Society

Ricoh Asia Pacific (Ricoh), the Japanese electric multinational imaging electronics company, concluded its 13th annual Eco Action Day campaign today with a finale ceremony at Republic Polytechnic's Rain Garden. The campaign encouraged different stakeholders, from businesses to the public, to think seriously about positive actions via pledge movement, roadshows, a roundtable, and more. Guest of Honour, Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources participated in the finale ceremony which included a tree planting and the donation of a chengal wood arbour and an upcycled bench made from used toner cartridges, all of which were sponsored by Ricoh. Around 30 guests attended the event, including representatives from organisations such as Eco-Business, Mitsubishi Electric Asia, PacificLight Power, the North West Community Development Council and the South West Community Development Council. Eco Action Day is Singapore's largest and longest-running business-led … [Read more...] about Ricoh marks finale of 13th annual Eco Action Day campaign

Known for his quirky Twitter habits, multi-billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk has once again caused quite a stir as he called alcohol a solution, technically. Just as Musk's tweet appeared on Twitter's News Feed, SpaceX fans were quick to conclude that the SpaceX CEO was making a cryptic statement about the use of ethanol in his rockets, Express.co.uk reported on Sunday. Later, replying to his tweet Musk wrote, "Just saw that on a T-shirt @Hyperloop competition," and posted the comment along with teary laughing emojis. Musk, who has been called out for smoking marijuana on a public podcast, also got taunted by some of his followers on his chemically toxic habits. In June, the Tesla CEO also changed his display picture on Twitter to that of a little monkey holding a blue coloured bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin. "Alcohol is a solution to every alcoholic before they realise they are alcoholic," a user wrote. "Thank you for validating my alcoholism," another user wrote. As of now, it remains … [Read more...] about Musk’s ‘alcoholic’ tweet puzzles followers

Since her mother died last year, 74-year-old Lim Yeo Hong has been living alone in a flat on the outskirts of Singapore, scavenging for cardboard scraps which she sells for a living. The only time she meets anyone is once a month when she collects food from a charity. "There's nothing else I can do at home, I watch TV," the frail woman told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, taking a break from pushing her cart full of cardboard around an industrial estate on the 5.6 million-strong island nation. Asked if she felt lonely, she said, "Yes of course I do, but what choice do I have?" In a rapidly aging and urbanizing world, Lim is among a growing number of elderly people who are grappling with loneliness, which research has linked to poor mental health, including dementia and early mortality. As people live longer, the World Health Organization predicts that one in five - 2 billion people - will be aged 60 or older by 2050, double that of 2015. Singapore, the world's second-fastest aging … [Read more...] about Aging Singapore uses gardening to fight loneliness

A school in Singapore - where gay sex is banned - said on Thursday that a gay radio DJ pulled out of a TEDx talk after he was asked not to make "sensitive" comments about his sexuality. The latest case has sparked criticism of censorship of discussion of LGBT+ rights in the socially conservative city-state, where support for gay marriage is growing. Joshua Simon said on Facebook that he planned to talk about coming out to his father at the event, which took place on Saturday, as thousands took part in Singapore's annual gay pride rally and called for gay sex to be legalized. "Joshua Simon was advised that certain references to his sexuality might be sensitive, given the diverse profile of the audience," a spokeswoman for Singapore Polytechnic, which offers pre-university courses, and hosted the event. "The organizing committee had then suggested that Joshua Simon consider reviewing how these mentions are expressed in his script ... Unfortunately, he decided not to speak at the event at … [Read more...] about Gay DJ pulls out of Singapore TEDx talk over censorship

An Australian student who was detained in North Korea has been released and has safely left the country, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday. Alek Sigley, 29, who was studying in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, had been missing since June 25. Alarm was raised when the normally active social media user ceased all communication. Morrison interrupted Parliament to confirm that Sigley had been freed. He later said in a statement that Swedish authorities had helped secure the student's release. "This outcome demonstrates the value of the discreet, behind the scenes work of officials in resolving complex and sensitive consular cases, in close partnership with other governments," Morrison said in the statement. He did not say why Sigley had been detained. Australia has no diplomatic presence in North Korea and relies on other countries such as Sweden to act on its behalf. An Australian government source familiar with the details confirmed Sigley was in Beijing and … [Read more...] about Australian student released from detention in North Korea