The_King

Hong Kong’s embattled rail operator has been slapped with a HK$35 million (US$4.46 million) penalty for service breakdowns during two incidents earlier this month, according to a senior official. MTR operations director Adi Lau Tin-shing said at a Legislative Council meeting on Friday that the company would be fined a record HK$25 million for the city’s first MTR crash on March 18, which caused an unprecedented suspension of service between two of its busiest stations, Admiralty and Central, for 48 hours. It would also be given a HK$10 million penalty for the overnight suspension of the Tung Chung Line and express rail services from Central to the airport on March 24 due to a mechanic fault on the overhead power cable for a train at Sunny Bay station, he said. As a goodwill gesture for the service breakdown at Admiralty and Central, Lau said, adult tickets would be sold for 50 per cent off from May 11 to May 13. “We will offer the special fare concessions to passengers. We estimate more than 13 million passengers will benefit,” he said. The rail giant announced on Thursday it would raise fares by 3.3 per cent under a fare-setting mechanism at a time when the firm has been hard hit by a series of construction scandals and service breakdowns. The decision outraged lawmakers, with the pro-establishment legislator Priscilla Leung Mei-fun calling it “brainless”. Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan admitted the train collision and recent controversies had dealt a severe blow to the rail giant. “How to restore its self-confidence? The MTR team needs do a lot of soul-searching as to how to improve its performance. The government will strengthen its supervision of the company and work with it to do a better job,” he said. MTR chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang admitted the recent controversies over the scandal-hit HK$97.1 billion (US$12.3 billion) Sha Tin-Central rail link and the train crash last week had taken a toll on the MTR Corp’s image. “It is undeniable the public’s impression of the MTR Corp has worsened. I am certain of that,” he said. But the outgoing chairman said the rail firm had a very good track record over the last four decades and he was sure it would ride out this crisis. “Over the past 40 years, our colleagues have been very hardworking. I am confident that with their concerted efforts they can restore the good image of the MTR Corp,” he said. Ma said the fare rise was based on the established fare adjustment mechanism that factored in inflation and the transport sector wage index. “If the government asks for a review of this mechanism, I believe the MTR board would be obliged to comply. But the public needs to understand that there is not a mechanism that will please everybody,” Ma said. As to the special concessions, Ma said the three days were chosen after they weighed up the railway system’s passenger capacity to avoid the situation of overloading. “It is not about money,” he said, adding that more fare concessions would be rolled out later. He explained they factored in risk management and crowd control measures for choosing the three days for the sweeteners. The train crash happened last Monday at a junction near Central station during an overnight trial of the new HK$3.3 billion (US$420.4 million) signalling system intended for seven rail lines. One carriage was derailed, injuring a driver, but no passengers were on board. In the Legco meeting, Lau said the investigative panel would find the cause of the crash, a system failure resulting in the two trains being assigned the same crossing. It occurred during tests that simulated a switch to the second backup system, in a scenario where the main system and the first backup system had both failed. Tony Lee Kar-yun, chief of operations engineering, said the system software supplier Thales had conducted simulated tests on similar scenarios to the one being used for the trial run. He said a fail-safe interlocking function in the second backup system also failed to stop the trains as required during the signal failure. Frank Chan also pledged to dig out the cause of the failure as he said the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department would conduct its own investigation into the incident and was expected to produce a report by July. Ma later added that the MTR Corp would definitely pursue claims against the French software supplier Thales. “We’ve already notified Thales that we will pursue it for liability,” he said. https://sg.news.yahoo.com/hong-kong-mtr-corporation-fined-015944441.html

More petal power comes to Gardens by the Bay in April, with the opening of the attraction’s new blooming wonder, Floral Fantasy. Welcoming visitors from April 14 to its sprawling space at Bayfront Plaza next to Bayfront MRT station, the blossoming landscape features four themed concepts: Dance, Float, Waltz, and Drift. And it’s air-conditioned. Because in sunny times like these, cool temperatures are a much sought-after relief. Begonia “Darth Vader.” Photo: Gardens by the Bay Fried Egg Tree. Photo: Gardens by the Bay More than 3,000 plants across over 150 species adorn the garden, which fluctuates between a crisp 23°C to 25°C. Highlights include the Begonia “Darth Vader,” a plant with black leaves and lime green edges named after the Star Wars villain; Chinese Juniper, in its semi-cascade bonsai form that’s been pruned through the years; and Fried Egg Tree, whose white flowers with yellow stamens bloom into a shape that resembles the dish. “Dance.” Photo: Gardens by the Bay Stepping onto the grounds, your first introduction to Floral Fantasy is Dance, a colorful zone featuring pendulous floral balls hanging from the ceiling. “Float.” Photo: Gardens by the Bay Next, Float guides you by the water with trees that twist and turn in unusual shapes, while Waltz brings in the drama with driftwood structures, sheets of water, and a poison dart frog vivarium that will eventually house more than 30 of these amphibians. (Don’t worry though, they may be highly toxic but they’re said to lose this ability when reared by humans.) “Waltz.” Photo: Gardens by the Bay From brightly lit spaces to a darkened cavern, Drift beckons you into a half-enclosed area bordered by terraced rock brushed green with hanging ferns and a number of South American orchids. “Drift.” Photo: Gardens by the Bay The garden corners may lull you into relaxation, but towards the end of the attraction, you’ll get your adrenaline spiked on a 4D ride called “Flight of the Dragonfly.” It’s essentially what its name suggests — snug in a 24-seater theatrette, with 3D glasses on, you’ll be thrown into a simulated journey of a dragonfly’s flight through Gardens by the Bay. Poison Dart Frog Vivarium. Photo: Gardens by the Bay Oh, and before you head out into the hot sun, check out the Artist Corner, where the floral-themed works of local talents will be displayed on a rotating basis. FIND IT: Floral Fantasy opens on Apr 14 at Bayfront Plaza, next to Bayfront MRT station. Daily 9am-9pm (last admission at 8pm). Local residents: $12/adults, $8/seniors and children; foreigners: $20/adults and seniors, $12/children. Opening rates will be available from Apr 14-May 13. MRT: Bayfront

SINGAPORE - SingPost has been fined $300,000 for failing to meet standards on the delivery of local and international basic letters and registered basic mail in 2018, its highest fine to date. The fine by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) on Friday (March 29) is triple the penalty SingPost received in February for failing to meet regulatory standards in 2017. SingPost had 20 incidents of non-compliance in 2018, compared to nine in 2017, IMDA said in a statement. There were also repeated failures last year - some of which involved lost letters - and this was taken into account when determining the fine, it added. Investigations of a case involving a postman who discarded mail meant for residents of Reflections at Keppel Bay last year have also been completed, IMDA said. China national Liu Zhengang had been found in breach of the Postal Services Act and barred from employment in Singapore. He was sacked last year after a video catching him in the act surfaced. He has returned to China and will be arrested if he comes back to Singapore, the regulator said, adding that it reserves the right to prosecute him. An advisory has also been issued to SingPost to remind the postal service provider of its obligations to safeguard mail integrity and security, and to train and educate its staff to perform their task properly, IMDA said. Under the Postal Quality of Service standards, SingPost is required to deliver between 98 and 99 per cent of local basic letters within one working day, and 100 per cent within two working days. It failed to complete these deliveries by the second working day over nine months last year. SingPost also did not deliver 100 per cent of registered basic letters by the second working day over four months. In addition, it failed the requirement of delivering international incoming basic letters within the central business district by the next working day for three months last year. IMDA noted, however, that the failure margins in 2018 were generally lower on average compared to the year before, and that SingPost has implemented measures to address service issues, including hiring more postmen and extending delivery slots for basic mail parcels to weekday evenings and on Saturdays. SingPost said in response to queries that it accepts the financial penalty. It is conducting a “comprehensive and fundamental review of our postal operations”, in addition to the recent measures , a spokesman said. The review will include the use of new technologies to raise reliability and service standards. “We are confident that service quality will improve going forward,” SingPost said. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singpost-fined-record-300000-for-failing-to-meet-2018-service-standards

There’s nothing ordinary about Ordinary Burgers, despite its humble name and a seemingly non-existent online presence. It’s a modest kiosk hidden in the basement of City Square Mall, one you’d probably only notice if you pass by from Farrer Park MRT station on a regular basis. But what caught our attention were the brightly-lit images of luscious-looking burgers — that, and the affordable prices. Having resigned ourselves to a lifetime of coughing up at least $15, sometimes $20, for a decent burger, the stall’s starting prices of $5.30 for the spicy fried chicken and $6.40 for the classic cheeseburger were an attractive draw. Photo: Coconuts Media It’s pretty no-frills here, although there is a small seating area with high chairs if you’re not keen on taking away your burger and watching it wilt by the minute. Just six items are offered on the limited menu — besides the two basic ones, you’ve also got a portobello option ($7.50), a buttermilk fried chicken one ($5.90), the hulking double cheeseburger ($10.20), and Japanese sweet potatoes ($2.80). But don’t make the mistake of assuming those are sweet potato fries, ’cause they’re actual whole sweet potatoes. A little strange, but sure, we’ll take that healthier route. We did wish for a handful of fries to go with each burger bite though — it’s really not the same without — and if you’re like us, well, McD’s is around the corner. Just sayin’. The double. Photo: Coconuts Media As for the burgs, the cheeseburger is your best shot. The beef patty’s flavorful and juicy, the buns are fluffy, and it’s basically an all-round decent option that hits the spot without taking too much out of your wallet. If you’d rather go for the fried chicken, we’d recommend the spicy rendition. It’s not as fiery and irritable as the stomachache-inducing McSpicy, but it sure has a kick and works better than the slightly sweet salted egg sauce that drenches the regular version. For a drink to wash all that down, try any of the juices or smoothies by The Common Heroes next door — it’s run by the same folks. FIND IT: Ordinary Burgers is at #B1-K11/K13 City Square Mall, 180 Kitchener Rd. MRT: Farrer Park

Deeply affected by the guilt he felt earlier today, a man took to Facebook to recount his experience and proffer advice to folks not to take things for granted. Shahril Jantan wrote that he had ordered some bubble tea via GrabFood, and it would have normally taken 20 minutes at most for the order to arrive at his Bedok Reservoir residence. When it took more than half an hour, he started to get a little antsy — more so after he saw on the app that the GrabFood rider had been gone past his carpark. But that agitation turned into guilt when he looked outside his window and realized that the GrabFood deliverer is a handicapped lady in a motorized wheelchair. “I went up to her as she reached my lift lobby and my heart really sank,” he Shahril said after realizing that she picked up his order from an I-Tea outlet in Tampines and went all the way to Bedok Reservoir on her wheelchair. “I was a little shocked, to be honest. I was lost for words,” he added. Having already made the payment through GrabPay, Shahril gave the delivery woman some extra cash as a token of appreciation. He prayed that she would continue being an inspiration to other able-bodied people. GrabFood deliverers like her have been lauded before on social media, with folks finding it inspiring that people with limited mobility would be willing to find work that involves traveling distances to pick up and distribute food orders. “GrabFood is proud to be the platform that enables micro-entrepreneurs like our delivery-partners,” said Head of GrabFood Singapore James Ong to Coconuts Singapore about deliverers like the lady in a wheelchair. “They have the flexibility to plan their working arrangements, from their preferred modes of transport to their working hours,” he explained.

SINGAPORE - Three brands of a medicine prescribed for high blood pressure are being recalled because they contain higher than acceptable amounts of nitrosamine impurity, which can potentially cause cancer. However patients currently taking these three brands of losartan are advised not to stop taking the medicine as the health risk is low, the Health Sciences Authority said in a statement on Thursday (March 28). The drugs affected are the 50mg and 100mg tablets from these brands: Hyperten, Losagen and Losartas. The Ministry of Health (MOH) said that about 137,000 patients in Singapore are using the three recalled brands of losartan. Of these, about 130,000 patients have been prescribed Losartas at public hospitals and polyclinics. With supplies of the safe varieties of losartan expected to be affected by the recall, the MOH has advised doctors to prescribe the medication on a one-month basis so that all patients have enough medicine to control their high blood pressure. It said: "This ensures that patients in all settings are able to promptly receive the medication they need. This may be the practice for the next six months." It added that patients whose next appointment is before July 1 should wait until then to speak to their doctor who will advise them on suitable alternative medicines. Those who have appointments from July 1 onwards "will be contacted for an earlier consultation and/or medication review". The HSA said these tablets contain a losartan ingredient made by Indian pharmaceutical company Hetero Labs that showed trace amounts of the impurity. According to the Food & Drug Administration of the United States, the company has been recalling certain batches of these medicines since last month. The HSA said that several losartan drugs have also been recalled in other countries in recent weeks. It decided to test all losartan products here and identified that three of the 10 brands on sale here were affected. It has also tested other drugs within the same class of hypertensive medication, such as valsartan which has been recalled in some foreign markets. They were found to be safe. The statement added: "HSA will require companies to make the necessary changes to their manufacturing process to ensure that the medicines do not contain these impurities in future." The MOH said: "The public healthcare sector has made additional orders of unaffected brands of losartan. "The additional supplies will arrive progressively from a few weeks' time. Importers will also be setting aside additional supplies for private healthcare providers." Public sector patients will be refunded if they returned the affected medicine. Replacement medicines "during the interim period" will be charged at the same or lower price. The MOH added: "Charges incurred for services such as additional consultations or tests to assess suitability for a switch in medicine will also be waived." https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/hsa-recalls-three-brands-of-high-blood-pressure-drug-losartan-over-cancer-risk

P30 PRO CAMERA SPECS Ultra wide angle: 20MP, 16mm, f/2.2 Main sensor: 40MP, 27mm, f/1.6, OIS Telephoto: 8MP, 125mm, f/3.4, (with 5x optical zoom with OIS) ToF depth camera( to measure depth-of-field): The ToF sensor shoots out a pulse of laser and, based on the time difference between reflected light, produces a depth-of-field (DoF) map. The Bayer filters image sensors 1/1.7 inches with 40 per cent more light. That should be put them at 1inch sensor area which mean it will eat into sony RX100, Canon PowerShot G5 X, PANASONIC LX100 II market.

ust keep swimming … to an outlet near you. McDonald’s Singapore is bringing back its Fish & Fries and Sweet Chilli Fish Burger. As the name suggests, the Fish & Fries (S$7.30) features two flaky fish fillets fried in a crispy batter, served with fries. Die-hard burger fans may opt for the Sweet Chilli Fish Burger (S$6), featuring the crispy fish fillet sandwiched between buns and topped with sweet chilli mayo. Sweet Chilli Fish Burger. (Photo: McDonald's Singapore) The fried fish items were last introduced in March 2018. Both items will be available at all McDonald’s Singapore restaurants and via McDelivery and GrabFood from Thursday (Mar 28). The Coffee Milk Tea Soft Serve is available as a ChocoCone, McFlurry, sundae or cone. (Photo: McDonald's Singapore) McDonald’s Singapore is also putting a spin on popular coffeeshop favourites with the new Coffee Milk Tea Soft Serve. The ice cream is available as a cone, as a ChocoCone, as a Sundae or as a McFlurry. Prices range from S$1 to S$3, and the Coffee Milk Tea Soft Serve is available at all McDonald’s Singapore Dessert Kiosks.

“In the future, no one will have the time to romanticise food.” This is an unexpectedly poignant line for a chef to utter at a media tasting. It frames the rest of my experience for the evening, and also explains why I am cautiously emptying an A5-sized plastic sachet of carrot cake mush into my mouth through a slit in the packet, terrified that I’ll accidentally stain my white shirt. I would prefer a straw to slurp it with, but apparently, this is too inefficient. So the caveman method it is. Within minutes, I manage to demolish the sachet—arguably one-tenth of the time I would have taken to finish ‘regular’ carrot cake. In fact, the time I saved is precisely the basis for this “multidisciplinary collaboration” between visual artist Debbie Ding and chef Ming Tan. When I’d accepted the media invite for SAD: The Last Meal, I was intrigued by the email that said everything but told me nothing. It described, “In the near future, the food that is available for our consumption has changed, but a longing for the taste of ‘home’ always remains. What is this instinct towards nostalgia, or a desire to return to the past, which transforms itself into an anxiety of progress?” Am I stupid? Is this English? What does any of it mean??? This is what the dining experience actually is: a recreation of four hawker dishes, specifically chicken rice, carrot cake, laksa, and tau huay. While each dish retains its original flavour, its form is altered to mirror a dystopian future. In this imagined future, Singaporeans prioritise extreme efficiency, extreme practicality, and extreme health; no one has any reason to ‘enjoy’ food the way we do now. In other words, when food is merely consumed for functional reasons, would it still need to look, feel, and taste the same? And if the answer is no, why should the appearance of hawker food affect how we consider its place in our culture? I doubt SAD: The Last Meal set out to answer these questions. But after baulking at the plastic sachet I had to slurp carrot cake from, all I want is answers. This is chicken rice. It comprises all the garlic flavouring of ‘normal’ chicken rice, except it resembles a yam cake. A dash of chilli powder and black sauce on the side complete the cube-shaped dish. According to Ming, “It’s 100% vegan and made out of mushroom-based microprotein, which is a substitute for chicken.” But most importantly, it’s neither messy nor inconvenient. It takes me all of five minutes to devour the dish—a mere fraction of the time taken to savour my usual plate of chicken rice. Those with better hand-eye coordination could probably even eat this on the go. Perfect for a time-starved future. Laksa takes the form of Rice Krispies. The laksa flavouring is ‘released’ upon contact with hot water that’s used to ‘dissolve’ the Rice Krispies. If I hadn’t known that laksa involves noodles, I would call this one of the best laksas I’ve tasted. But according to Ming, he didn’t set out to create hawker dishes that tasted good, only dishes that tasted familiar. This form of laksa was designed for a future where we don’t have access to noodles anymore, yet still hope to enjoy an authentic laksa flavour. We round off the evening with a “healthy and nutrition-packed” serving of tau huay. It’s made from brown rice, grounded whole soybeans, soybean husk, and drizzled with brown sugar. We’re told this constitutes the full amount of fibre an adult should consume in a day. Ming estimates that if this version of tau huay were mass produced, each small cup would cost an exorbitant $14, because there are no artificial flavourings used. This is enough to give anyone pause. In advocating for healthy living, we often forget that a lot of health and wellness advice typically excludes a sizeable demographic. Specifically, if you’re from a lower income background, you probably wouldn’t be able to afford embracing a fitness routine or consuming health supplements regularly. Much less $14 non-tau huay. As if the dishes alone don’t provide enough food for thought, Debbie Ding’s video concepts further accentuate the jarring experience. Playing on a TV in the background are accompanying ASMR videos of the cooking process for each hawker dish. For chicken rice, for example, these sounds include the clacking of bowl against plate, the smooth swoosh of a cucumber being sliced, and the gentle bounce of sharp knife against chicken skin. The audio-visual additions reinforce the disorientation of being confronted with familiar foods in alien forms: a cube of chicken rice, carrot cake in a plastic sachet, laksa without noodles, and an exceedingly health-conscious version of tau huay. “When you are overseas, you want to make something that makes you feel at home. Yet there’s the resulting anxiety from how you expect the food to be versus how it turns out. I wanted to recapture this anxiety,” she explains. Debbie and Ming have chosen these well-loved hawker staples precisely because they’re “contentious” dishes that most people don’t appreciate being meddled with. Yet by presenting the possibility of a nearly implausible future that no longer appreciates hawker culture like we do now, SAD: The Last Meal deftly romanticises our existing hawker culture in order to critique this exact fetishisation. From our UNESCO nomination to the social media campaign #OurHawkerCulture, Singaporeans tend to excessively hype up hawker culture, distracting from the root of the problem: poor policy support. For instance, last month’s Budget speech announced that the foreign worker quota for the service sector would be cut from 40% to 35%. This doesn’t just do a disservice to the F&B industry—especially hawkers—who are highly reliant on foreign labour. It also shows a myopic understanding from the government of the industry’s needs and constraints. So we can continue to count on our obsession with nostalgia or feel-good campaigns to “support” our hawkers. But all of it remains empty rhetoric, at least until we realise we also need policies that respect hawkers as business owners, allowing them to make better livings. In the end, policies shape culture, and culture affects all of us on a personal level. That is to say, everything personal ispolitical, even the most seemingly inconsequential bits, such as the importance of eating carrot cake from a plate and not a plastic sachet. Perhaps especially those.

SINGAPORE - A caterer has been suspended after an outbreak of gastroenteritis across several PCF Sparkletots outlets, which led to at least 109 people falling ill, with 15 taken to hospital. This is the third case of gastroenteritis in pre-schools in recent months. A Feb 1 lunch at PCF's Toa Payoh outlet left 14 children vomiting and having diarrhoea. And, on Feb 26, the authorities announced that 31 people developed gastroenteritis at Tanglin MindChamps pre-school. On Wednesday morning (March 27), the Ministry of Health (MOH), National Environment Agency (NEA) and Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) told The Straits Times that they are investigating the incident. The outbreak of gastroenteritis, which as of Wednesday had developed across four Sparkletots pre-schools, was traced to the consumption of food prepared by caterer Kate’s Catering. When contacted by ST, a spokesman for Kate's Catering said that it was working with the respective authorities. Six of the 15 who were hospitalised have been discharged. In response to media queries, PCF Sparkletots confirmed that the four pre-schools affected were the centres located at Blocks 210, 270, 290A and 298B Sengkang Central. "We are taking this matter seriously and our priority is to ensure that our children receive the necessary medical care and attention," the statement said. The centres are also in close contact with parents of affected pupils and monitoring their conditions. Cleaning and disinfection protocols have been carried out at the centres to reduce the risks of further contamination, PCF added. PCF Sparkletots is monitoring the situation in seven other centres which are served by Kate's Catering and is assisting the authorities with the investigation. "Whilst the cause of the children’s illnesses has yet to be determined, as a precautionary measure, PCF Sparkletots has suspended this caterer’s services at all 11 centres for an indefinite period of time," PCF said. The pre-school operator has arranged for meals to be provided by a certified in-house cook for the time being, and will continue to monitor this temporary arrangement closely, the statement added. The authorities were notified of the first cluster of cases last Friday, and conducted an inspection of the caterer's premises on the same day. On Monday, however, additional clusters of cases were reported, prompting the NEA to instruct Kate's Catering to suspend its operations with effect from Tuesday, pending investigations by the various agencies. As part of the investigations, food handlers were sent for stool screening, and food and environmental samples were taken for testing. Last year, 131 cases of gastroenteritis were reportedafter people consumed food prepared by FoodTalks Caterer & Manufacturer for a learning camp. None of the victims were hospitalised. Many parents at the Block 270 Sengkang Central pre-school that ST spoke to said while they were concerned about the level of food safety at the PCF outlets, they did not blame the school for the incident. Mr Jimmy Lim, whose four-year-old son experienced symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting and a fever of up to 39 deg C since last Thursday, said the incident could have been "inevitable" due to human error. "There are so many viruses around, it may not even be food poisoning. We should not be too quick to judge," added Mr Lim, 35, an interior designer. His son recovered on Tuesday and returned to school on Wednesday, said Mr Lim. Some parents also said they hope the pre-school will return to serving food cooked in-house after the incident. Mr Raymond Ng, 38, who works in sales, said he is worried but does not intend to switch pre-schools. "It's worrying, but I have confidence in the teachers. We're just concerned about the level of food safety." In response to queries from ST, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) said it was working with the authorities to investigate the outbreak of gastroenteritis at the pre-schools. It added that along with MOH, NEA and AVA, ECDA had issued a food hygiene advisory to all pre-schools on March 7. "ECDA has also stepped up health and hygiene checks during routine visits to centres where they are advised on food hygiene practices and infection control measures," the agency added. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/15-taken-to-hospital-after-109-develop-gastroenteritis-at-pcf-sparkletots-outlets

Starting May 1 of this year, Singapore Airlines will be the first global carrier in the world to let its Premium Economy passengers pre-order their main courses from its in-flight menu, from anywhere in the airline's global network. The airline is pleased to offer more customers a more personalized dining experience when they fly with Singapore Airlines. The move to allow Premium Economy passengers enjoy the benefit of pre-ordering meals comes after the rollout of the perk to Singapore Airlines' Suites, First Class and Business Class customers on all flights across its network in 2018. Eligible customers who want to pre-order their main courses can do so through Singapore Airlines' website or mobile app anytime from 3 weeks before travel up to 24 hours before their scheduled flight departure. All there is to do is for customers to indicate their preferred meal choice from either the ‘Book the Cook' service or the in-flight menu. Additionally, Singapore Airlines is also improving its Child Meal program to let parents pre-order specific meals for their little ones from three distinct cuisine categories - Asian, Western and Vegetarian - up to 24 hours before the day of travel. This is great news as it offers parents more choices and transparency over the child meals prior to travel, instead of learning what meal will be served only when they are already on board. The ability to select their kids' meals ahead of time should spark greater confidence when it comes to feeding their children aged between 2 and 12-years-old. Keep in mind this initiative will go into effect from June 2019 for flights in all cabin classes originating out of Singapore initially. Thereafter, Singapore Airlines will progressively introduce the initiative to flights originating out of overseas destinations from August 2019 onwards. That's not all. Singapore Airlines is also improving the menu options for two of its special meals – the Indian Vegetarian Meal and Muslim Meal. To offer more variety for its customers, the airline will also rotate these menu choices more frequently. https://news.get.com/singapore-airlines-let-premium-economy-flyers-pre-order-meals-starting-may/

SINGAPORE - Scientists here are breeding tough, fast-growing superfish that have extra amounts of healthy fat in efforts to produce more local, high-quality protein. The "premium tilapia" are also disease-resistant and rich in Omega-3, and are being bred in Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL). The tilapia will join the ranks of locally produced fish stock - TLL-bred sea bass and barramundi developed by Barramundi Asia. Scientists say a small country vulnerable to food disruption needs high-tech and high-intensity fish farming to help it be self-sufficient in producing its own food. Last year, only 9 per cent of all the fish eaten in Singapore were produced locally. To develop the superfish, the lab has been collaborating with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) on improving the yield and quality of tilapia through selective breeding. Researchers from the lab identify and mate the best fish, also known as the brood stock, to produce schools of tilapia that inherit the superior traits. Since Asian consumers prefer red tilapia, selective breeding also transfers the desired appearance to the offspring. The lab has a mix of red and grey-coloured fish. Currently, the team is working on improving the resilience of the fish so that they can thrive in crowded fish farms and adapt to seawater. "Tilapia is a traditional brackish-water or freshwater fish. In Singapore, we don't have much freshwater sources. But we have a lot of coastal lines, so we are working on adapting our tilapia to grow in seawater," said Dr Liew Woei Chang, research investigator at TLL. TLL is also using a sex-reversal method to produce all-male tilapia as the male fishes grow twice as fast as the female ones. The lab said more male fishes will also prevent unwanted breeding. Some of the "premium tilapia" have been sent to local fish farms to assess their performance and ability to withstand stress. "In the wild, the fishes have a lot of space to swim so growing in a high-density environment can be stressful for them. "High-stress conditions will make them more susceptible to diseases," added Dr Liew. The tilapia breeding programme started in 2011 and TLL is hoping to commercialise the fish in the coming years. It took 15 years for sea bass developed at the Marine Aquaculture Centre on St John's Island to reach farms for mass production in 2018. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/fast-growing-superfish-being-bred-in-singapore-to-ramp-up-locally-produced-protein

Several anti-junta parties formed a coalition in Thailand today, vowing to thwart a military-backed party in a bid to end years of junta rule following the country’s first vote since a 2014 coup. Thai politics are deadlocked after Sunday’s vote, with two main rival parties claiming the right to govern amid allegations of ballot irregularities and the full official results yet to be released. Seven anti-junta parties, led by the Pheu Thai Party, said they would join forces, claiming to win enough parliamentary seats to form a government and sideline military-backed allies led by the Phalang Pracharat Party. “We want to stop the regime from hanging onto power,” Pheu Thai’s prime ministerial candidate Sudarat Keyuraphan said at a press conference Wednesday announcing the coalition. The bloc of seven — which includes the youth-focused Future Forward Party that did surprisingly well in the elections — claimed it would take 255 out of the 500 lower house seats that are up for grabs. “It is a complete process of setting up a government,” said Future Forward’s telegenic billionaire leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit. Pheu Thai has won every election since 2001 and is affiliated with self-exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin’s sister Yingluck was herself ousted in the 2014 putsch, and is also living in self-exile. The newly-formed coalition said it wanted to usher in an era of pro-democracy politics following Sunday’s vote. “We will cooperate with parties that are at this press conference today no matter what obstacles ahead… we are ready to stop the regime from holding on to power,” Thanathorn told reporters. The military-backed Phalang Pracharat, led by junta chief and prime ministerial candidate Prayut Chan-O-Cha, won the popular vote with 7.6 million ballots in its favour — 400,000 more votes than Pheu Thai. Phalang Pracharat has also said it expects to secure more than half of all seats in the lower house. The balance of power is stacked in favour of the junta due to a charter it drafted creating 250 military-appointed upper house seats. That means non-military parties like Pheu Thai need an avalanche of votes in order to vote in a prime minister. The Election Commission has unexpectedly delayed releasing official results, and questions are now swirling over election irregularities, with an election monitor saying the tabulation was “deeply flawed”. Nearly two million invalidated ballots, weak polling oversight and bungling by election authorities may have wildly skewed initial numbers. https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/thaksin-aligned-pheu-thai-forms-anti-junta-coalition-6-parties/

If you can’t be bothered to workout in an attempt to acquire God-level powerful punches, you could at least do some squats for a free MRT train ride. Folks have been tickled by a campaign carried out by insurance company Prudential, which challenged anyone above the height of 1.2 meters to do 20 squats within 40 seconds to score a free ride on the MRT. Sure, it’s just a single-trip ticket only useable on the day that you win it, but a free train ride nonetheless. Knowing Singaporeans and our capacity for cheapness, the #DOsquatschallenge campaign might even create a population of strong-legged commuters. Speaking to Chinese-language daily Lianhe Wanbao, Prudential Singapore Chief Customer Officer, Goh Theng Kiat, said that the company hopes to encourage Singaporeans to stay healthy as their life expectancy increases. Aside from brand awareness from viral write-ups on social media, of course. Currently, the booth can be found at Tampines MRT station until Apr 3 before it moves to City Hall MRT station, where it’ll stay put till Apr 17. According to Wanbao, at least 600 commuters have already participated in the challenge since it was first set up on Mar 21. The concept ain’t exactly original anyway — commuters in Moscow did the exact same thing in 2013.

After losing his wife recently, a man from the Probolinggo regency in East Java, Indonesia had to go through the humiliation of having his genitalia inspected by local police after false rumors spread that it was the cause of his wife’s death. According to reports, on the morning of Feb 25, 55-year-old Nedi found his 23-year-old daughter, Jumantri, lifeless on her bed. Authorities ruled her death to be caused by an epileptic fit she had during the night. Two weeks later, Nedi began questioning the circumstances of his daughter’s death after he heard rumors that her husband/his son-in-law Barsah had an oversized penis, and that it was what killed Jumantri while they were making love the night before her death. Though it’s not clear who started the rumors, Nedi believed them to the point that he reported Barsah to the police. Despite there being an official cause of death, local police still indulged Nedi and summoned Barsah to the police station on March 20, during which time he was asked to show his genitalia to the police with members of Nedi’s family and village officials present as witnesses. “After seeing directly the genitalia that was thought to be oversized, it turned out to be of the standard Asian size,” Probolinggo Police Crime Investigation Unit Head Riyanto told Detiktoday. “So right there and then the father-in-law dropped the report [against Barsah] and they apologized to each other.” Nedi says the family is now sure that Jumantri died from epilepsy, which she had suffered since she was 14. https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/indonesian-man-reports-son-laws-alleged-oversized-penis-police-believing-killed-daughter/

Expect to see two more Jollibee outlets in Singapore soon at Woodlands MRT station and Waterway Point in Punggol. The Philippine fast-food giant popular for its fried chicken on Wednesday (27 March) announced that they were looking to hire full-time and part-time positions for the two stores on its Singapore Facebook page, but did not state when they would be opened. The listed jobs include service and kitchen crew as well as managerial roles. The company also added that it is looking to hire positions for its existing stores. Jollibee has six stores in Singapore: two at Lucky Plaza, and one each in Paya Lebar, Changi, Novena and Jurong East. Its first store in Singapore – located on the sixth floor of Lucky Plaza – was opened in March 2013. In a 2017 interview with The Straits Times, Dennis Flores, Jollibee’s president and head of international business, said that the Manila-based company would open at least 15 more outlets in Singapore “in the next five years”.

DragonEx, a crypto exchange based in Singapore, said on Tuesday that its platform has been hacked and an undisclosed amount of user funds was lost. In its official Telegram account, the DragonEx team said that the exchange was hacked on March 24 and it alerted the authorities in Estonia, Thailand, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The team said: Several Judicial administrations were informed about this cyber crime case including Estonia, Thailand, Singapore, HongKong etc. and we’re assisting policemen to do investigation. All platform services will be closed and the accurate assets loss recovery situation will be announced in a week. For the loss caused to our users, DragonEx will take the responsibility no matter what. Can User Funds Stored in Crypto Recovered? According to Joanne Long, an administrator of the official Telegram account of DragonEx, the team has been able to identify the stolen funds from the exchange. Fortunately, some of the funds were sent to Know Your Customer (KYC)-enabled and strictly regulated exchanges like Bittrex, based on the statement of Long. https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/singapore-crypto-exchange-dragonex-hacked-140321819.html

Just when you thought it was safe to assume what you get up to in the bedroom was, well, safe … research like THIS lands on your desk. According to the International Journal of Impotence Research when it comes to sex positions ‘doggy style’ and ‘missionary’ are the most dangerous for men. Yep. True story. Turns out the penis is more delicate than it may seem. The researchers gathered the data by examining 90 patients, with an average age of 39, who had been diagnosed with penile fractures; assessing the dangers of different sex positions, based on the level of injury. The results are surprising. And not great news for hopeful parents, but more on that later. Keeping things safe in the bedroom? Apparently not According to the research: ‘Doggy style sex’ is responsible for the 41 percent of cases of penile fractures; also apparently it’s quite common for men to hit a woman’s pelvic bone, sometimes causing it snap. Ouch. Missionary sex, with the man on top comes second place, causing 25 percent of penile fractures. While missionary sex, with the woman on top comes in at third place in terms of risk. But wait. What if you’re trying to conceive a baby? We’ve always been told that when it comes to effective baby making positions , ‘doggy style’ and ‘missionary’ are the best in the arsenal. In fact, “magnetic resonance imaging technology experts” have confirmed that both positions fire sperm high up into the cervix (no kidding), and are great sexual positions if you want to fertilise an egg. So what can hopeful parents do with this new information? Well, there’s no need to avoid these positions, according to Dr Jacob Rajfer, professor of urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. As he told concerned readers of Men’s Healthmagazine, recently, most injuries occur if the man isn’t quite ready to go, so: “Reduce your risk by making sure you’re fully erect before penetrating her,” he said. https://sg.style.yahoo.com/world-most-dangerous-sex-positions-152304244.html

Fifteen people were hospitalised following a gastroenteritis outbreak across four PCF Sparkletots Preschool outlets that left over 100 people ill. Six of the 15 have since been discharged, according to a joint statement on Wednesday (27 March) by the Ministry of Health (MOH), National Environment Agency (NEA) and Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA). It added that the 109 cases of gastroenteritis have been traced to the consumption of food prepared by Kate’s Catering. The business is listed on the Health Promotion Board (HPB) website as one of its Healthier Dining Partners. Last Thursday, authorities inspected the caterer’s premises at KA Food Link at 171 Kampong Ampat “upon notification of the first cluster”. “Additional clusters were reported on Mar 25, 2019, and the caterer has been instructed by NEA to suspend its operations with effect from Mar 26, while investigations by the agencies are ongoing,” the statement said. Food handlers were also sent for stool screening and food and environmental samples taken for testing. According to a food hygiene notice on the NEA website, Kate’s Catering had its license suspended on Tuesday until further notice, while investigations into the outbreak take place. The website also shows that the caterer had accumulated six demerit points in the past year. “All food handlers working in the suspended premises are required to re-attend and pass the Basic Food Hygiene Course, before they can resume work as food handlers. “The appointed Food Hygiene Officer(s) working at the suspended premises is also required to re-attend and pass the Food Hygiene Officer course before he/she can resume work as a Food Hygiene Officer,” said the notice. Last month, 30 children and one employee were affected following a gastroenteritis outbreak at the MindChamps pre-school’s Tanglin branch. In November 2018, another outbreak linked to the River Valley branch of Spize Restaurant saw a total of 72 cases of gastroenteritis. Sats employee Fadli Salleh, 38, subsequently died as a result of his illness. https://sg.news.yahoo.com/15-hospitalised-gastroenteritis-outbreak-4-pcf-sparkletots-branches-034543967.html

i wait until 4th to 6thweek then watch or end of may

Lemon Chicken with Egg foo young with Hot and Sour soup