Singapore adds Australia, Switzerland to quarantine-free travel programme - Reuters

SINGAPORE, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Singapore will allow quarantine-free entry to travellers vaccinated against COVID-19 from Australia and Switzerland from Nov. 8, the city-state's aviation regulator said on Tuesday.

Singapore is slowly re-opening its borders and has expanded quarantine-free travel to nearly a dozen countries, including Germany, Canada, France, Britain and the United States, under its Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) programme.

Visitors can travel to Singapore under the programme if they have been fully vaccinated and tested negative in COVID-19 tests.

Singapore has been reporting more than 3,000 daily infections in recent weeks, although most are asymptomatic or mild. Over 80% of Singapore's 5.45 million population has been vaccinated.

Last week, the United States advised citizens against travel to Singapore and raised its alert for the city-state to its highest risk level. Germany has also classified Singapore as a "high-risk area".

Reporting by Chen Lin; Editing by James Pearson

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2021-10-26 09:07:00Z
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Alec Baldwin was aiming at camera when gun discharged: Affidavit - CNA

Serge Svetnoy, chief electrician for Rust, said in a Facebook post on Sunday that he had held Hutchins his arms while she was dying and blamed "negligence and unprofessionalism" for her death.

Celebrity website TMZ.com, citing unidentified sources connected to the production, said the gun handed to Baldwin had previously been used by crew members for target practice off-set, using real bullets.

Reuters could not verify the report and police in Santa Fe did not respond to inquiries on Sunday.

According to the Los Angeles Times, more than a week ago Baldwin's stunt double accidentally fired two rounds from a prop firearm after being told it was "cold", an industry term meaning a weapon is not loaded with ammunition, including blanks.

Rust Movie Productions said last week that although they "were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down". 

According to court documents, the prop gun was handed to Baldwin by the film's assistant director, Dave Halls, who has more than 20 years' experience in the business.

Halls did not respond to requests for comment on Sunday. Also involved in the sheriff's probe is the movie's chief armorer, Hannah Gutierrez. She could not be reached for comment.

About 200 people took part in the vigil for Hutchins in Albuquerque on Saturday. While organizers emphasized that the event was to honor Hutchins' memory, rather than focus on her death, some in the crowd held signs that read "Safety on Set."

A second vigil was held on Sunday in the Los Angeles area, where a few hundred people mourned in a private parking lot, according to a Reuters photographer.

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2021-10-25 05:34:54Z
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'Vibrant' cinematographer remembered as police probe Baldwin shooting - CNA

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. :The crew was setting up a difficult shot during filming on the New Mexico set of "Rust", and the movie's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, wasn't quite satisfied.

She turned to Lane Luper, a member of the camera crew, who suggested some adjustments that she found worked perfectly. That kind of collaborative spirit, Luper said at a candlelight vigil on Saturday, was what made Hutchins such a joy to work with.

"Her photography was beautiful, and every day, everybody on the camera team was proud to be there for her, because we were proud of what we were creating – what she was creating," he told the crowd, two days after Hutchins was killed in an accident when actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on set.

Luper said he would have been lucky to work with her again. "And I don't get to. And it sucks," he said, breaking into tears.

While organizers emphasized that the vigil in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was to honor Hutchins' memory, rather than focus on her death, some in the crowd held signs that read "Safety on Set," a reminder that the circumstances surrounding Thursday's shooting remain murky.

Details have emerged suggesting the production was troubled before the accident. Several crew members walked off the set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, south of Santa Fe, just hours before the incident, protesting what they saw as poor working conditions, several media outlets reported.

Last week, Baldwin's stunt double accidentally fired two rounds with a prop firearm after being told it was "cold," an industry term meaning a weapon is not loaded with ammunition, the Los Angeles Times said. At least one employee complained to a production manager about gun safety on set, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed crew members.

The same mistake may have occurred on Thursday, according to court records. An assistant director, Dave Halls, handed Baldwin the prop gun and told him it was a "cold gun", according to an affidavit from the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office.

When Baldwin fired the gun, Hutchins was fatally struck in the chest, according to the sheriff's office.

It is unclear why the gun contained a projectile. The person in charge of weapons on set is known as an armorer. The armorer for "Rust," Hannah Gutierrez, had set up the gun and two others, according to the affidavit.

Halls and Gutierrez could not be reached for comment on Saturday.

Rust Movie Productions said in a statement on Friday it had not been aware of any safety concerns but was investigating the incident.

"Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down," the company said. Baldwin is among the film's producers.

MOURNING HUTCHINS

About 200 mourners attended Saturday's vigil, including set decorators, prop masters and costume designers. The actors Jon Hamm and John Slattery, who co-starred in the television hit "Mad Men" and are working on a movie in nearby Belen, also joined.

Slattery, who is directing the movie starring Hamm, told Reuters members of his crew were friends with Hutchins, and Hamm said the pair "came to support our community".

A speaker at the vigil also read aloud a statement from Hutchins' husband, Matt.

"Halyna inspired us all with her passion and vision, and her legacy is too meaningful to encapsulate in words," he wrote. "Please take time to remember her, and we will all work together to honor her memory and emulate her determination and her creativity."

Baldwin, 63, best known for his roles in TV comedy "30 Rock" and his "Saturday Night Live" impersonations of former U.S. President Donald Trump, said on Friday he was shocked and heartbroken at Hutchins' death and was fully cooperating with authorities.

Earlier on Saturday, the director of "Rust," Joel Souza, who was wounded in the shooting, addressed the incident for the first time, saying that he was "gutted" by Hutchins' death.

"She was kind, vibrant, incredibly talented, fought for every inch and always pushed me to be better," Souza said in a statement. He was hit in the shoulder while standing behind Hutchins, according to police; he was treated at a local hospital and released.

No charges have been filed in the case, and police have said the investigation remains active. Security guards were posted at the road leading to the ranch on Saturday.

The American Film Institute set up a scholarship fund for female cinematographers in Hutchins' honor.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

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2021-10-24 03:30:23Z
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Alec Baldwin was told prop gun was unloaded moments before fatal shooting - The Straits Times

SANTA FE (REUTERS) - Alec Baldwin was handed what was described as a safe "cold gun" on the set of his movie Rust, but the prop gun contained live rounds when it was fired, according to details of the police investigation into the fatal shooting released on Friday (Oct 22).

The shot hit cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in the chest, and director Joel Souza who was behind her, in the shoulder, according to a county sheriff's affidavit filed in Santa Fe magistrates court.

Hutchins died of her wounds and Souza was injured but has since been released from a local hospital.

The assistant director who handed Baldwin the prop gun did not know it contained live rounds, the affidavit by Santa Fe Sheriff's Department Detective Joel Cano said.

Baldwin said on Friday he was in shock over the accidental shooting as reports emerged of walk-outs on the Rust set earlier in the week over unsafe conditions.

The star of 30 Rock and The Hunt for Red October said he was "fully cooperating" with authorities to determine how the incident occurred on Thursday.

Production on the movie was immediately shut down. The sheriff's department said no charges had been filed and the investigation remained open. Baldwin voluntarily gave a statement about the shooting, the sheriff's department said.

The affidavit was filed on Friday in support of a search warrant for "old Western style clothing" worn by Baldwin that appeared to have blood stains, along with firearms, documentation, ammunition and cameras from the scene.

The search warrant was approved by a Santa Fe judge.

Cano said the incident took place at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, south of Santa Fe, during a rehearsal and it was not clear whether it had been filmed.

He said the prop gun was one of three on a cart outside a building. One of them was taken by the assistant director on the movie who went inside and handed it to Baldwin.

"As the assistant director handed the gun to the actor Alec Baldwin, (he) yelled 'cold gun', indicating the prop gun did not have any live rounds," the affidavit said.

As the investigation proceeded, questions were raised about working conditions on the set of Rust, a small budget Western movie of which Baldwin was both star and a co-producer.

The Los Angeles Times and Deadline Hollywood cited several members of the crew and others close to the production as saying six or seven camera operators had walked off the Rust set hours before the tragedy.

Both outlets also reported that there had been at least one previous misfire with the prop gun.

BREAKING: A distraught Alec Baldwin, after he accidentally shot & killed the cinematographer on the set of his new movie, & wounded the writer-director. How on earth could this have happened?
Pics: Jim Weber ⁦@thenewmexican⁩ pic.twitter.com/xrvcheLaCK

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 22, 2021

"We cited everything from lack of payment for three weeks, taking our hotels away despite asking for them in our deals, lack of Covid safety, and on top of that, poor gun safety! Poor on-set safety period!" one camera crew member wrote on a private Facebook page, according to Deadline.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the accounts. Rust Movie Productions did not respond to a request for comment on Friday but said in a statement it was investigating.

"Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down," the company said in its statement.

Baldwin, 63, on Friday expressed his "shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident" that killed Hutchins. In a message on his social media accounts, he said his "heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna".

Alec Baldwin said he was "fully cooperating" with authorities to determine how the incident occurred on Oct 21. PHOTO: AFP, REUTERS

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) said in a statement that it was devastated to learn of the death of Hutchins, who was a member of the union.

Hutchins' representatives in a statement said they "hope this tragedy will reveal new lessons for how to better ensure safety for every crew member on set".

Hutchins, 42, who was originally from Ukraine, was named one of American Cinematographer's Rising Stars of 2019. Her last social media post, two days ago, shows her grinning under a wide-brimmed hat as she rides a horse.

"One of the perks of shooting a western is you get to ride horses on your day off:)"she captioned the video.

Known for his impersonations of former US President Donald Trump on sketch show Saturday Night Live, Baldwin has appeared in more than 100 TV and film comedies and dramas, and won Emmy awards for his role as an egotistical TV network executive in the satire 30 Rock.

The accident renewed debate about whether certain types of prop guns should be banned on TV and movie sets.

Brandon Lee, son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, died at age 28 after being fatally wounded in 1993 by a prop gun in an on-set accident while filming The Crow.

"I don't understand why we would still use blank rounds in a day when you could simulate them," indie film director and producer Ben Rock told Reuters on Friday.

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2021-10-23 02:26:47Z
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Human remains found in Florida confirmed to be those of Brian Laundrie - Yahoo Singapore News

The FBI confirmed Thursday that it had found the remains of Brian Laundrie, the 23-year-old fiancé of Gabby Petito and the only person of interest in her death.

In a statement, the FBI's Denver field office, which has been leading the investigation, said a comparison of dental records confirmed that the human remains found in Carlton Reserve and the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Sarasota County, Fla., on Wednesday were those of Laundrie.

Steven Bertolino, an attorney for Laundrie's parents, said police came to their North Port, Fla., home late Thursday afternoon to notify them.

On Wednesday, partial human remains, as well as a backpack and notebook belonging to Laundrie, were found along a trail in the Myakkahatchee park, which is adjacent to the 24,565-acre Carlton Reserve, where Laundrie’s parents told police they believed he was headed when they reported him missing last month.

Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito in an undated photo. (North Port, Fla., Police/Handout via Reuters/File)

Bertolino said on Wednesday that Laundrie’s parents had gone to the park to search for their son that morning and met with North Port police and the FBI.

“Chris and Roberta Laundrie went to the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park this morning to search for Brian," Bertolino said in a statement. "After a brief search of a trail that Brian frequented, some articles belonging to Brian were found.”

The remains were found in an area that until recently was under water, the FBI said. The Sarasota County Medical Examiner's Office and a cadaver dog from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office were called in to assist in the investigation.

Earlier Thursday, NBC News reported that the remains were "skeletal" and included part of a human skull.

Laundrie’s parents reported him missing on Sept. 17, two days before Petito’s body was found near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

Gabby Petito. (via Facebook)

An autopsy was conducted by the Teton County Coroner’s Office, which concluded that the 22-year-old’s death was a homicide caused by strangulation.

The case has garnered widespread national media attention — as well as criticism of news outlets for not covering similar cases involving people of color.

It has also drawn intense interest on social media, with online sleuths scouring the couple’s Instagram posts for potential clues.

There had been unconfirmed sightings of Laundrie along the Appalachian Trail, in Canada and in Mexico. TV personalities, including Duane Chapman — known as Dog the Bounty Hunter — and longtime “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh, had joined in the search.

Petito and Laundrie had spent months visiting national parks in their converted 2012 Ford Transit van, documenting the trip on social media.

The couple was stopped Aug. 12 by police in Moab, Utah, after they had a physical altercation, but no charges were filed.

Police camera video shows Brian Laundrie talking to an officer after police pulled over the van he and Gabby Petito were traveling in near the entrance to Arches National Park on Aug. 12. (Moab Police Department via AP)

Gabby Petito as seen on Aug. 12 in police bodycam video. (Moab Police via YouTube)

On Sept. 1, Laundrie returned to the couple’s North Port home, where they lived with his parents — without her. Petito’s parents, who live on Long Island, said they lost contact with her in late August and reported her missing on Sept. 11.

Petito’s family issued public pleas for Laundrie’s parents to cooperate with authorities. Police say the Laundries initially did not share “any helpful details” in the search for Petito or their son.

In an interview with “60 Minutes Australia” that aired this past weekend, Petito's mother, Nicole Schmidt, said their “silence speaks volumes.”

Additional reporting by Christopher Wilson.

____

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2021-10-21 23:03:45Z
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Australia-Singapore travel bubble could be established within next week: PM Morrison - The Straits Times

SYDNEY - Australia plans to set up a travel bubble with Singapore next week that is expected to allow quarantine-free flights to start from November.

Australia's Prime Minister, Mr Scott Morrison, confirmed the plan on Friday (Oct 22), indicating that the bubble for fully vaccinated travellers could be in place by Nov 23 and would initially apply to international students and business travellers.

Tourists could be allowed to enter from December.

“We are in the final stages of completing an arrangement with the Singapore government,” Mr Morrison told reporters.

“We anticipate that being able to be achieved within the next week or so as we would open up to more visa class holders coming out of Singapore… We're opening up.”

In a Facebook post on Friday, Singapore’s Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, said he was delighted that Australia will allow entry to visa holders from Singapore, adding that he had encouraged Mr Morrison to do so when he visited Singapore in June.

“Singapore and Australia have robust economic and investment links, and warm people-to-people ties. Look forward to resuming close connectivity between our countries, as we move towards an endemic Covid-19 future," Mr Lee said.

Expressing Singapore's hope to work with Australia to progressively rebuild travel between both countries, Transport Minister S. Iswaran said on Facebook: "Hope to share more details soon."

Australia’s two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, will allow quarantine-free entry to fully vaccinated international arrivals from Nov 1. Other major cities are yet to follow and passengers to Australia will need to be aware of potential restrictions on travelling from Sydney and Melbourne to other states.

Mr Morrison did not give a firm date for the start of the travel bubble but indicated the timetable would align with that of Qantas, the national carrier.

Qantas said on Friday  that flights to Singapore will resume on Nov 23, with three A330 flights per week. Daily flights will resume from Dec 18. Qantas’ low-cost subsidiary Jetstar will fly from Melbourne and Darwin to Singapore from Dec 16.

Singapore Airlines said on Friday that its Airbus A380 will resume flights to Sydney, with daily flights from Dec 1. These will fly alongside daily Boeing 777-300ER flights and Boeing 787-10 flights that run three times a week.

"With the NSW (New South Wales) and Australian border opening up from November 1, the A380 will support even more Australians hoping to reconnect with loved ones ahead of the Christmas period," said Singapore Airlines Regional Vice-President, Mr Louis Arul.

Mr Morrison said the travel bubble would complete arrangements that he discussed in June with Mr Lee. Those discussions occurred days before a major Covid-19 outbreak that sent Sydney and Melbourne into lengthy lockdowns, stymying Australia’s plans to reboot international travel.

Since the start of the pandemic, Australia has maintained some of the world’s most stringent travel restrictions, including bans on non-Australian residents entering the country and on Australian citizens leaving.

The border closure has had a devastating impact on Australia’s travel and international education sectors, which are two of the country’s largest exports.

In the 12 months to the end of June 2020, international education was worth A$40 billion (S$40.2 billion) and tourism was worth A$16 billion. Tourism revenue for the current year has plunged, while international education exports are believed to have fallen to about A$32 billion.

Australia has a quarantine-free travel bubble with New Zealand but it has been repeatedly suspended due to Covid-19 outbreaks.

Mr Morrison said: “I’ve always said that Singapore, together with New Zealand, would be the places that we would start. But, this will move, once it's proven to be successful, I think quite quickly.”

Meanwhile, Qantas is launching a new route from Sydney to Delhi on Dec 6 and is bringing forward a resumption of flights from Sydney to Fiji, Bangkok, Phuket and Johannesburg. The Federal Government is believed to be considering allowing further quarantine-free travel arrangements with these destinations. 

Qantas’ Chief Executive, Mr Alan Joyce, said demand had been massive as Australians emerged from lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne ahead of the Christmas holidays in December.

He said international sales had exceeded domestic sales for four of the past five weeks and the airline last Tuesday recorded its highest ever number of frequent flyer point travel redemptions.

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2021-10-21 22:57:16Z
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Queen Elizabeth spent a night in hospital for first time in years - CNA

LONDON: Britain's 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth spent a night in hospital for the first time in years for what Buckingham Palace termed 'preliminary investigations' but returned to Windsor Castle on Thursday (Oct 21) where she was in good spirits.

The world's oldest and longest-reigning monarch cancelled an official trip to Northern Ireland on Wednesday. The palace said the queen had been told to rest by her medical staff, and that her ailment was not related to COVID-19.

"Following medical advice to rest for a few days, the queen attended hospital on Wednesday afternoon for some preliminary investigations, returning to Windsor Castle at lunchtime today, and remains in good spirits," the palace said in a statement.

A royal source said the queen had stayed in hospital for practical reasons and that her medical team had taken a cautious approach.

She returned to her desk for work on Thursday afternoon and was undertaking some light duties, the source said.

Elizabeth had spent Tuesday night hosting a drinks reception at Windsor for billionaire business leaders such as Bill Gates after Prime Minister Boris Johnson convened a green investment conference ahead of the COP26 climate summit.

The queen had appeared in good health then, smiling happily as she met the guests.

The head of state, who next year celebrates 70 years on the throne, is known for her robust health and the last time she is thought to have spent a night in hospital was in 2013 when she was suffering from symptoms of gastroenteritis.

She had a successful surgery to treat an eye cataract in 2018, and also had a knee operation in 2003. However, royal officials are loathe to discuss health issues in general, saying medical matters are private.

Earlier this year, Prince Philip, her 99-year-old husband of more than seven decades, died at Windsor Castle.

But that has not stopped her from carrying out her official engagements, although her age has meant she has handed more duties to her son and heir Prince Charles and other members of the royal family.

Earlier this month, she was seen using a walking stick for support in public for the first time, apart from after her knee operation, when she arrived at a service at London's Westminster Abbey.

Elizabeth, who acceded to the throne in 1952 as Britain was shedding its imperial power, has symbolised stability for generations of British people, maintaining the popularity of the monarchy despite seismic political, social and cultural change which threatened to make it an anachronism.

A quiet and uncomplaining dedication to the duty of queenship, even in old age, has earned her widespread respect both in Britain and abroad, even from republicans who are eager to abolish the institution.

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2021-10-21 22:26:00Z
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