Singapore ranked 5th least corrupt country in 2022

While Singapore was ranked fifth on the Corruption Perceptions Index, this was its lowest ranking in five years

File photo of skyline buildings of the Central Business District in Singapore on Nov 16, 2022.
(Photo: CNA/Hanidah Amin)

31 Jan 2023 

SINGAPORE: Singapore was ranked as the fifth least corrupt country in the world in 2022, according to anti-corruption body Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

However, it was also the lowest ranking in five years for Singapore, which placed third in 2018 and 2020, and fourth in 2019 and 2021. It remains the only Asian country to be in the top 10.

The index ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, , scoring on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). [Singapore scored 83 pts.]

Malaysia to export 100MW of electricity to Singapore after joint agreement

A view of HDB flats at night. (File photo: Xabryna Kek)

Lee Chong Ming

30 Jan 2023 

SINGAPORE: A two-year trial that will see Singapore import 100 megawatts (MW) of electricity from Peninsular Malaysia began on Monday (Jan 30), after a joint agreement between YTL PowerSeraya and TNB Genco.

This marks the first time that electricity from Malaysia will be supplied to Singapore on a commercial basis. 

US four-star general warns of war with China in 2025

29 Jan 2023 

Crew members signal to a F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet preparing to take off for a routine flight on board the
USS Nimitz aircraft carrier during a routine deployment to the South China Sea, Mid-Sea, Jan 27, 2023.
(Photo: REUTERS/Joseph Campbell)

WASHINGTON: A four-star US Air Force general said in a memo that his gut told him the United States would fight China in the next two years, comments that Pentagon officials said were not consistent with American military assessments.

Chinese turn to traditional remedies to fight Covid-19

An employee working at a traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy in Beijing. AFP

January 24, 2023


BEIJING — As Covid-19 rips through China's vast population, making millions sick and fuelling a shortage of drugs, many are turning to old-school traditional medicines to battle the aches and pains of the virus.

President Xi Jinping has promoted traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) since the start of the pandemic, while health officials have hailed its "important role" in fighting the coronavirus.

Encompassing a range of treatments from herbal remedies and massages to acupuncture and diets, TCM has been used for thousands of years to treat all manner of ailments.

Critics say it is pseudoscientific and ineffective in treating actual illness, and there is little peer-reviewed data to back claims of its efficacy.

But millions in China use it, often in conjunction with modern medicine to alleviate symptoms. 

After being used as a test bed, Ngee Ann Polytechnic gets free driverless bus service

An autonomous minibus now ferries passengers around campus and from King Albert Park MRT station, as part of a partnership between the polytechnic and homegrown company MooVita.

Passengers queueing up outside King Albert Park MRT station for the autonomous minibus to Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
(Photo: Liew Zhi Xin/CNA)

Foo Yueh Peng
Eileen Chew

24 Jan 2023

SINGAPORE: It is one of the latest driverless vehicles allowed on public roads.

Called the MooBus, it has recently been deployed by homegrown company MooVita in its first commercial operation.

And this bus service is free for a year for students and staff of Ngee Ann Polytechnic, where MooVita has used the campus roads as a test bed over the past few years, culminating in this autonomous shuttle.

The 13-seater, measuring seven metres long, ferries passengers from King Albert Park MRT station to 10 stops on campus from 7:30 to about 9:30 a.m. on weekdays (excluding public holidays), while a lunchtime service goes round only on campus.

The electric vehicle is self-driving, capped at 20 kilometres per hour, for much of the 3-km route within campus. A safety operator, however, is required on board by the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

IMDA investigating virtual telco Gorilla for halting mobile services without seeking its approval

Users of Gorilla's mobile services in Singapore were advised to move to another provider to maintain uninterrupted service
as its mobile plans had to be suspended due to technical upgrades. Unsplash

• The Infocomm Media Development Authority is investigating Gorilla Mobile for not seeking the necessary approval before halting their mobile services
• Doing so before ending of services is required under the Service-Based Operations License, which allows an operator to provide services-based telecommunications services here
• The authorities' response came after the virtual telco earlier announced an abrupt cessation of its mobile services in Singapore

TAUFIQ ZALIZAN

January 19, 2023

What China's shrinking population means for its future

China’s population fell last year for the first time in six decades, a historic turn that some believe is likely to bring big implications for the world’s second largest economy.

China ended its strict one-child policy, imposed due to fears of overpopulation, in 2016. It began allowing couples to have
three children in 2021. (Photo: AFP/File/STR)

Calvin Yang

17 Jan 2023 

SINGAPORE: China’s population is shrinking sooner than expected, but the demographic shift - while a big issue psychologically - is unlikely to affect its economic growth in the short term, said observers on Tuesday (Jan 17).

China’s population fell last year for the first time in six decades, a historic turn that is likely to mark the start of a long period of decline in its citizen numbers.

The drop is the worst since 1961, and gives weight to predictions that India will overtake China this year to become the world's most populous country.

MH370 Passenger Manifest

[From Mar 2014, held in draft all this while.]


Manifest for Flight MH370 (summary)

153 Chinese
38 Malaysians
7 Indonesians
6 Australians
5 Indians
4 French
3 Americans
2 each from New Zealand, Ukraine and Canada
One each from Russia, Taiwan, Netherlands
Two men - one confirmed as Iranian - travelling under stolen Italian and Austrian passports

Why Indonesia remains one of the world’s worst places to fly

DECEMBER 8, 2015
[Note. Old new report.]

SINGAPORE — A faulty component, a poor maintenance regime, bad weather, a critical mistake, a communication failure, 162 people dead.

The loss of AirAsia Flight 8501 on a stormy December morning a year ago, from an airline that previously had an excellent safety record, came as a shock, even in a country with one of the world’s worst aviation records.

This was a relatively new plane, captained by a pilot with a decade of experience in the air force and more than 9,000 hours flying commercial jets. Yet interviews with pilots, air traffic controllers, flight trainers and regulators show that the combination of mistakes and failures that doomed those on board show why Indonesia still has more than three times the global average rate of fatal air crashes.

In the past few years, Indonesia has redoubled efforts to improve that record, but the challenges are enormous. The country has a shortage of skilled pilots, ground crew and air traffic controllers. Equipment and planes are often outdated or not working. Many of its 296 airports are under par or have runways that are too short. And the terrain of 17,000 islands, dotted with volcanoes, makes for some of the most treacherous flying conditions in the world.

Sun Cable Update (Jan 2023)

Singapore-based Sun Cable collapses, stalling Australia-to-Asia solar power project

A 4,200km undersea cable promises to deliver vast amounts of clean energy to Singapore.
(Image: Sun Cable)

11 Jan 2023

Singapore-based Sun Cable is going into voluntary administration, the clean energy firm said on Wednesday (Jan 11), months after billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes took on the role of chairman.

The company is aiming to develop a A$30 billion-plus (S$27.6 billion) project to supply solar power from Australia to Singapore, with the backing of tech billionaire and climate activist Cannon-Brookes and the richest man Down Under Andrew Forrest...

Michelle Yeoh Tells Off Golden Globes Producers For Trying To Cut Short Her Speech: “I Can Beat You Up”

January 12, 2023


Don’t mess with Michelle Yeoh while she’s giving a speech.

The Malaysian actress jokingly told the producers of the 80th Golden Globe Awards to “shut up” when they tried to cut short her acceptance speech by playing music over her remarks.

Yeoh took home the Best Actress In a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy Category for Everything Everywhere All at Once.