HANOI: Vietnam reported a record high temperature late Saturday (May 6) with a north-central weather station measuring 44.1 degrees Celsius, officials said, breaking a previous high set in 2019. South Asia has been sweltering under a heatwave for much of April, with neighbouring countries also registering record temperatures. Vietnam’s weatherContinue Reading
BANGKOK: Thais queued under the blistering sun outside temples, shopping centres and schools to cast their early ballots on Sunday (May 7) ahead of a much-anticipated election next week. More than 2 million Thais nationwide are registered to vote early ahead of the kingdom’s May 14 election, which is shapingContinue Reading
PHNOM PENH: National swimmer Jonathan Tan has met the Olympics “A” cut after setting a national record in the 50m freestyle heats on Sunday (May 7). Tan’s blistering time of 21.91s is also a new Games record and personal best. The Olympics “A” qualifying time is 21.96s. Tan’s compatriot TeongContinue Reading
Japan may not be the only worry for the Singapore integrated resort industry, with a threat looming closer to home.
A bipartisan government effort in Thailand has made great strides to legalise casino gambling, with a plan to house them in entertainment complexes in up to five locations across the country.
If the Thais keep up that momentum after the May national elections, there is every possibility that Thai casinos may give Singapore a run for its money before Japan.
Thailand is a worthy match for Japan in the tourism stakes, with a genre that makes for greater appeal in entertainment and casino gambling. Singapore has more to fear in Thailand than Japan, not least in its closer proximity, even with MBS and RWS refreshed.
Genting and Las Vegas Sands, the owners of RWS and MBS respectively, will also be concerned over the expiration of the extension of their exclusivity in 2030. All that coming to a head may warrant something more drastic if the Singapore gaming industry is to keep its position at the top. Various extant factors are possible portents of a needed reinvention.
Genting owner Lim Kok Thay, just shy of 80 years old in 2030, will surely have handed the reins over to the third generation in the family by then.
Having worked directly under the stripling Lim Keong Hui, I have no doubt he shares his father’s business acuity but with decidedly different strokes. The millennial Lim looks more inclined to discovering his own unicorn business than filling the shoes in the family’s comparatively antediluvian gambling business.
Australian James Packer had not shared the penchant for casinos as his late father Kerry did and stepped down from gaming empire Crown Resorts about 10 years after his father’s death.
Might a change in ownership be the tonic for Singapore’s integrated resorts to respond to the threat of new competition?
Regardless, the younger Lim at the helm will bring a fresh pair of eyes and chart a new path for the RWS, even if the business stays in the family.
As for MBS, there is no certainty the Singapore property will not go on the selling block if the price is right. In 2021, its parent Las Vegas Sands sold its Vegas casinos in a US$6.25 deal, two months after founder Sheldon Adelson died.
SINGAPORE: Standing on an ice sheet with only a t-shirt on his back was not how Professor Benjamin Horton thought his trip to Antarctica would go.
“The first couple of days, the weather was amazing. The oceans were like a mirror. We had wildlife, humpback whales, popping out (of the ocean),” said the director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore.
“I was over dressed.”
It was around 15 degrees Celsius in the afternoon, not the type of temperature he was expecting to face in the South Pole.
“At the end of it, I was just wearing a t-shirt, no hat, no gloves,” the 52-year-old scientist told CNA’s Julie Yoo in The Climate Conversation podcast.
Antarctica is the coldest, driest and windiest continent on the planet. But summers here can be surprisingly mild and unpredictable.
The next morning, weather conditions were so poor the team could not get off the boat.
“We went in the summer season and it was brutal. You can’t go in the winter season, so you only get these brief snapshots,” said Prof Horton.
The professor and 26-year-old PhD student Tan Fang Yi were part of a Singapore scientific expedition to Antarctica to study sea level rise.
With his options exhausted, Nabeel joined his family on holiday in the United Kingdom and returned on May 9, 2003.
Nearly 20 years to the day since Sars forced his return, CNA Insider caught up with him to find out how the experience shaped his football aspirations — and his life.
Even after the disappointing trip to England, Nabeel felt all was not lost and continued to be buoyed by youthful optimism.
Sutton had said in his letter that the club would like to invite Nabeel to visit once Sars was under control. In a separate letter, the then academy director, Ray Hall, said the same and suggested sometime in September or October 2003.
This kept Nabeel “very, very hopeful” that the club would call when the Sars situation improved. On May 30, 2003, the World Health Organisation declared Singapore to be Sars-free.
But “the better time didn’t happen”, and the call never came, he said. Soon afterwards, he was called up for National Service.
With a spot in Singapore’s national under-18 team at the time, he took things in his stride. “We had a couple of tournaments lined up, (and I thought), just work hard, you never know if there’ll be scouts coming,” he said.
He continued to play football during NS. While doing his basic police training, he got a call from the Police Sports Association (SA) to prepare for the World Police and Fire Games in 2005 in Quebec, Canada.
“It’s like the Olympics for the police and firemen; there were so many sports. We were treated like Olympians,” Nabeel recalled. “I felt, ‘Wow, I get to skip (part of NS training and) go overseas. … Very fortunate.’”
He trained with Police SA in the Division One League, followed by Home United in the S.League.
SINGAPORE: It was a regular day in Ms Alina Boey’s life when she suddenly realised she had dropped a dress size, without any changes to her lifestyle.
She had lost almost 7kg and that made alarm bells ring in her head. It prompted her to go for a thorough medical check-up, and while her bloodwork turned out regular, a further scan showed that her right lung was inflamed.
It took multiple hospital trips and tests before she was eventually diagnosed as having pneumonia, a lung inflammation that most often follows bacterial or viral respiratory infections. But that was only the start of her medical issues.
Ms Boey developed various skin conditions such as hives, while another pre-existing condition – eczema – also flared up.
Her doctor said these could be linked to immunity issues triggered by her pneumonia, she told CNA.
As she continues to battle her health issues, doctor visits are “exhausting”, Ms Boey said.
“In terms of quality of life, it’s not easy, I think mentally, especially.”
While Ms Boey’s conditions are not life-threatening, for others like her who are not vaccinated against pneumonia, more severe issues could arise. This includes heart attacks for those who have underlying heart diseases.
“Sometimes patients do not know that they have underlying heart diseases such as coronary artery disease or blockages,” said Dr William Kristanto, cardiologist at The Cardiac Centre in Farrer Park Hospital.
“What happens is that when they get admitted for pneumonia, this pneumonia triggers a cascade of inflammatory response that then triggers off the heart blockage condition, causing heart attacks.”
Dr Kristanto said the majority of patients admitted for pneumonia are those who have compromised immune systems or are above the age of 65.
Dr Julio Ramirez, chief research scientist at Norton Infectious Diseases Institute said his centre’s research in the last couple of years has shown that while a “significant number” of patients hospitalised for pneumonia get discharged and go home, their health may not be as good as before.
“They never go back to baseline or there are other medical problems that emerge after pneumonia,” said Dr Ramirez from Norton Healthcare in Louisville, Kentucky.
“This is why at this moment, the best way to consider pneumonia is that (it) is not just a lung problem. It is a systemic problem (that) affects the lungs affects the heart, the liver, the kidney.”
He added that pneumonia may not be just an acute three-week illness, but one that can affect an individual for years down the road.
And for seniors, getting pneumonia could mean a decrease in life expectancy.
While they may need it the most, it is vulnerable groups like seniors who do not understand the need for vaccination against pneumonia, said Dr Kristanto.
He added that some elderly patients also tend to confuse pneumonia jabs with flu jabs. They think pneumonia jabs are only needed during flu season or when one travels.
“(It’s only) when I spend time explaining to them that it’s not just the influenza vaccine (that’s available), but there’s pneumococcal vaccination as well that they realise ‘oh, you mean there’s more than one respiratory illness out there’,” he said.
On the back of World Immunisation Week last week, he urged family doctors to correct such misconceptions so that patients will have a better understanding and are more likely to get vaccinated.
Dr Ramirez similarly urged people to get vaccinated against pneumonia.
Several viruses and bacteria can cause pneumonia, the doctors said.
According to HealthHub, frequent causes include the common cold, influenza, COVID-19 and pneumococcal disease.
“Contracting one episode of pneumonia doesn’t give you immunity against all the viruses or bacteria out there. So definitely, you still need to get your full protection with the various pneumonia and influenza vaccinations available,” Dr Kristanto said.
He and Ms Boey called for more patient awareness and education.
“The message has to be loud and clear out there that there is a need to get protected, especially in the vulnerable population,” said Dr Kristanto.
Residents told CNA it was not uncommon to see wild boars near housing blocks in Bukit Panjang, and that they tended to appear in the mornings or at night, usually near Zhenghua Nature Park.
Some expressed concern about their safety, after the May 1 attack.
“Most residents are (concerned), especially now we learned they are very bold in the presence of humans,” said Ju Mosin, a Bukit Panjang resident who filmed a boar near a bus stop on Friday.
“I have personally seen two big boars within the estate … But not far from that is Chestnut Nature trail and that is their habitat.”
A resident who wanted to be known only as Mr Ong said he often encounters wild boars during walks at Zhenghua Park, and that the animals are sometimes seen with their young.
Although his wife was concerned given the latest attack, Mr Ong said he was not too worried as the animals typically “run away” when they hear footsteps.
Agreeing, Muhammad Fitri, a delivery rider, said: “I’ve never seen them (attack people). They run.”
All the residents CNA spoke to said they had not seen any steps taken by authorities to address the issue of food waste left outside bins.
As for what should be done with the boars themselves, many residents conceded that they should be left alone.
“It is their habitat as much as it is ours,” said Mr Ong.
A resident who wanted to be known as Ms Aini added: “Their natural habitat is near this area. We’re constantly redeveloping the roads and disturbing their habitats.”
NParks handled nine cases of wild boar incidents each year in 2020 and 2021, eight cases in 2022, and two cases in 2023 as of Wednesday.
The board adopts a community- and science-based approach to managing wild boar encounters, said Dr Loo.
This includes habitat modification, conducting studies to better understand the animals’ ecology and distribution, managing its movements, relocation and culling.
NParks also works with public agencies and developers to “erect hoarding to prevent wildlife such as wild boars from straying into nearby residential areas”.
Population control measures are also implemented when needed to protect the public, as wild boars have the ability to reproduce quickly and lack natural predators in Singapore, said Dr Loo.
“Similar to other wild animals, wild boars can be unpredictable in behaviour, and can pose a risk to public safety even if not deliberately provoked,” he added.
The advice to the public is to remain as calm as possible and move away from a wild boar if encountering one, keeping a safe distance and refraining from cornering or provoking it.
“If adult wild boars are seen with young piglets, keep a distance and leave them alone as they can become aggressive when trying to defend their young,” said Dr Loo. “The public should also refrain from feeding wild boars.”
LICENSING CATS Most of the respondents agreed that microchipping and licensing cats could help to improve the health, welfare, and traceability of the animals. “If a pet is diagnosed with an infectious disease, especially a zoonotic one, it is important to be able to trace its whereabouts, close contacts, andContinue Reading
Vintage tees easily cost S$50 per piece in Singapore, but in Johor Bahru, a few Singapore dollars is all it takes to snag one from a thrift shop. No wonder bargain hunters and trendsetting hipsters are flocking across the border with fervour.
Two types of thrift shops exist – the carefully curated and the haphazardly stocked. The former comes with higher price tags but offers well-preserved goods and the luxury of air conditioning. Most of these shops are located in the heart of JB’s old town, a short walk from City Square Mall, where the famed banana cakes from Hiap Joo Bakery can be found.
Meanwhile, the latter type of thrift shop is known as bundle shops, named for their hit-and-miss quality. With the exception of Japan Bundle, most of these outlets are not curated. Sifting through vast troves of clothing in various conditions for hidden gems can take hours, on top of the 30-minute car ride, but the prices are unbeatable.
One of the following stores will hit the spot, depending on what you’re looking for in a thrift shop. Take the “brands” mentioned with a grain of salt, though. Their authenticity may be suspect, but this very element of uncertainty keeps things interesting.
1. REBIRTH INC
Rebirth Inc may be small, but it packs a punch in men’s fashion. Its collection ranges from band tees and graphic tees featuring pop culture icons and movie franchises, to brands such as Carhartt, Vans and Champion.