SINGAPORE – Last June, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, people could go on safely distanced picnics and outings on an 18-hole golf course in Atlanta in the US state of Georgia. One day a week, the 46ha golf course was closed to golfers and opened to the public as a park. This is one of […]
SINGAPORE – A surveyor for a construction company went to Indonesia but lied on his travel form when he returned to Singapore, declaring that he had arrived from other countries so that he could serve his stay-home notice (SHN) at his residence instead of a dedicated facility. Vijeyakumar Z Joseph, 58, was sentenced to three […]
JAKARTA (REUTERS) – Indonesian police are looking into the death of a politician from Sulawesi island who opposed a gold mine project there, after environmental groups and the human rights commission called for an investigation. Mr Helmud Hontong, 58, the deputy regent of the remote Sangihe islands, in North Sulawesi province, was pronounced dead on […]
BEIJING (REUTERS) – The major manufacturing hub of Dongguan in China’s most populous province of Guangdong launched mass testing on Monday (June 21) for the coronavirus and cordoned off communities after detecting its first infections in the current outbreak. The Delta variant of Covid-19 has dominated infections in the provincial upsurge, the first time it […]
MELBOURNE (REUTERS) – The Australian government has rejected plans for a US$36 billion (S$48.5 billion) wind, solar and hydrogen project in a remote area of Western Australia, leaving what would have been one of the world’s largest green energy projects in limbo for now. In a decision dated June 15, published on the environment department’s […]
SINGAPORE – The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of being adaptable in city planning, and for Singapore to have land that can be easily converted to other uses, said National Development Minister Desmond Lee. In the longer term, the country will have to review its broader approach to land use and city planning as […]
CANBERRA (BLOOMBERG) – Mr Barnaby Joyce is Australia’s deputy prime minister for a second time after he was selected as leader of the Nationals, the junior partner in Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s coalition government. The high-profile Mr Joyce, 54, was elected leader of the rural-based party during a meeting of its federal lawmakers in Canberra […]
SINGAPORE – The Republic is beefing up its expertise in the novel food sector, with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) rolling out a new undergraduate course that will focus on meat alternatives, The Straits Times has learnt. About 30 students from the university’s food science and technology programme are expected to enrol in the course, Future […]
SINGAPORE – Dine-in food and beverage (F&B) establishments are making arrangements for their staff to get tested for Covid-19 regularly, with some sending their employees for training to learn how to administer tests. While F&B players expect that the testing requirement will add to operational costs, they are taking steps such as sourcing test kits […]
HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) – Hong Kong’s government will “carefully examine” if there is room to relax social distancing measures, with current rules set to expire this week. “We will review epidemic development, vaccine campaign progress and vaccine bubble implementation,” Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung said in a blog post on Sunday (June 20). Hong […]