These activities kicked off the Strike Group’s engagements with Singapore, which will be led by flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth visiting the city-state today…reports Asian Lite News.
UK’s aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth will visit Singapore today, to reaffirm the deep and enduring Singapore-UK partnership, the British High Commission Singapore said.
Launching from the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, F-35B Lightning jets took to the skies with the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s (RSAF) F-16 fighters on Saturday.
Exercising together in the international waters of the southern reaches of the South China Sea, the jets conducted simulated air combat training and formation flying. Meanwhile, ships from the UK Carrier Strike Group (CSG) and the Republic of Singapore Navy conducted a manoeuvring exercise in the international waters in the South China Sea.
These activities kicked off the Strike Group’s engagements with Singapore, which will be led by flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth visiting the city-state today.
UK’s Minister for Asia, Amanda Milling and Royal Air Force (RAF) Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, are also in Singapore, and will meet with senior military officials from Singapore onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth.
Amongst her engagements in Singapore, Minister Milling will also lead the UK’s contribution to a think-tank roundtable, covering themes of ASEAN, regional security and prosperity, and the UK’s role in the Indo-Pacific.
The Carrier Strike Group, which set off on its maiden operational deployment in May, has sailed the Atlantic Ocean, through the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean to the Western Pacific – participating in a range of activities with partners and allies enroute.
While in Singapore, the crew onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth will host Singapore officials and industry leaders from a range of sectors – including defence and security, trade and business, and science and research – supporting the development of closer UK-Singapore cooperation and the UK’s engagement with the Indo-Pacific region.
The HMS Queen Elizabeth will depart next month on a tour to India, Japan, S Korea & Singapore. The UK is committed to working with our partners in the Indo-Pacific to defend democratic values, tackle shared threats & keep our nations safe
To mark International Day of the Girl, female engineers on HMS Queen Elizabeth have also participated in a ‘virtual Q&A’ with girls from Singapore, answering their questions about careers in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) sector.
In July, the Strike Group navigated through the Singapore Strait, with a number of ships conducting an exercise with the Republic of Singapore Navy in international waters in the southern reaches of the South China Sea. At the same time, replenishment ship RFA Tidespring also made a contactless pit stop to Singapore to embark supplies for the Group’s movement further east.
Despite the elaborate plans and completed groundwork, Sun Cable’s power supply agreement with Singapore is not a done deal…reports Asian Lite News.
In one of the most ambitious solar power projects recently, Australia’s Sun Cable is in the process of setting up a $22 billion, 4,200 km power link between Singapore and Australia’s Northern Territory to supply up to 15 per cent of the city-state’s energy needs.
If the principality of Monaco and Macao Special Administrative Region are not counted, Singapore is the most densely populated sovereign state in the world with 5.5 million people cramming into about 730 square kilometres. Land and space are at a premium. Already some rooftops and bodies of water are used to harness solar power but due to the huge energy appetite of the industrial and commercial hub of Southeast Asia, this will only make a tiny dent in the island’s energy requirements.
This is where Australia’s Sun Cable project comes in. Apart from Antarctica, Australia is the driest continent in the world with 35 per cent of its landmass covered by dessert. So, it makes absolute sense to build the world’s largest solar farm there.
Singapore has a bold plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 36 per cent compared to 2005 levels by 2030. It is a highly ambitious target given the scarcity of resources required for renewable energy options on the small island. It has neither land to build wind and solar farms, nor thermal and hydroelectric power sources.
The solar power project that Sun Cable is proposing hopes to address this. Its CEO David Griffin told media that its project will help reduce Singapore’s emissions by six million tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent a year, matching the entire climate abatement gap of the city-state in its 2030 reduction goals.
The planned Sun Cable solar farm will be located about 700 kilometres south of Darwin, the capital of Australia’s Northern Territory state. It will cover a massive area of 120 square kilometres with 28 million solar panels and other ancillary facilities including battery storage. The company said that the plan is to have the capacity to supply 17 to 20 gigawatts of power, up from the previous 15 gigawatts.
Construction is expected to start in 2023 after completing an environmental impact study, various governmental approvals and concluding outstanding commercial and funding agreements. When it is ready in 2027, it will be the world’s largest solar farm, ten times larger than the biggest today, the 2.245-gigawatt Bhadla Solar Park in India.
A crucial approval from the Indonesian government was granted a little more than a week ago to allow the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables to run through its territorial waters as well as to allow Sun Cable to conduct subsea surveys in Indonesian waters to map the underwater route to Singapore. It will be the world’s longest subsea high-voltage cable.
Although Sun Cable will not supply energy directly to Indonesia, it is investing about USD 2.5 billion in procuring equipment and services, and in operational spending over the life of the project, including building a marine repair base in Indonesia.
Despite the elaborate plans and completed groundwork, Sun Cable’s power supply agreement with Singapore is not a done deal.
Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) told the Straits Times last week that discussions on Sun Cable’s proposal to supply power from Australia’s Northern Territory to Singapore are ongoing and they are unable to share details at this point due to the commercial sensitivities.
That Singapore is looking abroad for energy sources is not new. At the moment, the city-state relies mostly on natural gas for power generation and that is mainly imported from neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia.
However, Singapore is looking to diversify its energy sources as well as looking to switch to sustainable means of power generation.
Last week, Singapore third-largest power generating company, Tuas Power, announced that it has tied up with Indonesia Power and EDF Renewables to develop a framework for the import of electricity from Indonesia into Singapore.
The memorandum of understanding signed on September 29 includes a proposed 1,000 MWp (megawatt peak) solar photovoltaic plant, feasibility studies in Indonesia and its grid connection to Singapore, as well as the development of technical solutions to address issues of supply intermittency and transmission stability, Tuas Power said in a statement.
Before this, a few energy companies have earlier made moves to propel Singapore to a greener future by importing renewal energy into the country.
The Business Times Singapore reported that in March this year, solar energy provider Sunseap was forming a joint venture with Malaysia’s Tenaga Nasional Berhad to trial the import of electricity generated from solar and hydropower from Malaysia.
In September, Keppel Electric Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Keppel Infrastructure Holdings Pte Ltd, and Electricite Du Laos signed an exclusive framework agreement as part of the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project, to jointly explore opportunities to import renewable energy into Singapore.
Although India has made remarkable strides in renewable energy generation in recent years, it is not known if any Indian companies are in talks to supply renewable energy to Singapore.
Based on the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Renewable capacity statistics 2021, India is ranked fourth in the world in terms of renewable power generating capacity as at the end of 2020. In terms of solar power generation, it is in 6th position globally. According to the Ministry of New and Renewal Energy, the country’s total installed solar capacity reached 44.3 gigawatts as of August 31 this year.
Another impressive achievement is that India reached the government’s initial 2022 target of achieving 20-gigawatt solar capacity, four years ahead of schedule. India has established around 42 solar parks with many projects under various stages of implementation and some in the tendering process.
According to IRENA, India is producing the world’s cheapest solar power due to a combination of low-priced panel imports from China, abundant land and inexpensive labour. Average solar prices from large-scale installations in India were less than a third of Canada’s, where costs were highest of the countries surveyed.
With its rapid development of renewable energy capacity and know-how, will India be exporting its energy generating capacity sometime in the future soon? (ANI)
In fact, to ease filmmaking in India, the National Film Development Corporation operated FFO, offers a single-window clearance online system for international film shoots in India…reports S. Ravi.
With a view to boost film tourism, the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had set up a Film Facilitation Office which paid handsome dividends as a number of filmmakers have started shooting in India.
Before the Covid pandemic hit the world, in 2019 itself, more than 10 foreign film projects were shot in India. This included the box-office hit and critically acclaimed Tenet by Christopher Nolan, which was shot in Mumbai and the locations included the Breach Candy Hospital, Cafe Colaba Market, Gateway of India, Royal Bombay Yacht Club, and the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel among others.
In fact, to ease filmmaking in India, the National Film Development Corporation operated FFO, offers a single-window clearance online system for international film shoots in India.
With film tourism gaining currency, India is now going to face competition from other nations in the region, which too are providing facilities and environment for shooting movies. These include Singapore where the globally superhit Crazy Rich Asians was shot, Eat, Pray, Love, starring superstar Julia Roberts, which launched several holiday trips to Bali, Angelina Jolie’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider which put Cambodia’s exquisite temples on the tourist map. among others.
Now, Bali, the Indonesian island — which has been the backdrop for several films since the 1930s — is inviting investors, both local and foreign, to build film studios. This plan was unveiled at last month’s Cannes Film Festival by the local group United Media Asia and Creative Artists Agency in the US.
According to an article in asia.nikkei.com, Missy Davy, Creative Artists Agency spokesperson in a statement said: “Through their productions, UMA will employ thousands of local talent[s] to bolster the Bali economy, which has been severely impacted by the global pandemic. Bali is the ideal location to create a production destination.”
The statement also reflects Indonesian Government’s backing for this project as evident from a comment by Sandiaga Uno, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy said: “I am very excited to see United Media Asia’s effort to build and cultivate Bali as a world-class hub for international content.”
Founded in 2018 by Indonesian actress and producer Michy Gustavia, UMAZ received a $20 million investment from media conglomerate Kompas Gramedia with its focus on local content in the language of 270 million people of the country.
Films have been doing well in Indonesia as box office receipts have registered a growth of seven per cent annually over the past five years. Viewers love offerings of over the top platforms like Netflix which is predicted to have 50 million as its users there.
Talking about this, Davy said: “Indonesia’s entertainment market is one of the fastest-growing in the world, if not the fastest, outside of China [and] UMA is strategically positioned to capitalize on the increasing global appetite for local content.”
Despite its natural calamities like floods and lack of power, can Bali attract filmmakers as it competes against Australia and South Korea? Andre Dananjaya feels it can. “From sound and costume designers to cinematographers, Bali has thousands of talented creative professionals that could be engaged by foreign production houses if they do start operating in Bali.” Dananjaya represents NGO Kopernik that produces films on human rights issues.
Dananjaya added: “Studios are limited but with Bali’s diverse landscapes it is more likely that producers would choose to shoot on location rather than in a studio.And when it comes to steady electricity, film production companies almost always use backup generators, so main electricity supply isn’t an issue.”
On a similar vein, US national who is Bali based, Lakota Moira, who produced a Pulau Plastik or Rubbish Island, stated: “There is so much good talent on this island but too much of it is spent on creating commercial content for Instagram or weddings — work that does not necessarily foster their potential. And when they are hired by filmmakers from overseas, it’s usually just as fixers or [microphone] grips. But if we had a platform that could expose their work to wider audiences, it would broaden their horizons and give them much more creative license.”
With the pandemic playing havoc with economies across the world, filmmaking too has been adversely hit due to lockdowns and restrictions on cinema halls. Indonesia too is no exception. Much like India, it too needs Government support.
Indian film industry was pegged around 183 billion rupees in 2020 and has been severely dented with postponement of big releases and halting of film, television and web series shootings.
Government support is vital as other nations like Australia have given $665 million as Government rebates to the film industry in the last 10 years. Likewise, South Korea’s Korean Film Council has announced a $17.8 million package as stimulus for its movie industry to bail it out of Covid created limbo.
To keep the local industry afloat, the Indonesian Government directed the State-owned production house Perum Produksi Film Negara to invest in potential blockbusters and homegrown content. Reportedly 1.97 trillion rupiah ($137 million) has been set aside to finance 135 hours of film and content production this year.
Besides this laws need to be tweaked to facilitate visas for filmmakers to come to shoot while also providing them tax incentives to make Bali as the most preferred location for shooting films.
(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
The CSGB President said that the one thing which had always amazed the Singapore PM is how meticulously thousands of langars are served in the gurdwara every day….reports Ateet Sharma
The Sikh community in Singapore is all praise for the local government after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong attended the inauguration ceremony of the newly renovated Gurdwara Sahib Silat Road, one of the most popular gurdwaras in the country.
“Delighted to attend the inauguration of Silat Road Sikh Temple today after a prolonged renovation during the pandemic. Congratulations to the Sikh community on this momentous occasion!” tweeted Lee.
As the video of Singaporean PM wearing a white turban and addressing the Sangat (assembly) later went viral on social media, Baljit Singh, President of the Central Sikh Gurdwara Board (CSGB), which oversees the running of two gurdwaras in Singapore – Gurdwara Sahib Silat Road and Central Sikh Temple – besides a Sikh Centre, told IndiaNarrative.com that it was a proud and emotional moment for many, including the current PM.
His father, Lee Kuan Yew, the former PM of the country who is widely regarded as the ‘father of modern Singapore’, had inaugurated a different section of the same gurdwara, exactly 11 years ago.
“The former PM opening the memorial gurudwara 11 years ago was a pure coincidence. However, this time around, the honourable PM definitely wanted to be here with us on the occasion last week. He felt that the inauguration was a very important event as Singapore supports all religions. Very nobly, he agreed to put a turban, appreciating its importance to Sikh identity. He also paid homage to the Guru Granth Sahib and we offered him a Siropa and also gifted a Kirpan,” Singh told IndiaNarrative.com over phone from Singapore today.
The CSGB President said that the one thing which had always amazed the Singapore PM is how meticulously thousands of langars are served in the gurdwara every day.
Pic credits @leehsienloong
“Even during this Covid period, we are distributing about 1000-1500 packets during the langar on the weekdays and around 2000-2500 on the weekend. It goes to anywhere around 5000 during Gurpurab. This temple, so rich in history, has never failed to serve meals. The PM is always struck by the fact and also to find that all this work is done voluntarily by the Sangat members, Sikhs as well as non-Sikhs who have also funded the renovation work,” says Singh.
Built in 1924 and declared as a historic site by Singapore’s National Heritage Board (NHB) in 1999, Gurdwara Sahib Silat Road was the first gurdwara in Singapore to be built in traditional Sikh style architecture with domes and arches in accordance with the gurdwaras found in Punjab.
According to the Singh, initially it used to handle the needs of the Sikh Police community and also house the new Sikh arrivals in transit to other parts of Asia. The old timers recall that the gurdwara provided accommodation and looked after the welfare of widows and children of many Sikh soldiers who died fighting for British military and police forces while defending Singapore during the Japanese Occupation (1942-45).
On 12 October 1966, the memorial for Bhai Maharaj Singh, the first Sikh identified to arrive in Singapore, was relocated from the Singapore General Hospital compound to the front of Gurdwara Sahib Silat Road. It resulted in a massive increase in the congregation as people believed that an Akhand Path service performed at this gurdwara, next to the Bhai Maharaj Singh shrine, will earn the devotees great merit.
Pic credits @leehsienloong
Extensive renovation to the gurdwara was completed in October 1995 and the memorial too was expanded and officially opened by former PM Lee Kuan Yew in July 2010.
It was also the first gurdwara in Singapore to have regular Akhand Paths and langar on all days of the week. The marble Prakash Palki in the Darbar Hall is also said to be the largest of its kind in the world.
During his visit to the gurdwara last week, Singapore PM Hsien Loong appreciated the introduction of live-streaming services during the Covid-19 pandemic so that devotees can attend the congregation virtually, especially during when all places of worship in the country had to close.
“I have been even more encouraged to see the gurdwaras rally the Sikh community to pitch in and help out during this difficult period. They organised charity drives, provided rations and lent a helping hand through various assistance programmes like offering langars to anyone in need,” he said adding that it reflects the Sikh tradition of Chardi Kala, the ability to maintain a positive state of mind in the face of adversity.
Pic credits @leehsienloong
It was also the first gurdwara in Singapore to have regular Akhand Paths and langar on all days of the week. The marble Prakash Palki in the Darbar Hall is also said to be the largest of its kind in the world.
During his visit to the gurdwara last week, Singapore PM Hsien Loong appreciated the introduction of live-streaming services during the Covid-19 pandemic so that devotees can attend the congregation virtually, especially during when all places of worship in the country had to close.
“I have been even more encouraged to see the gurdwaras rally the Sikh community to pitch in and help out during this difficult period. They organised charity drives, provided rations and lent a helping hand through various assistance programmes like offering langars to anyone in need,” he said adding that it reflects the Sikh tradition of Chardi Kala, the ability to maintain a positive state of mind in the face of adversity.
(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal on Tuesday tweeted about an alleged “new form” of COVID-19 in Singapore and claimed it is very dangerous for children, reports Asian Lite News
Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday invoked its anti-misinformation law, the POFMA or Protection from Online Falsehoods & Manipulation Act against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who tweeted about the coronavirus variant from Singapore.
The MOH instructed the POFMA Office to issue General Correction Directions to Facebook, Twitter and SPH Magazines Pte Ltd (HardwareZone forum), read MOH statement. Facebook, Twitter and SPH Magazines are required to carry the Correction Notice to all end-users in Singapore who use Facebook, Twitter and HardwareZone.com.
Under this, the social media giants will be required to make corrections and clarifications are regarding falsehoods on the “Singapore” strain.
The correction notice of MOH reads, “There is no new “Singapore” variant of COVID 19. Neither is there evidence of any COVID-19 variant that is ‘extremely dangerous for kids.”
It further reads that “the strain that is prevalent in many of the COVID-19 cases detected in Singapore in recent weeks is the B.1.617.2 variant, which originated from India. The existence and spread of the B.1.617.2 variant within India predates the detection of the variant in Singapore, and this has been publicly known and reported by various media sources from as early as 5 May 2021.”
Earlier Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal on Tuesday tweeted about an alleged “new form” of COVID-19 in Singapore and claimed it is very dangerous for children.
“New form of coronavirus in Singapore is said to be very dangerous for children. It could reach Delhi in the form of a third wave. My appeal to the Central government: 1. Cancel all air services with Singapore with immediate effect 2. Work on vaccine alternatives for children on a priority basis,” Kejriwal had said.
Kejriwal’s remarks evoked responses and caused some alarm.
Singapore High Commissioner Simon Wong on Wednesday came down heavily on Arvind Kejriwal for his tweet on an alleged dangerous variant of COVID-19, saying that Singapore reserves the right to invoke his country’s online fake news Act on the Delhi Chief Minister’s assertions.
The Indian envoy to Singapore was also summoned by the country’s foreign ministry after which he clarified that Delhi CM has no competence to pronounce on COVID variants or civil aviation policy.
Later, the Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also commented on the matter. Jaishankar asserted that Kejriwal doesn’t speak for India.
Jaishankar also tweeted tagging foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan, “Singapore and India have been solid partners in the fight against Covid-19. Appreciate Singapore’s role as a logistics hub and oxygen supplier. Their gesture of deploying military aircraft to help us speaks of our exceptional relationship.”
Earlier, foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan objected to the Delhi chief minister’s tweet.
“Politicians should stick to facts! There is no “Singapore variant”,” Balakrishnan responded to the tweet, quoting Kejriwal.
Separately, a statement from Singapore’s ministry of foreign affairs had said, “MFA regrets the unfounded assertions made on Facebook and Twitter by chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal that a variant of Covid-19 found in Singapore was particularly harmful to children and could cause a third wave of infections in India.”
“MFA is disappointed that a prominent political figure had failed to ascertain the facts before making such claims. MFA met the High Commissioner of India P. Kumaran this morning to express these concerns. As highlighted by MOH in its press release of 18 May 2021, there is no “Singapore variant”. The strain prevalent in many of the Covid-19 cases in recent weeks is the B.1.617.2 variant, which was first detected in India.”
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi informed on Twitter that the Singapore government had called in India’s high commissioner today to convey its strong objection to Delhi CM’s tweet on the ‘Singapore variant’. “High commissioner clarified that Delhi CM had no competence to pronounce on Covid variants or civil aviation policy,” he tweeted.
This move takes effect from 11.59 p.m. on Friday, and includes people who have prior approval to enter Singapore,said Education Minister Lawrence Wong…reports Asian Lite News
All long-term pass holders and short-term visitors who have travelled to India within the last 14 days will not be allowed to enter or transit through Singapore, as the country goes on “heightened alert” against Covid-19.
This move takes effect from 11.59 p.m. on Friday, and includes people who have prior approval to enter Singapore, said Education Minister Lawrence Wong on Thursday (April 22), the Straits Times reported.
In addition, people who have recently travelled to India and have not completed their 14-day stay-home notice (SHN) by 11.59 p.m. on Thursday night will have to complete their additional seven-day SHN at a dedicated facility rather than their places of residence.
This group will undergo three polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for the virus: when they arrive, on the 14th day of their SHN and before the end of their SHN.
Explaining why Singapore has tightened its border measures, Wong said that the situation in India has worsened since the start of the week.
He added that the SHN period is not “100 per cent foolproof”, noting that any leaks among newly arrived Indian workers could possibly introduce new strains into dormitories and result in new clusters.
India reported 314,835 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, the world’s biggest single-day surge. The country has recorded 16 million cases and 184,657 deaths so far. A new “double-mutant” variant has also emerged in India, and is thought to be fuelling the country’s second wave.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) also confirmed on Thursday that 17 recovered workers at Westlite Woodlands dormitory were found to have Covid-19, although there is no evidence that these cases were linked to India or to the new viral strain that has emerged there.
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who with Wong co-chairs the multi-ministerial task force handling the pandemic, said that Singapore is on heightened alert against the coronavirus, given rising case numbers and emerging virus variants around the world.
The situation may escalate quickly, necessitating the tightening of measures in Singapore, he added at a virtual press conference.
Viral variants – including those first detected in South Africa and Brazil – have been found in 342 imported cases, said the Health Ministry’s director of medical services, Associate Professor Kenneth Mak. All the cases were isolated on arrival and no community spread has been detected.
He warned that this number may increase over time as more Covid-19 cases are detected and more testing done.
Gan urged Singaporeans to continue to be socially responsible and adhere to safe management measures.
This applies to those who have already been vaccinated as well, he said. “The recent spate of cases has reminded us that we cannot let our guard down.”
“We are facing an invisible and very formidable enemy,” Wong said, adding that the spate of new strains detected in other countries is a worrying development.
“Perhaps after this round of vaccination, we might have to continue with further rounds of vaccination,” he said. “Even up to beyond this year, because we will have to be confronting not just the virus today, but potentially new strains of the virus that maybe more infectious and virulent.”
