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The scale of a mysterious pneumonia virus from Wuhan in China might be far larger than previously reported, experts have warned, as various countries stepped up screening measures ahead of the Chinese holiday travel season. Health officials from the central Chinese city have reported dozens of infections by the new corona-virus but scientists at the […]
Malaysia’s opposition coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) retained its parliamentary seat in a Sabah by-election yesterday, defeating a candidate from an ally party of Pakatan Harapan (PH). The contest for the Kimanis ward was Malaysia’s 10th by-election since PH took power in May 2018, and meant both BN and PH have won five by-elections each. Umno’s […]
Young people with a dream to make a difference to the lives of Singaporeans will now have a chance to pitch their ideas to relevant government or industry agencies. The best 12 ideas can each get up to $50,000 in grants to kick-start the projects. Those with a cause to champion or a suggestion to […]
NEW YORK • A US$66 million (S$89 million) painting by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt that was stolen from an Italian museum almost 23 years ago – only to be found inside one of the museum’s walls last month – is authentic, an Italian prosecutor announced on Friday at a news conference. X-rays of the painting, […]
Trace amounts of hydrocarbons – the kind of compounds used in anti-mosquito oil – were found in the tap points of some residents’ homes in Ang Mo Kio, national water agency PUB said on Friday. The contaminant was discovered when a resident on the sixth floor of Block 635 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 alerted […]
WASHINGTON • The world’s financial sector should take rapid steps to address record or near-record inequality levels within countries that new research shows could be a harbinger of a new financial crisis, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva issued on Friday what she termed a “call […]
Malaysians form the biggest group of migrants living and working in Singapore, accounting for almost half – or 44 per cent – of the foreign-born population here, United Nations figures show. They are followed by Chinese nationals, who make up around 18 per cent of the migrant pool. Together, the two groups account for over […]
In most advanced economies including Singapore, citizens are encouraged to pursue at least 10 years of education. Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) president Tan Thiam Soon asks: “Is it time to make 15 or 16 years of education the new minimum?” He points out that, in Singapore, 95 per cent of school leavers already go […]
A United Nations report, which tracks migration patterns worldwide for the last 30 years, paints a picture of migrants in Singapore that debunks a few popular perceptions among Singaporeans. The cumulative estimates from 1990 to 2019, obtained by The Sunday Times, highlight two particularly misguided beliefs. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the […]
A flotilla of about 60 boats sailed across a lake on Friday in a frantic effort to rescue horses and livestock that were left on a small island when Taal volcano roared to life with devastating fury last Sunday. About 100 men went to the island that day, scouring a sprawling landscape of lifeless grey […]
While the mystery flu that has hit the Chinese city of Wuhan has not reached Singapore’s shores, scientists with the Home Team have already begun working on a way to test for the virus. This comes after China recently released a draft genome of the newly discovered virus, which has seen 45 confirmed cases in […]
Three young people hope their ideas can help improve the amount of support available for youth at risk and prevent re-offending. Ms Celeste Tang, 22, Ms Amanda Ong, 24, and Mr Frederick Lim, 28, met through the Youth Action Challenge, a programme organised by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and the National Youth […]
Social togetherness is something we must nurture, with hubs like the Wisma Geylang Serai making a difference in the community, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat yesterday. Mr Heng, who is also Finance Minister, was speaking at the first anniversary celebration of the Wisma Geylang Serai, a social and cultural heritage hub near Geylang […]
Having lived in a Housing Board flat for close to six years, Briton Samuel Tournoff often walked past Malay weddings at void decks, and would be struck by the community spirit on display, and how welcoming the occasions seemed. The 32-year-old was drawn so much to the idea that he decided to ask his Singaporean […]
TEHERAN • Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has blamed his country’s downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane in part on “threats and bullying” by the United States after the killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in an American air strike in Baghdad. A military statement carried by state media yesterday said the plane was mistaken […]
Few in the United States are mourning Major-General Qassem Soleimani, the feared commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force who had extended Iran’s often lethal tentacles across a swathe of the Middle East and beyond. But many are worrying about what it may have unleashed. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading […]
EDMONTON • The fume hoods in the laboratory set up by Ms Saba Saadat were silent on Friday, the lab’s computers and microscopes switched off. Sobs occasionally punctuated the silence. Professor Meghan Riddell, the leader of the cell biology lab, comforted a weeping student while two teary-eyed technicians stood by. Ms Saadat, a biology student, […]
Cross-strait ties will remain chilly at best or even worsen as Beijing is unlikely to change its current hardline stance on Taiwan after the re-election of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, analysts said. Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to continue with his current policy and even tighten it, although the election results have proven it […]
WASHINGTON • The United States congratulated Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen for her re-election yesterday, hailing it as a demonstration of the self-ruled island’s “robust democratic system”. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised Ms Tsai for developing a strong partnership with Washington and for her “commitment to maintaining cross-strait stability in the face of unrelenting […]
With less than two weeks to go to the Chinese New Year, the Wuhan Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market should be busy, but on Friday, the metal shutters were pulled down, with bubbling but empty fish tanks standing guard at corners. Spread across two complexes and divided by a road, the usually bustling market has been […]
President Tsai Ing-wen from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) called on China to abandon its threats of force against Taiwan after she won a second term in the election yesterday, saying the result was a clear signal that the Taiwanese people reject the “one country, two systems” formula. Speaking shortly after her closest rival […]
BEIJING • Health authorities in central China yesterday reported the first death from a mysterious pneumonia outbreak, blamed on a new strain of virus from the same family that causes Sars. The death comes just as many people in the country begin returning home for the Chinese New Year. The victim was a 61-year-old man […]
TEHERAN • An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander has revealed that he had suspected all along that Iran shot down a Ukrainian jetliner last week, which killed all 176 on board including 82 Iranians, saying “I wish I could die” when he first learnt about the air tragedy. The dramatic reversal by Iran yesterday came after […]
Almost half of Singapore’s native butterfly species have disappeared over the past 160 years, with the loss of specific plants and deforestation being key drivers of the local extinctions. Of the 236 butterfly species thought to be locally extinct, 132 are known species such as the green dragontail and chocolate tiger butterflies. There are 413 […]
The Woodlands North MRT station, meant to connect to the delayed cross-border Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link between Singapore and Johor Baru, welcomed visitors yesterday as Singapore’s new MRT line opened for preview. The MRT station will be adjacent to the RTS Link station “if and when” it materialises, said Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan […]
Figures released for the first time by the Family Justice Courts (FJC) show that the bulk of applicants seeking maintenance orders are women still married to their husbands. In fact, two in three of the 1,315 applications filed, on average, each year between 2016 and 2018 were by wives against their husbands for financial support […]
Besides functioning as an MRT station, the Woodlands station on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) can also be used as a shelter during times of emergency. Located between Woodlands Square and Woodlands Avenue 2, the station is 330m long, 30m wide and 24m below ground. It can house almost 9,000 people during bomb and chemical […]
When Jan, a 42-year-old real estate agent, was three months pregnant with their child, her husband left her. The mechanic, who is 15 years her junior, refused to return home, answer her calls or see her despite her pleas. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Learn more about ST PREMIUM. […]
DUBAI • Anger is mounting among Iranians who have slammed the authorities for not shutting down Iran’s main international airport and its airspace during a period of heightened tensions with the United States last week, which they said could have prevented the downing of a civilian plane by mistake on Wednesday. After days of denial, […]
Despite some calling into question the value of a degree education, most Singaporeans are firmly in the other camp. In 2018, when the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) surveyed 15-year-olds around the world on their degree aspirations, Singapore had by far the highest proportion wanting to go to university. The Paris-based think-tank’s education […]