Vietnam earns US$725mil from exporting tra fish in five months

HANOI: Vietnam earned an estimated US$725 million from shipping tra fish overseas during the first five months of 2024, up 2 per cent year-on-year, Vietnam News Agency reported on Monday (May 27), citing the General Department of Vietnam Customs. The country's tra fish export has roared back to growth after a significant drop recorded earlier this...

Fatal Myanmar maid abuse in Singapore: Cop admits to lifting victim off the ground by her hair

SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Suspended policeman Kevin Chelvam admitted in court on May 27 that he had grabbed domestic helper Piang Ngaih Don by her hair and lifted her off the ground in a fit of anger a month before her death. The 24-year-old Myanmar national weighed only 24kg when she died on July 26, 2016,...

New Novavax Covid-19 vaccine available for free at selected clinics in Singapore

SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): A new Covid-19 vaccine is available under the National Vaccination Programme (NVP) from May 28, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement on the same day. Called the Novavax/Nuvaxovid XBB.1.5 Covid-19 vaccine, it will be free for eligible individuals at any participating general practitioner (GP) clinics offering Covid-19 vaccinations. Approved by...

Pope issues rare apology over reported homophobic slur

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Francis, widely quoted as having used a highly derogatory word to describe the LGBT community, did not intend to use homophobic language and apologises to anyone offended by it, the Vatican said on Tuesday. It is extremely rare for a pope to issue a public apology. "The pope never intended to offend or...

Twelve injured as Qatar Airways Dublin flight hits turbulence, airport says

DUBLIN (Reuters) -Twelve people travelling on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Ireland were injured during a bout of turbulence, Dublin Airport said on Sunday, adding that the plane landed safely and as scheduled. Flight QR017, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, landed shortly before 1 p.m. Dublin time (1200 GMT), the airport said. "Upon landing, the aircraft...

World Court orders Israel to halt assault on Gaza’s Rafah

THE HAGUE: Judges at the top United Nations court ordered Israel on Friday (May 24) to halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Reading out a ruling by the International Court of Justice or World Court, the body's president, Nawaf Salam, said provisional measures ordered by the court in March did not...

Europe tour for Malaysian family on SQ321 ends in Bangkok hospital; expectant mother among injured

SINGAPORE: Eva Khoo panicked when she first learnt that her family, including her brother and two-month pregnant sister-in-law, was on the ill-fated Singapore Airlines (SIA) Flight SQ321 on May 21. After the 34-year-old Malaysian event specialist got a call from the travel agency which her family booked the trip with, she flew to Bangkok, where the...

Shaken passengers arrive in Singapore after deadly turbulence-hit flight

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -More than 140 passengers and crew from a Singapore Airlines flight on which one person died during heavy turbulence finally reached Singapore on Wednesday, with 20 still fighting for their lives in a Bangkok hospital. The London-Singapore flight on a Boeing 777-300ER plane diverted to Bangkok for an emergency landing on Tuesday after the...

UK’s Sunak fails to quell early election rumours

LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak failed to stem growing speculation on Wednesday that he might call an early election after ministers cancelled events and either curtailed or delayed foreign trips to attend a government meeting. For most of Wednesday, rumours swirled around parliament that the British leader was poised to call an election -...

A Singapore foreign ministry D-G sentenced to jail for diplomatic bad misuse

SINGAPORE (Bernama): A director-general at Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) was sentenced to a week in jail on Monday for giving false information to a public servant over the use of diplomatic bags to deliver luxury watches from China to Singapore for a friend, Straits Times (ST) reported. Gilbert Oh Hin Kwan, 45, who pleaded...