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Expedia’s website operator BEX says it will stop false claims

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - The website operator of online travel company Expedia Singapore - BEX Travel Asia - has ceased its false claims on the validity period of its "Daily Deals" promotions and affirmed that it will not engage in further unfair practices from Thursday (Nov 12). The announcement follows an investigation by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) in April last year. The commission found that there were at least 55 "Daily Deals" offers on the website, which claimed to expire at 11.59pm each day but the prices remained the same after midnight. These misleading promotions included hotel deals and holiday package deals which were offered on the Expedia Singapore website and e-mailed to customers on BEX's mailing list. "Such false claims in relation to promotional prices mislead consumers into believing that there is a price benefit which is only available for a limited period, thus creating unwarranted pressure or a sense of urgency for consumers to make an immediate purchase," said CCCS. The false promotional claims by BEX had been around since 2016 and were taken down in October last year while investigations were ongoing. The consumer watchdog, which issued a...

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7 Myanmar nationals arrested on suspicion of working illegally at Lim Chu Kang farm

aseanpr
2 minutes

SINGAPORE - Seven Myanmar nationals suspected of working illegally at a farm in Lim Chu Kang have been arrested. The seven, all men, were found sleeping in six makeshift shelters on the vegetable farm in Sungei Tengah Road during a joint operation by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the Singapore Police Force on Monday (Nov 9). In a statement on Thursday, the ICA said that during preliminary investigations, the men, aged between 30 and 42, admitted that they had been staying in Singapore without valid immigration passes and had been working on the farm without valid work passes. The authorities are still investigating. The ICA warned that those who overstay in Singapore face a jail term of up to six months and a minimum of three strokes of the cane. It added that it takes a firm stance against any person who employs immigration offenders. Anyone found guilty of employing an immigration offender is liable to be punished with imprisonment for a term of at least six months and up to two years, and a fine of up to$6,000. The ICA said: "Singaporeans and home owners are reminded to exercise due diligence in checking the status of foreigners before offering them employm...

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BioVaxys Announces 96.4 Percent Positive Antibody Immune Response Results from an In Vivo Murine Model Study of Its SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine

indie
7 minutes

Vancouver, BC, Nov 11, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - BioVaxys Technology Corp. (CSE: BIOV) (FSE: 5LB) ("BioVaxys") is pleased to announce that results from its preclinical animal study (also known as the "murine model study") of BVX-0320, its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, show that the vaccine elicits a positive immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 s-spike protein. Previous interim data from the study showed it possessed an excellent emerging tolerability profile with no noteworthy clinical observations or observed toxicities in the mice. When the study concluded after 6 weeks, the excellent safety and tolerability profile was maintained.The preclinical study, which began in September 2020 and was conducted by leading independent contract research organization ("CRO") Charles River Laboratories, Inc. under contract with BioVaxys, evaluated the anti-virus immune response elicited by BVX-0320 in a controlled murine model by measuring the development of antibodies to the protein that binds the virus to human cells. Following two injections of BVX-0320 together with the immunological adjuvant, QS21, to 28 mice at four dosage levels, 96.4% developed positive antibody responses detected at wee...

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Man admits to telling daughter to take sleeping pills and lie to cops about trying to kill herself

aseanpr
4 minutes

SINGAPORE - A man told his 11-year-old daughter to consume sleeping pills after he had a dispute with his estranged wife in April 2018. A district court heard that he wanted to show the woman that their marital disputes had caused the girl to feel stressed. He also wanted his wife to feel that she was at fault for not taking proper care of their child. The girl complied and ended up losing consciousness. She was warded in KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) for more than a month. The man later told the girl to lie to the police and tell an investigating officer that she had voluntarily consumed the pills as she wanted to kill herself. Again, the girl complied. But four months later, she told the truth to a social worker. The 40-year-old Singaporean man, who cannot be named owing to a gag order to protect his daughter's identity, pleaded guilty in court on Wednesday (Nov 11) to one count each of ill-treating a child and intentionally perverting the course of justice. He also admitted to an unrelated harassment charge. Deputy Public Prosecutor Joshua Phang said that the man lived with his daughter in a Toa Payoh flat. His wife lived in another flat in Woodlands. On April 7, 2018...

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Three new features on national job portal to weed out discriminatory hiring

aseanpr
4 minutes

SINGAPORE - Three new features have been rolled out on the national jobs portal MyCareersFuture to strengthen progressive hiring practices among employers. A key thrust of the portal is to "provide as many job seekers as possible a fair chance at the roles advertised", said Workforce Singapore (WSG), the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (Tafep), and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in a joint statement on Tuesday (Nov 10). The features aim to set a new standard for other job portals to follow, they said. They are: 1. Prompting employers to adhere to TGFEP when placing job advertisements An "Employer Prompt" feature reminds employers to adhere to the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP) when crafting job postings, and before they are published on MyCareersFuture. 2. Better guidance for employers in crafting neutral job ads Social listening technology is used to review all job postings published on MyCareersFuture, and potentially discriminatory terms or mentions are flagged to employers. Employers are guided on how they can improve their job postings, so they are better able to attract and find the most suitable candidates. Employ...

JCN Newswire
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DOCOMO Licenses Lens Production for VR Headset to NTKJ

ruth
3 minutes

TOKYO, Nov 9, 2020 - (JCN Newswire) - NTT DOCOMO, INC. and Nihon Tokushu Kogaku Jushi Co., Ltd. (NTKJ) announced today that they have reached a licensing agreement to manufacture advanced lenses for DOCOMO's virtual reality (VR) headset, which pairs with smartphones for ultra-wide-angle VR experiences. Scheme of licensed manufacture and sale of lensesThe agreement includes the use of DOCOMO's patents and design documents for the manufacture and sale of lenses that NTKJ will begin providing to headset manufacturers on November 16. Thereafter, the manufacturers will collaborate with NTKJ to produce end-user headsets (googles) based on DOCOMO's basic designs.Existing low-end VR headsets coupled with smartphones only achieve narrow viewing angles, causing users to feel as if they are looking through a hole. In the new VR headset, however, high-magnification Fresnel lenses surround ordinary-magnification aspherical lenses to create a wider field of vision. Objects appearing in the center are in focus and peripheral images are somewhat blurred, similar to human vision. Incorporating two types of lenses with different levels of magnification makes VR images appear highly realistic, result...

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Singapore team’s Covid-19 neutralising antibody test kit is first to get US FDA approval

aseanpr
4 minutes

SINGAPORE - A kit that detects whether someone has antibodies which neutralise the coronavirus, invented by local researchers, has become the first of its kind to receive authorisation from the United States' Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On Friday (Nov 6), the FDA said on its website that it had given emergency use authorisation for the kit, known as cPass. cPass was invented by a team led by Professor Wang Linfa, director of Duke-NUS' emerging infectious diseases programme, and co-developed with biotech company GenScript Biotech Corporation and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's (A*Star) Diagnostics Development Hub (DxD Hub). It can be used to see if vaccines work, check what proportion of the population has already been infected, and to assist in contact tracing by enabling the health authorities to retrace the steps of the virus. cPass also does not require highly specialised equipment or training to use, and returns results in just an hour. On Sunday, Prof Wang told The Straits Times that the FDA's approval was extremely significant not just for his team, but for Singapore as well. He said: "To have the FDA approval as the first and only commercial kit to ...

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What a Biden win means for the financial markets

elean
1 minute

Several weeks ago, I ventured a guess that there is a two-thirds chance that Mr Joe Biden will win the presidential election. This has come to pass. While the Biden victory will see a shift in priorities and trigger a market scramble towards specific sectors, stocks and investments, the new administration will not have it easy. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply.

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Most SMEs in S’pore confident of meeting loan repayment obligations: Survey

elean
2 minutes

SINGAPORE - Seven in 10 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by the pandemic are confident of meeting repayment obligations for government-backed loans next year without impacting their business operations, a survey has found. The survey by DBS Bank covered close to 250 SMEs in three sectors that are most affected by Covid-19 - retail, food and beverage, as well as building and construction. The bank conducted the survey early last month, after the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced extended credit relief support measures for SMEs to partially defer the principal repayment of secured loans and Enterprise Singapore loans. Overall, some three-quarters of SME owners said that they continue to be "optimistic" and "determined". However, they also acknowledged the toll the outbreak has taken, with one in five indicating that they were "exhausted" from dealing with the ongoing economic fallout. DBS group head of SME banking Joyce Tee noted that while the survey shows that SMEs are wounded, they are "certainly not out for the count". "In fact, many SMEs are quietly preparing for a rebound and even those in the hardest-hit sectors have been busy reinventing themselves a...

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What a Biden win means for the financial markets

elean
1 minute

SINGAPORE - Several weeks ago, I ventured a guess that there is a two-thirds chance that Mr Joe Biden will win the presidential election. This has come to pass. While the Biden victory will see a shift in priorities and trigger a market scramble towards specific sectors, stocks and investments, the new administration will not have it easy. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply.

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PAP conference: GE2020 shows voters want PAP back in power; party will work harder as political contest intensifies, says PM Lee

aseanpr
5 minutes

SINGAPORE - Voters in the July general election sent the "unequivocal signal" that they wanted the People's Action Party back in power, even as they felt the pain of the downturn and wanted more alternative voices to check the government, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday. The PAP will act on feedback given by activists on its campaign, he added, stressing that the party that must have the backbone and conviction to fight for its beliefs as political competition intensifies. "All these years, people have been with us because they knew we had backbone: We will fight even with our backs to the wall, and we will never let them down," Mr Lee said in a virtual address to activists at the PAP's biennial conference. "That's how we have been able to win support for our ideas and plans, and shown Singaporeans that we remain the best team to secure their future." Going over the PAP's showing in the recent general election, Mr Lee said the results fell short of the party's expectations, but were not completely surprising. It won 83 out of the 93 seats in Parliament with just over 61 per cent of the popular vote, in the lower range of its projections, and lost the newly-formed Seng...

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PAP conference: Govt will pay attention to lower-income groups, address competition from foreigners while keeping economy open

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - The Government will pay special attention to lower-income groups as it leads Singapore though the Covid-19 crisis and helps its economy recover, pledged Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Speaking at the biennial Peoples' Action Party conference on Sunday (Nov 8), Mr Lee also said that balancing the competition Singaporean workers face from foreigners in the labour market with the need for its economy to be open is also something leaders here will have to focus on. He was speaking at the biennial PAP conference, where cadre members voted to elect the party's central executive committee (CEC), its top decision making body. A big worry about the coronavirus pandemic is that it would undo years of progress made to level up low-wage workers, noted Mr Lee, adding that the Government will work to tackle inequality in Singapore's society. "In Singapore, you may start off poor, but if you work hard, and do your best, you have a good chance of doing better in life. We must prevent low-income households from being disproportionately hit by Covid-19," he said. This cannot be done through "glib slogans or half-baked proposals" but with practical support measures, he added. Mr Lee held...

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PAP conference: Vital to strengthen ties between PAP and NTUC as S’pore tackles Covid-19 crisis, says PM Lee

aseanpr
4 minutes

SINGAPORE - People's Action Party MPs who serve as advisers to various unions should go beyond advising and help out on the ground and engage workers directly, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday (Nov 8). The PAP should also recruit more union leaders to join it, and have more party activists within the unions so that ties are kept warm and close at the working level, said PM Lee, who is the party's secretary-general. In making these points, he stressed how it is especially vital to strengthen the partnership between the PAP and the National Trades Union Congress in a time of crisis. Ties between the ruling party and labour movement remain very strong at the leadership level, he said, but the engagement is "not as deep" on the ground between PAP branches and individual unions as well as union branches. Urging PAP MPs to engage workers, he said: "That way when worker issues arise, PAP MPs and leaders will have a solid feel and understand the ins and outs of issues and why workers are worried, what their concerns are. And PAP MPs can speak up on behalf of workers in Parliament, and show them that they have a voice in the PAP." PM Lee was speaking at the biennial PAP confere...

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Lawyers spar over comments allegedly made by Shanmugam concerning Chief Justice

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam has rejected allegations that he had said Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam told him that the minister "wields influence over" the Chief Justice of Singapore. In a letter addressed to Mr Shanmugam and made public in a Facebook post on Friday (Nov 6), Mr Thuraisingam wrote that "there is absolutely no truth whatsoever" to the accusation, which also includes claims that Mr Shanmugam had said that he "calls the shots and controls" Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon. The allegation was first made three years ago by lawyer M. Ravi in 2017 in a Facebook post, in which Mr Ravi said he had records of the conversation, and resurfaced by Mr Ravi in another Facebook post on Friday. According to Mr Ravi's version of events, Mr Thuraisingam had related the offending comments over drinks at Chijmes in 2017. He also wrote that Mr Thuraisingam has more than once repeated similar statements made by Mr Shanmugam. "I have heard this thousands of times when he gets drunk," he wrote. Mr Ravi told The Straits Times on Friday night that he stood by his statements and was prepared to bring the matter to court. "From my experience of Menon (Chief Justice Sundaresh...

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Robinsons’ closing down sale begins on Friday

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Robinsons will begin its storewide sales on Friday (Nov 6) at its last two stores in Singapore at The Heeren and Raffles City Shopping Centre. There will be a storewide discount on fashion, beauty, homeware, accessories and travel items, said marketing agency BWP Group on Friday. "Everything has been reduced and must go... customers are encouraged to take advantage of these fantastic discounts while stocks last," it added. When contacted, a BWP spokesman said the sale would continue until all stocks were sold. The retailer's appointed liquidator, KordaMentha, has confirmed this announcement, adding in an update on Thursday (Nov 5) that customers who have ordered Simmons, Sealy, Serta or King Koil mattresses from Robinsons and have paid in full can expect these to be delivered. A fifth mattress company, Mattress International (MaxCoil), said that customers who have made a full payment should approach their bank to cancel it. After they redirect their purchases and make payment to MaxCoil, their orders will be fulfilled. KordaMentha added on Thursday that discussions with other mattress suppliers are ongoing and it will provide updates when they are available. As at 4pm T...

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Green finance seen as key in Singapore’s climate change fight

aseanpr
4 minutes

To ensure economic growth and fight climate change at the same time, Singapore needs to leverage green finance and mobilise capital for low-carbon investments, said Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Desmond Tan yesterday. And to succeed in its efforts, the country also needs to plan ahead for a smooth transition to low emissions and build resilience against environmental shocks, he added. "Covid-19 has accelerated pre-existing trends, including rising protectionism, rising inequalities and global warming," Mr Tan, who is also Minister of State for Home Affairs, noted in his speech at the European Union-Singapore Dialogue on climate change. But it has also slowed activities. "Companies should use this period to consider implementing energy efficiency improvement projects so that they can be more cost-competitive and emerge stronger from this crisis," he said. To implement these, they can tap the Economic Development Board's Resource Efficiency Grant for Energy as well as the National Environment Agency's Energy Efficiency Fund, Mr Tan added. Pointing to green finance, he said it is a "critical enabler of green growth" that allows companies to support sustainab...

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Chinese citizen sentenced to 14 months’ jail, $2,000 fine for forging passport stamps, illegal stay

aseanpr
2 minutes

SINGAPORE - For more than three years, Chinese national Chen Bichun paid for new forged passport stamps in order to remain in Singapore illegally to work as a sex worker. Her illicit stay started on March 19, 2016 and came to an end on July 23, 2019, when she was finally caught in a Balestier hotel room during a police raid. On Thursday (Nov 5), Chen was sentenced to 14 months' jail and a $2,000 fine for two charges, one under the Immigration Act and another for the forged documents. One other similar charge was taken into consideration during sentencing. The court heard that her passport contained 19 entry stamps and an application to extend her short-term visit pass, all of which were forged. Investigations found that Chen came to Singapore on March 4, 2016 and was granted 14 days of stay on a social visit pass. A friend then told her that she could help her stay in Singapore and make it seem to the authorities that Chen's stay was legal. Each extension would cost $200 and last about two months. Chen agreed to the arrangement. After her friend was arrested in April 2017 and repatriated to China, Chen started getting contacted by an unidentified person to get the extensions. She w...

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Green finance among options needed to address economic, climate objectives: Desmond Tan

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - To address economic and climate objectives at the same time, Singapore needs to adopt a three-prong approach that includes leveraging green finance to manage the risks of climate change and mobilise capital for green and low-carbon investments. Speaking at the European Union (EU)-Singapore Dialogue on climate change on Thursday (Nov 5), Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Desmond Tan said that to succeed in its efforts, the country also needs to plan ahead for a smooth low-carbon transition and build resilience against environmental shocks. "Covid-19 has accelerated pre-existing trends, including rising protectionism, rising inequalities and global warming. "The onus is on us to continue to look beyond the immediate Covid-19 crisis and prepare for these long-term challenges, notably climate change. "This has always been Singapore's approach to development - to look and plan long term," said Mr Tan. He said the Government's strategy sends a powerful signal for other stakeholders to act, especially the private sector and investors. "If we all develop and implement long-term decarbonisation plans, it will facilitate the shifts needed for the transition...

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NEC Selected as a Vendor for NTT DOCOMO’s Standalone 5G Mobile Core

ruth
4 minutes

TOKYO, Nov 5, 2020 - (JCN Newswire) - NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701) today announced its selection by NTT DOCOMO, Inc. as a vendor of a 5G mobile core network (5GC) compatible with Standalone (SA) 5G that NTT DOCOMO plans to launch in 2021. NEC 5GC Use CaseContribution to NTT DOCOMO's core networkIn addition to the 5GC, NEC will provide a compact user data processor, the "UPF mini"(1), as part of driving further development of NTT DOCOMO's SA 5G, and meeting the diverse network needs of the 5G era, including support for 5G features such as enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC), and Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC).This SA 5GC features flexible operations, enabled by the adoption of container technology(1), in addition to the virtualization adopted by virtualized Evolved Packet Core (vEPC). Moreover, the SA 5GC enables the provision of sliced networks that are ideal for the various services that take advantage of 5G features, while also improving scalability. This SA 5GC is also provided in the cloud, as NEC promotes its expansion into the global market. In addition, the UPF mini data processor is smaller and saves more power ...

ACN Newswire
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RIWI Predicted the Tight Race Seen in Today’s Results, and Now Publicly Releases All RIWI Election Reports Prepared Since September 8 for American, British and Asian Finance Clients

indie
3 minutes

TORONTO, Nov 5, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - RIWI Corp. (TSXV: RIWI) (OTC: RWCRF) (the "Company" or "RIWI"), a global trend-tracking and prediction technology firm, today publicly released all of the U.S. Election reports that the Company prepared for global finance clients since September 8, 2020.In contrast to almost all public polling and mainstream media forecasts that predicted a "Blue Wave" and blowout victory for former Vice President Joe Biden, RIWI's final client report on November 2, at 10 am Eastern Standard Time, showed a different story: the much tighter race that we see in today's results. RIWI's randomly engaged forecasters represented a continuous evaluation of the views of 100,584 different Americans.RIWI's approach is unique. "For RIWI technology, one truly random forecast from one randomly engaged, anonymous person is worth far more than 10 non-randomly engaged, non-random traditional survey respondents who habitually offer their personal opinions, sometimes even in exchange for incentives," said Neil Seeman, RIWI's Chief Executive Officer. "Ensuring the anonymity of any respondent, without ever collecting personally identifiable information, is essential to both accu...