Russian plane with 50 aboard missing in Amur region, Interfax says
Shot said the plane, operated by the Angara airline, was headed for the town of Tynda in the Amur region bordering China.
MOSCOW - Air traffic controllers lost contact on July 24 with an An-24 passenger plane carrying about 50 people in Russia's far east, the Interfax and Shot news outlets said.
Shot said the plane, operated by the Angara airline, was headed for the town of Tynda in the Amur region bordering China, and was believed to be a few kilometres away from its destination when it lost contact.
More to come. REUTERS
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Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Learn more about S'pore's largest known colony of swiftlets from Aug 2 in Sentosa
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Unlike farms that lure swiftlets for their nests, the British bunker's colonisation began entirely by the birds' design. SINGAPORE – Hidden amid luxury hotels on Sentosa, a World War II military bunker has for decades been an exclusive sanctuary for swiftlets, sheltering them from those who covet their nests for touted health benefits. From Aug 2, the public can get their first glimpse of life inside the home of Singapore's largest known colony of edible-nest and black-nest swiftlets – via a replica of the bunker in the resort island's refreshed nature discovery learning hub. Located in a defunct monorail station, the hub in Mount Imbiah that opens from 9am to 5pm daily acts as a gateway to Sentosa's natural habitats and its roughly 850 kinds of flora and fauna. Following a two-month revamp, the space, which can be accessed for free, features a replica of the military bunker along with latest insights into the swiftlets' habits. Other parts of the gallery spotlight unique species like a slow-growing climber that can be found here only on Sentosa's rocky outcrops and a feisty mantis shrimp, Gonodactylellus sentosa, named after the southern island. Unlike farms that lure swiftlets for their nests which are prized as delicacies, the British bunker's colonisation began entirely by the birds' design. In the wild, both species belong to a group of swifts drawn to nesting under the cloak of complete darkness, which they navigate with clicking noises that generate a real-time audio map of the landscape. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Tech Reporting suspected advanced cyber attacks will provide a defence framework: Shanmugam Singapore Tanjong Katong sinkhole: Road will progressively open to motorists from Aug 2 noon World Trump modifies reciprocal tariffs ahead of deadline; rate on Singapore remains at 10% Business Singapore's US tariff rate stays at 10%, but the Republic is not out of the woods yet Singapore 5 women face capital charges after they were allegedly found with nearly 27kg of cocaine in S'pore Business Sumo Salad had valid insurance coverage for work injury claims: MOM Asia Australia to force Google to conduct age checks in world-first rules for search engines Singapore PM Wong to deliver National Day message on Aug 8 More than 120 swiftlet nests were first recorded at the bunker in 1987, after the birds were spotted circling the flooded military installation, said Sentosa Development Corporation's director of environmental management Grace Lee. Since the colony was discovered, the corporation has pulled out all stops to protect it. More than 120 swiftlet nests were first recorded at the bunker in 1987. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO This includes restricting access, barricading the colony more than a decade ago after signs of intrusion were discovered, and ridding the passageways of cockroaches to ensure that the nests are not devoured. Added Ms Lee: 'We want to allow the swiftlets to have the assurance that they can live here comfortably.' Today, the colony has doubled to 250 nests, as Sentosa tightly manages access to the bunker that attracts birdwatchers and academics from Singapore and beyond. By virtue of the colony being a haven, researchers found that the swiftlets opportunistically reuse one another's nests over multiple years. On occasion, this results in a black-and-white nest, which indicates that one species has renovated the other's nest, according to Dr Keren Sadanandan, who has been studying the colony since 2018. The National University of Singapore research fellow said: 'It's good that these birds can spend their energy on breeding rather than continuously having to remake their nests, which is the case in most of South-east Asia because the nests are harvested very aggressively.' Her research into the colony is the fruit of an ongoing collaboration among researchers from the NUS, the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence in Germany and volunteers of the Bird Society of Singapore. The exhibition builds on the corporation's efforts to bolster conservation on the island, with protected nature areas of about 40ha, or less than 10 per cent of its total land. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO As part of the exhibition, visitors can put themselves in the shoes of these researchers, who collected data about the swiftlets through a range of methods. These included the use of mirrors attached to selfie sticks to view the nests. Ms Lee said the exhibition aims to cultivate a love for Sentosa's natural heritage. '(The island) is a living, breathing ecosystem that we really need to protect and continue to enhance to make it an even better place for our guests and for future generations.' The exhibition builds on the corporation's efforts to bolster conservation on the island, with protected nature areas of about 40ha, or less than 10 per cent of its total land. As part of the hub's reopening on Aug 2, the Bird Society of Singapore is collaborating with the corporation to conduct a fully booked tour of the bunker for just 15 visitors – while being mindful of minimising disruption to the birds – with plans to organise more of such visits in the future. The society's president Movin Nyanasengeran said the rare opportunity to visit the bunker is highly sought after by members of the birdwatching community who are determined to see all the Republic's bird species. The native edible-nest swiftlet species can be definitively identified only through their nests because they are virtually indistinguishable from the black-nest swiftlets. Dr Movin said: 'To conclusively add the edible-nest swiftlets to their lists, hobbyists have to go to the bunker in Sentosa, which has the largest known concentrations of the species.' Between Aug 2 and Aug 10, the public can participate in free child-friendly programmes – such as a guided adventure across the island's green spaces – to learn more about nature.
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Tanjong Katong sinkhole: Road will progressively open to motorists from Aug 2 noon
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The sinkhole being repaired on July 29. The stretch of Tanjong Katong Road South that has been closed for repairs will be progressively reopened to traffic on Aug 2. SINGAPORE – The stretch of Tanjong Katong Road South that has been closed for repairs after a sinkhole emerged there about a week ago will be progressively reopened to traffic from noon on Aug 2. Announcing this in a Facebook post on Aug 1, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the roads will open gradually – with the section from East Coast Parkway (ECP) to Mountbatten Road opening at 12pm on Aug 2, while the opposite bound from Mountbatten Road to ECP will open later from 5am on Aug 4. The authority added that bus services 36 and 48, which were temporarily diverted, will return to plying their usual routes in the eastbound direction towards Changi Airport and Bedok from 12pm on Aug 2. Similarly, LTA said these bus services will resume taking their original routes in the westbound direction towards the city via ECP and serve all affected bus stops along Tanjong Katong Road South, Mountbatten, Amber and Marine Parade Roads from the start of operations on Aug 4. Noting that road reinstatement works are still ongoing, LTA said motorists may continue to see works taking place in the area. These will include repairs to underground utilities or laying of new utilities to replace damaged ones after the roads have reopened. LTA noted that over the past week, the authorities have conducted a series of rigorous tests after backfilling the sinkhole, and did not detect any anomalies or cavities within the area. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Tech Reporting suspected advanced cyber attacks will provide a defence framework: Shanmugam World Trump modifies reciprocal tariffs ahead of deadline; rate on Singapore likely to remain at 10% Business Singapore's US tariff rate stays at 10%, but the Republic is not out of the woods yet Singapore NUS launches S'pore's first nursing practice doctorate to meet evolving healthcare needs Singapore Data breach involving 147,000 Cycle & Carriage Singapore customer records under probe Business CAD probing Tokenize Xchange operator; firm's director charged with fraudulent trading Singapore PM Wong to deliver National Day message on Aug 8 As such, it said that LTA and national water agency PUB have completed repair works and finished a safety assessment of the affected road sections and surrounding roads. These checks, conducted in consultation with the Building and Construction Authority, have confirmed that these roads are safe to use, added LTA. The authority thanked motorists and members of the public for their patience and understanding on the road closure. The sinkhole appeared on the section of Tanjong Katong Road South between Mountbatten Road and the ECP, swallowing a car and its driver on the evening of July 26. The driver was rescued by workers on-site and was taken conscious to hospital. It was previously reported that she was experiencing muscular pains, and was still recovering in the hospital as at July 29. On July 27, the badly damaged car was hoisted out of the sinkhole with a crane. The sinkhole was refilled early on July 28 with liquefied stabilised soil, which is made of soil, cement and water. Works to test the ground were carried out thereafter. On July 29, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu apologised to the injured driver on behalf of her ministry and national water agency PUB , adding that the sinkhole accident should not have happened.
Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Straits Times
Paradise beaches sit empty as Indonesia bets on saturated Bali
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox JAKARTA – At Ora Beach on Indonesia's Seram Island, framed by tropical vegetation and dramatic limestone cliffs, the waters are aquarium like and there's nary an influencer with smartphone in sight. It's a Maldives experience, for a fraction of the price. Some 1,600km away in Bali – not that there is any direct flight – traffic snarls around temple corners, the air is thick with noise pollution from motorbikes, plastic trash is matted into gutters and the surge of visitors has, in many places, eclipsed the island's deeper spiritual essence. And yet, that is where the government is placing most of its tourism bets. Officials want Bali, about 1.5 times the size of Rhode Island, to be a holiday escape and everything else besides. There are plans to establish Bali as a family office hub, an export centre for seaweed and President Prabowo Subianto in late June inaugurated the Sanur Special Economic Zone to develop medical tourism. As Indonesia's most internationally recognised destination, banking on Bali was a deliberate strategy to help the South-east Asian nation's vital tourism sector recover in the aftermath of the pandemic. But that approach is not paying off, with the province's economic growth slowing as visitors' spending declines. Meanwhile, tourism operators in other parts of the country are crying out for investment. Mr Irfan Muddin, who has run Ora Sunrise View Resort since 2018, has been lobbying local authorities for years to improve connectivity to boost tourism in Maluku province. 'An airport could be built on Seram Island that would enable direct domestic and international flights,' he said, adding that regional airfares should also come down. Tourism in Indonesia – an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands – as a whole still hasn't fully returned to pre-Covid levels, a milestone that Vietnam and Thailand are close to achieving. Bali itself however is suffering from overtourism, with visitor numbers in 2024 already exceeding those in 2019. 'Is Indonesia squandering its tourism potential? In many ways, yes, but not because it lacks natural beauty,' Dr Samer El Hajjar, a senior lecturer in marketing at Singapore's NUS Business School, said. 'It's more about execution. There's a gap between potential and policy, between what Indonesia could offer and what it currently does.' A major obstacle in boosting tourism spots besides Bali is the lack of coordination among ministries and local government to ramp up infrastructure and improve connectivity. Indonesia's government has previously tried to prioritise creating 10 'new Balis' in other areas, but these projects have quietly fallen by the wayside. Indonesia's tourism ministry did not respond to a request for comment. After a slump during the height of Covid-19, the reopening of borders saw visitors flock to Bali, which garnered pop-culture status after being featured in the 2010 film Eat, Pray, Love. In 2024, nearly half of Indonesia's roughly 13.9 million foreign visitors went to the province. From a quiet, agrarian, Hindu oasis, Bali has transformed into a nightlife hotspot that offers both ultimate luxury – whole villas that run close to US$3,000 (S$3,892) a night – to budget basics, with guest houses that go for as little as US$20. It's also become a mecca for wellness enthusiasts and is attempting to become a medical hub that offers cosmetic procedures to neonatal care. The government estimates that the island's two economic zones, one focused specifically around medical tourism, could bring in over US$33 billion by 2052. But the tourism boom is not translating into sustained gains. Bali's economic growth declined to 5.5 per cent in 2024 from 5.7 per cent in 2023, in part due to a decline in average spending of international tourists. Typically deep-pocketed Chinese have been particularly missed, with the number of visitors from the country just a third of 2019's level. In essence, Bali is a victim of its own success. Crowds of tourists throng streets and videos of snarling traffic in party hot spots such as Canggu have gone viral, prompting comparisons to Indonesia's capital Jakarta, notorious for its jammed roads. Foreign investors building villas are eating into the tranquility of the terraced paddy fields that helped make Bali famous in the first place. Life has changed substantially for locals too. Construction work threatens the delicate structures of the island's sacred Hindu temples and water is getting harder to come by – over 65 per cent of Bali's fresh water is channeled to resorts and plunge pools, leading to over-extraction as villages turn to using groundwater. Over at Ora Beach in Maluku province, a stream of what looks like dark black smoke arises from the mountains at 6.20pm on the dot, everyday. It's actually thousands of bats flying out of a nearby cave to hunt for their dinner. As visitors go island hopping, they can catch a view of dolphins and turtles coming up from the deep for air. But what Bali has that Seram Island lacks is infrastructure and connectivity. The island does not have an airport, for instance. One way to get to Ora Beach is to fly three and a half hours east from Jakarta to Ambon, take a two hour ferry to Seram Island and then another one hour car ride – a close to seven hour trip. Even then, there are only two ferry services a day, which carry more people than the maximum allowed limit. Sinkings in Indonesia are commonplace. Similarly, there are no international flights to Lake Toba, the largest volcanic lake in the world. From Samosir Island, visitors can take in views of the lake and the surrounding hills. Although some hotels have sprouted and Lake Toba will host the F1H2O Powerboat World Championship in late August, tourism development is still slow. Another untapped gem is Raja Ampat, located off the northwest tip of Papua. Its more than 1,500 cays and shoals are widely recognised as hosting the world's most diverse coral reef ecosystem. Again, there are no international flights. Still, there have been some efforts. As part of Widodo's huge infrastructure spending spree, airports were upgraded or new ones built. The airfield on Labuan Bajo, near where Komodo dragons can be found, was expanded in 2022 and in 2 024 , international flights from Malaysia and Singapore were added. Cafes and restaurants that w ould not look out of place in Bali have mushroomed. The number of tourists in 2024 was triple 2016. It is not just a short-term challenge. The opportunity cost of not sustainably developing tourism in remote destinations could increase each year, with competition for tourist dollars intensifying both domestically and with neighboring countries, said Ms Lavanya Venkateswaran, senior Asean economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Indonesia already lags regional competitors like Thailand, where tourists have several beach options from Phuket to Koh Samui and Krabi. Vietnam, also much smaller geographically, boasts comparatively a lot of holiday alternatives such as Ha Long Bay and Sa Pa in the north to Phu Quoc, which is undergoing a major infrastructure and tourism transformation ahead of hosting Apec 2027, including an augmented airport designed to handle 50 million passengers by 2050. 'To truly compete, Indonesia needs to act more like a tourism federation, empowering provinces and building unique destinations within the national umbrella,' Dr El Hajjar said. 'The potential is there. Stronger political will is needed, along with better coordination and a tourism mindset that treats the country not as one place but as a constellation of remarkable experiences waiting to be discovered.' BLOOMBERG
