Air pollution in Shanghai after expo

A month after the World expo, Shanghai set records for air pollution that which could scare investors off. For this grand event, Shanghai order construction sites and factories to stop their work for 6 months,also they kept vehicles off streets to keep the air clean.

But since the expo ended on October 31, thick haze settled over the city and pollution triple as compared to the past few weeks.Gas leakages at oil refinery has caused foul smell in the air.The media reported that the air pollution in November has been the worst for 5 years.

"During the Expo, the government was very conscious about our air quality and wanting to give foreign visitors a good impression," said Lisa Jin, a student at East China Normal University in Shanghai.
"But after the Expo they have become lax and do not seem to care about the air quality."

On the contrary,Shanghai's environmental protection agency blamed the pollution on cold weather and stated that the months of November and December always bring bad air.However industry experts said the resumption of factory work and a significant increase of vehicles entering the city is the main factors that is causing air pollution.

"Will we see the blue skies days again in the near future? I seriously doubt it," Marc van der Chijs, co-founder of China's No.2 online video website Tudou, said recently on his blog.

Many residents look back wistfully at the clean air this year and wonder if they'll see it again. If Shanghai offically does not approach the problem it would surely threaten the views of people around the world about Shanghai.

Comments:
Shanghai should maintain the environmental standard of the city,even after the expo, and implement measures to reduce air pollution. Residents living in Shanghai would be badly affected and would cause a higher chance of contracting lung diseases. Therefore, they should cut down on the working hours of factories or constructions to reduce air pollution in the city. However,it would be a difficult task to set a limit or reduce vehicles entering the city.
Even though Shanghai is presented as China's most developed city, it also has given investors the impression of a badly air polluted city. Having to know this, investors might not want to invest or start business here as the problem would greatly affect the revenue earn. It would greatly affect the economy of the city and the views of others countries toward them.

Lin Zong Han

S'pore firms keeping workers beyond age 62

EFFORTS to convince companies to keep workers beyond the age of 62 are bearing fruit, a new survey has shown. Of 3,200 companies surveyed, more than three of five said they would keep those workers. And out of 9,400 local employees from various sectors who had reached 62, 92 per cent said And out of 9,400 local employees from various sectors who had reached 62, 92 per cent said they were allowed to continue working.

Comments:

After reading this article, I believe that the working society is becoming into a workplace filled with not just young employees but also older employees aged between 60 to 62. As people start living longer and many might not have enough money to retire. By allowing workers of an older age to continue working, it helps to ensure that the senior workers can still earn an income and not to worry about financing the future needs. There are many skeptical employers that doubt if older workers are capable of handling the work in the company. But the truth is, senior workers are even more capable than young employees that have just enrolled into the company or organisation. The reason is simple, senior workers have more working experience. In business, practical working experience is more important than knowledge just alone read in books. Having knowledge is not enough. One must both have the working experience and the knowledge in order to manage a business well.

Done by : Hans

19 hurt in China school knife attack

Article : A 40 year old man went into a killing frenzy last month and was nearly arrested. He repeated the same act but this time in a particular school in China. He hurt 18 students and one teacher. Arrested by the police and sentenced to death due 23 march . Zheng Minsheng, 41 did these acts due to rage and depression taht was spurned by a lover. The injured were sent to hopitals but there were no reports of any deaths. Zheng used a dagger to stab children in the neck, stomach, chest and back before being subdues by onlookers.

Comments :
I believe that security must be tightened because the life and the safetyness of the students are of paramount importance. Security guards should be placed in every school to ensure that problems like the slashing of students can be prevented.  Furthermore, Zheng Minsheng should not use his personal relationship problem as an excuse to go mentally unstable and start slashing and hurting innocent students. As an adult, he is mature enough to think and should control his own emotions. Unless the school starts to become more responsible for the safetyness of the students, I believe that after this incident the institute will begin to lose more of its students as many parents will pull their kids out of this school to prevent the incident from occurring again.
DONE BY: HANS

Should smoking be banned in casinos?

ARTICLE : Casino patrons and employees alike are raising concern over the poor air quality in the smoking areas of local casinos at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) and Marina Bay Sands (MBS).

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has received more than 30 complaints from patrons about poor air quality and gamblers lighting up in non-smoking areas.

“Most of the floors in MBS are smoking areas and after being in there for an hour or so, I start coughing and feeling uncomfortable,” 56-year-old patron Margaret Choi tells Yahoo! Singapore.

Another RWS patron Madam Lee Geok Lan, 70, also told The Straits Times that signages were poor in RWS’ casino and that she had trouble finding the non-smoking area.

It is not just the patrons who are disgruntled. Some dealers who work in the smoking areas of the casino are worried about the ill-effects of their long exposure to second-hand smoke.

An NEA spokesman acknowledges that there had been complaints about smoking violations when the casinos first opened, but claims the integrated resorts (IR) have since taken action including displaying “No Smoking” signs more clearly and reducing available entrances and exits in smoking areas.

The IRs, unlike other public places, have been left out of moves over the years to curb smoking indoors. They are allowed to draw up their own house rules on smoking and non-smoking areas. This is despite the ban against smoking in nightspots that took effect in July 2007 and the prohibition of lighting up within 5 metres of entrances of exits and buildings since January last year.

At RWS, more than 60% of the casino is smoke-free. However, at MBS, only one of the four floors is devoted to gambling for non-smoking patrons. As a result, casino employees are consistently exposed to second-hand smoke at work.

Richard Chua, 55, who recently visited MBS’ casino told Yahoo! Singapore, “Even though the second-hand smoke is not that big a deal for me since I only visit once in awhile, it can’t be healthy for those working there everyday.”

A typical shift for a dealer lasts eight hours, with workers getting a break every one to two hours. This adds up to almost six hours of smoke exposure a day. Working on a rostered basis, some may spend many days working in smoking areas before being posted to non-smoking ones.

Several casino staff have expressed unhappiness over having to breathe second-hand smoke for such long working hours everyday. While some have quit, others are putting up with the situation for fear of losing their jobs, and have not raised the matter to the management.

One MBS dealer told The Straits Times she had developed a lingering cough because of the second-hand smoke and said, “I was on medical leave three times within the first month of work.”

Others agreed, saying working in the smoking areas can be unbearable because the small gaming tables increases their proximity to surrounding smokers.

An MBS spokesman explains that ”all employees working in the casino were informed that their work environment will have smoking components.”

He adds that MBS is “committed to managing air flow and air quality” and that they have invested in air treatment and filtration systems similar to those used in hospitals.

RWS also told The Straits Times that it was “constantly monitoring and implementing ways to improve the air quality of the casino” to ensure patrons and workers are given a pleasant gaming and working environment.

The Ministry of Manpower, when asked if the issue of second-hand smoke came under the Workplace Safety and Health framework and what employees could do, said, “MOM encourages employees who have concerns about their work environment to raise them with their employers to work out practical solutions.”

Comments :

Singapore, a clean and green environment , should ban smoking in the casino. Smoking in the casino has caused several problems and concern over on the poor quality of air in the casino itself. The smoker will not just affect the players that are around him but also affect the non-managerial employees working in the casino. Breathing in second-hand smoke has always been known to be more detrimental to health than first-hand smoke.

Furthermore, it affects not only the health of the players but also the performances of the players. Health is the most important factor to why we should ban smoking in the casino. It had been said," To reach a thousand steps, it is to take the first step", we must know that though banning smoking in the casino is just a step to ensuring a free-smoking environment in the casino but it is also a step making us closer to a free-smoking Singapore.

Done by: Hans

Cambodian stampede

The three-day Water Festival is held each November to honor a victory by Cambodian naval forces during the 12th century reign of King Jayavarman VII.During the festival, which includes boat races, participants pray for a good rice harvest and enough rain, and celebrate the full moon.

Cambodian government has decreased the official death toll from a stampede on a suspension bridge in the capital from 456 to 347. Government investigators said on Wednesday that the bridge swayed as thousands of people attempted to cross it Monday night during the Water Festival. Apparently it led to fears that it would collapse, triggering the stampede. Hundreds of others were injured in the incident.

Police fired water canons at the people to keep them moving which led to further panic. The government annouced that they will help transport the bodies of the dead and pay 5 million riel ($1,230) to the family of each of the deceased.


Comments:
The Water Festival should be a joyous event but it turn out to be a tragedy. In my opinion,even though there is a reduction in the death poll from 456 to 357 it is still not a positive news.
The police should not have handle the situation by firing water canons at the people. This causes more panic and fear in the people.Instead, they should have use alternative ways to calm and lead the people to safety.
The government tackled this tragedy by paying 5 million riel(SG$1230) to the family of each the deceased which i think is not rational to do it as life cannot be measured using monetary terms.The government should really look into the problem and amend on how their police force handles it, if there's such horrendous situation again.


Lin Zong Han

The problem of obesity is getting worse in Singapore

 

The latest National Health Survey shows the obesity rate has increased from 6.9 per cent in 2004 to 10.8 per cent this year. This year's National Healthy Lifestyle campaign is thus adopting a more holistic approach to help Singaporeans fight the flab. More than 1,000 people turned up at the launch of the campaign by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. They tried out the new Singapore Workout that includes traditional dance moves. The message is for Singaporeans to get healthy together and combat obesity. Based on the National Health Survey, the obesity rate is definitely on the upturn. The HPB attributes the rise in obesity here to a lack of physical activity and a more sedentary lifestyle. The National Health Survey found that 54.1 per cent of Singaporeans do not exercise.  HPB's Youth Health Division director K Vijaya said: "There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that chronic disease including obesity has its roots in pre-natal and the early developmental stages of one's life."As a result of this evidence, we are shifting our obesity prevention efforts further upstream, to the pre-natal and early years of one's life. "We will be empowering parents to nurture health lifestyles, among their children. "We are coming up with guidelines, strategies to provide a conducive environment for this purpose such as baby friendly hospitals that support breast feeding."In addition, we will be coming up with guidelines to prevent indiscriminate advertising of food and beverages to children".Other efforts include getting those from the food industry to develop lower calorie food products and meals, to cut some 25 billion kilocalories from Singapore's food supply by 2013. HPB also intends to roll out a nationwide Body Mass Index survey every two to three years to better monitor obesity trends.

Personal view:

Indeed, Singaporeans are getting more and more overweight and are less alert on their personal weight and health. Hence, based on the above article which had mentioned, are agreeable. Therefore, by preventing this situation to become worse, Singapore’s government and Health Promotion Board (HPB) had decided to introduce certain measures to overcome this problem. Such as promoting social exercises, whereby Singaporeans are gather through an event to exercise together, and alerting Singaporeans through television or newspaper to have a balanced diet. As a result, number of obesity occurring in Singapore would be lesser and other problems relating to it will also be fewer. For example, lesser people would suffer higher blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Perhaps, it will also benefit Singaporeans as they are more health conscious and living a healthier lifestyles.                                                                  

Yan Ling

Design of water polo team trunks 'inappropriate'

The design of the swimming trunks worn by Singapore's water polo team at the Asian Games has been ruled 'inappropriate' by the government. The team did not seek official advice or approval for the design.

The team, however, will still get to wear the trunks for at least one more match, as competition rules require the players to wear one colour of trunks throughout the competition.

Ms Carol Tan, director of Mica's resilience and marketing division, said: "We would have told them that their design is inappropriate as we want elements of the flag to be treated with dignity. This is because many Singaporeans recognise these elements as representing the Singapore flag."

Comments

There were people who suggested the players were the innocent party, and that they had probably even been embarrassed having to wear the trunks.

But according to The Straits Times, the players themselves had designed the ridiculous trunks, so they're not that innocent after all.

But now the team is saying it was all unintentional and that the flag was supposed to be placed on the side.

I find it hard to believe it was unintentional. I mean, if they had at least tried on the trunks before going the the Games, it would have been a little too obvious, wouldn't it?

 

I think the players should just stick to playing water polo, and leave the designing to professional designers, to avoid such a silly mistake

Teen slashed in Ang Mo Kio

Police have arrested a teenager who was involved in an attack on another youth in Ang Mo Kio on Thursday.The attacker was 17 years old.

The victim who was also 17 got slashed on the right shoulder at Block 448, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 at about 7pm.The victim, who left a blood trail from outside a 24-hour restaurant,was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

The New Paper reported on Friday that the two youths had got into a quarrel and a shoving match before the victim was knifed.

A police spokesman said that the incident had nothing to do with gang activities, and investigations are ongoing.

The latest incident comes after a teen was slashed to death at Downtown East and seven others were attacked in Bukit Panjang.

Comments

After having to read this article,I felt that the government and the police force should really tighten the security measures in all parts of Singapore,not just in the areas of Downtown East. This will help prevent and intimidate gang members and those who wants to find trouble. After the incident at Downtown East,slashing and hacking cases have become more and more common among the public which has already threaten our sense of security when going out. Schools should educate and encourage students not to join any gangs as students are more likely to get into a gang due to certain reasons(Eg.Thinking that joining gangs are acts of being cool). Also teenagers should not get into quarrels over minor misunderstanding. It's not worth it of getting serious injuries because of some small matters. Hence, strengthening Singapore's security and avoiding quarrels,especially with people who are involved in gangs,can prevent getting hurt.

Lin Zong Han

    

Sentosa Boost

SYDNEY : An Australian restaurant has ditched printed menus and now hands diners the latest tech-craze, Apple's touch-screen iPad computer, from which to choose and order their meals.

Risking damaging wine spills and customers taking an iPad 'to go', the Global Mundo Tapas eatery at the Rydges Hotel in North Sydney introduced its new menus three days ago -- within a week of the iPad's Australian release.

"One of the points of difference for our restaurant was to have a unique menu," the hotel's general manager Craig Simpson said Friday.Hundreds of people queued round the block in central Sydney to buy the iPad when it went on sale outside the United States for the first time on May 28.

Simpson bought 15 of the sought-after tablets, flying to Adelaide to pick up 10 of them on launch day, which retail from AUS$629 Australian dollars (US$531).

An iPad application developed ahead of the tactile device's launch allows diners at the 50-seat restaurant to browse the menu -- complete with photographs and tasting notes -- with a flick of a finger.

Order a steak and the application asks how you would like the meat cooked, and placing your order can be done with the press of a button. Planned features include pop-up boxes that will suggest wines to match meals, and stock-control mechanisms to delete sold-out items from the menu.

"Hotels used to be cutting-edge food and beverage," Simpson said. "We are trying to bring the pizzazz back."

"It's something to play with while you order," he said. "With a menu, you don't really know what you're getting," lunch customer David Wisemantel told AFP on Friday. "I would be far more inclined to order... if I knew what it looked like."

Comments:

The globe is constantly spinning , advanced technology are created now and then. Personally, i think that the houses, tourist attractions and all stuff around us are always changing to satisfy human unwanted satisfaction. Technology is just another factor too. I'm totally amazed and awed by the changes in this particular place.In Sydney,there is a Aussie restaurant which changed the whole concept of menus. This act of their was totally brillant and innovative.

Apparently, they used Apple iPads for their menus. This allows people to play while they order their foods. Interesting way to order their food and pop up button to recommend them which wines to go with.

Fast,easy and appealing are the 3 simple words i would describe.

Firstly, FAST as to the customers don't have to wait for the waiters to attend to others before serving them . They have the iPads to take their orders.

Secondly, EASY as to the iPads will delete those sold out items just to inform the customers before they make their decisions. Nevertheless, it is light and just a flick of a finger, their orders can be make known.

Lastly, APPEALING as to there are photographs of what the food looks like. Though normal menus have pictures too, their might not look as appealing to those food on the iPads, the more advanced technology.

An innovaative and useful tool for menus such as Apple iPads is indeed brillant & just the menu itself attracts many customers.

Credit card debts ballooning!

Article
CREDIT card debt hit an estimated $3.4 billion last December, the highest for that month in 20 years. More people have also sought help in settling their outstanding bills.
Going by figures from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the number of credit cards rose 11 per cent in the last year, but rollover balances jumped more than 13 per cent.
Rollover balances, which are the unpaid amounts that are subject to interest charges, have been climbing steadily since 2006.
Also up: The proportion of card holders with bills unpaid 30 days past the due date. It rose from 1.38 per cent last July to 1.67 per cent in December.
All this has made for a busier time for Credit Counselling Singapore (CCS), a non-profit organisation which helps debtors work out instalment plans to pay off their debts.
It said it handled a third more cases in the second half of last year than in the first half - 415 counselling appointments in the second half of the year, up from 299 in the first half.
Talks on credit management organised by CCS also started drawing bigger audiences - 1,254 in the second half of the year, against 929 in the first half.

Comments
In the world today, many people are making full use of credit cards to pay off their daily expenses and leisure. The reason is that credit cards are easy and simple to use and it allows you to pay at a later date. These advantages made users spend their money extravagantly and without limits due to the fact that credit cards give them huge purchasing power. However, many have been blinded by the advantages of credit cards and have forgotten about the fact that there is a need to pay off their debts after every month.

The problem starts to arise when it is the time to pay off their debts. If unable to pay off , their credit card debts start to accumulate and cause them to be resulted in a huge debt. To avoid the debt trap, I believe that there is a need to educate these people, especially the youths. Credit card mainly causes temptation and to solve temptation is to limit oneself. Furthermore, credit users should keep track of how much they have spent on their credit card and to balance their spendings with their income. In addition, it is to use their credit card responsibly. Credit cards do provide convenience and are useful in times of emergency. But one must use the card responsibly and ensure to pay the credit card bill in full every month. By being disciplined in credit card spending and using credit responsibly, one can avoid the debt trap and becoming financially free.

Done by : HANS LIM WEI XIONG.

South Korean gamer kills self and his mother

SEOUL - SOUTH Korean police say a 15-year-old boy has committed suicide after killing his mother in a fight over Internet games.

Police official Jung Yo Il said on Tuesday that the student hanged himself. Mr Jung says the boy's mother had been strangled in their home in the southeastern port city of Busan.

Mr Jung says the fight started on Monday night after the mother scolded her son for playing computer games.

He says the student's younger sister said her brother had been playing violent Internet games for the past two to three years.

South Korea estimates some 2 million people are Internet addicts.

The country is considered one of the world's most technologically wired, with more than 90 per cent of homes having broadband Internet access. 

Personal thoughts:  Due to the advance in technology and certain bad influences occurred in the society, more and more crimes of killing had happened. It’s due to the availability of violence games, which could be downloaded illegally through the internet websites, and certain violence programs showed in the television. By accessing to this kind of violence act frequently, it would affect the growth of a growing child. They would start to develop a kind of mindset that everything could be solved simply by using violence or even by taking away someone’s life. Perhaps, they would also have the feeling of excitement and enjoyment to watch someone get killed or the blood splashing infront of their eyes. As a result, by stopping it to happen more commonly, parents will need to take some precautions to watch over what their children are doing. For example, when the child has to watch or play some violence things, they will need their parents’ acknowledgment for them to proceed on. Or rather, by being a good example infront of their child; avoid having some violence act infront of their child. Hence, I think if the parents could spend a little more efforts, sad cases like this could be prevented.

YanLing

Bukit Panjang beefs up safety measures after recent gang attacks

SINGAPORE : Bukit Panjang constituency is beefing up safety measures after recent gang attacks in the area.

Seven youths were repeatedly slashed by a group of parang-wielding men on Monday night, in what appeared to be gang-related attacks.

The constituency will immediately enhance the Citizens on Patrol (COP) programme, which is a collaboration between the police and Residents Committees.

The area's MP, Dr Teo Ho Pin, announced this to reporters after a Tree Planting event on Sunday.

He said about 70 volunteers will receive hands-on training from the police soon.

They will also be taught how to identify gang activities and potential violence.

Dr Teo, who is also Mayor of the North West District, urged more volunteers to join the programme so that patrols can be intensified. He also stressed that residents have to remain vigilant to fight crime in their neighbourhood.

He said: "What is more important is to get the community to be all alert. Do not just rely on police, do not just rely on the COP volunteers, do not just rely on the neighbours. I think everyone should be alert. The more alert the community, the safer the community." - CNA/ms


Comments: After reading and hearing to all the recent slashing cases, i feel that the government indeed should do something about the security. Not only having a higher level of security at places where such cases have happen but also at other areas as these gangsters would also know that the police would patrol there more often. Of course just like what Dr Teo, Mayor of the North West District said we can't just rely solely on the police as we can't expect them to be everywhere at all times. After all, such cases can happen anytime and anywhere. What they can do is to predict places where there is a high chance of such cases to take place. Therefore, i personally feel that everyone has a part to play in this, being alert and avoiding unnecessary trouble like going out in a big group wearing black, staring at others and even avoiding people who are in gangs etc. By doing so, we cut down on the chances that we will be targeted by the gangsters and having troubles. All in all, everyone has a part to play in order to keep the society a safe and peaceful environment to stay in.


Clement Juan