Two dead after tour bus from Singapore collides with car along Malaysia expressway

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SEREMBAN: Two people were killed following an accident involving a tourist bus and a car on the North-South Expressway in Malaysia during the early hours of Monday (Jul 10). 

Rescue authorities identified the fatalities as the bus driver and an Indonesian woman who was a passenger. Five others were seriously injured.

Nilai district deputy police chief Mat Ghani Lateh said that the bus had been ferrying 19 passengers.

Fourteen of them were foreign nationals – four Indonesians, three Singaporeans, two Canadians, three from the Philippines and one each from China and Spain.

Preliminary investigations found that the bus, owned by La Holidays Travel & Tours, was travelling from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur before rescue authorities were alerted to the incident at about 5am. 

“The bus is suspected of hitting a bridge pillar on the right side of the expressway, before swerving to the left and hitting a Proton Wira car, which was in the left lane, and crashed into the left shoulder of the road,” he said.

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Higher risk of haze in southern ASEAN region between June and October 2023

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SINGAPORE: Weather and climate authorities on Monday (May 29) flagged a higher risk of haze in the southern ASEAN region between June and October this year amid expectations of a more intense and prolonged dry season. 

The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) made this announcement as it issued Alert Level 1, indicating the start of the dry season associated with the Southwest Monsoon in the southern ASEAN region.

“Persistent drier weather has been observed over most parts of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and southern Thailand in recent days, as the monsoon rain band moves north of the equator. 

“With a high likelihood of El Nino conditions developing in the coming months, the dry season is expected to be more intense and prolonged compared to recent years, and extend into October 2023,” it said.

Hotspot activities in the southern ASEAN region are presently still subdued, with 14 and 13 hotspots detected in the southern ASEAN region on May 27 and May 28 respectively, said ASMC.

A few localised smoke plumes were detected in parts of the region on some days in May, but no transboundary smoke haze occurrence has been observed so far.

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Singapore-JB RTS Link on track to start operations by end-2026, construction at Singapore side hits halfway mark

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JOHOR BAHRU: The Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link project is on track to be completed by end-2026 and construction has reached the halfway mark on the Singapore side.  Speaking during a press conference in Johor Bahru on Thursday (May 11), Singapore’s Transport Minister S Iswaran said that constructionContinue Reading

Resumption of live pig exports from Indonesian island could take up to a year: SFA

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SINGAPORE/PARIS: The resumption of live pig production and exports from Indonesia’s Pulau Bulan could take up to a year, said the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) on Tuesday (May 9).

Singapore stopped the import of live pigs from the island after African swine fever (ASF) was detected in some pig carcasses, said the agency last month.

The carcasses were from a consignment of live pigs from Pulau Bulan and have been removed from the abattoir line.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) on Tuesday said Indonesia had confirmed an ASF outbreak on a farm on Pulau Bulan.

In a Facebook post, SFA said Singapore authorities would continue to assess the situation.

“Such food supply disruptions can happen from time to time. We will continue to work with the industry to diversify our import sources and strengthen our food resilience,” it said.

For example, Mexico was recently approved to export chilled pork to Singapore, SFA noted.

President of the Meat Traders Association in Singapore Alvin Kwek also added that its members have activated “more than 20 sources” of chilled and frozen pork from different countries.

They have sufficient stock of frozen pork to last for “months” should the supply chain for pork be disrupted, he said in a press release.

“We urge industry players and consumers alike to be open to alternative supply sources and remain flexible by considering using chilled or frozen pork from alternative sources.”

SFA also urged consumers to explore “other protein options”.

Citing Indonesian authorities, the Paris-based WOAH said the ASF outbreak had killed 35,297 pigs in a herd of 285,034 on a farm on Pulau Bulan.

The outbreak was detected on Apr 1 and confirmed on Apr 28.

Pulau Bulan is located within the Riau Islands and adjacent to Batam island.

ASF is not dangerous to humans but is fatal for pigs. It has plagued China for years, with an initial wave during 2018 and 2019 killing millions of pigs and leading to a dramatic decline in meat output that roiled global markets. China is facing a recent surge in infections this year.

The source of the Indonesian outbreak is still unknown but veterinarian authorities told WOAH that humans, vehicles, feed, flies and wild boar may have played an important role in the introduction of ASF on the farm.

They also confirmed that the investigation started after the disease was detected by Singapore’s SFA in imported pigs.

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Singapore and China to hold joint naval drills

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SINGAPORE: Singapore and China will hold a joint military exercise this week, their first combined drills since 2021. The exercise will be held from Apr 28 to May 1, said Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) on Monday (Apr 24). “The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) conducts regular bilateral and multilateral exercisesContinue Reading