CATEGORIES

Boeing admits error in panel blowout

CEO vows transparency, says company will ensure mid-air incident won't happen again

Front runner Lai's rivals strike deep in his Tainan stronghold

City may not be DPP warehouse of votes’, analyst says, as opponents make incursions

Xi tells old friend in lowa that the world requires stable China-US ties

BEIJING Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a recent reply to a letter from an Iowa native whom he first met nearly four decades ago, said the world's future demanded stability in Sino-US ties, according to Chinese state media on Jan 10.

Chinese laud S. Korea's ban on dog meat, urge Beijing to protect pets

A new ban on dog meat in South Korea has drawn praise from netizens in China, sparking an online debate on whether stricter enforcement is also needed in their country, where millions of dogs are consumed each year.

Indonesia mulls over $14b sea wall to save sinking capital Jakarta

Indonesia is reviving plans to construct a giant sea wall in the latest of measures to prevent its capital city of Jakarta from sinking at a faster rate.

Kim Jong Un brands S. Korea his country's 'principal enemy'

North Korea's Kim Jong Un has branded South Korea his country's \"principal enemy\", and warned that he would not hesitate to annihilate it, as he toured major weapons factories, state media said on Jan 10.

Inaccurate to say retailers' were what WP suggested: GST discounts Chee Hong Tat

The decision by some supermarkets and retailers to temporarily absorb the recent 1 percentage point GST increase of their own accord is not the same as the Workers’ Party’s (WP) calls for the Government to exempt essential goods from the tax, said Senior Minister of State for Finance Chee Hong Tat.

Aviation innovation centre set up in S'pore to tackle capacity constraints

It will also research ways for the sector to cut carbon emissions, and focus on Asia-Pacific region

New guidelines to make transactions on apps more secure

Safe App Standard also aims to better protect against malware, phishing attempts

Accused people who refuse forensic medical exam could face up to 7 years' jail

It may soon be an offence if an accused person in a sexual assault case refuses to take part in a forensic medical examination as part of investigations.

Dangerous offenders can be held indefinitely after jail term under proposed law

In spite of their long jail terms for committing heinous sex offences, some former inmates reoffended after being released from prison.

New $20m Singapore initiative to tackle deepfakes, misinformation

Detection tools will be designed to alert public, and a centre set up to hone expertise

DER KAISER WAS 'A GIFT TO US ALL'

Hoeness’ tribute says it all about icon of football and one of world’s greatest players

LIVERPOOL DREAM OF WEMBLEY: LIJNDERS

But Reds assistant manager is wary of Fulham’s attacking focal point Jimenez

HOLDERS QATAR 'FACING THE GUN'

Pundits label hiring coach in December an error; Marquez says he is a familiar face

Ostapenko 'not a morning person' but still wins

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova pulled out of the Adelaide International with a hip injury on Jan 9 just days before the Australian Open, as Jelena Ostapenko set up a clash against Caroline Garcia.

PLAYING A PART IN PEREIRA'S SUCCESS

Stretch therapy expert Apostolopoulos made sprinter’s persistent pain disappear

LOGAN'S YOUNG GUN HAS SECOND SUCCESS IN SIGHT

Her three-year-old is one of the star workers on a wet morning at Kranji

What will happen to Gaza's people?

Officials are increasingly suggesting that Palestinians should leave the region, but Israel’s government denies that is its policy.

S'pore start-up Silicon Box turns unicorn, hitting US$lb valuation

Singapore-based semiconductor start-up Silicon Box raised US$200 million (S$266 million) in a Series B round, it said on Jan 8. With this investment, the start-up said its valuation has surpassed US$1 billion, hitting unicorn status less than three years after its founding.

Uncertainties loom but there are also opportunities in 2024: UBS

Seminar speakers note robust US economy, gains for Asian markets, end of globalisation

SAF regular, 50, pleads guilty over sex act with student, 15

Man and girl became intimate after he came to her help when she had a fall

Schools teach both technical and ethical use of Al: Chan

Students given different levels of exposure by age, taught to guard against risks of tech

MPs seek details on sand sourcing for Long Island project

They ask about project’s environmental impact and how sourcing would be done

Police, banks prevented 15,000 scam victims from losing $69m

Robotic tech helped identify the victims and alerts were sent to them

US airlines find loose parts on planes, raising pressure on Boeing

Inspections come after a cabin panel on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 blew out in flight

Malaysia govt urged to fix security flaws in new central database

Purge data as it can no longer be trusted, ask the public to re-register: Expert

Millions of plastic pellets wash up on Spanish shore

SINGAPORE - Devastating earthquakes and record losses from storms made 2023 among the deadliest and most costly years for natural disasters for more than a decade, global reinsurer Munich Re said in its annual catastrophe report released on Jan 9. About 74,000 people died in 2023, with losses from natural disasters totalling US$250 billion (S$333 billion), the same as in 2022. Earthquakes in Turkey, Syria, Morocco and Afghanistan killed about 63,000 people – the highest since 2010 for geophysical hazards. For all of 2023, insured losses totalled US$95 billion, compared with US$125 billion for 2022 and the five-year average of US$105 billion, Munich Re said. Insurers calculate both overall losses from disasters and how much was actually insured. Severe storms dominated economic losses from natural disasters: 76 per cent of overall losses in 2023 were weather-related, Munich Re said, underscoring growing risks from worsening extreme weather fuelled by climate change. Thunderstorms in North America and Europe racked up overall losses of US$76 billion and insured losses of US$58 billion. “Such high thunderstorm losses have never been recorded before in the United States or in Europe,” said Munich Re. “A large body of scientific research indicates that climate change favours severe weather with heavy hailstorms. Similarly, (insurance) loss statistics from thunderstorms in North America and other regions are trending upwards,” it added. Across the globe, storms and floods wreaked havoc and killed thousands of people, including more than 4,000 in September in Libya, where severe floods were brought on by a rare cyclone in the Mediterranean. Cyclone Freddy killed 1,400 in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and several other southern African nations and entered record books as the longest-lasting cyclone ever recorded, totalling five weeks. Freddy formed off the Australian coast and then crossed the southern Indian Ocean, covering a distance of more than 8,000km, before making landfall in Madagascar and then meandering back and forth between Madagascar and Mozambique. In Asia, Typhoon Doksuri killed more than 100 people and dumped record rainfall in parts of China, especially Fujian province. The storm also affected the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam and overall losses totalled about US$25 billion, of which roughly US$2 billion was insured. New Zealand suffered twin disasters within weeks of each other, the first being catastrophic flooding in and around Auckland from late January to early February. Cyclone Gabrielle then struck the North Island in mid-February, unleashing deadly floods and landslides. In October, Hurricane Otis lashed the Pacific coast of Mexico with wind speeds of up to 265kmh, making it the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall on Mexico‘s Pacific coast, said Munich Re and the US National Hurricane Centre. The storm devastated the tourist resort of Acapulco, causing overall losses estimated at US$12 billion and insured losses at around US$4 billion. So why was 2023 so deadly for storms and floods? Munich Re pointed out that 2023 was the hottest year on record, due in part to El Nino, a natural phenomenon that causes periodic warming of sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific, which usually pushes up global temperatures. In 2023, global average sea surface and air temperatures repeatedly hit records. All that extra heat is like adding fuel to a fire, boosting the strength of storms. A warmer atmosphere also holds more moisture, meaning heavier rainfall. “The warming of the earth that has been accelerating for some years is intensifying the extreme weather in many regions, leading to increasing (insurance) loss potentials,” said Mr Ernst Rauch, Munich Re’s chief climate scientist. “More water evaporates at higher temperatures, and additional moisture in the atmosphere provides further energy for severe storms,” he added. And the outlook for 2024 is concerning. While El Nino is predicted to peter out by mid-year, its warming influence is expected to linger, with fears that warmer oceans will trigger more storms and coral bleaching. “If El Nino turns into its counterpart, La Nina, in the second half of 2024, the risk of flooding for eastern Australia could increase,” Munich Re said. That would add to the misery the country has suffered in recent weeks. Eastern Australia has been battered by repeated bouts of storms and flooding, including Cyclone Jasper, which hit northern Queensland in mid-December and dumped huge amounts of rain, stranding entire communities.

2023 among deadliest and costliest years for natural disasters

Worry remains as El Nino’s influence likely to linger, triggering more storms in 2024

Taiwan election of little relevance to us, say Chinese mainlanders

Reunification will happen regardless of who is island’s next president, they believe