Article extracted from channelnewsasia.com dated 26 January 2011.
In Tokyo,Japan thousands of chickens were slaughtered on Wednesday in the country's largest poultry farming area to fight an outbreak of bird flu. A total of 420,000 birds have been slaughtered since then. This is Japan's third bird flu outbreak at a poultry farm this year, and authorities and farmers worry the disease may spread further.
Local authorities have banned any movement of 5.22 million chickens and eggs kept in the area within 10 kilometres from the outbreak point in Kagoshima prefecture. In Miyazaki, another major farming region some 900 kilometres southwest of Tokyo, a foot-and-mouth outbreak last year forced the slaughter of almost 300,000 farm animals.
Just when we thought that bird flu was gone, it came right back. Hitting Japan with it's third bird flu attack is definitely scary. And I am pretty sure that soon other countries are going to be effected by it too. I just hope that these situation will be able to be kept under control and not spread to other countries as there are already too many natural disasters going on and if this does continues, situations are going to get out of hand. As for me, i know that it's going to be double the impact for me as I am a foodie person and eating is one thing that I do best and not being able to chicken which is one of my most favorite food is definitely not going to be easy at all.
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Article extracted from channelnewsasi.com dated 20 January 2011.
The article is about the recent thaipusam that took place on thusday 20th January.
Ten thousuand Hindu devotees celebrated Thaipusam with an annual four kilometre procession that kicked off at the stroke of midnight. The procession made its way from the Serangoon Road Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple to the Hindu Temple in Tank Road. Amidst tight security and safety measures were all on duty to ensure that the devotees could completed their vows to the Hindu God Murugan, by carrying milk pots and kavadis.
Also, this year there was a little discussion by the Indian community as to whether the rules on the religious processions like Thaipusam should be tightened by authorities. Law and Home Affairs Minister, K Shanmugam who was at the festival said that there would not be any changes and the ceremoney will be held as per normal just like every year. The Hindu Endowments Board noted that apart from Indians taking part in the roceesion, there has been a rising trend of devotees from other races taking part in Thaipusam as well.
It was a relief to hear that there were no changes made in the thaipusam processions this year. I myself had gone for the thaipusam prayers this year and i must say that it was one of the most spiritual feeling i have ever felt in a very long time. The last time i attended the thaipusam was when in 2002 and going back after so many years felt amazing. Watching all the devotees preparing to carry the Kavadis with their family members brought back memories when one of my cousins had carried one too in the past. I agree with the statement that was mentioned in the article of many other races of devotees taking part in the thaipusam this year too. My friend who is a chinese whom i had brought with myself to the thaipusam was surprise on seeing the amount of other races present there as well. Some were tkaing part in the milk ceremoy where else some just came to take a glimse of the spiritual ceremony. I would strongly encourage those peopl who have never experienced this ceremony to definitely come down next year to take a look of how this ceremony is done and have a broader knowledge on the Indian community.
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Article extracted from channelnewsasis.com date 5 January 2010.
Looks like any other ordinary robot to you? Well think again. This robot, named "Life Saver" that looks like a toy car it's an all-terrain vehicle which was designed by a final year student in Diploma in Mechatronics and Robotics, Wei Linyun from the Singapore Polytechnic. An unmanned robot that can go into disaster zones and rescue people is one of the 450 innovations on display, at the Spinnovex Innovation Exhibition. An annual event by Singapore Polytechnic whereby it showcases some of the top projects by the final-year students. This robot uses mini microphones to pick up voices of survivors and is half the size of a robot in the market. At a price tag of S$2, 500 compared to S$70 000 for professionally-made ones, it appears there could be market for it in Singapore.
In the article Wei Linyun mentioned of how this idea came about. She mentioned that some of their research was carried out at the training ground of the Singapore Civil Defence Force and after visiting their site and communicating with them, they found that they may need such a robot which will improve their efficiency. This vehicle will work as a team and communicate with one another through swarm technology, when a signal of a survivor is found and even if one robot goes down, the search team will not collapse. This is definitely a must have robot for the world today. Being able to save a life and be of an helping hand for many countries. This is exactly what we need right now. With all the natural diasters happening and destroying many homes and burying people who are still alive, this life saver robot will be able to give them aother life. Due to the insufficient manpower and help in certain countries, the life saver robot will be of a big help for them as it would be able to save lives and also reduce the work load of many rescuers. I must say that, it is also an honour for our country as most of these robots are usually invented by the Japanese. But today, one of the most useful robot in my eye has been invented by a fellow Singaporean. How cool is that. It seems like Singapore is not that far behind in technology now.
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Article extracted from channel newsasia.com dated 2 January 2010
This year, as we all know is the year of the rabbits and Singaporeans are going crazy over Rabbit-shaped ornaments. As year—end festivities are behind us now, buyers are still continuing to shop as they are getting ready for the Year of the Rabbit.
Starting from the 1st January to 9 January at Orchard Central, a fair named The Lively Rabbit Lunar fair are selling Rabbit—shaped ornaments that comes in different sizes and are made of jade or gold. Retailers at the fair said buyers are mostly Singaporeans, although there are big spenders from China, Malaysia and Indonesia, too. Retailer expects sales to go up by 60% compared to last year, despite rising prices. A retailer by the name of Yip Pak Ling from The Singapore Mint said: "(Consumers) will not hesitate to buy a piece of gold (now) compared to last year, because last year there was a lot of uncertainty because of the financial crisis."
When I read this article, I wasn't as shocked as to how some of my friends reacted to it. We Singaporeans are known for believing in such superstitious whereby if you have an object or a symbol of something representing that year, it will bring you good luck or good fortune through out the year. Ornaments like this have been selling in Singapore for many years and retaliers have made alot of profit out of it. So I am pretty much sure that the sales for these rabbit ornaments will definitely go well and hit the expectation of the retailer which is 60%. And also since the economy is doing much better compared to last year's financial crisis, consumers will not hesitate to spend their cash on these rabbits and this will also give them another good reason to shop.
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Article extracted from current affairs and political news website dated on 26 December 2010.On 25 December 2010 which is Christmas, everyone is happily celebrating and exchanging gifts with their loved ones, but who knew a suicide attack was being plotted and then carried out in Bajaur Pakistan.The explosion happened in Khar, district headquarters of Bajaur Agency in FATA, Pakistan, killed at least 44 citizens and wounded 72. According to information, the blasts occur in front of a civil colony at a check point and World Food Programme building was also near the blast position. A female suicide bomber reaches at the spot and blew herself up, due to which 44 people were killed and several others sustained severe injuries. The attack took place when more than 300 people were gathering outside World Food Programmed building to take delivery of food supplies. Protection forces and police reached the spot and cordoned off the neighborhood and started investigate operation. Rescue teams also reached the blast place and in progress relief actions.
Once again Pakistan was attacked by a suicide bomber and this time round it was a female. As far as i can remember, i think this is the first time that a female had become a suicide bomber. What has come to this world? People blasting up themselves and killing others thinking that they are taking revenge. Looking at the situation now, I won't be surprised if a child is used as a suicide bomber next. It is so heart aching to see how people are taking their lives for granted and not thinking twice about what they are doing whether is it right or wrong. All the innocent people who lost their lives and family members who lost their loved ones, imagine what they must be going through. The year is coming to an end, why can't people just forgive one another and start the brand new year afresh. I sincerely hope that the situation in Pakistan will get better in the new year and the people there can start to live a proper life without having to worry if they would get to live another day or not.
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Article extracted from channelnewsasia.com dated on 19 december 2010.
At this time of the year, everyone want is excited and busy shopping as Christmas and new year is just around the corner. But did it ever occur to you guys, if there are people out there who are not as privileged as many of us?? Well it did not occur to me till recently I came across an article regarding a shopping treat that was sponsored by TNT Singapore and Lions Club. The two organised a shopping trip at Marina Square for some 120 children from low-income families on Sunday. Each child was given an average of S$75 to spend. The money was prudently spent, as most children favoured school essentials such as shoes and schoolbags over toys and at the end of the shopping trip, they were treated to their favorite foods as well.
After reading this article, it did not just made me realise how blessed and privileged I am to be able to shop and get all my favorite items without having to worry about money or what so ever, but, it has also thought me how to be thoughtful for others and not just for yourself. In the article, a girl named Angela a student from Punggol Primary School said that she spent half of her money on things for her little sister and bought her a pencil case as she will be starting school next year and does not have one yet. I was truly touched at how thoughtful Angela is at such a young age and I am sure she will definitely live up to set a good example for her younger sister. Apart from this, It was really nice to see that there are people out there who are concern for this kids and have made an effort in fulfilling their wish, this Christmas. I hope in the future, i will have the opportunity in doing such a noble job as well.
Link to the article:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1100068/1/.html
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Article extracted from channel newsasia website dated on 7 December 2010.
Link to the article:
http://news.xin.msn.com/en/singapore/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4506053
Mr Yap Yian Bee a 52—year—old man was jailed on Tuesday (6 december 2010) for three months, for punching his Indonesian maid who was only allowed to have four hours of sleep in a day from 5am to 9am. Mr Yap had asked his maid by the name of sinewi to help him hold the front portion of his son’s toy car as he wanted to repair it with some tools. But Ms Sinewi dozed off as she was holding on to the toy, and because of that Mr Yap used a screwdriver and hit her on the forehead. Despite getting hit with the screwdriver, Ms Sinewi went to the kitchen to wash some dirty dishes whihc was left in the sink. Mr Yap tailed her and punched her eyes several times because he claimed that the noise that she was supposedly making would wake his children up. Ms Sinewi, suffered injuries including bruises on her limbs and on both cheeks. Mr Yap has also agreed to pay a compensation of S$4,000 to the maid for hurting her.
Getting jailed for 3 months and paying a compesation of $4000 is definetly not enough for what Mr Yap has done to his maid. I agree that money can heal her wounds but will it be able to heal the fear that Mr yap has left in her? I don't think so. He has not just wounded Ms Sinewa physically but mentally as well. This incident must have definetly left Ms Sinewa in fear of wanting to work in other places as she might be afraid of getting hit again. Culprits like Mr Yap should be charged more severly and not left off this easily. After all, maids are human beings just like us, they have feelings too and they deserve to be treated with respect. I hope that people who have maids at home would think twice about how they behave towards them and try to improve on their behaviour towards them. Just because they are maids and have been employed to work for us, that does not give us the right to treat them like slaves and tourture them.
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