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South Korea's President Lee orders all-out effort to find missing after floods

South Korea's President Lee orders all-out effort to find missing after floods

Straits Times4 days ago
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The aftermath of a landslide on July 20, following days of torrential rain that triggered floods and landslides, in Sancheong county.
SEOUL - South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung told public officials on July 22 to 'spare no effort' in the search for missing people and on damage recovery after
days of torrential rains left a trail of destruction in various parts of the country.
The wet weather has now subsided, though media reports said heavy rainfall was drenching parts of North Korea.
Some 19 people have died and nine were still missing in South Korea as of the morning of July 22, while 2,549 people remained displaced, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said.
Damage to property was extensive with some 3,776 facilities, including homes, shops and factories needing to be cleared of water, debris and earth, it said.
Noting the limitations of existing methods in coping with last week's rain, Mr Lee ordered the prime minister and all related ministries to establish a comprehensive response system for natural disasters by region and type.
He also told a cabinet meeting to 'strictly crack down on mindless public officials who enjoy dancing and drinking at.. locations where people are dying'.
The president's approval rating fell to 62.2 per cent from 64.6 per cent previously according to pollster Realmeter, in a survey conducted last week during the torrential rains.
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Mr Lee, who took office in June, has promised to make the country safer and to prevent any repeat of the disasters in recent years that have often been blamed on the inadequate response by authorities. REUTERS
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Russian attack kills 3 in Ukraine's city of Dnipro, governor says
Russian attack kills 3 in Ukraine's city of Dnipro, governor says

Straits Times

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  • Straits Times

Russian attack kills 3 in Ukraine's city of Dnipro, governor says

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Students hide vapes in underwear, toilet roll holders: S'pore schools grapple with vaping scourge
Students hide vapes in underwear, toilet roll holders: S'pore schools grapple with vaping scourge

Straits Times

time43 minutes ago

  • Straits Times

Students hide vapes in underwear, toilet roll holders: S'pore schools grapple with vaping scourge

Find out what's new on ST website and app. Teachers both in primary and secondary schools told ST they are seeing more students sneaking around with vapes. SINGAPORE - During the June holidays, primary school teacher Wong (not her real name) saw one of her Primary 5 boys vaping openly while cycling near their school. 'It was very disturbing,' she said. Since the start of 2025, her school has caught about five pupils – mostly from the upper primary levels – with e-vaporisers. One pupil has been caught vaping in school so far. Some children this young are getting their hands on the devices from channels such as Telegram, Ms Wong said, while others obtain them from their siblings in secondary school. Teachers both in primary and secondary schools told The Straits Times they are seeing more students sneaking around with vapes – which can be dissembled and easily concealed – on school grounds. Vaping is harder to detect than smoking, which has more telltale signs, they added. The problem has become more prevalent since 2021, the teachers said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Almost half of planned 30,000 HDB flats in Tengah to be completed by end-2025: Chee Hong Tat Singapore 'I've tried everything': Mum helpless as son's Kpod addiction spirals out of control Singapore Black belt in taekwondo, Grade 8 in piano: S'pore teen excels despite condition that limits movements Singapore As Asean looks to nuclear energy, public education efforts are needed: UN nuclear watchdog chief Asia Thousands rally in downtown Kuala Lumpur calling for the resignation of PM Anwar Asia Death toll climbs as Thai-Cambodia clashes continue despite calls for ceasefire Asia Shunsaku Tamiya, who brought perfection to plastic race car models, dies at 90 Ms Wong said her school has planned and conducted training sessions for staff on how to handle students caught vaping. 'A lot of teachers are unaware to what extent this is happening, so we even have to show them samples of how these (vapes) might look, as some are very harmless looking,' she said. In 2024, there were 2,000 cases of students – including those from institutes of higher learning – reported for possessing or using e-vaporisers. This is up from 800 cases in 2022, and 900 cases in 2023. The numbers had risen due to a ramp-up of enforcement efforts by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), which is the enforcement agency for vaping-related offences, and the Ministry of Education (MOE). But teachers said more cases probably go undetected as teenagers are finding ways to vape more discreetly or to share the devices with friends by passing them around. An MOE spokeswoman said schools have stepped up education and enforcement efforts, but challenges remain 'due to students having the perception that vaping is harmless and trendy, as well as e-vaporisers being appealing with its novel flavours, ease of use and convenient access'. Since 2023, the ministry has been working with the Health Promotion Board (HPB) and HSA to issue joint advisories to parents on vaping every semester. The advisories emphasise the illegality and harmful health effects of vaping, and offer tips on how to talk to children suspected of vaping. Teachers said the situation improved in 2024, after students caught vaping could be handed fines. Since March 2024, first-time offenders in schools and institutes of higher learning caught buying, using or possessing e-vaporisers can be fined up to $2,000 after being referred to HSA. Before this, teachers would usually confiscate the vapes from students and either pass them to their parents or to HSA. One teacher said it was left to the individual schools to determine disciplinary measures. MOE said these measures included suspension or caning for boys. Parents will be informed when students are caught using or in possession of vapes, which will be confiscated. Schools report offenders to HSA and a fine could be issued. HPB also provides support to students caught vaping through QuitLine, a tele-counselling service, and onsite counselling by Student Health Advisors at some schools. A secondary school teacher who sits on her school's discipline committee said one challenge was dealing with parents who pushed back against schools' penalties. 'Many parents tried to retaliate or negotiate if we wanted to suspend their kids for even a day,' she said. This resistance has dwindled since the fines kicked in, although the teacher said that she has had 'recalcitrant students who were fined $1,200, or even more'. Her school handles vaping cases once every two weeks. The teacher had also been taken aback by one parent's reaction in 2023 after informing them that their child was caught vaping, and would face school punishment. 'If (the authorities) didn't say anything, then why does the school want to cane my child?' the parent had asked. 'Vaping is better than smoking. Besides, children are just curious,' she recounted them saying. Harder to detect vaping Another teacher said she was shocked to learn that vapes could come in different shapes, sizes, and flavours. 'They look like pens, thumb drives, barrels… I wouldn't have known otherwise if the school hadn't prepared me,' she said, referring to slides prepared by the school's head of discipline, who saw the need to get teachers up to speed on vaping devices. A secondary school teacher who has been in the service for more than 25 years said that unlike vaping, smoking was much easier to detect because of its more obvious signs. These include lingering nicotine smells on fingertips and uniforms, and suspicions that are easily confirmed with a handheld monitor, designed to detect increased levels of carbon monoxide after smoking, through a breath test. 'If they return to class after a long toilet break smelling like a garden, that's a sure sign that they used perfume to mask the cigarette smell. When they vape however, they leave no clues,' he said. He added that cigarettes, lighters and matches are easy to spot and harder to conceal during spot checks. In comparison, vapes are harder to identify when disassembled because they come in so many forms. Another teacher pointed out that students sometimes hide vape components in their undergarments, knowing teachers cannot conduct thorough body searches. Students are also becoming more creative in how they share and hide their devices. 'One time, we realised the students were hiding the vape devices in the toilet roll holders early in the morning. And they had a system or timetable to share vapes during school hours,' said a teacher, who caught eight repeat student offenders in 2024. Tackling the scourge The recent rise in vaping among young people and the introduction of Kpods – e-vaporisers laced with etomidate, an anaesthetic – has prompted government agencies to take stronger actions to deal with the scourge. Between January 2024 and March 2025, HSA seized more than $41 million worth of e-vaporisers and their related components. The authorities are working to list etomidate, which is being abused via e-vaporisers, under the Misuse of Drugs Act, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on July 20 . When asked then about the situation in schools, Mr Ong said the authorities had not detected any etomidate in the vapes seized from schools a few months ago. But in its latest exercise, one in three vapes seized from the public here was found to contain etomidate, he noted. 'So I will not assume that etomidate has not made their way to schools.' MOE said parents play an important role in vaping and drug prevention. Parents may call HPB's QuitLine on 1800 438 2000 for help, and any disclosures made during the programme are kept confidential and will not be reported to other authorities. May (not her real name) resorted to placing her 13-year-old daughter in a residential girls' home in 2025 after her teen refused to stop vaping. The 55-year-old widow said that her daughter picked up the habit while in Secondary 1 in 2024, at a girls' school. None of her teachers knew about it, even though her daughter had up to seven e-vaporisers in her possession at one time. 'She told me that some of her teachers are very blur. They don't know how to find the vapes if students keep them in their pockets,' said May, who works in social services. 'She was sleeping in class, not paying attention, not handing in assignments. They informed me about this change in her behaviour only much later, during a parent-teacher meeting in October,' she said, wishing that teachers had picked up on signs of her daughter's declining performance in class and connected it to possible vape use. Acknowledging that teachers are stretched thin dealing with vaping and many other responsibilities, she said: 'The schools and ministry need to come up with something together. There must be something they can do.'

As Asean looks to nuclear energy, public education efforts are needed: UN nuclear watchdog chief
As Asean looks to nuclear energy, public education efforts are needed: UN nuclear watchdog chief

Straits Times

time43 minutes ago

  • Straits Times

As Asean looks to nuclear energy, public education efforts are needed: UN nuclear watchdog chief

Find out what's new on ST website and app. Director-general of the IAEA Rafael Grossi said many people still have certain impressions of the nuclear energy form due to previous incidents. SINGAPORE – With more governments in the region considering the use of nuclear energy, public education efforts will be key to helping people learn more about nuclear technology, said the chief of the UN nuclear watchdog on July 25. Speaking to the local media during a one-day visit to Singapore, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mr Rafael Grossi, said many people still have certain impressions of the energy form due to previous nuclear incidents. 'But the reality is that the Asean governments are approaching IAEA and telling me that they want nuclear energy, and they are asking for capacity building, training, exchanges, courses and seminars,' he said during the hour-long interview at Shangri-La Hotel. 'So in my opinion, it would be good to do more information sharing, education campaigns, dissemination of information, because it's true that public perceptions may still be influenced by a certain inertia from past examples, like what happened in Fukushima,' he said. In 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in Japan suffered a meltdown in the aftermath of a powerful earthquake and tsunami. The incident changed nuclear policy around the world, with countries like Germany choosing to phase out nuclear energy. That disaster involved conventional nuclear technologies which had been built up to the 1990s. Advanced nuclear technologies such as small modular reactors have heightened safety features and are considered to be safer. Mr Grossi was in Singapore as part of the S R Nathan Fellowship, a high-level programme for foreign leaders and prominent individuals to visit the country. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Almost half of planned 30,000 HDB flats in Tengah to be completed by end-2025: Chee Hong Tat Singapore Students hide vapes in underwear, toilet roll holders: S'pore schools grapple with vaping scourge Singapore 'I've tried everything': Mum helpless as son's Kpod addiction spirals out of control Singapore Black belt in taekwondo, Grade 8 in piano: S'pore teen excels despite condition that limits movements Asia Thousands rally in downtown Kuala Lumpur calling for the resignation of PM Anwar Asia Death toll climbs as Thai-Cambodia clashes continue despite calls for ceasefire Asia Shunsaku Tamiya, who brought perfection to plastic race car models, dies at 90 During his visit, the 64-year-old Argentine met with Singapore leaders, including President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. IAEA also renewed an existing partnership with Singapore that allows both the UN atomic body and Singapore to continue training countries on matters related to nuclear science and technology, and their peaceful use. Mr Grossi also delivered a lecture hosted by the newly launched Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Institute at NUS, and visited the National Environment Agency and the institute's facilities. Global interest in nuclear energy has been surging, as countries turn to the energy form to address concerns over energy security and the power sector's carbon footprint. Asean countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are exploring the use of nuclear energy. Japan is also building its first new nuclear reactor since the Fukushima meltdown. The processes used in generating energy via nuclear reactions do not release planet-warming carbon dioxide, unlike the burning of fossil fuels. Some detractors of nuclear energy say that countries can get carbon-free electricity from renewable energy and need not rely on nuclear energy. Mr Grossi said this was a 'false dichotomy', adding: 'There's no such thing as renewables versus nuclear.' Renewable energy is important, and Mr Grossi said he celebrated the declining costs of renewables and higher rates of adoption. But there are limitations to harnessing renewable energy. Some countries may have constrained access to renewables, due to their geography. Even for nations blessed with ample wind or solar energy, there are other issues such as intermittency and limitations in battery capacity, he noted. For example, solar energy is intermittent, which refers to energy not being generated at a constant rate due to cloud cover. What countries need are intelligent, integrated energy mixes which may include more renewable energy and less nuclear power, Mr Grossi added. Responding to a question on whether the IAEA has to 'allow' a country to explore nuclear energy, Mr Grossi said it is every country's sovereign right to decide to go for a nuclear programme. But those that are keen to do so must abide by stringent nuclear safety and security rules, he said. 'A country that wants a nuclear programme must be a party to the convention on nuclear safety. They must be a party to the IAEA (and) must submit itself to peer reviews and monitoring,' he said. The IAEA Convention on Nuclear Safety requires parties that operate land-based civil nuclear power plants to submit reports for 'peer review', according to IAEA's website. 'It is a system that has an interlocking network of regulatory, mutual checks with the IAEA in coordination. So this gives countries the certainty that... you know what your neighbour is doing,' he said. The IAEA chief also said that it is 'logical' for Singapore to consider tapping nuclear energy, as the island state has limited access to renewable energy options. But that decision ultimately lies with the Government and Singaporeans. The Republic has yet to make a decision to tap nuclear energy. 'I think for Singapore, there are no insurmountable challenges… in some countries, it could be the financing or the lack of human capacity, workforce,' he said. 'You don't have those problems in Singapore… many boxes have been checked already in Singapore.' On the risk of deploying nuclear energy in the city-state, Mr Grossi said there are already protocols in place here to monitor radioactivity levels, and procedures on what to do in case of accidents. In Singapore, the National Environment Agency manages a suite of tools to keep track of ambient radiation levels, including around 40 radiation monitoring stations for air and water islandwide. The agency is also working with other countries in the region to set up a South-east Asian early warning network with sensors deployed across the countries and data shared in the event of an emergency. 'No country can start a nuclear programme without having very severe nuclear safety preconditions being in place,' he added.

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