45-page paper titled Beyond AI Exposure. “We find that only 23 per cent of worker compensation ‘exposed’ to AI computer vision would be cost-effective for firms to automate because of the large upfront costs of AI systems.”
Computer vision is a field of AI that enables machines to derive meaningful information from digital images and other visual inputs, with its most ubiquitous applications showing up in object detection systems for autonomous driving or in helping categorise photos on smartphones.
The cost-benefit ratio of computer vision is most favourable in segments like retail, transportation and warehousing, all areas where Walmart and Amazon.com are prominent. It is also feasible in the health-care context, MIT’s paper said. A more aggressive AI rollout, especially via AI-as-a-service subscription offerings, could scale up other uses and make them more viable, the authors said.
The study was funded by the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab and used online surveys to collect data on about 1,000 visually-assisted tasks across 800 occupations. Only 3 per cent of such tasks can be automated cost-effectively today, but that could rise to 40 per cent by 2030 if data costs fall and accuracy improves, the researchers said.
The sophistication of ChatGPT and rivals like Google’s Bard has rekindled concern about AI plundering jobs, as the new chatbots show proficiency in tasks previously only humans were capable of performing. The International Monetary Fund said last week that almost 40 per cent of jobs globally would be impacted and that policymakers would need to carefully balance AI’s potential with the negative fallout.
At the World Economic Forum at Davos last week, many discussions focused on AI displacing the workforce. The co-founder of Inflection AI and Google’s DeepMind, Mr Mustafa Suleyman, said that AI systems are “fundamentally labour-replacing tools.”
One case study in the paper looked at a hypothetical bakery. Bakers visually inspect ingredients for quality control on a daily basis, but that comprises only 6 per cent of their duties, the researchers said. The saving in time and wages from implementing cameras and an AI system is still far from the cost of such a technological upgrade, they concluded.
“Our study examines the usage of computer vision across the economy, examining its applicability to each occupation across nearly every industry and sector,” said Mr Neil Thompson, director of the FutureTech Research Project at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab. “We show that there will be more automation in retail and health-care, and less in areas like construction, mining or real estate,” he said via e-mail. BLOOMBERG
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https://www.straitstimes.com/business/humans-still-cheaper-than-ai-in-vast-majority-of-jobs-mit-study
| 2024-01-22T14:26:42Z
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SINGAPORE – The week was off to a rough start for Ms Nora Ismail – she needed to be in the office by 8.20am to prepare for a meeting, but she was about 15 minutes late.
At 8.10am on the first weekday after service changes on the Circle Line (CCL) kicked in on Jan 20 to accommodate platform closures at Telok Blangah and HarbourFront MRT stations, the 43-year-old legal secretary was still at Labrador Park station facing a seven-minute wait to switch trains to get to HarbourFront.
Ms Ismail’s journey from her home in Jurong East to her workplace in HarbourFront used to take around one hour, but will now take about 75 minutes.
One platform each at the two stations will be closed from Jan 20 to May 24. A shuttle train service now runs between HarbourFront and Labrador Park, the stop after Telok Blangah, at 10-minute intervals.
This translates to longer travel times for passengers travelling in both directions.
These changes, announced by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and rail operator SMRT in October 2023, are to facilitate track works to connect Stage 6 of CCL – comprising three stations between HarbourFront and Marina Bay – to the HarbourFront CCL station, closing the loop for the line.
An average of 43,000 passengers will be affected daily, said LTA and SMRT.
Additionally, CCL trains will turn back towards Marina Bay alternately at Kent Ridge and Labrador Park stations, instead of HarbourFront, to maintain peak-hour intervals at the busy stretch from Kent Ridge to Paya Lebar.
During peak hours, trains running between Kent Ridge and Labrador Park will arrive at five-minute intervals.
Based on The Straits Times’ checks at Labrador Park, Telok Blangah and HarbourFront stations from 7am to 10am on the morning of Jan 22, the peak-hour situation was orderly and calm, with staff on standby to control crowds.
Ten out of 26 travellers ST spoke to said they were inconvenienced by the slight delays, and would be 10 to 15 minutes late for work or school.
Among them was Miss Sin Si En, 24, who was travelling towards HarbourFront to get to her workplace in Potong Pasir via a transfer to the North-East Line.
The quantity surveyor said she would leave her home in Pasir Panjang earlier, before 8am, for the next few months, as she would need to factor in longer wait times – compared with the original train intervals of about three minutes – for the shuttle train service at Labrador Park station.
Mr William Leong, 36, was affected as he had to wait for a train transfer at Labrador Park to get to Kent Ridge from Telok Blangah.
The programme manager had seen the notices displayed at the MRT stations about the changes, but did not understand them.
He added that it would be better if LTA highlighted the “key points” for passengers to understand how they will be affected, instead of the large chunks of information now.
However, some passengers were not too affected by the changes.
Mr Ignatius Goh was heading to his workplace in one-north from his home in Telok Blangah.
The 27-year-old data analyst said the extra wait time “was not a big deal” to him, adding that he was willing to leave his home five to 10 minutes early to reach work on time.
Housewife Prague Khandelwal, 31, said it was easy for her to navigate the service adjustments with “lots of people around to help”.
While she did not know how to get to her destination after being ushered off the train at Telok Blangah, the station staff patiently directed her to wait for the train shuttle service bound for HarbourFront, where she could hop on the North-East Line to Little India.
ST counted nearly 10 SMRT employees each at Labrador Park, Telok Blangah and HarbourFront stations.
Some announced the travel direction of each arriving train using speakers and signs, some addressed passengers’ queries, while others ushered people on and off trains.
Queues were observed for the shuttle train service between Labrador Park and HarbourFront, but there was enough room to allow most passengers to board.
Additionally, ST observed that the express shuttle bus service between HarbourFront and Kent Ridge had only some passengers, with around five to 20 people boarding each double-decker bus from 8.15am to 8.50am.
These buses, which have been specially catered as an alternative to the CCL, are running at intervals of 10 to 15 minutes during peak hours on weekdays between 6am and 10am, and from 5pm to 9pm.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/longer-peak-hour-commutes-on-circle-line-amid-platform-closures-at-harbourfront-and-telok-blangah
| 2024-01-22T14:26:53Z
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NEW YORK – Kawhi Leonard hit the go-ahead jumper with 2:50 remaining in the fourth quarter and scored 14 of his 21 points in a game-ending 22-0 run for the Los Angeles Clippers, who stormed back for a 125-114 win over the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Jan 21.
Said Clippers guard James Harden: “It was like a party. The energy was on hundred. That right there is home-court advantage...
“They came out and punched us in the mouth and in that fourth quarter, we played Clipper basketball, got some stops and the rest is history.”
The Clippers gave up the game’s first 16 points, trailed by 18 three times late in the third and faced a 15-point deficit entering the fourth quarter of the National Basketball Association game.
Then they outscored the Nets 41-15 in the final 12 minutes by making 12 of 16 shots, sinking 12 free throws and outrebounding the Nets 14-2.
Leonard shot six-of-15 overall on a day when the Clippers struggled to find their rhythm until the fourth. Harden led the Clippers with 24 points, eight of which came in the fourth, and also handed out 10 assists.
Russell Westbrook kept Los Angeles afloat until the fourth by adding 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Terrance Mann added 13 points and George contributed 12 as the Clippers shot 50.6 per cent.
Said George: “That was first of a kind, with a slow start and then get red-hot at the end. We’re going to always compete to the very end. Great thing about this group is we don’t ever believe that we’re down and out of it.”
Westbrook added: “We came out and competed all night long. We never gave up. We fought adversity and came out with a win, so I’m really proud of our guys.”
Mikal Bridges scored 20 of his 26 points in the first half for the Nets. Cam Thomas added 20 while Spencer Dinwiddie and Nic Claxton contributed 16 apiece, but the Nets missed their final eight shots and lost for the 10th time in 12 games.
On the Clippers’ late surge, Bridges said: “We were stuck, didn’t know what to do or how to break it.”
The Clippers won for the eighth time in 10 games, improving to 27-14 and fourth in the West. The Nets are 17-25.
In Orlando, Paolo Banchero scored 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds while German forward Franz Wagner added 19 points to lead the Magic over the visiting Miami Heat 105-87.
At 23-20, the Magic pulled within a game of the Heat for seventh in the East.
Meanwhile, Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young has been diagnosed with a concussion and entered the league’s concussion protocols. It happened on Jan 20 in the fourth quarter of a loss to Cleveland, when he drew a charging foul but took an elbow to the face.
There’s no timetable for his return, which depends on him completing the NBA return-to-play recovery process. REUTERS, AFP
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/basketball/kawhi-leonard-takes-over-in-fourth-as-the-los-angeles-clippers-stun-brooklyn-nets
| 2024-01-22T14:27:03Z
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WASHINGTON – An “extremely unselfish” Nikola Jokic scored a season-high 42 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to power the reigning National Basketball Association (NBA) champions the Denver Nuggets over the Washington Wizards 113-104 on Jan 21.
The Serbian superstar centre, a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, made 15 of 20 shots from the floor and 12 of 14 free throws while adding eight assists, two blocks and two steals at the Capital One Arena in Washington.
“It’s never easy. Not 42,” Jokic said. “It’s just a mindset. We needed this win. For us, every game is a must-win game.”
His coach Michael Malone added: “Nikola was phenomenal tonight from beginning to end. He continues to illustrate why he’s the player that he is.”
After fans chanted “M-V-P! M-V-P!” as the 28-year-old finished off the game with a couple of free throws, Malone said: “That’s unique. It doesn’t happen very often, so I think it’s just recognising greatness.
“Here’s a guy who was a two-time MVP as a second-round draft pick that brought a franchise their first world championship in history, and he’s a Finals MVP as well.”
Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr each added 19 points for the Nuggets (30-14), who rose within a game of the Western Conference lead, while Kyle Kuzma’s 17 points led Washington (7-35).
Jokic’s wife and daughter attended the game, bringing special joy to his performance.
“It’s amazing. My family means everything to me. It’s something that I’m really proud of,” he said. “Wherever they go, whatever they do, I know they’re on my side.”
Wizards guard Tyus Jones added: “It’s tough. They do a great job playing off him (Jokic). They’ve got shooting, they’ve got great athletes.
“Him and Jamal are a great one-two tandem, so it provides a great challenge. It’s super unique and he’s just extremely unselfish and I think that’s what really makes it so hard to stop.”
The NBA’s overall leaders, the Boston Celtics, paced by 32 points from Latvian forward Kristaps Porzingis plus Derrick White’s 21 points and 11 rebounds, won 116-107 at the Houston Rockets.
“Early on, I just got a lot of open looks,” said Porzingis, who scored 15 points in the first quarter. “Missed the first two but stayed aggressive. I knew they were going to fall sooner or later.”
The victory came two nights after Denver edged Boston 102-100, delivering the Celtics’ first home defeat of the season.
“We know if we want to be a championship-calibre team, we cannot lose multiple games in a row,” Porzingis said. “We had a tough one the other night against Denver at home, another championship-calibre team. We came up a little bit short and took some lessons from that one and wanted to bounce back tonight.”
The Celtics improved the NBA’s best record to 33-10, stretching their lead atop the Eastern Conference to 3½ games over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Boston’s Jayson Tatum added 18 points and Jaylen Brown had a triple-double for the Celtics with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Turkish centre Alperen Sengun had a triple-double for the Rockets with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
Houston coach Ime Udoka said of his former team: “We had our chances. Our focus and attention to detail were better on certain guys.
“We did a decent job on Jaylen Brown and Jayson all night – it was just that the others hurt us, especially offensive rebounds from some of their bigs.”
In Phoenix, Kevin Durant scored 40 points on 18-of-25 shooting to spark the Suns to a 117-110 victory over visiting Indiana, with the Pacers playing without star guard Tyrese Haliburton over sore hamstring concerns.
Devin Booker added 26 points for the Suns and Bradley Beal had 25 points as Phoenix improved to 24-18, level with the Dallas Mavericks for sixth in the West.
Said Booker of his team’s big three of himself, Durant and Beal: “It’s the definition of pick your poison. All of us coming in with an aggressive mindset, it’ll be hard to stop us – especially late game with the spaces out there.” AFP
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/basketball/nikola-jokic-nets-season-high-42-to-lead-denver-nuggets-over-washington-wizards-in-the-nba
| 2024-01-22T14:27:14Z
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LONDON – Chelsea manager Emma Hayes expects an emotional end to her glittering time at the Women’s Super League side when she leaves at the end of this season to take charge of the United States national team.
Hayes took over at Chelsea in 2012 and led them to becoming the dominant force in English women's football, winning six league titles and five FA Cups. It was announced in November that she would leave Chelsea and manage the United States.
The 47-year-old was typically honest when asked if she would find it difficult when her time at Stamford Bridge comes to an end.
"I don't think they'll be mixed (emotions), I'll be absolutely distraught. I'm a bit of a sobber. I think I'll cry my eyes out for the last few weeks," Hayes told the Football Writers' Association (FWA) in an interview.
"I've done my bit and I certainly hope they welcome me back as a fan because that's how I see myself," she added.
Hayes has led Chelsea to 13 major trophies in her 11 seasons at the club and they lead the WSL standings three points clear of Manchester City at the halfway stage of this campaign.
The Englishwoman added the FWA Tribute Award to her illustrious resume on Sunday, as the first female in 42 years to win the prize. The one title missing is the Champions League, which she is desperate to claim this year, with Chelsea having lost to Barcelona in the final in 2021.
Hayes has a tough job ahead in restoring the four-time world champions U.S. women's team to their former glory after the Americans were eliminated from last year's World Cup in the last 16.
"I'll develop another side to myself and I'll have to work with a team off the pitch as well in a much different way to prepare for major tournaments," she said.
"But I'm so excited to go to the Olympics and the World Cup, it's what dreams are made of, to think that I'm in a position where I can lead a team out at the Paris Olympics and a World Cup in three years time -- happy days."
While Hayes said it is "worrying" to be first woman to win the FWA award, she is proud to be part of a narrative shift in the women's game.
Playing Lego soccer -- which now includes female players -- with her son Harry recently was a moment of revelation about the growth in women's soccer.
"He thought I was the female manager on the side, he automatically just assumes women manage teams, whether it's men's or women's," Hayes said.
"When I was growing up and aspiring to play an FA Cup final at Wembley for Tottenham (Hotspur) and being Glenn Hoddle, scores of young girls and boys are thinking now about how amazing (Chelsea's) Millie Bright is or Sam Kerr is," she added.
"I think those are the moments I pinch myself about more than I do the achievements." REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/ill-cry-my-eyes-out-for-weeks-says-chelsea-boss-hayes-ahead-of-exit
| 2024-01-22T14:27:24Z
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DUBLIN - Ireland coach Andy Farrell hopes his inexperienced group of flyhalves have learned enough in the shadow of Johnny Sexton to stand up and make the number 10 jersey their own following the retirement of their hugely influential former captain.
How Ireland fill the void at flyhalf following Sexton's near unbroken 14-year run in the shirt is by far the biggest question facing their Six Nations defence. The three players competing at the start of the tournament have just 12 caps between them.
With the relatively more tested Ross Byrne out injured, Jack Crowley is the clear favourite to start against France on Feb. 2, with Farrell sure the talented Munsterman learned a lot as Sexton's main understudy at last year's World Cup.
"Hopefully how Johnny has been certainly as a leader but more importantly for those guys as a number 10, a world class once in a generation type player over the last four or five years, if they haven't learned something from that...," Farrell said at the launch of the tournament in Dublin on Monday.
"And not just that, if they're not excited about wanting to take the challenge on and say I'm going to make that my position, then we're going to get to find out a lot about a lot of people's characters in those three players in the coming weeks."
Farrell has no such worries about the character of Sexton's replacement as captain after naming fellow centurion and long-time Munster skipper Peter O'Mahony to lead the side last week.
The 34-year-old flanker described the elevation as "very, very special" and probably the biggest honour of his storied career. To the surprise of Farrell, who was sitting beside him at the event, O'Mahony also said he wasn't expecting the call.
"As far as natural fit, natural leaders coming from before with Johnny, he's the type of leader that is exactly the same," Farrell said of O'Mahony, who has captained his country on 10 previous occasions.
"Certain people, when you walk into a room and they're there, they make the room feel right. It's pretty important around the place and certainly on match day that you have that type of person in the dressing room and Peter's certainly one of those." REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/ireland-hopeful-sexton-experience-has-rubbed-off-on-rookies
| 2024-01-22T14:27:34Z
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Welcome to the latest edition of ST Full-time Report, where the best sports content from The Straits Times is delivered to your inbox every Monday evening. Subscribe here for the weekly updates.
Dear ST reader,
In Shannon Tan’s first tournament as a professional golfer, the 19-year-old Singaporean finished second and earned A$25,000 in prize money at the Webex Players Series’ Murray River event in Australia.
Next, Yeo Jia Min achieved a breakthrough by reaching the last four of badminton’s India Open. She fell 21-13, 21-18 to Chinese Taipei’s world No. 3 Tai Tzu-ying in the semi-final but will take plenty of confidence from her showing in New Delhi.
Finally, Singapore’s top two women’s football teams Albirex Niigata and Lion City Sailors have hired rookie head coaches for the 2024 season.
See you again next week. For the latest news on Singapore sports, check out ST Sport on Instagram.
Singaporean golfer Shannon Tan gets pro career off to bright start with runner-up finish
The 19-year-old carded a 19-under 265 total at the Webex Players’ Series Murray River, just two strokes behind champion Kazuma Kobori.
Sentosa among potential venues for 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore
High diving could take place at the resort island, with plans also afoot to hold swimming events at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Open-Minded: Players produce works of art on a rainy Sunday in Melbourne
The second week at a Slam is precious as talent starts to thin out slowly, writes Rohit Brijnath.
Singapore water polo player Chow Yong Jun, 14, lands two-year stint with Serbian club
Short track speed skater Ryo Ong, 17, finds self-belief in unfamiliar environment at Winter Youth Olympics
He is the first Singaporean to make it to the semi-finals of a short track speed skating event at the Winter Youth Olympics.
Yeo Jia Min’s India Open run halted in semi-finals by world No. 3 Tai Tzu-ying
“I’m now very excited when I’m going to play any top player,” said Yeo, who had started her 2023 season with five straight losses.
No experience? No problem, as Singapore’s top two women’s football teams hire rookie head coaches
Albirex Niigata and Lion City Sailors will have new faces in their dugouts for the 2024 season.
On The Ball: Jim Ratcliffe in charm offensive, but changes will take time amid tighter FFP scrutiny
Tighter football regulations have resulted in the slowdown of the January transfer market, writes John Brewin.
Singapore’s kayakers out to secure Paris Olympics berth after encouraging spell
Stephenie Chen, who missed out on a Tokyo Olympic spot by less than a second twice, is determined to banish those demons.
Ajit Singh Gill, Singapore’s oldest Olympian, dies at 95
If you received this newsletter from someone, sign up here to get weekly updates right in your inbox.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/shannon-tan-s-golf-career-off-to-fine-start-s-pore-teen-heads-for-serbia-to-chase-water-polo-dream
| 2024-01-22T14:27:45Z
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MELBOURNE – Jannik Sinner’s face can be as inscrutable as a priest’s at mass. Carlos Alcaraz clenches a passionate fist to validate a great shot. It doesn’t matter what you might see at the Australian Open, the grand, emotional struggles of tennis are in fact occurring out of view. In the athlete’s head skirmishes are breaking out as voices bounce around the skull.
“Nervousness. Doubt.”
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/tennis/at-an-emotional-australian-open-the-real-battles-are-fought-within
| 2024-01-22T14:27:55Z
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MELBOURNE – Zheng Qinwen drew on advice from Chinese great Li Na to match her exploits at the US Open in 2023 by storming into the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time on Jan 22.
The 12th seed, known to her fans as “Queen Wen”, was on another level to the unseeded Oceane Dodin, routing the Frenchwoman 6-0, 6-3 at Rod Laver Arena in under an hour.
It set up a clash next another unseeded player, Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya, with a new face guaranteed to be in the Melbourne Park semi-finals. She beat Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-2.
The match was shown in prime time in China and Zheng, just 21, said she was trying not to left the pressure get to her.
“At the beginning I was feeling like this is a responsibility, sometimes pressure. But right now, I am just trying to focus on myself, playing day by day, don’t think too much,” she said.
“I am really happy that I have a lot of fans that come to support me here, also in front of the TV, whether in China or all over the world.”
China’s brightest young tennis star has raced through the rankings to reach world No. 15 and is looking to build on a breakthrough 2023.
She won her first WTA title at Palermo and followed it up with a second in Zhengzhou at the back end of the season, while making the last eight at the US Open and winning an Asian Games gold medal.
Zheng is taking inspiration from Li’s win in the 2014 Australian Open final.
Her idol is back in Melbourne this week and met Zheng after her third-round match – the first time they have spoken in person.
“Obviously, second time (in a Grand Slam last eight) I have more experience, I’m just trying to tell myself to focus on the moment.
“Li Na gave me advice to ‘just play, don’t think too much’.”
In other women’s draw matches yesterday, qualifier Dayana Yastremska followed up her win over Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova by adding another former Grand Slam champion to the list of her victims with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 victory over 18th seed Victoria Azarenka.
She will face fellow giant-killer Linda Noskova, who earlier knocked out world No.1 Iga Swiatek. Her match with 19th seed Elina Svitolina ended when the Ukrainian suffered a back spasm and was unable to continue with the Czech leading 3-0 in the first set.
In the men’s draw, Carlos Alcaraz said he would have to play at his “best level” in his quarter-final with Alexander Zverev after producing a masterclass against unseeded Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic on Jan 22.
The second seed – seen as the biggest threat to defending champion Novak Djokovic – did not face a single break point in a dominant performance, rolling over his opponent 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 in one hour 49 minutes.
The Spaniard, who chose not to play any competitive tennis in the build-up to the first Grand Slam of 2024, said he “did everything perfectly” at Rod Laver Arena.
But admitted he would have to find another gear against sixth seed Zverev, who won their most recent meeting at the ATP Finals to lead their head-to-head 4-3. Zverev beat British 19th seed Cameron Norrie 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (10/3) to book his spot.
“He is a really great player,” said the 20-year-old. “He has beaten great guys here in this tournament.
“Obviously I love playing against him. It’s always tough battles. I have to play my best level. He pushes me to play 100 per cent every time.”
He added: “The last time we faced each other, I lost so I have to be focused on that. I have to improve my level from that match.”
In the day’s other matches, Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev was made to work hard by Portugal’s Nuno Borges before prevailing 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 5-7, 6-1 after more than three hours.
The 27-year-old will meet Polish ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz, who beat French wildcard Arthur Cazaux 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, for a place in the last four. AFP, REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/tennis/china-s-zheng-qinwen-draws-on-li-na-advice-to-make-australian-open-last-eight
| 2024-01-22T14:28:06Z
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MELBOURNE - Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka continue the defence of their Australian Open titles at the quarter-final stage on Tuesday, and while the Serbian is coming into form at just the right time, Sabalenka has destroyed all before her.
Sabalenka has been in sensational form, dismissing opponents with apparent ease, and as the 25-year-old looks at the draw, she knows if she can reach the final again, she will be the overwhelming favourite to retain her title.
World number one Iga Swiatek is gone, as is last year's beaten finalist Elena Rybakina, but Sabalenka has enough experience to not look beyond her clash with Barbora Krejcikova, and has been focussed and clinical in getting here.
Krejcikova has been taken to three sets in three of her four matches, while Sabalenka has barely broken a sweat.
The number two seed has lost just 11 games in the previous four rounds while Krejcikova lost 11 in her last match, and the Czech ninth seed has been on the court over twice as long as Sabalenka.
Last year, Sabalenka dropped her first set in the final, and ominously, is looking even stronger this year.
"I think I feel stronger than last year," Sabalenka said after she eased past Amanda Anisimova in the fourth round.
"So far I feel good. Hopefully I just can keep it up."
It's hard to see Krejcikova stopping Sabalenka as she steamrolls her way to a place in the final, and she has won just one of their six previous meetings.
Djokovic is peaking at just the right time as he now faces American Taylor Fritz and after labouring to victory in the earlier rounds, the fourth round saw him dismantle Adrian Mannarino, 6-0 6-0 6-3.
"The last two matches have been much better than the first two," Djokovic said after the fourth round win.
"It's not the first time that I have this kind of particular circumstances where I start off slower and then I build as the tournament goes on."
Not good news for Fritz, as the 12th seed comes up against a player he has never beaten in their eight previous meetings, and the American can't blame his opponent's optimism.
"I mean, if I beat someone eight times in a row, I'd be pretty confident playing them, too, I'd have to say," Fritz said.
"I think that I have a lot more level to bring than I've previously brought against him."
Djokovic struggled with a wrist injury earlier this month, but he looks to have put that behind him, and it's hard to see him being stopped in his 58th Grand Slam quarter-final, as he goes after his 11th Australian Open title.
Fourth seed Jannik Sinner faces fifth seed Andrey Rublev where the winner will face Djokovic in the semi-final if he gets past Fritz.
In the women's quarter-final, American fourth seed Coco Gauff and unseeded Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk do battle for a semi-final place against either Sabalenka or Krejcikova. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/tennis/sabalenka-show-set-to-continue-and-djokovic-finds-his-groove
| 2024-01-22T14:28:16Z
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MELBOURNE - Alexander Zverev said he was surprised two spectators had to step in and drag away a protestor who disrupted his Australian Open fourth-round match with Cameron Norrie on Margaret Court Arena on Monday.
Zverev's match came to a brief halt in the third set when an individual wearing a mask threw "Free Palestine" leaflets on the court from the stands before being dragged away. Ball kids then cleared up the court and play resumed.
"That was a little bit surprising because the security here, I mean on-site where the players' area is, is extremely strict," Zverev, who went on to close out a 7-5 3-6 6-3 4-6 7-6(3) win, told reporters.
"Even today, I played obviously five sets, four hours, some minutes. I went to the locker room, and the gym area is right next to the locker room. They wouldn't let me into the gym because I forgot my credential in the locker room.
"What are you doing? You're protecting players from players. That's not really the whole point. Something like this happens and it takes three, four minutes for somebody to show up."
Tennis Australia said that venue security was deployed to detain the individual as soon as the behaviour was identified and reported. The protestor was subsequently evicted.
"Two patrons were active in notifying security and stopping the protestor and we appreciate their actions," Tennis Australia said in a statement, adding it would not tolerate behaviour that seeks to disrupt the tournament.
Zverev said it should have been the security officials who acted first and not fans.
"There's obviously screens and TVs everywhere in front of all the security guys," he said. "If you've seen somebody play for four hours, it's okay to go stretching in the gym even if you forgot your credential.
"That's not sounding arrogant. I understand they're all doing their job. But I think when something like this happens, it shouldn't be another fan dragging the other person out.
"It should be the security guys that should be there quite quickly. It shouldn't take them three-four minutes." REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/tennis/zverev-says-fans-should-not-have-to-tackle-protestors-at-australian-open
| 2024-01-22T14:28:26Z
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