Fish farm owner fined for steering boat while drunk, crashing into Police Coast Guard craft
SINGAPORE: The owner of a fish farm was fined S$3,000 on Thursday (Mar 19) for navigating a boat while drunk. Tan Choon Teck, 56, owns a fish farm north of Pulau Ubin as well as a Singapore-registered boat, the court heard. Advertisement Advertisement He used the boat to travel between Singapore’s mainland and his fish
Wuhan’s new COVID-19 cases could cease by mid-late March: Report
SHANGHAI: Wuhan is expected to see new coronavirus infections dry up by mid-to-late March and the lockdown of the central Chinese city, the epicentre of the outbreak, may be lifted once there are no new cases for 14 days, the state-backed China Daily reported. However, strict disease control and prevention measures will still be needed
Father gets jail, caning for repeatedly molesting daughter, 13
SINGAPORE: A man who repeatedly molested his daughter while they were alone at home was sentenced on Thursday (Mar 19) to five years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane. The 47-year-old man, who cannot be named due to a gag order protecting his daughter’s identity, pleaded guilty earlier this week to three counts of
South Korea reports rebound in new COVID-19 cases after nursing home outbreak
SEOUL: South Korea posted a jump in new coronavirus cases on Thursday (Mar 19), reversing days of slowing numbers of infection after a new outbreak emerged in a nursing home in the hardest-hit city of Daegu. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 152 new cases, taking the national tally to 8,565. Advertisement Advertisement
China reports no new domestic COVID-19 cases for first time, but 34 imported
BEIJING: China on Thursday (Mar 19) reported no new domestic cases of the coronavirus for the first time since it started recording them in January, but recorded a spike in infections imported from abroad. There were 34 cases that were brought in from abroad, the biggest daily increase in two weeks, according to the National Health
First US Congress member tests positive for COVID-19
WASHINGTON: A Florida lawmaker became the first member of the US Congress to test positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday (Mar 18). Representative Mario Diaz-Balart’s office said in a statement that “just a short while ago, he was notified that he has tested positive for COVID-19”. Advertisement Advertisement The Republican, who represents part of
No layoffs, reduced rent: ‘Italian cure’ for COVID-19 pandemic
ROME: Companies are barred from laying off workers and rents have been reduced under Italy’s economic survival plan for life at the European epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte hailed his 25-billion-euro (US$28-billion) programme as the “Italian model” that the rest of Europe could adopt as it imposes its own painful lockdowns. Advertisement
France reports huge spike in COVID-19 deaths, raising total to 264
PARIS: French health authorities reported 89 new deaths from coronavirus on Wednesday (Mar 18), taking the total to 264 or an increase of almost 51 per cent, a much more marked rise than recently seen as the country was in its second day of a lockdown aimed at containing the outbreak. During a press conference,
UK to close schools, put troops on standby as COVID-19 deaths rise
LONDON: Britain announced Wednesday (Mar 18) it would be closing schools in the coming days and placing 20,000 troops on standby in efforts to stem the spread of coronavirus, as the death toll topped 100. Prime Minister Boris Johnson had held off following the lead of other European countries because of the impact it would have on
Singapore aviation industry ‘extremely vulnerable’ to fallout from COVID-19, say experts
SINGAPORE: With an increasing number of countries enacting travel restrictions to curb the COVID-19 outbreak, Singapore is left “extremely vulnerable” due to its status as an aviation hub, say analysts. Smaller carriers may also end up going belly-up during this period, due to a drop in demand, they noted. Advertisement Advertisement This comes as Singaporeans
Australian airline Qantas to cut all international flights
SYDNEY: Australia’s biggest airline Qantas said on Thursday (Mar 18) it will halt all international flights later this month, after the island nation’s other main carrier Virgin shut its overseas services due to the coronavirus pandemic. Qantas said all of its international flights would be suspended by late March for at least two months after
6.3-magnitude quake strikes south of Indonesia’s Bali
BALI, Indonesia: A strong earthquake jolted Indonesia’s holiday island of Bali early on Thursday (Mar 19), but no tsunami warning was issued. The quake struck at 1.45am (1745 GMT) with an epicentre 255 kilometeres south of the town of Nusa Dua, the US Geological Service reported. The epicentre was a relatively shallow 10 kilometres deep. Advertisement Advertisement
Singapore reports 47 more COVID-19 infections: More details on the new cases
SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 47 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday (Mar 18), taking the total in the country to 313. Three more patients were also discharged, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). Advertisement Advertisement To date, a total of 117 cases have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospital. Of the 196 confirmed
Singaporeans advised to defer all travel abroad amid heightened risk of imported COVID-19 cases
SINGAPORE: Singaporeans were advised on Wednesday (Mar 18) to defer all travel abroad with immediate effect amid a heightened risk of importing COVID-19 cases into Singapore, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). In a press release, MOH said this supercedes the advisory issued on Sunday to defer all non-essential travel abroad. The expansion of the
