So tragically half-pie, Dr. J Murray Robertson himself would churn in his grave The Robertson House can best be likened to a grandly malfunctioning clockwork orange - pretty when viewed from outside, yet hardwired wrong aplenty beneath. Its state of affairs is intuited as either being: a) near non-existent, or b) in utter dishevelment, take your pick. Anyways, cutting through the flannel, here's a laundry list setting forth what went thumpingly skewwhiff during our ill-fated sojourn. Checking in lasted forever. Some tourist backlog stretching longer than the Chungking Express that thronged the hotel lobby was encountered upon arrival, while just two front desk counters remained opened for chugging things along. Consequently, at least 45 minutes elapsed before we received any sort of attention. Strike one. Guest room rife with shortcomings. Tightass, near unmanoeuvrable quarters and FUBAR air conditioning aside, our deluxe queen booked sprung other nasty surprises. First off, the espresso machine's previously undrained water carriage (god knows why) had all but gotten the bedside table inundated. Then there's this curious case of a precariously wobbly power outlet later deemed by the onsite electrician to constitute a potential fire risk should an arc fault eventuate; as such we were, after laborious haggling transplanted couple floors up. Strike two. Another room, another unforeseen problem. Moments past midnight, 'em lights, TV, A/C, even landline suddenly....died simultaneously. Ah, big fat outage swathing us in total caliginosity for 600 whole goddamn seconds, how "charming". NOT. Strike three. More at https://www.hotelsandphotos.com/the-robertson-house-by-the-crest-collection-review-august-2024

Switzerland has reiterated its desire to strengthen defence capabilities at a time when the European Union, under pressure, is investing to re-arm. This agreement will enable the two countries to deepen their collaboration, particularly in the area of arms procurement, the government said in a press release.     In the medium and long term, this strengthening of existing relations will benefit both Switzerland’s defence capability and its industry, it adds. The two countries collaborate in particular on drones, robotics, technological forecasting and anticipation. The Federal Council wants to strengthen its defence capability by deepening its relations with its international partners, it adds. All the while respecting its “obligations under the law of neutrality”. This announcement comes against a tense backdrop in Europe. In recent weeks, Europe has been working hard to find a way of re-arming itself in order to compensate for American disengagement and confront the Russian threat. Earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced an €800 billion plan to re-arm Europe     https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/foreign-affairs/switzerland-joins-forces-with-singapore-for-its-weapons/89010069    

my question is always, it they can bring in this illegal so easily. what about those even more dangerous stuff? like sarin gas, c4, etc....

SINGAPORE - A mother of three young children was among 76 suspected drug offenders arrested in a five-day island-wide operation, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said. Two of her children, aged 12 and 14, were present when the 31-year-old was arrested at her residential unit. Ice, also known as methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia were recovered from her bedroom, which her children had access to, said CNB in a Facebook post on March 15, adding that the children have since been placed in the care of their next of kin. According to an earlier report, checks by The Straits Times on reported cases in 2024 showed CNB officers rescued at least 10 children during drug raids at residential units that year. In 2023, four children were rescued during such raids. In a March 15 press release on the operation that took place from March 10 to 14, CNB said a total of about 462g of heroin, 357g of Ice, 58g of cannabis, 11g of ketamine, 46g of Ecstasy and 76 Erimin-5 tablets were seized. The items seized were estimated to be worth more than $97,800, said the bureau.     Some of the areas covered include Bukit Merah, Chai Chee, Tiong Bahru, Jurong and Yishun. On the morning of March 11, CNB officers arrested a 30-year-old Singaporean man in the vicinity of Tampines Street 82 for suspected drug trafficking offences. About 10g of Ice was recovered from him. After escorting him to his residential unit nearby, they conducted a search of the place and found 160g of Ice and 42g of Ecstasy. On the same morning, CNB officers raided another residential unit in Bishan Street 12 and arrested a 28-year-old Singaporean man and a 41-year-old Singaporean woman on suspicion of drug trafficking offences. A search of the unit recovered about 430g of heroin, 28g of ice, 14g of cannabis and 46 Erimin-5 tablets. Investigations into all arrested suspects are ongoing. A suspected drug offender being arrested by CNB officers in an island-wide drug operation from March 10 to 14.PHOTO: CNB In its annual statistics report released on Feb 12, CNB said that the number of new drug abusers totalled 966 in 2024, more than the 952 arrested in 2023. New abusers below the age of 30 made up more than half of all new cases for the second year in a row, according to the report. It is an offence to traffic or offer to traffic a controlled drug for oneself or on behalf of another person, whether or not that other person is in Singapore, as is preparing to traffic a controlled drug or offering to do so, the bureau said. Anyone found guilty of trafficking more than 15g of pure heroin (diamorphine), 250g of Ice or 500g of cannabis may face the mandatory death penalty.

SINGAPORE – The Land Transport Authority (LTA) called a tender for 660 new electric buses, comprising 360 three-door single-deck buses and 300 three-door double-deckers, on March 14. The authority expects these new buses to be delivered progressively by the end of 2027. Once these new electric buses join the fleet, the total number of buses running on batteries here will go up to 1,140. In December 2024, there were around 5,800 public buses in all.  The new tender comes after the authority purchased 360 new electric single-deck buses for $166.4 million in November 2023, in contracts awarded to Chinese automaker BYD and Cycle & Carriage Automotive. And in October 2024, LTA said it had purchased another 60 more electric buses from BYD. According to tender documents published on government procurement portal GeBiz, contractors have to equip the buses with an automatic fire suppression system that can detect and put out fires in specific areas. If a fire is detected on the bus, the system will be activated to produce an audio and visual alarm on the driver’s dashboard, in addition to reducing the speed of the bus to a speed that allows it to move to the side of the road, noted LTA.     In April 2024, the authority called for proposals on how to quickly remove a burnt electric bus from a multi-storey depot and submerge it in a water tank to prevent a fire from reigniting, in the event of such an incident. Besides the fire suppression system, these new buses also need to be fitted with on-board surveillance systems to improve passenger and staff safety. LTA said these surveillance systems should have collision detection and warning capabilities, so that other vehicles, pedestrians or cyclists in close proximity all around the bus can be spotted. Alerts will also be sounded to the driver. These new buses will also be equipped with information display systems that can provide commuters with visual and audio information on their journeys. The on-board information display systems must be able to show ad hoc announcements and information on rail replacement services or bridging bus services, among others. The tender for these new buses will close at 4pm on May 22. LTA said in a Facebook post that this tender supports its goal of a public bus fleet running on cleaner energy by 2040. It added that it will be procuring more than 2,000 electric buses over the next five years. The Straits Times previously reported that the Government plans to refresh Singapore’s public bus fleet so that half of them will run on batteries by 2030. Correction note: An earlier version of this story stated that there will be 1,080 electric buses once the latest set of buses joins the fleet. This is incorrect. There will be 1,140 electric buses.