SINGAPORE: Train services along the Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit ( LRT ) line resumed on Wednesday ( Oct 23 ) morning, after a faulty train had disrupted services the night before. Transportation company SMRT  reported on Wednesday at 5:30 a.m. that its engineers and technicians had been restoring theContinue Reading
In the late evening sunshine, thousands of people were lining up on Sydney’s streets to see King Charles and Queen Camilla, who were positioned against the world-famous Opera House.
For Buckingham Palace, this was the perfect ending to the imperial journey of Australia.
The magnification were good. Despite a headline-grabbing opposition in Canberra on Monday, the common feeling on the ground in Sydney was friendly.
However, getting to this point will had come as a great relief to royal aides if this trip had been successfully completed prior to a dramatic goodbye.
ReutersThis journey, which was scheduled for February, appeared unlikely to involve the King receiving treatment for cancer.
However, it was kept in the book with adjustments made based on doctors ‘ recommendations.
This explore has been shorter, and the activities have been scheduled to prevent early starts and soon finishes.
Even with the abnormalities, it has still been a busy plan for the King and Queen.
On Tuesday only the royal couple between them visited a National Centre of Indigenous Excellence, a food banks, a cultural housing project, a education program, a community barbecue, meeting two leading cancer researchers, celebrating the Sydney Opera House’s 50th anniversary, and a marine review in Sydney Harbour.
The King’s Foundation’s American division expanded its charitable organization that promotes conservation and provides training in conventional craft techniques.
The King appears to have handled the situation well with these excursions, which are quick rounds of quite different occasions with the masses demanding attention at each.
ReutersHis health issues have n’t improved, and he has appeared moved by the reaction he’s received from the public during his first as king.
The protest at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday was uncomfortable but not unexpected.
The King came to Australia aware that democratic campaigns and protests in support of indigenous communities were likely to be launched. He has since encountered some protesters.
His presence here in Australia immediately focuses minds on the King’s role as head of state and re-opens questions about whether that is right for modern Australia.
With the exception of the booing in Parliament, democratic sentiment has no significantly risen on this trip despite rising below the surface.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who supports a nation, has been at the King and Queen’s side for many activities and spoken enthusiastically about his aristocratic friends.
Before the disturbance at Parliament, the prime minister publicly welcomed the King to Canberra.
You have shown a lot of regard for Australians, even when we have been debating the future of our own legal provisions and the nature of our connection with the king. Little stands still”, said Albanese.
PA Media
Due to a train fault, trains along the Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit ( LRT ) line were halted on Tuesday evening ( October 22 ).  ,
Travel operator SMRT said , a station was “immobilised” near Teck Whye place at about 5.20pm.  ,
In a Facebook post, it stated that” all commuters in the defective train were safely disembarked at Teck Whye station platform.”  ,
A recovery coach had to be deployed to shift the faulty station to the station in order to move it. While on its way back to the depot, the evacuation train even stalled”.
The disturbance affects companies between , Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Panjang facilities.
Teach services on the ring via , Service A and Service B are no affected.
Between Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Panjang channels, according to SMRT,” Damaged train service is still offered on a single station flight company,” adding that regular completely buses between the two stations are available.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore ( MPA ) reported on Monday morning ( October 21 ) that a fire broke out in a ship’s engine room in the East Johor Straits. Officials claimed they received an alert at around 10.30am about the fireplace on the Malta-flagged MED ATLANTICContinue Reading
AFPJourney schedules, diverting flights, and causing unprecedented disruptions is the result of a serious and extraordinary rise in hoax bomb threats aimed at Indian flights.
A picture that was posted on social media last week showed passengers decked out in wool as they flew down the snowy ladder of an Air India plane into Iqaluit, a remote Canadian city, into the icy air.
The 211 people on the Boeing 777, actually en route from Mumbai to Chicago, had been diverted first on 15 October due to a weapon risk.
” We have been stuck at the airport since 5am with 200 passengers … We have no idea what’s happening or what we are supposed to do next … We are completely stranded”, Harit Sachdeva, a passenger, posted on social media. He praised the “kind aircraft workers” and claimed that Air India was underreporting to the people insufficient amounts.
Mr Sachdeva’s article captured the frustration and anxiety of people diverted to an unidentified, secluded location. A Canadian Air Force aircraft later put an end to their suffering by taking the stranded people to Chicago. Air India confirmed that a” security threat posted website” had caused the flight to be diverted to Iqaluit.
The threat was false, mirroring scores of similar hoaxes targeting India’s airlines so far this year. Last week alone, there were at least 30 threats, resulting in diversions, cancellations and delays. In June, 41 airports received hoax bomb threats via email in a single day, prompting heightened security.
Getty ImagesFor context, between 2014 and 2017, authorities recorded 120 bomb hoax alerts at airports, with nearly half directed at Delhi and Mumbai, the country’s largest airports. This underscores the recurring nature of such threats in recent years, but this year’s surge has been sensational.
” The new disruptive functions that have been carried out on American airlines have had a significant impact on both domestic and international operations. Like mischievous and unlawful behavior is deeply concerning. I condemn attempts to deal safety, security and functional dignity of our aircraft industry”, national aviation minister, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, said.
What’s going on then, exactly?
Hoax bomb threats targeting airlines are often linked to malicious intent, attention-seeking, mental health issues, disruption of business operations or a prank, experts say. In 2018, a rash of jokes about bombs by airplane passengers in Indonesia led to flight disruptions. Even fliers have proved to be culprits: last year, a frustrated passenger tried to delay a SpiceJet flight by calling in a bomb hoax alert after missing his check-in at an airport in India’s Bihar.
These lies end up wreaking devastation in one of the country’s fastest-growing aircraft areas. According to the civil aircraft department, more than 150 million people flew internally in India next year. More than 3, 000 airlines arrive and depart every day in the region from more than 150 operating flights, including 33 international flights.
Last week’s hoaxes peaked even as India’s airlines carried a record 484,263 passengers on a single day, 14 October. India has just under 700 commercial passenger planes in service, and an order backlog of more than 1,700 planes, according to Rob Morris of Cirium, a consultancy. “All this would certainly render India the fastest growing commercial aircraft market today,” says Mr Morris.
Getty ImagesConsider the effects of an airline’s bomb threat update.
If the plane is in the air, it must divert to the nearest airport – like the Air India flight that diverted last week to Canada or a Frankfurt-bound Vistara flight from Mumbai that diverted to Turkey in September. Some involve fighter jets to be scrambled to escort planes reporting threats like it happened with a Heathrow-bound Air India flight over Norfolk and a Singapore-bound Air India Express last week.
Once on the floor, people disembark, and all baggage and goods and food undergo detailed searches. This procedure may take several hours, and frequently the same crew may continue to fly because of duty hour restrictions. As a result, a substitute team must be arranged, more prolonging the delay.
” All of this has significant value and system implications. Every diverted or delayed trip incurs considerable expenses, as grounded aircraft become money-losing resources. Difficulties lead to delays, and schedule are thrown off balance”. says Sidharath Kapur, an impartial aircraft specialist.
Bomb threat detection efforts on social media have been hampered by the dramatic increase in private accounts ‘ posts, especially when messages are sent directly to airlines. The intentions remain vague, as does whether the challenges come from a single person, a party, or are simply copycat works.
Getty ImagesA 17-year-old college student was detained last week by Indian officials for creating a social media account where he made threats. His intentions remain vague, but he is believed to possess targeted four flights- three worldwide- resulting in two delays, one distraction and one withdrawal. After tracing IP addresses, investigators believe some comments may have come from Germany and London.
Clearly, tracking down hoaxers presents a significant challenge. While Indian law mandates life imprisonment for threats to airport safety or service disruption, this punishment is too severe for hoax calls and would likely not withstand legal scrutiny. Reports suggest the government is considering placing offenders on a no-fly list and introducing new laws that could impose a five-year prison term.
Unfortunately, like hoax threats may cause severe anxiety for passengers. ” My uncle called to ask if, given these challenges, she should take her hired flight.” May I take a teach?’ she asked. I told her,’ Please continue to fly ‘”, says an aircraft expert, who preferred to remain unknown. The challenges continue to stifle people and cause anxiety.
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The rail network’s organized expansions over the next ten years will increase its capacity to handle everyday commuter traffic, increase transportation options, and strengthen rail resilience, he added.  ,
When Stage 6 of the Circle Line is finished in 2026, riders in the west will have another way to get to the center of town.  ,
By the first 2030s, the Cross Island Line may improve communication among the north, east and northeast areas, with about third of its stations being interchanges, said the travel secretary.  ,
The public van community also plays a vital role, providing first-mile and last-mile connection within cities, he added.  ,
They offer alternatives to the road system and some endurance. That is why, even when we need to rationalise van service, we retain at least one tree road that runs parallel to Tod lines” . ,
Even with the addition of crossing buses, he noted, buses cannot totally replace road capacity when there is a train disturbance.  ,
A six-car station on the East-West line can hold more than 1, 000 travellers and works at two- to three-minute distances during peak hours at speeds of up to 80kmh, while a double-deck vehicle carries up to 120 passengers and typically runs at much lower speeds based on customers conditions.  ,
” Thus, even with up to 80 double-deck bridge cars deployed per time, these were unable to meet the full power of the East-West line”, said Mr Chee, recalling the upheaval in September.  ,
The transport minister said that the Singaporean government “worked very hard” to improve the quality and reliability of its MRT service a decade ago.  ,
” We are determined to maintain a high level of reliability, safety and service quality”, he added.  ,
Once the scale of the East-West Line disruption was assessed, LTA and public transport operators activated their plans quickly, said Mr Chee.  ,
” We took the necessary time to finish the repairs and conduct rigorous testing before safely resuming services because the safety of commuters was paramount.”
He further stated that the findings of the disruption investigation will be made public.  ,
He declared,” We will learn from this episode, stay vigilant, and work closely with our tripartite partners to continually improve our public transportation system.”  ,
PUBLISHED: 15 Oct 2024 at 04: 00
This week, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ( BMA ) and the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand ( MRTA ) will sign a memorandum of understanding ( MoU) to hand over areas during the construction of the western section of the Orange Line.
Tawatchai Napasaksri, chairman of the BMA’s Public Works Department, said monday the committee responsible for the transfer of streets in Bangkok, along with crucial firms and seven city offices, met next Monday. They discussed the transfer of land and roads while the northern part of the Orange Line mass transport project, which passes through Bang Khun Non, was being constructed.
After the transfer, the company may review all buildings, both above and underground, along the Orange Line’s way in the areas in problem. The highway will be reopened to visitors during the day after the first excavation work is finished at night.
Total road closures for the building, both during the day and evening, will start next year.
The MRTA will need to release open information before the entire closures and install caution signs and traffic management plans in accordance with recognized safety standards.
According to the MoU’s terms, which will be signed this week, this condition applies.
The committee consented to allow the MRTA to continue with the development by transferring the whole width of the designated highways along the Orange Line’s path to the MRTA.
Since last Tuesday, the contractors CH Karnchang Public Company Limited and the MRTA’s Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company Limited ( BEM), which holds the agreement for the Orange Line initiative, have been able to access the regions in preparing for the transfer.
The chairman claims that the BMA is concerned about the design because three helicopters have been destroyed at Pratunam Intersection, Ratchathewi Intersection, and where Sutthawat Road and Charan Sanitwong Road cross.
To make room for the structure of the underground tunnel, these roads will need to be erected.
After execution, they will be rebuilt, but the work may produce substantial traffic disruption.
To minimize the impact on the public, the MRTA has been asked to create in-depth customers management plans for each area.
” We might believe flooding, particularly in areas that are not properly prepared for these types of extremes, and we might even see some heat-related problems caused by heatwaves. Naturally this can create a range of problems overall”, said Dr Mengaldo.
He added that in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, people can expect extreme weather events to materialize three to four times more often.
” We might have disturbance in the supply chain if, for example, we have neighbouring states affected by large-scale flooding or wildfires that can offer to produce failure, water contaminants, among people”.
Dr. Mengaldo urged Singapore to build more shelters and give outside workers portable sensors to track their health in real time as a response to the rising heat wave wave rate.  ,
For those who are suffering from anxiety or heat-related illnesses, these sensors might induce warnings.
Every six months, the mixed-use condominium workers at China Construction ( South Pacific ) Development’s site in Clarke Quay are trained in what to do in arid conditions.
Additionally, they are subject to normal health briefings in both their native languages and English.
Back in June, the Federation of American Scientists teamed up with Noahpinion, ChinaTalk, and Chris Miller to hold a crowdsourced policy competition.
We asked for ideas on how to deal with the problem of China potentially controlling the supply of foundational chips (also called “trailing-edge” semiconductors). Here was the post where we made the announcement:
The US has implemented export controls to try to stop China from getting a technological edge in advanced cutting-edge chips. But as I explained in a recent post, export controls have no hope of stopping China from building simpler types of chips — called “legacy chips”, “foundational chips”, or “trailing-edge chips.” These legacy chips are used for a huge number of things in our economy, from cars to smartphones to fighter jets.
And China is gearing up to build these legacy chips in absolutely staggering numbers. Check out this post by Jimmy Goodrich of the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation and this post by the Rhodium Group for details. Basically, China is applying the same approach to legacy chips that it has successfully applied to batteries and EVs — massive scale and enormous subsidies. Already,
This basically presents at least three potential dangers to the US:
In other words, there are plenty of national security reasons for keeping Chinese-made legacy chips out of our supply chain. But how can we do it? It’s a tough problem.
First of all, as things stand, we don’t even know which products contain Chinese-made chips. If a Vietnamese-made phone or a Mexican-made PC includes Chinese-made legacy chips, the US currently has no way of knowing.
Second, even if we did know, it might be politically unpopular to ban those chips. A lot of US companies want to get chips as cheaply as possible, especially for new AI applications. We’d need some way to make chip restrictions politically palatable.
And finally, lots of Chinese legacy chips — and the products that contain them — aren’t going to be sold in the US or our allied countries. How do we make sure non-Chinese chipmakers stay competitive in markets like Vietnam, Brazil, Indonesia, etc?
We asked contestants to give us their ideas for addressing this problem. In the end, we decided that four of the submissions we received really stood out. These winners are listed in alphabetical order by first author.
Winner #1: Weaponizing EDA and using targeted industrial policy
By: Zenghao (Mike) Gao, Charles Yockey, and Felipe Chertouh
Gao et al point out an important weapon in the US’ arsenal of export controls that hasn’t been used yet: Electronic design automation software (EDA). We hear a lot about where the production of chips happens, and some about where the production of chipmaking tools happens, but not very much about where the software used to design chips comes from.
In fact, almost all of it comes from America, with a little bit coming from US-allied countries like Japan and Australia. And this software doesn’t just design chips in the first place; it’s also what chipmakers use to correct problems with the fabrication process as they arise.
Gao et al. suggest that EDA could be “weaponized” by mandating that it run on US-based cloud servers:
In hosting all EDA in a US-based cloud—for instance, a data center located in Las Vegas or another secure location—America can force China to purchase computing power needed for simulation and verification for each chip they design. This policy would mandate Chinese reliance on US cloud services to run electromagnetic simulations and validate chip design.
Under this proposal, China would only be able to use the latest EDA software if such software is hosted in the US, allowing American firms to a) cut off access at will, rendering their technology useless and b) gain insight into homegrown Chinese designs built on this platform.
Since such software would be hosted on a US-based cloud, Chinese users would not download the software which would greatly mitigate the risk of foreign hacking or intellectual property theft.
While the United States cannot control chips outright considering Chinese production, it can control where they are integrated. A machine without instructions is inoperable, and the United States can make China’s semiconductors obsolete.
This idea wouldn’t stop China from making foundational chips — Chinese companies could still use American EDA software. But it might give the US one more piece of leverage to hold over China in case hostilities broke out — and another way to try to slow down the Chinese chip industry in general, if that becomes necessary.
On the defensive side of things, Gao et al. also call for the US to form a trade bloc with Latin American nations to ensure safe supply of rare earths and NAND memory. They also have some additional ideas, such as forcing Chinese companies to release the source code for the firmware and other software for their chips.
You can read Gao et al’s full policy proposal here.
Winner #2: Working with other countries on industrial policies and tariffs
By: Andrew Lee
Lee sees the creation of a non-China foundational chip supply chain as the central problem to be solved. He envisions a program modeled after Lend-Lease — the system by which the US delivered arms to the UK in World War 2, and by which it’s currently delivering arms to Ukraine. The program would license US technology cheaply to friends and allies in exchange for cooperation in creating completely China-free chip supply chains:
The United States Federal Government could negotiate with the “Big Three” EDA firms to purchase transferable licenses to their EDA software. The US could then “lend-lease” licenses to major semiconductor producers in partner countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, or even Latin America.
The US could license this software on the condition that products produced by such companies will be made available at discounted prices to the American market, and that companies should disavow further investment from or cooperation with Chinese entities.
Partner companies in the Indo-Pacific could further agree to share any further research results produced using American IP, making further advancements available to American companies in the global market.
(Side note: It occurs to me that this might dovetail well with Gao et al.’s proposal for putting EDA on a US-based cloud.)
Lee also suggests coordinating with friendly countries in order to put tariffs on Chinese foundational chips. Recall that one of the big challenges here is that we don’t currently know which products contain Chinese-made chips, so we have no idea how many we’re importing.
Lee’s solutions to this problem are 1) an international database of which products contain Chinese chips, and 2) reporting requirements for importers, enforced by random audits:
How would tariffs on final goods containing Chinese chips be enforced? The policy issue of sanctioning and restricting an intermediate product is, unfortunately, not new. It is well known that Chinese precursor chemicals, often imported into Mexico, form much of the raw inputs for deadly fentanyl that is driving the United States opioid epidemic.
Taking a cue from this example, we further suggest the creation of an internationally-maintained database of products manufactured using Chinese semi- conductors. As inspiration, the National Institutes of Health/NCATS maintains the Global Substance Registration System, a database that categorizes chemical substances, along with their commonly used names, regulatory classification, and relationships with other related chemicals.
Such a database could be administered by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, allowing the personnel who enforce the tariffs to also collect all relevant information in one place.
Companies importing products into the US would be required to register the make and model of all Chinese chips used in each of their products, so that the United States and participating countries could to impose corresponding sanctions.
Products imported to the US would be subject to random checks involving disassembly in Commerce Department workshops, with failure to report a sanctioned semiconductor component making a company subject to additional tariffs and fines. Manual disassembly is painstaking and difficult, but regular, randomized inspections of imported products are the only way to truly verify their content.
Finally, he suggests efforts to protect US critical infrastructure by 1) identifying Chinese hardware within the infrastructure, and 2) improving cyber defense capabilities.
You can read Lee’s full policy proposal here.
Winner #3: An “Open Foundational” design standard and buyers’ group
By: Alex Newkirk
Newkirk also sees Chinese disruption of the chip supply chain — along with possible backdoors and other security issues — as the main problem to be solved. He proposes two ideas. First, Newkirk would create an “Open Foundational” design standard for legacy chips, in order to ensure that China doesn’t get proprietary control over any type of computer chip.
The chip companies who joined up to help create this standard would form a sort of cartel that could act to create a China-free manufacturing supply chain. Newkirk also suggests an international buyers’ group to create a strategic reserve of chips. This would serve the dual purpose of building up a chip stockpile and providing demand to encourage the adoption of the Open Foundational design standard. He writes:
To secure supply of foundational chips, I recommend development of an “Open Foundational” design standard and buyers’ group…[T]he US federal government…would establish a strategic microelectronics reserve to ensure access to critical chips. This reserve would be initially stocked through a multi-year advanced market commitment for Open Foundational devices.
The foundational standard would be a voluntary consortium of microelectronics users in critical sectors, inspired by the Open Compute Project. It would ideally contain firms from critical sectors such as enterprise computation, automotive manufacturing, communications infrastructure, and others.
The group would initially convene to identify a set of foundational devices which are necessary to their sectors…and identify design features which…could be standardized. From these, a design standard could be developed…
Steering committee firms will…be asked to commit some fraction of future designs to use Open Foundational microelectronics…[T]he buyers’ group would represent demand of sufficient scale to motivate investment, and that supply would be more robust to disruptions once mature.
Government should adopt the standard where feasible, to build greater resilience in critical systems if nothing else. This should be accompanied by a diplomatic effort for key democratic allies to partner in adopting these design practices in their defense applications.
The foundational standard should seek geographic diversity in suppliers…The foundational standard also allows firms to de-risk their suppliers as well as themselves. They can stipulate in contracts that their tier one suppliers need to adopt Foundational Standards in their designs…
Having developed the open standard through the buyers’ group, congress should authorize the purchase through the Department of Commerce a strategic microelectronics reserve (SMR). Inspired by the strategic petroleum reserve, the microelectronics reserve is intended to provide the backstop foundational hardware for key government and societal operations during a crisis…
The foundational standard provides the product specification, and the advanced government commitment provides demand…This demand should be steady, with regular annual purchases at scale, ensuring producers consistent demand through the ebbs and flows of a volatile industry….The SMR could also serve as a backstop when supply fluctuations do occur, as with the strategic petroleum reserve…
This would ensure government access to core computational capabilities in a disaster or conflict scenario. But as all systems are built on a foundation, the SMR should begin with Foundational Standard devices.
It’s notable how Newkirk’s ideas support each other. The international chip design standard he would create would make it easier to build up a stockpile of reliable chips. And building up the stockpile would create the guaranteed demand that would encourage adoption of the design standard.
That’s a very clever synergy. And as an added bonus, the consortium of companies that create and run the foundational chip standard would also be able to help carry out friend-shoring and de-risking, instead of leaving all the planning to the government.
You can read Newkirk’s full policy proposal here.
Winner #4: A legal plan for blocking Chinese chips
By: Ben Noon
Noon focuses on the difficult problem of identifying and restricting Chinese-made foundational chips contained within US imports from other countries. He vividly lays out the dangers of allowing China to control the foundational chip industry:
The list of examples of Chinese economic coercion is long…Washington faces less blatant coercion compared to its allies…This may be because Beijing does not believe it yet maintains necessary leverage over Washington…China’s growing position in the legacy semiconductor market could change that. How would Beijing’s behavior change if sales of the Ford F-150 relied on Beijing’s willingness to sell its semiconductors?
Noon argues that export controls have little or no hope of containing the Chinese foundational chip industry. And he argues that CHIPS Act-type subsidies alone are insufficient to maintain a US foothold in the market because Chinese subsidies will always be larger. Thus, he concludes, protectionism is necessary in order to keep China from dominating the global market for foundational chips.
The question, of course, is how to restrict imports of Chinese foundational chips contained in other products. Noon goes through and explains a list of various legal and administrative vehicles that the US government has at its disposal to accomplish that task:
Services (ICTS) at the Commerce Department, a recently created agency with broad authority to protect critical infrastructure from dangerous imported products
Noon believes that the most important legal justification for tariffs on Chinese chips is Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which both Trump and Biden have used extensively in order to put tariffs on Chinese products.
The really tough question, of course, is enforcement. Noon recommends “a major expansion of supply chain analytical capabilities across the US government,” but doesn’t say much more about that. He also suggests enlisting private companies as whistleblowers.
You can read Noon’s full policy proposal here.
Anyway, all of these proposals are quite interesting, and we’ve already contacted the authors to talk about following up on their development. I was very impressed by the diversity of ideas here — different contributors targeted different aspects of the problem, which helped them come at the issue from a variety of angles.
I continue to be impressed by the creativity and technical acumen of Noahpinion readers. Expect more policy contests at some point in the future!
This article was first published on Noah Smith’s Noahpinion Substack and is republished with kind permission. Read the original here and become a Noahopinion subscriber here.
In light of recent high-profile incidents, members of Parliament will discuss the East-West Line ( EWL ) disruption at the upcoming session on Monday ( October 14 ).
There were also questions filed on the ,” shock” layoffs conducted by Dyson , last year, while the planned , public transport suffer climb, and the , implications of former transport secretary S Iswaran’s criminal faith and later 12-month prison term , are on the plan.
MPs were asked about the causes of the EWL coach disruption, which started on September 25, along with more information about the incident, and what steps will be taken to stop such disruptions in the future, according to the order papers released on Friday.
Six weeks after a malfunctioning train caused a energy trip, damage to the track, and other technology while it was transferring to Ulu Pandan Depot, train companies between Jurong East and Buona Vista MRT channels were suspended for six weeks. During the disturbance, completely bridge cars were stationed every day.  ,
MP Poh Li San ( PAP-Sembawang ), questioned whether the faulty train was withdrawn in accordance with approved procedures, as well as the number of affected commuters in total, the estimated loss in revenue from the fares, and the total cost of the bridging bus services.
MP Yip Hon Weng ( PAP-Yio Chu Kang ) inquired about whether the Ministry of Transport would conduct a comprehensive review of the MRT network to prevent and minimize service disruptions, and whether penalties would be imposed on the train service providers.
MPs Gerald Giam ( WP-Aljunied ) wanted to know the end-of-life date for the 48 first-generation MRT trains which have been in service for 35 years, as well as the maintenance regime of these trains, given that the EWL line disruption was caused by an axle box falling off a first-generation train.
In relation to the EWL disturbance, 19 questions have been submitted in full.
In light of recent MRT disruptions, Mr. Giam also inquired about whether the Public Transport Council ( PTC ) will consider revising the proposed fare increase for Dec. 28.
Additionally, inquiries were made about bullying at schools, with two popular scenarios involving Qihua Primary School and Bukit View Secondary School.
MP Wan Rizal ( PAP-Jalan Besar ) asked whether teachers are” sufficiently equipped” with the knowledge and skills to identify and manage bullying, especially in cases where victims do not report incidents.
He even wanted to know what steps are being taken to make sure schools have enough qualified workers, such as counselors, to assist teachers and students in handling taunting cases.
MP Liang Eng Hwa ( PAP-Bukit Panjang ) was interested in knowing how well schools and the Singapore Police Force collaborate when bullying occurs on grounds other than in the classroom.
He Ting Ru ( WP-Sengkang ) and MP Louis Chua ( WP-Sengkang ) both inquired about the breakdown between online and offline bullying incidents reported to schools over the past five years.
Cutbacks were the subject of inquiries about whether the Ministry of Manpower’s laws will be strengthened to better manage upcoming layoffs.
Technology business Dyson conducted a square of cuts in Singapore, which serves as its world offices, on Oct 1. The United Workers of Electronics and Electrical Industrie, the appropriate union, and some MPs who were present at the meeting gave the appropriate union just one week notice of the downsizing training.
MP Tan Wu Meng ( PAP-Jurong ) inquired about whether the Ministry of Manpower ( MOM) would examine the short notice given by Dyson and how Singapore can” continue to be pro-enterprise and attract investment while adhering to tripartite best practices.”
Mr. Yip was interested in finding out if MOM will review and improve existing methods in order to better manage upcoming retrenchments, including making sure unions are given more proper notice.  ,
He likewise wanted to know what steps the government is taking to” simultaneously encourage foreign companies to maintain their appearance in Singapore while safeguarding the security of employees.”  ,
MPs asked for more information about the changes to the bus and train fares that were scheduled for Dec 28 and the economic viability of the public transportation system.
In addition to the ministry’s evaluation of potential scenarios for fare adjustments in the next review, MP , Saktiandi Supaat ( PAP-Bishan-Toa Payoh ) was interested in learning how the deferment of the remaining fare quantum will impact funding for planned service improvements or infrastructure projects.
Ms. Poh also wanted to know how Singapore compares to other large cities with comparable public transportation systems, like Hong Kong and Seoul, in terms of increase in the cost of transportation over the past four years.
Other inquiries made by MPs included whether Singapore’s anti-corruption laws should be revised to improve their effectiveness in the wake of Iswaran’s sentence, and if, as a matter of fact, the Penal Code definition qualifies as a “public servant” for an offence under section 165 of the Penal Code.
There was also queries on , rent prices, following a record bid for a Marine Parade hawker stall last month as well as , Qoo10.
Shopping on the e-commerce platform has been , effectively halted amid payment delays to its vendors, prompting , some frustrated merchants to turn to a claims tribunal for help.  ,
The Elections ( Integrity of Online Advertising ) ( Amendment ) Bill is scheduled for its second reading.  ,
