Singapore Pools Toa Payoh outlet shuts after employee tests positive for Covid-19 - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE - A Singapore Pools branch in Toa Payoh has been closed until further notice, after an employee there tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday (Sept 17).

A spokesman for the betting operator said deep cleaning has been carried out at the outlet at Block 111 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh.

A notice pasted at the branch advised people to visit the outlets at Block 85 and Block 95 in Lorong 4 Toa Payoh instead.

This comes after two Livewire sports betting venues were closed after a Covid-19 patient visited them in June.

The venues - one at China Square in Chinatown and another at the Singapore Pools Building in Rochor - have since been reopened. Livewire sports betting outlets are run by Singapore Pools.

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2021-09-19 07:19:03Z
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Australia says it was 'upfront' with France over submarine deal as crisis continues - CNA

SYDNEY: Australia defended its scrapping of a deal for French submarines on Sunday (Sep 19), saying the government had raised concerns to Paris for months, as a new deal with the United States and Britain continued to fuel a multinational diplomatic crisis.

"I don't regret the decision to put Australia's national interest first," said Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Australia ditched the 2016 deal with France's Naval Group to build a fleet of conventional submarines, announcing on Thursday a plan to build at least eight nuclear-powered ones with US and British technology in a trilateral security partnership.

The move infuriated France, a NATO ally of the United States and Britain, prompting it to recall its ambassadors from Washington and Canberra. It also riled China, the major rising power in the Indo-Pacific region.

Morrison said he understood France's disappointment over the cancellation of the order - valued at US$40 billion in 2016 and reckoned to cost much more today - but reiterated that Australia must always take decisions in its best interest.

"This is an issue that had been raised by me directly some months ago and we continued to talk those issues through, including by defence ministers and others," Morrison told a briefing.

The new trilateral deal has put Washington in an unprecedented diplomatic crisis with France that analysts say could do lasting damage to the US alliances with France and Europe, also throwing into doubt the united front that US President Joe Biden has been seeking to forge against China's growing power.

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2021-09-19 03:56:07Z
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Australia had 'deep and grave concerns' over French submarines: PM Scott Morrison - The Straits Times

MELBOURNE (AFP, REUTERS) - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday (Sept 19) that the French government would have known Canberra had “deep and grave concerns” about French submarines before the deal was torn up last week.

France is furious at Australia’s decision to withdraw from a multibillion-dollar deal to build French submarines in favour of American nuclear-powered vessels, recalling its ambassadors from Canberra and Washington and accusing its allies of “lying” about their plans.

The deal has put Washington in an unprecedented diplomatic crisis with France that analysts say could do lasting damage to the US alliance with France and Europe, throwing into doubt the united front that the Joe Biden administration has been seeking to forge against China's growing power.

Mr Morrison said he understood the French government’s “disappointment” but said he had raised issues with the deal “some months ago”, as had other Australian government ministers.

“I think they would have had every reason to know that we had deep and grave concerns that the capability being delivered by the Attack Class submarine was not going to meet our strategic interests and we made very clear that we would be making a decision based on our strategic national interest,” he told a press conference in Sydney.

Mr Morrison said it would have been “negligent” to proceed with the deal against intelligence and defence advice and that doing so would be counter to Australia’s strategic interests.

“I don’t regret the decision to put Australia’s national interest first. Never will,” he said.

Australia was "upfront, open and honest" with France about its concerns over French submarines, Australia's Defence Minister Peter Dutton said on Sunday.

Paris has called the cancellation a stab in the back, with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian saying that relations with the US and Australia were in a "crisis".

But Mr Dutton said on Sunday that Australia had been raising concerns with France over the order - valued at US$40 billion (S$53.9 billion) in 2016 and reckoned to cost much more today - for a couple of years.

"Suggestions that the concerns hadn't been flagged by the Australian government just defy, frankly, what's on the public record and certainly what they've said publicly over a long period of time," Mr Dutton told Sky News.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said Australia had informed France of the deal but acknowledged on Sunday the negotiations had been secret, given the "enormous sensitivities".

Mr Dutton and Mr Birmingham declined to reveal costs of the new pact, although Mr Dutton said "it's not going to be a cheap project".

Britain's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the new security pact with Australia and the US showed Britain's readiness to be "hard-headed" in defending its own interests. 

“This is about more than foreign policy in the abstract, but delivering for people across the UK and beyond by partnering with like-minded countries to build coalitions based on shared values and shared interests,” the newly appointed Ms Truss wrote in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. 

“We will be working closer together to use a wide range of cutting-edge technologies, from nuclear-powered submarines at first and then looking at artificial intelligence and quantum computing. It shows our readiness to be hard-headed in defending our interests and challenging unfair practices and malign acts.”

Ms Truss said it also showed Britain’s commitment to security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. 

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2021-09-19 03:55:34Z
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France accuses Australia, US of 'lying' in escalating crisis over submarines - The Straits Times

PARIS (AFP) - France on Saturday (Sept 18) accused Australia and the United States of lying in a crisis over a security pact that saw Canberra scrap a contract to buy French submarines in favour of American vessels.

"There has been lying, duplicity, a major breach of trust and contempt," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France 2 television. "This will not do."

A "serious crisis" was now in progress between the allies, he added.

Le Drian was speaking a day after Paris, on the orders of President Emmanuel Macron, recalled its ambassadors to Canberra and Washington, an unprecedented act that revealed the extent of the anger in France over the rupture of the contract.

He described the withdrawal of the ambassadors as a "very symbolic" act which aimed "to show how unhappy we are and that there is a serious crisis between us and to re-evaluate out positions to defend our interests."

"The fact that for the first time in the history of relations between the United States and France we are recalling our ambassador for consultations is a serious political act, which shows the magnitude of the crisis that exists now between our countries," he said.

He also issued a stinging response to a question over why France had not recalled its ambassador to Britain, when London was also part of the security pact that led to the rupture of the contract.

"We have recalled our ambassadors to (Canberra and Washington) to re-evaluate the situation. With Britain there is no need. We know their constant opportunism. So there is no need to bring our ambassador back to explain," he said.

Of London's role in the pact, he added: "Britain in this whole thing is a bit like the third wheel."

Nato would have to take account of what has happened as it reconsiders strategy at a summit in Madrid next year, he added.

France would make a priority now of developing a EU security strategy when it takes on the bloc's presidency at the start of 2022, he said.

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2021-09-18 19:34:34Z
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S'pore's new Covid-19 cases cross 1000 mark; unvaccinated man, 90, dies from complications - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE - Singapore saw its 60th Covid-19 fatality when an unvaccinated 90-year-old man died on Friday (Sept 17), said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Saturday.

Singapore also saw more than 1,000 Covid-19 cases on Saturday, with a total of 1,009 new cases reported, the highest daily number since April 23 last year.

The man had a history of cancer, heart disease and pneumonia and was taken to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases on Friday with symptoms, and tested positive for Covid-19 infection that day.

Of the 1,009 cases, 926 were cases in the community and 78 cases were among dormitory residents.

Of the local cases on Saturday, 259 are seniors above 60 years old.

There were also five imported cases.

The total number of infections in Singapore now stands at 76,792.

There was also a new Covid-19 cluster at Pfizer Asia Pacific with 22 cases.

Of these, 20 are staff and two are cleaners. MOH said the facility is not involved in vaccine production.

There are currently 863 Covid-19 patients in the hospital, up from 813 the day before.

There are also 105 cases in need of oxygen supplementation and 18 in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Of those who have fallen very ill, 100 are seniors above 60.

MOH also said some of Singapore's public hospitals are experiencing a surge in the number of patients who have rushed to their accident and emergency departments with mild acute respiratory infection symptoms.

It urged those with mild symptoms to consult a general practitioner at a Swab and Send Home clinic instead.

Read the full MOH press release here.

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2021-09-18 16:14:35Z
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Three blasts kill at least two in Afghanistan's Jalalabad - CNA

A chaotic US-led evacuation of foreigners and Afghans who worked for international forces was marred by a devastating bomb attack claimed by IS which killed scores of people.

But since the last American troop left on Aug 30, the violence-wracked country plagued by fighting, bombs and air strikes, has been free of major incidents.

Although both IS and the Taliban are hardline Sunni Islamist militants, they have differed on the minutiae of religion and strategy.

That tussle has led to bloody fighting between the two.

BOYS BACK TO SCHOOL, NOT GIRLS

Saturday's bombing came as the Taliban ordered boys and male teachers to return to secondary school in Afghanistan - but girls were excluded.

"All male teachers and students should attend their educational institutions," a statement said ahead of classes resuming Saturday, the first day of the week in Afghanistan.

The statement, issued late Friday, made no mention of women teachers or girl pupils.

"We lack teachers, most of them are females and are not allowed to come by the new government, that creates a problem for us," an official at a Kabul secondary school who asked not to be named told AFP on Saturday.

Secondary schools, with students typically between the ages of 13 and 18, are often segregated by sex. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they have faced repeated closures and have been shut since the Taliban seized power.

Since a US-led invasion ousted the Taliban in 2001, significant progress has been made in girls' education, with the number of schools tripling and female literacy nearly doubling to 30 percent - however, the change was largely limited to the cities.

The United Nations said it was "deeply worried" for the future of girls' schooling in Afghanistan.

"It is critical that all girls, including older girls, are able to resume their education without any further delays. For that, we need female teachers to resume teaching," the UN's children's agency UNICEF said.

PAKISTAN PUSHES FOR INCLUSIVE GOVERNMENT

In a further sign that the Taliban's approach to women and girls had not softened, a sign outside the ministry of women's affairs was replaced with another - announcing the return of the feared department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

Videos posted to social media showed women workers from the ministry protesting outside after losing their jobs.

No official from the Taliban responded to requests for comment.

After promising a more inclusive rule, the movement unveiled an all-male government of mostly ethnic Pashtuns, dominated by veteran members of the fundamentalist movement.

Pakistan's prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday said he had launched talks with the Taliban - whose leadership has historically had close ties with its southern neighbour - to persuade the group to form a government that includes Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks.

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2021-09-18 13:43:43Z
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Will French fury at US open doors for China in Europe? - South China Morning Post

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1. Will French fury at US open doors for China in Europe?  South China Morning Post
2. France recalls envoys in US, Australia over submarine deal  CNA
3. France recalls its ambassadors to US, Australia over scrapped submarine deal  The Straits Times
4. Australia made 'huge mistake' in cancelling submarine deal, says French envoy  Yahoo News
5. EU army warning as Brussels sidelined by Boris’ defence deal with Australia and US  Daily Express
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2021-09-18 12:30:12Z
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