S$500 CDC vouchers launched with more supermarkets and heartland shops participating

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SINGAPORE: Beginning on Wednesday, January 3, Singaporean households will have access to twice as many merchants as they will in 2021 using their S$ 500 ( US$ 376 ) Community Development Council ( CDC ) vouchers. &nbsp,

The tickets can be online claimed at the time, just like in past rounds. Gov. sg/cdcv. To say the CDC tickets on behalf of their family, one participant of each household must log in using their Singpass account.

According to the CDC in a press release on Wednesday, the applicant’s listed mobile phone number will receive the card website, which they can then share with other home members using the hyperlink.

The certificates are good through December 31, 2024. &nbsp,

According to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the launch event on Wednesday, the tickets have been divided into two parts, similar to 2023, with S$ 250 being redeemable at participating heartland retailers and hawkers and the other half being available at supermarkets. &nbsp,

According to Mr. Wong, the program will involve about 23, 000 stores in 2024, double that of 2021. &nbsp,

Eight stores with 415 locations across the island are also included in the 2024 plan, according to CDC in a press release. These include Ang Mo Supermarket, Giant Singapore, HAO Mart, NTUC FairPrice, excellent retailer, Sheng Siong, and U-Stars supermarket.

” Quite a few retailers, shops, and shops are going beyond merely taking part in the scheme.” According to Mr. Wong, who is also the Finance Minister, they are also extending their own discounts and rebates, but if you use the CDC tickets it, you will receive additional discounts. &nbsp,

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Kai Zhuang: Cyber kidnapping in US illustrates growing crime trend

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Kai Zhuang climbs out of a tent as an officer looks onDepartment of Police in Riverdale
Madeline Halpert
New York News, BBC

Researchers cautioned that parents all over the world had become victims of the larger legal pattern that included the” computer theft” fraud that extorted the Chinese community of a foreign exchange student studying in the US.

After being persuaded to isolate himself by private con artists, student Kai Zhuang was reported missing by his great school last week and after discovered “very cold and afraid” in a camp in rural Utah, according to local authorities.

When the teen was left alone in the forest, according to authorities, the kidnappers demanded a payment and showed his parents in China the photo of himself that Zhuang had taken. In the end, Zhuang’s family gave the offenders$ 80, 000 ( £62, 600 ).

Technology advancements, according to experts, have made it simpler for criminals to carry out digital theft schemes. They claimed that Zhuang’s practice is not an isolated incident, despite the lack of precise data on the number of cases.

According to Joseph Steinberg, a cyber security expert who has provided advice to businesses and governments,” The way it’s being perpetrated in most cases, [it ] could happen to anyone.” The acts have become much more costly and targeted.

What exactly is a cyber-kidnapping?

According to police, criminals started manipulating the 17-year-old trade student as early as December 20 when he was spotted in Utah with camping gear.

Digital robberies usually involve criminals calling or messaging a prey to deceive them into believing they have been abducted even though the person is truly healthy, according to Mr. Steinberg.

Screaming on the phone while the offender threatened to demand a payment from their loved one has been reported by the patients.

The director of the Center for Cybercrime Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Marie-Hilliam Maras, said,” They will do anything to keep you on the phone.” ” If you hang up or if you try to contact people to scare their goals into making hasty judgments, they’ll threaten to produce hurt.”

According to Dr. Maras, who has researched digital theft scenarios, there have been several instances in which Foreign foreign exchange students in other nations, such as Canada and Australia, were forced into staging their personal kidnaps in order to steal money from family.

How typical is it?

No information is available on the frequency of digital kidnappings, which are essentially unreported, according to experts. However, they emphasized how technological advancements have facilitated crimes and made them simpler to undertake.

Mr. Steinberg expressed concern over the use of artificial intelligence to mimic the tones of loved ones and force them to make ransom payments.

He claimed that” the technology has advanced to the point where even devoted parents who truly know their children can be duped.”

Social media also enables offenders to research and gather data on victims before they get in touch, giving them important information into a person’s life.

According to Dr. Maras, criminals” may yet spoof numbers to make it seem like it’s coming from you.” ” They are getting better and better at hiding the fraud.”

According to Mr. Steinberg, who noted that offenders are often apprehended, the crimes appear to be increasing payouts as well.

For smaller quantities, he claimed, criminals in the past targeted more vulnerable people, such as illegal immigrants and non-native English speakers.

However, according to officials, Zhuang’s parents paid a sizable compensation in his case.

According to Mr. Steinberg, “Cyber violence is probably the violence that pays the best.” ” People may be targeted in various language.” It is accessible from somewhere.

What can be done to stop the acts?

Despite the fact that anyone can be the victim of a digital kidnapping, experts advise taking numerous precautions to better safeguard themselves.

The first step, according to Mr. Steinberg, is just being aware of the issue, understanding what personal information is common, and exercising caution.

However, those who are the target may first file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Mr. Steinberg even advises attempting to contact the loved one to find out where they are after receiving an incident call or message. According to him, families can also think of specific words or phrases to use in dire circumstances that criminals would n’t know about.

By making changes in updating and tracing the cause of calls, Mr. Steinberg said that law enforcement organizations and telecom businesses may play a role in preventing crimes in the future as well.

Although the exact number of victims is still unknown, authorities said that taking these little precautions may enable keep people safe.

We are aware that individuals just like us have fallen victim, according to Mr. Steinberg.

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Bangladesh elections: Why India matters across the border

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Hasina Sheikh, Bangladesh's prime minister, right, along with Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, speaks to the media during a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi, India, on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022shabby pictures
By Ethirajan Anbarasan
NBC News

The part of Bangladesh’s enormous neighbor India is being hotly debated in the nation as it prepares to maintain basic elections on January7.

Hasina Sheikh, the prime minister, is running for a third straight term, and her victory appears inevitable given that the main opposition parties are abstaining from voting.

According to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( BNP ) and its allies, Ms. Hasina wo n’t hold a free and fair election. They demanded that she resign so that a natural interval authorities could hold the elections, but she refused.

With the exception of a 271 km ( 168 mile ) long border with Myanmar in the southeast, India almost completely encircles the Muslim-majority country of Bangladesh, which has about 170 million people.

Bangladesh is not just a neighboring nation for India. It is a close ally and strategic partner, both of which are essential to the safety of its north-eastern states.

Therefore, proponents of American policy contend that Dhaka needs a cordial government. Since she was first elected in 1996, Ms. Hasina has developed close ties with India, and it is no secret that Delhi wants to discover her retake the throne.

Dhaka’s near ties to Delhi have always been justified by Ms. Hasina. She advised Bangladesh not to overlook India, its state, people, and military troops as they stood by the nation during the independence war in 1971 during a trip to India in 2022.

The criticism BNP has criticized her for supporting her Awami League group harshly.

India may help the Bangladeshi people rather than a specific political party. However, older BNP head Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told the BBC that Indian policymakers do not support democracy in Bangladesh.

Mr. Rizvi claimed that Delhi was “alienating the people of Bangladesh” by openly supporting Ms. Hasina and what he referred to as a “dummy poll.”

Regarding the BNP’s claims that Delhi had interfered with the elections in Bangladesh, an American foreign ministry spokesperson declined to comment.

” Votes are a local issue for Bangladesh.” The Bangladeshi individuals must choose for themselves what will happen in the future. We want to see quiet elections in Bangladesh as a close friend and partner, the spokesperson said in response to the BBC’s query.

Supporters and opponents of Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina Sheikh rally in front of the World Bank on 1 May 2023 in Washington DC.

shabby pictures

India is also worried that, as it had done when the alliance was in energy between 2001 and 2006, the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami party’s profit may open the door for Islamists to return to Bangladesh.

According to Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, a former Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka,” they gave rise to so many of these islamic parties that were used for various reasons, including the 2004 assassination attempt on Ms. Hasina and the catch of 10 cars full of hands that came from Pakistan.”

Following her actions against racial rebel groups in northeastern India, some of which were operating from Bangladesh, Ms. Hasina quickly gained favor with Delhi after taking office in 2009.

Bangladesh and India have strong language, tribal, and cultural ties. Delhi sent soldiers in support of the Bengali Resistance Force, which was a crucial factor in Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971.

Delhi is Dhaka’s main source for the source of countless necessities like wheat, pulses, and vegetables. India therefore has sway over every aspect of Bangladesh’s life, including politics.

Since 2010, India has also provided Bangladesh with more than$ 7 billion in loans for infrastructure and development initiatives.

However, there have been pollutants in relationships over the years, ranging from disagreements over water resource sharing to accusations of interfering in one another’s domestic affairs.

” Bangladesh has an image concern with India.” Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue in Dhaka said to the BBC,” It comes from the belief that Bangladesh is never getting the best of the great neighbor,” whether it be in terms of Delhi’s support for the government that may not have total political legitimacy or in transactions where we seek equal share.

Although there have been allegations of widespread vote-rigging, Ms. Hasina took office for a second day in January 2009, and her group has since won two more votes. The claims have been refuted by the Awami League.

Although India now has access to roads, rivers, and trains through Bangladesh to transport goods to its north-eastern states, detractors claim that Dhaka is still unable to conduct full-fledged overland trade with inland Nepal and Bhutan across Indian territory.

India has additional proper justifications for having a cordial federal in Dhaka.

Delhi wants Bangladesh to provide its seven north-eastern state with accessibility to roads and rivers.

The” chicken’s neck,” a 20 km ( 12 mile ) land corridor that connects Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan, is now the route by road and train connecting the Indian mainland to its northeast. This area, according to Delhi officials, is carefully vulnerable to any possible conflict with China, India’s rival.

India has been resisting the move, calling it contradictory, even though several Western governments had wanted to impose more sanctions on Bangladeshi authorities over reported human rights violations and extra-judicial deaths. Furthermore, Beijing wants to expand its presence in Bangladesh as it competes with India for local dominance.

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Hasina Sheikh shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping as she arrives for a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on 5 July 2019 in Beijing, China

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” We have warned the West that if you push Ms. Hasina, she may join the Chinese station, just like other nations have.” That will lead to a proper issue with India, according to Mr. Chakravarty, an ex-Indian diplomat. He continued,” We ca n’t afford that.”

Despite the adjacent ties between the two administrations, some Bangladeshis have misgivings about India.

” I do n’t believe Indians are cordial everywhere. We constantly have issues with India because we are a Muslim country, according to fruit merchant Zamiruddin in Dhaka.

” We will need to protect ourselves first before relying on another.” We’ll be in trouble if we do n’t, he continued.

Many people in Bangladesh are concerned about what’s happening across the border, while Delhi is worried about the potential for an Islamist gathering.

Rights organizations claim that discrimination against religious minorities, particularly Muslims, has increased since the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) took power in India in 2014. The BJP disputes this claim.

As a reference to Bengali Muslims who reside in state like Assam and West Bengal, Indian officials also discuss alleged invasion by” Bangladeshi improper newcomers.”

According to Mr. Bhattacharya, the mistreatment of Indian Muslims raises the possibility of mistreating Hindu minority in Bangladesh.

Hindus make up almost 8 % of Bangladesh’s population.

Hasina Sheikh at the head did undoubtedly serve Delhi’s objectives. Reaching out to the people of Bangladesh will be the difficult piece, though.

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Despite some misbehaving customers, Singapore’s heartland shops warm to CDC vouchers as scheme enters 5th year

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SINGAPORE: Most heartland merchants and hawkers have embraced the scheme as a boost to their business in recent years, despite some customers misusing their Community Development Council ( CDC ) vouchers.

On Wednesday, January 3, the most recent batch of money tickets was made available, giving each Singaporean and nbsp household S$ 500.

In order to assist in coping with the COVID-19 epidemic and support local businesses, the CDC program was initially introduced in June 2020.

Participating homeland stores and peddlers, as well as specific supermarkets like NTUC FairPrice and Giant, may use the vouchers. &nbsp,

When they first met, Madam Seet Kwee Man, who owns a traditional Chinese medicine shop in Clementi, frequently felt confident in her patrons when they handed over certificates.

However, when she eventually checked on the transactions, she discovered that many of the vouchers were irrelevant or had already been redeemed. She claimed that she was powerless to change the situation because the customers had long since left her stall. &nbsp,

Because we’re very busy and we ca n’t keep checking or waiting for the transaction to go through, many people in this hawker center experienced the same problems. She predicted that consumers would become waiting. &nbsp,

The consumer might not be satisfied and the discussion may turn hostile if I insist on waiting for the deal to go through, according to nbsp.

After the very first large in 2020, Mdm Seet ultimately decided to opt out of the CDC card program.

The 73-year-old said,” There are advantages to participating because people will come and buy things ( with ) the vouchers.” But for us older people who run a barn by ourselves, it’s not so simple.

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Watch: How the Japan passenger plane burst into flames

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At Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, emergency services raced against period to save every passenger and team member from a helicopter that eventually caught fire.

Chinese authorities are looking into the circumstances surrounding the collision of the customer plane from Japan Airlines and a Coastguard plane as it touched down. A New Year’s Day earthquake-affected areas of Japan were to receive support from the Coastguard plane.

Serious CCTV footage captured after the collision shows the Airbus A350 fire as it sped down the runway.

As the plane’s gas began to leak, emergency services had to deal with extremely difficult circumstances, according to Professor Graham Braithwaite, Director of Transport Systems and Professor of Accident Investigations at Cranfield University.

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Japan earthquake: Fires hit quake zone as rescuers race to reach survivors

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55 people were killed in a strong earthquake that hit Japan on New Year’s Day, and recovery attempts are still ongoing there.

Homes collapsed, structures caught fire, and roads suffered significant damage, making it difficult to provide recovery services.

The Noto coast in northern Japan served as the earthquake’s epicenter.

Emergency services are “in a race against time” to save individuals, according to Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan.

Mr. Kishida added on Tuesday that 3, 000 volunteers were attempting to reach specific areas of the Noto coast. Numerous fires and extensive damage to structures and facilities were seen in aircraft surveys. On the northeastern tip of Noto, the town of Wajima has been cut off from land routes.

For those who have had to leave their homes, the Chinese government has been providing products like food, waters, and pillows. According to the state of the nation, 57, 360 individuals had to be evacuated.

Over the impacted area, tens of thousands of foods are being delivered.

Waves persisted all day on Monday and Tuesday. Yoshimasa Hayashi, the main cabinet minister of Japan, issued a warning to “be call” for additional earthquakes” of an power of up to 7″ in the upcoming week.

On Tuesday afternoon, a 4.9 % earthquake struck Ishikawa, which is located 155 km (96.3 miles ) south of the Noto peninsula.

The Chinese government’s initial, significant tsunami warnings were after downgraded. There was no more a risk of such an occasion because by Tuesday, all storm recommendations along the Sea of Japan had been lifted.

Japan’s afflicted region people have been sharing their accounts of the earthquake, which lasted for a while.

Toshio Iwahama, an 82-year-old tenant of Nanao, reported to the BBC that his wooden house had partly collapsed. He claimed that despite having experienced numerous earthquakes, he had not felt tremors of this magnitude.

The quake, according to Briton Emma Ward, 41, who was skiing in the resort town of Hakuba, had struck “without warning,” prompting her party to seek refuge under a table in an eatery. According to her, folks completely fled the tower due to the severity of the numbness, she told the BBC. Uncertainty about the earthquake’s intensity was the worst piece of it. It’s a pretty frightful practice, according to Ms. Ward.

Composite image showing the extensive damage done to a street in Wajima, where commercial and residential properties were destroyed by fire

Some people even claimed that the disaster brought to mind the devastating tsunami and earthquake of 2011 that killed 18, 000 people and caused an incident at a Fukushima nuclear plant.

A Japan Airlines aircraft caught fire on Tuesday as it collided with a navy aircraft en route to Tokyo’s Haneda airport to supply disaster relief in an unrelated incident.

The navy jet’s five people are known to have perished, but the 379 passengers and crew members of Japan Airlines were able to flee.

Due to its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where some tectonic plates converge, Japan is one of the most geologically effective countries on Earth.

Japan created one of the most advanced storm warning systems in the world as a result of its ongoing earthquake risk.

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China’s BYD overtakes Tesla's electric car sales in last quarter of 2023

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Models pose with a BYD car in Japan.Reuters
by Natalie Sherman, Peter Hoskins, andamp
NBC News

In the final three months of 2023, BYD, a Chinese firm, sold more electric cars than Tesla, owned by Musk Elon.

In the last quarter of 2023, BYD reported on Monday that it had sold a report 526, 000 battery-only cars.

It was the first quarter that Tesla’s battery-only profits had surpassed theirs. The US-based company has observed a gradual increase in demand as saving prices rise.

But, Mr. Musk’s Tesla continued to sell more throughout the entire year of 2023.

Tesla announced on Tuesday that it had produced 1.8 million electric cars overall and 484,500 in the final three months of 2023.

Sales increased by 20 % from the same period in 2022 and picked up speed from earlier 2023, proving that the end-of-year performance was better than analysts had anticipated. The third was a” distinct win” for Tesla, according to scientist Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities.

But it did n’t live up to expectations. Mr. Musk stated in January of last year that Tesla had the potential to make two million shipments by 2023.

The company consistently reduced prices in an effort to entice customers.

BYD’s accomplishment of this step serves as a constant reminder of the difficulties the company must overcome in order to establish the electric car sector.

According to Susannah Streeter, mind of wealth and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, BYD’s acceleration into the fast street “is new evidence of how competitive the Volt market has become and how difficult it will be for Tesla to turn back to lead the pack.”

Shenzen-based BYD sold more than 3 million so-called new energy vehicles ( NEVs ), which include hybrids and battery-only vehicles, for the entire year.

According to the company, nearly 1.6 million of its overall sales were battery-only vehicles.

In 1995, Wang Chuanfu, the CEO of BYD, co-founded the company with his niece in Shenzhen.

The business established a reputation for producing rechargeable batteries that competed with more expensive Chinese goods and were used in phones, laptops, and other electronics.

In 2002, it began trading shares on the stock exchange, and it expanded by buying Qinchuan Automobile Company, a struggling state-owned automaker.

Berkshire Hathaway, owned by seasoned US investment Warren Buffett, has been a stockholder of BYD since 2008.

Experts claim that BYD’s expansion is due to its initial business, chargers. Making them in-house saves BYD a ton of money because they are among the most costly components of anEV.

For chargers, some of BYD’s rivals rely on third-party producers.

BYD’s power business contributed to its flexibility in cutting costs quickly at the end of 2023, increasing sales, which increased by 70 % in just December.

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