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Minggu, 21 Januari 2024

Nikki Haley questions Trump's mental fitness after he appears to confuse her for Nancy Pelosi - CNA

Speaking at a Bloomberg News forum on Saturday in Manchester, Haley campaign manager Betsy Ankney referenced Haley's remarks and said Trump “made a pretty apparent gaffe last night."

“It’s a distinction without a difference. It’s Nikki and Nancy,” Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita said to reporters Saturday night. “What’s the difference?”

At his rally Saturday night in Manchester, Trump said that he took a cognitive test and “aced it”.

“I’ll let you know when I go bad. I really think I’ll be able to tell you," he added. “I feel my mind is stronger now than it was 25 years ago. Is that possible?”

Trump, who won Monday's Iowa caucuses and is the current GOP front-runner, picked Haley to serve as his United Nations ambassador and has ramped up his criticism of her campaign as the year's votes have gotten underway.

On Saturday, he stumped in New Hampshire with a robust complement of backers from Haley's home state of South Carolina, including Gov Henry McMaster and several US House members.

A day earlier, Sen. Tim Scott - who ended his own 2024 bid in November and was appointed to the Senate by Haley in 2012 - endorsed Trump over Haley in a rousing call-and-response speech of his own in New Hampshire.

Since entering the GOP race nearly a year ago, Haley, 52, has advocated for “mental competency tests” for older politicians, a swipe at the ages of both Trump and Biden.

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2024-01-20 22:07:00Z
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Frustrations mounting among companies selling insects as food as SFA delays approval - The Straits Times

Crickets being harvested for R&D in a pilot farm by Future Protein Solutions. PHOTO: FUTURE PROTEIN SOLUTIONS

SINGAPORE – Frustrations are mounting among companies that are looking to sell insects as food, with some mulling over business closure, as the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) delays its approval for the sale of these species for human consumption.

In April 2023, SFA said that 16 species of insects – including crickets, silkworms and grasshoppers – will receive the green light for consumption in the second half of 2023, given that the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation has promoted their benefits as a sustainable form of protein.

Crickets are like a superfood – full of protein, vitamins, minerals and fibre.

As at Jan 19, SFA has not given the approval. The European Union and countries such as Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Thailand allow the consumption of certain insect species.

The Straits Times asked SFA for the reason behind the delay, when the approval can be expected, and if SFA will be extending support to affected businesses. In reply, a spokeswoman said the agency is finalising the implementation details and “will announce the date of effect in due course”.

“We are also aware of some interest from food business operators on the import of insect and insect products as food and will continue to engage them to provide relevant assistance,” she added.

Industry players that had started gearing up in 2023 for local product launches are now finding themselves in limbo, with some considering exiting the business altogether. Currently, there are at least four companies in the insect protein space in Singapore.

Mr Christopher Leow, chief executive and co-founder of Singapore-based Future Protein Solutions, which was founded in 2019, initially wanted to test the local market to see how receptive Singaporeans would be to consuming insects like crickets.

“I embarked on research and development (R&D) to develop different consumer products made from crickets, including chocolates, pastas and even prata,” he added.

Cricket farming is thought to be more sustainable than conventional poultry farming, as it uses far less water, feed and land, thus emitting minimal greenhouse gas emissions. Cricket waste can also be used as fertiliser for plants.

To determine if it would be cost-effective and sustainable to farm crickets on home soil, Mr Leow piloted a small, high-tech cricket farm in Lim Chu Kang in 2021. At its peak, the farm produced 60kg to 120kg of crickets a month for R&D.

But without SFA approval, nothing it has harvested can be sold.

“Our investor eventually pulled out their funding, and we had to stop all operations,” he told ST.

“We haven’t formally closed down our business yet, in case there is a lucky break further down the line. But for now, the co-founders will move on to other endeavours,” he added.

Either way, developing a cricket farm in Singapore – and by extension, running a business in the insect protein industry as a whole – is a challenging feat, considering the lack of incentives or grants to lower the costs of pilot projects, R&D and market testing. Grants for alternative protein companies are only for those working on plant-based protein, microbes-based protein, and cultivated meat – and not insects.

There is also no zoning of land for insect farming, unlike for vegetable farms, said Mr Leow.

Cricket eggs in a bed of coconut fibre, which is used to create a moist habitat for the crickets to lay their eggs. PHOTO: FUTURE PROTEIN SOLUTIONS

Co-founder Yuvanesh T.S. of Asia Insect Farm Solutions, which produces cricket powder for use in flour and cookies, said that business has been slow over the past year. Since the Singapore-based company started in 2021, it has been exporting to consumers in Britain and the United States, although it stopped doing so in 2023 as sales were poor.

In December 2023, the company launched nutritional snack crisps incorporating cricket flour under the brand name Plento, which was done in collaboration with Bugsolutely Bangkok, an insect protein firm in Thailand.

“We wanted to focus on snacks (with a small portion of insect ingredients), because we realised that edible insect consumer products are not appealing to consumers,” he added.

The company is looking to do a test run in Thailand first to see how things go, before deciding on its next steps, said Mr Yuvanesh.

“It’s quite likely that I’ll stop running the company if things do not look up over the next few months. I can’t justify doing business at a loss,” he added.

For Ms Christina Rasmussen, the co-founder of future-food themed bar Fura, the absence of approval for insects meant having to remove about a quarter of the bar’s food menu.

With a strong focus on sustainable dining, Fura, which opened for business in Singapore in September 2023, spotlights ingredients that are either abundant or in excess, such as locusts, crickets and mealworms.

“We curated our dishes carefully, based on SFA’s list of approved species, and we also sourced our insects responsibly, ensuring that there’s proper certification from the farms to ensure traceability,” said Ms Rasmussen.

After learning that it was not allowed to sell any insect-based dishes without SFA’s formal approval, the bar had to remove some items from its menu, as well as tweak the recipes of other dishes. This disappointed some customers who were drawn to the outfit’s novelty, Ms Rasmussen said.

No details were given on when SFA’s approval would come either, despite months of asking the authorities for an update, she added.

“This was a massive blow for us, as it really takes away the spirit and vision of what we had initially set out to do,” she said.

Meanwhile, local company Altimate Nutrition, which creates protein bars made from cricket flour, is set to launch in the United Kingdom by March or April, said its co-founder Gavriel Tan.

While he is disappointed by the delay in approval here, the setback did not stop the 23-year-old from turning to the market in the UK, where he is currently doing his undergraduate studies in biological sciences at the University College London.

“We have secured on-paper approval to sell in the UK, so we are finishing up discussion with some retailers here,” he said.

In Singapore, the company had decided to focus on public education efforts, while engaging local retailers and distributors in anticipation of the sale of its cricket-based protein bars, which come in six flavours, such as matcha green tea and mixed berries.

Altimate Nutrition has previously inked a partnership with the House of Seafood restaurant to serve an array of insect dishes – ranging from crickets to mealworms to silkworm pupae – which will start once SFA gives the go-ahead, said Mr Tan.

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2024-01-21 04:00:00Z
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Sabtu, 20 Januari 2024

Netanyahu told Biden Gaza plans clash with 'Palestinian sovereignty': Statement - CNA

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on Saturday (Jan 20) to push back against US President Joe Biden's remarks about Palestinian statehood after the war against Hamas in Gaza ends.

Biden on Friday said he spoke with Netanyahu about possible solutions for creation of an independent Palestinian state, suggesting one path could involve a non-militarized government.

"In his conversation with President Biden, Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his policy that after Hamas is destroyed Israel must retain security control over Gaza to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel, a requirement that contradicts the demand for Palestinian sovereignty," a statement from the Israeli prime minister's office said.

Asked to clarify whether Netanyahu is opposed to any kind of Palestinian statehood, his office did not immediately respond.

Biden's call with Netanyahu was the first in nearly a month, the White House said. Asked if a two-state solution was "impossible" while Netanyahu was in office, Biden said: "No, it's not."

He said Netanyahu was not opposed to all two-state solutions, and there were a number of types possible.

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2024-01-20 21:04:00Z
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Indonesia's Prabowo strengthens lead in election polls - Reuters

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2024-01-20 11:10:00Z
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IN FOCUS: Falling fish catch in Malaysia spells trouble for industry, region; highlights need for sustainable practices - CNA

Meanwhile, Mr Adnan of the DOF said that his department has been building artificial reefs at different locations around the country, with about 1,800 installed at more than 100 locations since 2016.

"These reefs help conserve marine resources by creating new areas for the growth of corals. This helps provide breeding areas for fish and other marine life, helping create new habitats and protected areas," he said.

Beyond that, Mr Adnan said that the authorities have limited the catch for certain types of fishes to a particular season, such as the case of anchovies that are caught off the coast of Langkawi.

WWF-Malaysia told CNA that stakeholders in the fisheries and seafood industry need to work together to promote sustainable fisheries that emphasises the need for a science-based fisheries approach to sustain the marine resources.

The organisation said that this can be done through stock recovery, establishing a commercially and ecologically viable fisheries industry, while also protecting the fishing communities’ livelihoods.

“The seafood supply chain needs to reform; to adopt digitisation of catch data and traceability systems. Consumers need to rethink the consumption of seafood, to only choose sustainable options, and only choose seafood at a responsible consumption rate,” it said.

WWF-Malaysia warned that the increased fishing efforts over the past 50 years - as well as unsustainable practices in the industry - are pushing many fish stocks “to the point of collapse, with livelihoods dependent on fish adversely affected”.

“Fishers need to put in more effort to catch fish; they need to go further out to sea and spend more time harvesting, and in return they are catching smaller and lesser fish,” it said.

Mr Chia - the fisherman in the coastal town of Sungai Besar - told CNA that should the catch continue to be dismal and the situation persists, he may have “no choice” but to sell his 20-year-old fishing boat at a loss after the Chinese New Year celebrations in February.

He still has debts to pay while two of his children are still studying in university. But he will be in a twist on what he will do next.

“This is the only thing I know and have done since I was young. I never went to school. What else can I do?,” said Mr Chia.

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2024-01-19 22:00:00Z
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Seoul police chief charged over deadly Halloween crush - CNA

SEOUL: Seoul's chief of police has been charged with professional negligence over the deadly 2022 Halloween crush that killed nearly 160 people, prosecutors in the South Korean capital said.

On Oct 29, 2022, tens of thousands of people - mostly in their 20s and 30s - had been out to enjoy post-pandemic holiday celebrations in Seoul's Itaewon nightlife district.

But the night turned deadly when people poured into a narrow, sloping alleyway between bars and clubs, the weight of their bodies and a lack of effective crowd control leaving more than 150 crushed to death.

Kim Kwang-ho, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, was charged with professional negligence resulting in injury or death, Seoul's Western District Prosecutors' Office said in a statement released Friday (Jan 19).

As the chief of the SMPA, he "did not take necessary measures, such as deploying sufficient police forces and ensuring proper command and supervision" on the day of the crush, the statement said, although he was able to "foresee potential dangers arising" from overcrowding in the nightlife area.

Kim, the highest-ranking police official to face trial over the tragedy, was charged without detention.

In January last year, Kim and 22 other officials from the police, rescue and district offices were forwarded to the prosecution by a special police investigation team for their alleged involvement in the government's mishandling of the crush.

Prosecutors subsequently charged the heads of the police station in Seoul's Yongsan district, which includes Itaewon, and the Yongsan Ward office, but had been undecided about charging Kim for over a year.

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2024-01-20 03:55:00Z
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'I eat until shiok': Singaporean lands herself in Bangkok hospital after trying bags of insects at night market - AsiaOne

One Singaporean woman took her taste buds on an 'adventure' in Thailand, and landed herself in hospital.

Taking to TikTok last Sunday (Jan 14), influencer Nicolette Wee said that she came across a stall selling freshly fried insects while walking around a night market in Bangkok.

The 30-second video showed Wee buying a bag of grasshoppers - to try.

"So thick, fat and juicy," she quipped. "Oh my gosh, the crunch and the legs were dangling out. I eat until shiok, legit."

Wee said that she went back to the same stall for more creepy-crawly delights - this time a bag of silk worm larvae.

"Why my office pantry don't have these kinds of snacks?" she added.

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@nicolettecalliewe/video/7323554842511789320?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7252157227077830162[/embed]

But it turns out that Wee's digestive system might have had a "culture shock'.

The Singaporean shared that she started having diarrhoea, and had to be admitted to a hospital. She later said that the hospital was in Singapore.

Wee's video has since garnered over 290,000 views.

In the comments, several netizens say that her trip to the hospital was not worth it.

"Never eat their insects and seafood if you're travelling," a netizen said

"Some of these insects have parasites," another added.

AsiaOne has contacted Wee for more information.

Raw food gave woman food poisoning

In August 2022, a Singaporean woman had food poisoning in Phuket after eating some 'dancing shrimp' - a street dish consisting of fresh live shrimp marinated in spicy sauce and herbs.

"The night after, we started vomiting continuously for six hours [and had] diarrhoea non-stop," she wrote in her TikTok video.

To minimise the risk of getting food poisoning while on holiday, some tips include choosing thoroughly cooked food, sticking to boiled water or bottled drinks, as well as avoiding unpasteurised dairy products such as milk and cheese.

Travellers can also consider packing anti-sickness medication, oral rehydration salts, anti-diarrhoea medication and antibiotics to self-medicate in the event of food poisoning.

ALSO READ: 'Don't end up sick overseas like we did': Singaporean waited 1.5 hours to get to Seoul hospital

chingshijie@asiaone.com

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2024-01-20 01:50:11Z
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