ASEAN needs to speak out more on South China Sea: Philippine foreign secretary

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MANILA-BEIJING Hostilities IN SCS

China and the Philippines have been at odds with one another over a series of territorial disputes in the South China Sea, with Manila accusing Beijing of regional invasion and Manila of anger.

Mr. Manalo claimed that traditional trading partners like the United States and the European Union even support the Philippines ‘ right to assert its independence. &nbsp,

They back our strategy of insisting on international law, upholding our right, and strengthening our partnerships. The behavior we are taking are extremely legal”, he said. &nbsp,

Nonetheless, the minister said that while tensions cook, strategies remain for Manila and Beijing to work out their variations.

” Our vessels … have been ramped, there has been water cannoning, some of our fishermen have been shooed away from their traditional fishing area. He claimed that these are the difficulties we have constantly encountered with China.

He continued,” The goal is to see how we can control them peacefully,” noting that officials from both countries meet about twice a year to resolve problems.

He cited the Philippines ‘ relationship with Vietnam as an illustration of” the commitment to resolve disputes peacefully, and not through threats.”

Although the two countries have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, relations have improved over the years, according to Mr. Manalo.

” In fact, we are strategic lovers today. In the sea region, we have reached conceptions on how to improve our nautical cooperation”, he said.

” We’ve come to the conclusion that disputes may remain settled peacefully through political means and speech, with international law as the foundation.”

He added that speaking out about the China-China fight benefits both his nation and those in the area.

More and more nations are now realizing that it might be time to consider how faithfully we ( can ) implement the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, he said.

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Cathay Cineplexes acquires WE Cinemas’ 321 Clementi outlet

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SINGAPORE: &nbsp, Cathay Cineplexes ‘ parent company mm2 announced on Friday ( Oct 18 ) its acquisition and takeover of operations at WE Cinemas ‘ 321 Clementi outlet.

It will take result from Nov 1, when the film will remain businesses as&nbsp, Cathay Cineplexes Clementi 321, mm2 and Eng Wah Global&nbsp, said in a joint declaration.

The package shows mm2’s” continued trust in the theater company and our steadfast belief that blockbusters may return to our screens quickly”, &nbsp, Melvin Ang, the media company’s executive chairman, said.

Deadpool &amp, Wolverine, the next biggest picture of the year, was a significant lack from Cathay Cineplexes ‘ stone of movie earlier in the year. This was a “business choice”, a Cathay Cineplexes director told CNA next.

Mr Ang said that&nbsp, 321 Clementi was” also located in the heart of Clementi, &nbsp, in a well-positioned land which serves a good spread of public and private accommodation estates, colleges and colleges, and is the nearest to town for all our other cinemas operating today”.

Mr Ang said that the&nbsp, film company has yet to recuperate entirely in the years since the COVID-19 crisis, citing factors like&nbsp, restricted power occupancies due to social distancing, &nbsp, strikes in Hollywood that resulted in a blockbuster shortage and the changing consumer habits of filmgoing audiences.

” The company treatment is taking longer than expected”.

Recently, the company has seen a rise at the box company as well as several renowned acquisitions, joint endeavors and large-scale film development plans in the US, China and Southeast Asia, &nbsp, mm2 noted.

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Economic Development Board in touch with ONE Championship after layoffs

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One retrenched team representative told CNA that the downsizing exercise had been planning for several days and that they had spoken to her on the condition of anonymity. &nbsp,

The former employee claimed to be a part of the business that Mr. Sityodtong and the other employees had been invited to a online meeting. &nbsp, This seemed strange, said the former staff. &nbsp,

” Typically, business conferences are all in person in a boardroom”, he said.

” When I saw that it was only (virtual ), then I expected ( layoffs ) because this is exactly what they did in the last round in 2020″ .&nbsp,

In 2020, ONE Tournament cut 20 per share of its workers worldwide amid the COVID-19 crisis.

” During the meeting… ( Mr Sityodtong ) said that after the meeting, if you get a call, you’re out. If do n’t get a call, you’re safe, which is a ****ing nerve-wracking way to do it”, the ex-employee said. &nbsp,

In the end, he got the dreaded visit. In a smaller gathering, the organization explained that he was being laid off as a cost-cutting estimate. &nbsp,

Given reports that ONE Championship raised at least US$ 50 million from shareholders, including Qatar Investment Authority, on the same day, he claimed the judgement was particularly impressive.

Another person with near knowledge of the brand claimed to have been informed of the retraining plans a week ago but was instructed by ONE Championship to keep it to himself. &nbsp,

” There have been speculations for a while evidently in the workforce”, he said. &nbsp,

According to the ex-employee, the compensation deal was two weeks ‘ spend for every year of services, on top of one quarter of notice-period give, and encashed left. &nbsp,

According to the ex-employee, 30 to 40 team members at the Singapore company were terminated, and those who lost were then immediately locked out of their servers. &nbsp,

He claimed he enjoyed his time there and the interaction with his coworkers in his illustrious times. &nbsp,

” It was a good job for me… so to go like that is kind of disappointing ( and ) there’s nothing I can do about it”, he said. &nbsp,

” If the management feels like this is the direction they need to take to cut costs, then that’s on them” .&nbsp,

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Time To Fly 2024 travel fair offers discounted flight tickets, lucky draws and celebrity appearances

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Have you been putting off purchasing holiday cards? Well, here’s a good time to prepare your year-end-break – and maybe even next year’s trip. The famous travel good Time To Travel is up for its fifth iteration&nbsp, from Oct 25 to 27 at Suntec Convention Centre.

Wanderers attending the fair is anticipate discounted airfare tickets from Singapore Airlines and Scoot, go talks from 14 agencies, celebrity appearances, and chance draws with awards including business class tickets and hotel stays.

Singapore Airlines will also have exclusive promo deals on return economy flight tickets for various locations including&nbsp, Bangkok ( from S$ 208 ), Seoul ( from S$ 538 ), Perth ( from S$ 498 ), Paris ( from S$ 898 ) and Los Angeles ( from S$ 998 ).

The motion will be split into two sections at&nbsp, Suntec Convention Centre:

1. For the primary sales location and events, including celebrity appearances and prizes, use the 401 and 402 and 402 respectively.

2. Reimbursement and stalls are located in the plaza at Level 3.

Every S$ 500 you purchase at Time To Travel has a chance to win the prize pull, and this year’s awards are undoubtedly stunning.

The major prizes for each of the three function days are listed below.

Oct. 25: A 3D2N remain at Noku Phuket Tree Villa as well as two Singapore Airlines business class tickets to Phuket.

Oct. 26: A 3D2N sit at the Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok Premier Room as well as two Singapore Airlines business class tickets.

Oct 27: &nbsp, A pair of Singapore Airlines business class tickets to Male and a 4D3N remain at Club Med Kani Overwater Apartments, Island.

What’s more, there’s also a great reward where the winner gets a pair of Singapore Airlines business class tickets to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Istanbul, a&nbsp, 3D2N sit at a Shangri-La lodge at all three areas and Pelago tickets for S$ 2, 000.

Once you’ve settled your travel plans at the fair, apply the visit as an opportunity to get up tight with your favorite Mediacorp stars that including Elvin Ng, Romeo Tan, Ayden Sng, &nbsp, Nity Baizura and&nbsp, Yasminne Cheng.

On those dates, you can start ordering from October 25 to October 27 at participating travel agencies, the Singapore Airlines site, or the Singapore Airlines Time To Travel go good that is taking place at Suntec Convention Centre, Halls 401 and 402, in person.

Visit cna to learn more about the Time To Fly travel fair. asia/timetofly

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Singaporean teen who performed for Bhutan’s king feels ‘a deep responsibility’ to use music to spread awareness of climate change

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Filming&nbsp, The Girl And Her Piano was no simple feat. To get to Laya, the crew embarked on a whole week push from Paro, where Bhutan’s aircraft is, to the city of Punakha.

The crew then drove for five days to the start of their walk, where they spent seven hours hiking in thin atmosphere before finally arriving in Laya.

There was also the matter of carrying&nbsp, O’Sullivan’s 41kg music.

Lim said:” It was too thick and long for the horses to have, so unfortunately, two focused gentlemen took turns hiking it up, strapping it to their tails. Their tenacity and perseverance made a lasting impression on our hearts, highlighting the generosity and spirit of the Bhutanese people we encountered along the way.

In the lead-up to the Royal Highland Festival, Hillary O’Sullivan had to practise outside in&nbsp, cloudy heat and biting weather. &nbsp, She tried to nice her arms with hot water bottles. Nevertheless, because they lost their warmth immediately, she resorted to wearing snow boots whenever she was n’t practising.

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How a local travel company designed American actress Drew Barrymore’s Singapore itinerary within a week

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Then there are customers who are so well-traveled that their requests are incredibly certain. One, in special, was returning to Tanzania in East Africa despite having formerly been there during the Great Migration. Observing the year-long occurrence, which sees continual movement of over a million gazelle and hundreds of thousands of animals and zebras across the Serengeti-Mara ecology, is one of the most sought-after encounters for animals and nature enthusiasts. &nbsp,

The visitor had stated,” I just go back to Tanzania because I need to see the wildlife crossing the river. I do n’t want to see them running about in the fields. They need to get crossing the river”, Tan recalled in joy.

You have to day it in such a way that you can tell the animals are going to be crossing the river when they are staying there because it was a very particular request.

One of the most “puzzling” demands that was made in Singapore came from a host whose name Tan requested withholding and wanted to replace the mattress in the political set of an ultra-luxe history hotel in the city center. He’d found it” too hard” according to his rear problems. &nbsp,

The issue is that the bed was created especially for the custom-built bed frame. You ca n’t just switch it out with any other mattress”, Tan said. However, the butler team’s repeated attempts to loosen the bed with mattress toppers failed.

So she’d first apologised, unable to see any way her staff could accomplish the demand, even as they’d worked rapidly with the hotel’s butler team to try and fix the concerns. Therefore, quickly, a alternative presented itself.

” While ( the client ) was in the spa, we worked with the hotel’s butler team, who managed to source a softer mattress from a partner property that was able to fit the suite’s custom bed frame. The resort’s six to eight-person laundry team then carried the new bed across the road, hand-carrying it, and putting it back on while the client was in the spa.

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CNA Explains: Why Singapore and Southeast Asia could see a wetter, rainier end to 2024

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What does it imply for the location and Singapore?

Dr Dhrubajyoti Samanta, a senior research fellow with the Earth Observatory of Singapore at&nbsp, Nanyang Technological University, pointed to the&nbsp, NOAA prediction a poor La Nina in Southeast Asia.

This leaves it “very likely” that it wo n’t be “very wet” or cause significant concern beyond a typical La Nina.

For conditions could even be useful for water refill- where water infiltrates deeper earth layers- and agriculture, while improving air quality, said Dr&nbsp, Samanta. &nbsp,

However, according to Prof. Roth, a La Nina over the upcoming month may coincide with the upcoming Northeast rain season, which is already the rainiest time of year. &nbsp,

Aside from cooler air conditions, there’s an increased likelihood of localised flood when above-average snowfall coincides with intervals of currently high water levels, such as during seasonal high waves, he said. &nbsp,

Dr. Wang speculated that some Southeast Asian nations might experience a higher risk of flooding in low-lying places with inadequate drainage and floods or landslide in mountainous regions.

This can also interfere with planting and harvesting routines, or worse, damage crops, lowering agricultural yields and causing financial loss, among other things.

For instance, Malaysia’s 2021 storms affected more than 10, 000 acres of land, causing grain supply to fall by more than 200, 000 kilograms, Dr Wang pointed out.

He added that recovering the infrastructure damage and wheat production, which are still not at their best levels, may take years.

Most countries on the Indochina island are now dealing with the effects of dangerous storms in recent months, as it stands. &nbsp,

Typhoon Yagi brought strong winds and heavy rainfall to Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar in September, killing thousands and destructive factories and land. &nbsp,

And in recent months, the Philippines has experienced a number of fatal storms, including Typhoon Gaemi in July, Yagi in September, and Krathon in October.

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A US-China science pact has expired after 45 years. How is the world poorer for it?

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According to analysts, US-China medical cooperations were now heading in troubled waters as geopolitical tensions grew before the STA expired.

Dr. Reyes claimed that the US-China scientific collaborations have typically fallen and are now” cold-storage periods.”

This is supported by research results. According to a study by Professor Tang Li from the Fudan University’s School of International Relations and Public Affairs in February this year, the percentage of Sino-American combined papers reached a peak of 13.9 percent in 2019 before declining to 11.7 percent in 2023, in comparison to US analysis alone.

Also, the share of US-China creative study compared to all Chinese content saw a strong drop, falling from 12.2 per share in 2017 to 5.7 per cent in 2023.

This general pattern had already been highlighted by academics at Yangzhou University in China and Ohio State University in the US, who co-published a research paper in February 2022.

” The drop in China-USA cooperation can be seen beginning in 2019, before the ( COVID-19 ) pandemic… the patterns suggest that political tensions, more than the pandemic, influenced the drop in China-US cooperation”, the paper stated. &nbsp,

A set point came in 2018 when the Trump presidency in the US launched the so-called China Initiative, say experts. The program sought to investigate possible breaches of regional security resulting from the leak of delicate scientific information to scientists who are suspected of having connections to Beijing.

According to a study conducted in 2022 by lawyer and law professor Andrew Chongseh Kim, scenarios involving Chinese academics who were subject to the Economic Espionage Act were more likely to be exposed and subject to harsher penalties than those involving non-Asians.

Additionally, according to the study, up to one in three Eastern scientists had false accusations, with the majority of those false accusations being dropped from juries and judges or dismissed by judges and juries.

The Biden presidency actually ended the China Initiative in early 2022. A senior US Justice Department official stated the focus on China had been” too narrow”, and the new approach would be a broader,” threat-driven” strategy targeting Russia, Iran and North Korea as well.

However, experts say there has been a lingering effects. Dr. Reyes, a researcher at HKU, claimed that institutions over the past two decades have been more cautious in their efforts to avoid breaking the law when working with Chinese scientists. He claimed that based on his relationships with academics in the US and internationally.

Because virtually every area of research has the potential to be viewed as a legitimate risk or used by China for unfriendly purposes, he said, “it’s a difficult position for institutions.”

Since the start of the China Initiative, a study by the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions in July revealed a 75 % increase in the number of Chinese-born scientists leaving the US, with the majority of them establishing new careers there. &nbsp,

The federal government is the main one source of funding for simple studies in the US. However, according to the study, 44 % of researchers who are awarded federal grants choose to avoid applying for them.

Among those in this group, 84 percent expressed concerns about possible legal repercussions from errors in forms and disclosures, and 65 percent expressed concern that their collaborations with Taiwanese researchers or institutions does make them suspect.

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Income-Allianz saga: Union leaders concerned about impact on NTUC’s standing, ties with government

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NTUC assistant secretary-generals Heng Chee How and Desmond Tan, who are among the workers MPs, defended the senate ‘ freedom during that change.

” The union leaders agreed that this situation ( halting the Aliianz deal ) does not look good for NTUC, and it seems like NTUC did n’t act in the public interest”, said one attendee of Wednesday’s meeting who chose to remain anonymous.

The assumption was that the NTUC will have to labor on strengthening and sharpening its open communication, and even improve its conversation, the person said.

NTUC secretary-general Mr Ng said on Twitter after the conference that it was a “productive” discourse for unions to understand the problems. &nbsp,

He added that the ministers ‘ emphasis was on how the NTUC and the PAP government will continue to improve their symbiotic relationship.

On Thursday, he told CNA that there was” no doubt” that the NTUC-PAP relationship remains strong.

” Obviously, there was new information that MCCY ( Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth ) brought up, and there’s a difference in view as expressed”, he said.

But, NTUC accepts the government’s stance and will examine the implications thoroughly and how to continue, he added.

DEAL BLOCKED

The Singapore authorities announced on Monday that it was halting the agreement between European insurer Allianz and Income Insurance, with secretary Edwin Tong claiming in parliament that it was deemed to be in the public’s best interest.

This was followed by NTUC assistant secretary-general Desmond Tan’s discovery on Wednesday, that the NTUC key committee had no knowledge of a S$ 2 billion investment recovery program under the proposed package, due to commercial differences.

In an Aug. 5 statement, Mr. Ng and Ms. Thanaletchimi reiterated the organization’s social mission and assured everyone that NTUC Enterprise will continue to hold onto” a significant interest” in Income.

They claimed they understood the issues raised by some people about the proposed offer, but that NTUC Enterprise was unable to provide financial assistance for Income on its own.

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