JCN Newswire
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DOCOMO and YKK AP to Test Signal-permeable Windows Made with Aerogel for Easy Penetration by Radio Waves

ruth
2 minutes

TOKYO, Jan 30, 2023 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced today that in collaboration with YKK AP Inc. it has launched a demonstration test to verify the radio-wave penetration characteristics of signal-permeable windows made with a light, porous material called aerogel, aiming to improve indoor reception of external radio waves while maintaining the insulation benefits of windows.High-performance materials, multilayered window glass and Low-E glass are being used more widely to improve the insulation of homes and offices for energy efficiency. As a consequence, however, it is becoming more difficult for high-frequency radio waves used by cellphones and other applications to reach indoor spaces. In response, DOCOMO and YKK AP are developing windows that allow radio waves to pass through easily while still maintaining high-performance thermal insulation. The plan is eventually to install such windows in the ceilings and walls of existing as well as new homes and offices.DOCOMO and YKK AP will now test a prototype window made with aerogel, a high-performance thermal-insulation gel-like material, to confirm its radio-wave penetration characteristics. Aerogel ...

ACN Newswire
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Spritzer Rolls Out Iconic New Silica-Rich Natural Mineral Water Bottle

indie
3 minutes

KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 14, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Malaysia's leading bottled water producer, Spritzer, has officially launched a new iconic bottle with a trendy and vibrant style made by fully recycled packaging made with recycled materials.Group Chief Executive Officer of Spritzer, Mr. Lim Seng LeeThe bottle's sleek and modern-looking curve is shaped like a water droplet and is designed with an ergonomic grip. The turquoise colour scheme, a blend of blue and green, represents nature's purity, calmness, serenity and peace while the new corporate logo is inspired by the Company's pristine 390-acre water catchment area, which is within the protected rainforest vicinity in Taiping, Perak. The new bottles made with sustainable packaging allows consumers to recycle and to create new life to the packaging which directly helps to reduce carbon emission.Group Chief Executive Officer of Spritzer, Mr. Lim Seng Lee said, "Spritzer is stepping up the Company's sustainability initiatives and the new iconic bottle serves the purpose of modern aesthetics as well as encouraging consumers to bring new life to the bottles through recycling, through 'New Look New Purpose'. The new look ...

SeaPRwire
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Ngee Ann Poly to sack lecturer in racist remark incident for serious misconduct

aseanpr
4 minutes

SINGAPORE - Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) is in the process of sacking senior lecturer Tan Boon Lee for serious misconduct. This comes after a video posted on June 6 of Mr Tan making racist remarks to an interracial couple in Orchard Road went viral online. This was followed by an Instagram post on June 9 by NP alumna Nurul Fatimah Iskandar, who alleged that Mr Tan made Islamophobic comments in a class in 2017. NP said it made the decision after completing its internal investigations into both incidents. It has charged Mr Tan – a lecturer at the School of Engineering – with a serious breach of its staff code of conduct, and “is proceeding to terminate his service”. "Our staff members are expected to respect cultural, ethnic and religious differences in our society. They must uphold secularity and impartiality at all times... The disciplinary action meted out against the staff in question reflects our commitment to provide a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for our campus community," said NP in a statement on Thursday (June 17). Police investigations into both incidents are ongoing. In her Instagram post, Ms Nurul, now 22 and a student at the National University of Singapore, ...

SeaPRwire
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More channelling more cash into CPF amid Covid-19 uncertainties

elean
4 minutes

SINGAPORE - More people sought to tap the benefits of the Central Provident Fund (CPF) last year to stretch their savings amid the pandemic's uncertainties. The number of members who topped up their own or their loved ones' CPF retirement savings was nearly 40 per cent higher last year, compared with 2019. At the same time, people who made voluntary housing refunds nearly tripled over the same period, according to the latest CPF Board figures. Also slightly up is the proportion of members who died last year and had specified a recipient for their CPF savings. It is no surprise that more people are channelling more cash into CPF accounts, observers told The Straits Times, since they are now realising the benefits of using the scheme to save. Last year, some 141,130 CPF members made top-ups under the Retirement Sum Topping-Up Scheme, contributing a total of $2.97 billion. In 2019, only 103,800 members grew their CPF funds under the scheme. Total top-ups in 2019 were also lower at $2.14 billion. Meanwhile, about 14,980 members made voluntary housing refunds last year, putting in a total of $1.48 billion. This involves members who had used CPF savings to pay for their property choosing...

SeaPRwire

ITE student made false report against ex-boyfriend after she breached curfew

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A 20-year-old student who did not want to get into trouble for breaching her curfew made a police report against her former boyfriend, falsely claiming that he had assaulted her and forced her into a van. Police later learnt the incident did not happen. Tharuna Thirunavukkarasu, a student with the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College East, had made up the story because she was out drinking with friends on Jan 19 and did not want to end up in prison. On Thursday (April 15), Tharuna pleaded guilty to making the false report with the intent of causing the police to investigate her former boyfriend. At the time of the purported incident, Tharuna was supposed to comply with e-tagging and a curfew after being released under a reformative training (RT) supervision scheme. Details of the curfew were not mentioned in court documents. She was sentenced in September 2018 to time in an RT centre for offences that were not stated in court documents. Those in RT centres have to follow a strict regimen that includes foot drills as well as counselling. On Jan 19, she breached her curfew while out drinking with friends in Telok Blangah. Afraid it would mean she could end up in...

SeaPRwire

Jobs that can make you rich

elean
4 minutes

(NYTIMES) - I know money can't buy you love, but wouldn't it be nice to have enough money to buy whatever else you want? The most likely way to become rich is to try to get into a line of work that's hard to get into, particularly if the people in that profession are the ones setting the rules for entry. For example, if you want to become rich, tech may be a less likely way than you suppose. In 2019, about 2.4 per cent of software developers made it to the top 1 per cent of earners. As economist Jonathan Rothwell points out in his book, A Republic Of Equals, as at 2015, there were nearly eight times as many software developers in the United States as there were dentists, but nearly as many dentists in the top 1 per cent as there were software developers. The odds are also against you if you go into the engineering professions. Just about 2.2 per cent of electrical engineers made it to the top 1 per cent, and just about 3.3 per cent of chemical engineers, and about 0.8 per cent of industrial engineers. The arts aren't so hot either. Even just among people who manage to make a living as an actor, a director or a producer, just about 2.1 per cent made it to the tippy top. What's wrong...

SeaPRwire
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440,000 eligible for matched top-ups to CPF retirement accounts

aseanpr
4 minutes

SINGAPORE - A total of 440,000 people will be able to receive matching amounts of up to $600 annually for cash top-ups made to their Central Provident Fund (CPF) retirement accounts, under a new scheme which kicks off this year. They make up about 53 per cent of CPF members between 55 and 70 years old, said the CPF Board on Wednesday (Jan 6). The Matched Retirement Savings Scheme, which was announced last year, aims to help more older CPF members attain the basic retirement sum. It allows anyone, including family members, employers or members of the community, to make top-ups to a person's retirement account. Each dollar of cash top-up will be matched by the Government for the next five years, capped at $600 per year. Top-ups can be made on the CPF website or the mobile app. They also do not have to be made in a lump sum. This means that small and regular top-ups throughout the year using Giro can also receive the matching grant. CPF Board chief executive Augustin Lee said: "About half of CPF members turning 55 today have yet to attain the basic retirement sum. This matching grant by the Government will encourage them to save more with CPF. "There's no better savings interest rate ...

SeaPRwire
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Once a billionaire factory, South Korea’s beauty industry turns ugly

elean
4 minutes

SEOUL (BLOOMBERG) - Three years ago, Suh Kyung-bae was the second-richest person in South Korea. Today he's barely Top 10, a stark reversal in a K-beauty boom known for minting billionaires, not breaking them. Mr Suh's US$3.6 billion fortune (S$4.78 billion) - down from roughly US$8 billion in 2017 - is largely comprised of shares in his family's cosmetics conglomerate, Amorepacific Group, which have fallen more than 40 per cent from a mid-January high. The parent of brands like Innisfree, Laniege and Sulwhasoo, Amorepacific was struggling even before Covid-19, and the pandemic has ushered in a slew of lifestyle changes that have made cosmetics less central to women's daily routines. That's brought a halt to the wealth created by the rapid rise in popularity of Korean beauty products and the deal-making frenzy that followed. From 2010 to 2014, foreign companies spent at least US$215 million to acquire cosmetics firms there, according to a September report by Samjong KPMG. In the five years that followed, the country became the world's fourth-largest exporter of beauty products, and the deal volume ballooned to US$5 billion, not including transactions for undisclosed sums. Estee Lau...

SeaPRwire
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Decline in retail sales slows in October

elean
3 minutes

The slump in retail sales eased in October, although most segments still registered double-digit decline, according to data released by the Department of Statistics yesterday. Takings at the till dropped 8.6 per cent compared with October last year, an improvement from the revised 10.7 per cent fall in September. Excluding motor vehicles, the decline was larger, at 11.2 per cent. But when compared with the previous month, seasonally adjusted retail sales in October posted a slight growth of 0.2 per cent. Ms Selena Ling, OCBC Bank head of treasury research and strategy, said: "There is some glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel with the month-on-month improvement, but still quite distant for now. "I do not expect retail sales to revert to positive year-on-year growth territory till early 2021, possibly around Chinese New Year in February. Second-quarter retail sales for next year will also likely see a big jump due to the very low base this year." Maybank Kim Eng analyst Chua Hak Bin noted that retail sales are stagnating at about a tenth below pre-pandemic levels, after rebounding from the lows during the circuit breaker period. "The tunnel is still a long one as the vaccine wi...

SeaPRwire
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YUI FINANCE – The Story of Setting Benchmarks

pandora
3 minutes

Tallin, Estonia / NOVEMBER 19, 2020 / The YUI Finance project was listed on Uniswap on 17th November 2020. After listing on the Uniswap platform and its liquidity locked for 6 months, the project has also successfully listed on Bilaxy, Coingecko, CoinMarketCap and Blockfolio. Furthermore, the team behind YUI Finance is happy to inform users that we have entered into a partnership with Dextools (https://www.dextools.io/app/) and Ferrum Network (https://bit.ly/35HVnUs) to further scale the project and make staking accessible to members of our community. People are all not unaware of the challenges that businesses and entrepreneurs alike face in their attempt to source for funding to scale their business interest. Among others, some of the challenges confronting the average business person out there are credit rating, high interest rates, high default rates, and rising cost of supplies. While different governments of the world are striving to mitigate these identified challenges, a bunch of entrepreneurs still find it difficult to access loans to scale their businesses. The YUI Finance project is here to address these challenges and also liberate loan seekers from the stronghold of ou...

SeaPRwire
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NParks to release over 280 new plots for gardening enthusiasts to exercise their green thumbs

aseanpr
2 minutes

SINGAPORE - Gardening enthusiasts will have more space to exercise their green thumbs, with the National Parks Board (NParks) releasing over 280 gardening plots in four parks here. They are part of the 1,000 garden plots that will be made available across 18 parks and gardens in Singapore by next year. The plots announced on Friday (Nov 13) will be made available in Bedok Reservoir Park, Lower Seletar Reservoir Park, one-north Park and East Coast Park, which will have 120 plots for use. Gardeners can apply online from 10am on Nov 29. Applications will close at 10pm on Dec 6, and successful applicants will be notified within three months of this date. The plots will be allocated through computerised balloting. Each plot will be leased for three years at $57 annually, and comprises a raised planter bed measuring 2.5m by 1m. Those keen to dig up some dirt are encouraged to apply for the gardening plots nearest to their residence. NParks made more plots available to cater to the growing interest of avid gardeners in Singapore. By next year, there will be over 2,000 gardening plots around the island. NParks is providing additional spaces for growing plants and edibles, in the form of al...

SeaPRwire

AGC files disciplinary complaint against lawyer M. Ravi with Law Society

aseanpr
3 minutes

A disciplinary complaint against lawyer M. Ravi was filed with the Law Society by the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) last Friday. The complaint relates to "possible professional misconduct" by Mr Ravi, the AGC said in a statement last Friday evening. It was filed because Mr Ravi had neither apologised nor retracted statements he made earlier which the AGC had said were "false, misleading, and unfairly and illegitimately discredit AGC", the statement added. The AGC further said Mr Ravi's conduct "falls short of the standards of professional conduct to be expected from an advocate and solicitor of the court". Last Monday, Mr Ravi told alternative news website The Online Citizen that the prosecutor had been "overzealous" in prosecuting his client Gobi Avedian, and this "led to the death sentence" being given to him by a High Court judge. Mr Ravi made the comments after the five-judge Court of Appeal reversed a 2018 decision to convict Gobi on a capital charge for drug trafficking. He also said, among other things, the apex court's judgment calls into question "the fairness of the administration of justice in Gobi's case by the prosecution". The AGC said in last Friday's statement t...