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SANTIAGO (REUTERS) - Sinovac's Covid-19 vaccine CoronaVac was 67 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic infection in the first real-world study of the Chinese shot, the Chilean government said on Friday (April 16). The vaccine was 85 per cent effective in preventing hospitalisations and 80 per cent effective in preventing deaths, the government said in a report prepared by the Chilean health ministry. The release of the data makes Chile one of a handful of countries, including the United Kingdom and Israel, that have used inoculation campaigns to gather insights into how effective vaccines are outside controlled clinical trials and when faced with unpredictable variables in societies. Israel's real-world study of the effectiveness of Pfizer's vaccine looked at the results among 1.2 million people, a mix of those who received the shot and those who did not. Chile's study examined CoronaVac's effectiveness among 10.5 million people, again looking both at people who had been ... » Learn More about China’s Sinovac vaccine 67 per cent effective against symptomatic infection: Chile report

SINGAPORE - Eliud Kipchoge has three Olympic medals, holds the marathon world record and has won eight out of 10 World Marathon Majors races he has competed in. He is the first man to run a marathon under two hours, a feat he completed in the Ineos 1:59 Challenge in Vienna in 2019. But the greatest reward he has gained from the sport is perseverance, said the reigning Olympic marathon champion on Friday (April 16). He said: "Running marathons has taught me that if you believe and have faith in yourself, you can be successful. "It has informed me that if you set a goal and believe in that goal, you can go on without any problems. So it's like life. "It's built me and told me this is the wrong route and right route and above all, it taught me that life has ups and downs." Kipchoge, 36, was speaking at a virtual press conference hosted by professional outfit the NN Running Team ahead of the NN Mission Marathon on April 18. The event, a Tokyo Olympics qualifier, is a ... » Learn More about Marathon: Kipchoge wants to run ‘beautiful race’ for the people at Olympic qualifier amid ‘tough times’

SINGAPORE - Accusations of sob stories and delayed as well as missing payments are emerging from suppliers and partners of beleaguered retailer Naiise a day after founder Dennis Tay announced he was liquidating the company and filing for personal bankruptcy. Several brand owners took to social media to express frustration at how Mr Tay blamed Covid-19 for poor business and the company's undoing. Many said late and missing payments and mismanagement of funds have been a problem since as early as 2016, calling into question Tay's intentions. Co-founder of Nom Nom Plush, Ong Yin Hao, told The Straits Times he dislikes "how (Tay) angled it as 'Covid did me in'". Owed around $15,000 for his food-themed plushies, Mr Ong faced late payments on and off since consigning with Naiise in 2015. He continued as "their sales records were good", and he would eventually get paid - although six to eight months late. "They were expanding, but we vendors were constantly owed money," said Mr Ong, ... » Learn More about Not so Naiise after all: Vendors voice anger at founder Dennis Tay and say rot began much earlier

SINGAPORE - There will be more rain over the next two weeks, with thundery showers and gusty winds forecast for the earlier part of the fortnight. The storms are expected to land before dawn and later in the morning and are due in part to a large-scale convergence of winds that are predicted to develop over the region in the next week. Lighter winds will kick in during the latter part of the fortnight but there will also be moderate to heavy thunderstorms with frequent lightning strikes in the afternoon. These will fall over most parts of the island, said the Meteorological Service Singapore on Friday (April 16). "Overall, the rainfall in April is forecast to be above average over most parts of the island," it added, noting that daily maximum temperature on most days are expected to be around 33 deg C with minimum temperature reaching a low of around 22 deg C on rainy days. The first two weeks of April saw thundery showers in the afternoon on most days over parts of the ... » Learn More about More rain for the second half of April, though temperatures likely to remain high

SINGAPORE - The 5Cs of the Singaporean dream once went as follows: cash, car, credit card, condominium and country club membership. But these aspirations no longer resonate with younger Singaporeans today, noted Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat during a speech in which he suggested three new Cs to shape the country's future. These are creating more value for society, caring about the environment and wider community, and charting the way forward. "Aspirations evolve, and your generation have your own aspirations," Mr Heng told students at the Singapore University of Technology and Design's (SUTD's) Ministerial Forum on Friday (April 16). "You have grown up in a different phase of Singapore's growth and development, and you will have been exposed, much more, to global cultures and influences, and to social media." While the fundamental aspirations - a good career, strong relationships with family and friends and the opportunity to start families of their own - remain ... » Learn More about 5Cs? It’s 3 new Cs such as caring for environment that resonate with young S’poreans: Heng Swee Keat

SINGAPORE - As students of all levels returned to school this past week, it was announced that home-based learning (HBL) is here to stay. Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said recently that online learning is set to become routine, suggesting that HBL could be held once a fortnight, for starters. Amid the coronavirus pandemic , HBL was rolled out nationwide after schools shut in April. After the circuit breaker to stem the spread of Covid-19 ended on June 1, most students in primary and secondary schools alternated between being physically in school and HBL, on a weekly basis, for a month. Now that the weekly rotation is over, it is timely to assess what lessons were learnt from the big HBL experiment and its chief benefits that can also be reaped in the physical classroom. Educators interviewed by The Straits Times say virtual and classroom learning are two distinct beasts, but there are useful synergies between the two, which, when combined, could lead to students ... » Learn More about Home-based learning: What have we learnt from the great HBL experiment?

SINGAPORE - Mr Manogaran Suppiah, 61, learnt Tamil only from a tutor at home for three years when he was in primary school. But that did not deter the Anderson Serangoon Junior College principal and chairman of the Tamil Language Council from honing his interest in the language. Today, he believes that the language has a more vibrant future here, thanks to the efforts of a high-level committee. His views, and that of other educators and community leaders, are featured in a book published by the Tamil Language Learning and Promotion Committee (TLLPC) to mark its 15th year. Titled Naavil Thamizh Naalum Thamizh (Speak Tamil, Speak it Everyday) the book was launched at the Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre on Friday (April 16) by Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran, who chaired the TLLPC from 2006 to 2016. Also at the event was the current TLLPC chairman, MP for Sembawang GRC Vikram Nair. The book includes a foreword by Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, ... » Learn More about Tamil language committee marks 15th anniversary with a book on its efforts

SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong broke fast on Friday (April 16) evening at a virtual buka puasa event with 110 faith community leaders, mosque leaders and Ramadan service ambassadors. The annual event - traditionally held at a mosque - was shifted online for the second year in a row, because of Covid-19. Speaking during the event, PM Lee thanked the Muslim and other faith leaders for guiding their communities towards safer ways of practising their religions as Singapore imposed strict restrictions on places of worship during the pandemic. In doing so, they helped "keep their flocks safe and well" and enabled the country to stabilise its public health situation, he said. "Now, we are able to resume religious gatherings and events, though not yet fully." In the two foiled cases of self-radicalised youths who had plotted to attack mosques and Jewish Singaporeans, PM Lee said religious and community leaders were quick to step in to affirm peace and friendship across ... » Learn More about PM Lee breaks fast with community leaders in virtual event

About 96 per cent of all students took part in the month of full home-based learning, said Second Minister for Education Indranee Rajah in Parliament yesterday. "The few who did not participate were largely on medical leave, and those who did not participate persistently were encouraged to return to school," she said, in response to Ms Rahayu Mahzam (Jurong GRC), who asked how schools assessed whether students have the necessary support at home. During this period of full home-based learning, about 3,300 primary school pupils and 700 secondary school students returned to school daily for several reasons, said Ms Indranee. Ms Rahayu had also asked if there were requests from parents for students to attend school, which could not be acceded to. Said Ms Indranee: "Requests from parents for their children to return to school were met, as long as there were genuine needs. "The challenge has in fact been the opposite, where schools invite the student to come back to school, but the ... » Learn More about About 96% of students took part in home-based learning

SINGAPORE - A senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore (NUS) was one of two Covid-19 cases in the community reported on Friday (April 16). This is the first time since March 3 that two new cases in the community were reported on the same day. The 34-year-old Indian national went to work on Monday (April 12) before he experienced an onset of Covid-19 symptoms that evening, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). Monday was his first day back at work after serving stay-home notice (SHN) and quarantine following a trip to India from Dec 28 to March 21. During his SHN, he was identified as a close contact of a previously reported case as they had been on the same flight to Singapore. He was then quarantined at a dedicated facility from March 24 to April 11. His three tests done during quarantine on March 25, April 3 and April 10 were all negative. The work pass holder also previously tested negative for the virus on March 19 before flying from ... » Learn More about Senior research fellow at NUS one of two Covid-19 cases in the community