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Straits Times
10 hours ago
- General
- Straits Times
‘Guard geese' becoming more common in South Korea: Report
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Several agricultural and industrial facilities in rural areas in South Korea are using domestic geese as a guard animal. – The so-called 'goose agents', which made headlines recently after their use at a Brazilian prison, appear to be increasingly deployed at farms and factories in South Korea in recent months. Several cases have emerged of agricultural and industrial facilities in rural areas using domestic geese as guard animals. One example, reported by the Korean-language daily Chosun Ilbo, is a steel factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, which reportedly bought four geese for night-time security. 'Repeated thefts were giving me headaches, and an acquaintance suggested I should get geese. They cost less than jindo dogs (indigenous species in Korea known for their loyalty and ferocity), and are easier to manage,' factory owner Jeong Tae-ho was quoted as saying. A farm in Yangju, in the same province, reportedly saw its guard geese chase away a trespasser in a car, with male geese's loud honking and aggression being 'beyond imagination'. In 2023 and 2024, several international media outlets reported that a prison in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina replaced patrol dogs with geese. The birds were said to patrol the space between the inner fence and outer walls, showing aggression towards out-of-line inmates. The reports also quoted affordability as the main appeal for using guard geese. While not generally considered a particularly intimidating animal, geese have actually been used for security throughout history. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Four golf courses to close by 2035, leaving Singapore with 12 courses Singapore Eligible S'poreans to get up to $850 in cash, up to $450 in MediSave top-ups in August Singapore Construction starts on Cross Island Line Phase 2; 6 MRT stations in S'pore's west ready by 2032 Singapore New SkillsFuture requirements from April 2026 to mandate regular training for adult educators Singapore MPs should not ask questions to 'clock numbers'; focus should be improving S'poreans' lives: Seah Kian Peng Singapore Sequencing and standards: Indranee on role of Leader of the House Asia Australian woman found guilty of all counts in mushroom murders case Singapore Life After... blazing biomedical research trail in S'pore: Renowned scientist breaks new ground at 59 A record shows that geese alerted the Romans during the Battle of the Allia in 387 BCE, and there have been cases of the birds being used to supplement dogs, drones or humans at warehouses and even military and police facilities worldwide. Geese tend to make loud noises when approached by strangers, and are deceptively strong due to their large size. They are known to be loyal and friendly to a human they perceive as a pack leader. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Health
- Straits Times
More nurses to anchor care in community settings as Singapore's population ages
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Minister for Health and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Ong Ye Kung speaks at the Nurses' Merit Award ceremony in Shangri-La Hotel, on July 7. SINGAPORE - More nurses will be trained to anchor care in community care settings, take on leadership roles in nursing homes as well as delivering end-of-life care in the community to cope with a rapidly aging population, said Mr Ong Ye Kung, Health Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Polices. 'If community care is effective… I think we will be able to detect health concerns as early as possible. And if we can detect (them) early, the conditions will be less severe, intervention will be as simple as possible,' he said. He was speaking at the 2025 nurses' merit award held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Orange Grove Road on July 7. There, he conferred the awards on 141 nurses who had performed exceptionally well and contributed to raising the nursing profession. Three nursing roles will be scaled up to strengthen care in the community, where there is a growing need, including nurses at community health posts. Right now, some 90 per cent of the Active Ageing Centres (AACs) have Community Health Posts (CHPs), where nurses set up on a weekly basis. Mr Ong said the extensive outreach of the AACs needs to be tapped for preventive or continual care to reach the seniors, through the CHPs. This will complement hospital acute care, strengthen Singapore's preventive care strategy Healthier SG and the work of family doctors. Each day, there are six kidney failure patients and 60 heart attack and stroke patients, and if the CHPs can help those who are unaware of their condition or reluctant to seek help, the numbers can be lowered, he pointed out. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Four golf courses to close by 2035, leaving Singapore with 12 courses Singapore Eligible S'poreans to get up to $850 in cash, up to $450 in MediSave top-ups in August Singapore Construction starts on Cross Island Line Phase 2; 6 MRT stations in S'pore's west ready by 2032 Singapore New SkillsFuture requirements from April 2026 to mandate regular training for adult educators Singapore MPs should not ask questions to 'clock numbers'; focus should be improving S'poreans' lives: Seah Kian Peng Singapore Sequencing and standards: Indranee on role of Leader of the House Asia Australian woman found guilty of all counts in mushroom murders case Singapore Life After... blazing biomedical research trail in S'pore: Renowned scientist breaks new ground at 59 'Nurses in CHPs will need to establish yourselves as the first point of contact for residents with chronic conditions, preventive health needs, or emerging symptoms,' he said. They will be able to conduct assessments, provide health counselling to patients, and ensure that patients are adhering to their health plans prescribed by their Healthier SG doctor. 'They see their Healthier SG doctor maybe once or twice a year. In between, they can see our nurses at CHPs,' said Mr Ong. With training, CHP nurses can also conduct social prescribing (helping patients to improve their health and well being by connecting them to community services) and referrals and manage patients with stable mental health conditions, he said. A system is also needed to provide community nurses with the relevant backend information and advisory support so that they can operate independently, and with as much autonomy as possible, he said, In long-term care, the Health Ministry has been upskilling the nurses in nursing homes to better care for patients to minimise the chances of patients having to move to acute hospitals and back. Now, it wants to strengthen the process by training more nurse clinicians to lead the care in long-term residential care settings. Mr Ong said Nurse Clinicians need to be empowered , particularly Advanced Practice Nurses who are practising at the apex of the profession. MOH is working towards allowing Nurse Clinicians, starting with APNs, to assess and initiate first-line treatments or medications and conduct six-monthly chronic reviews within defined protocols in nursing homes. This will help to minimise hospital admissions and emergency department visits, resulting in fewer transitions, improving quality of care, he explained. Furthermore, more nurses will be trained to deliver end -of-life care in the community. To scale up the three roles, not only will training need to be enhanced, a more flexible regulatory approach will be needed, he said. For example, if the vision is to enhance the role of community nurses to provide more comprehensive care as early and as close to home as possible, then MOH will need need to review the nurses' scope of practice, equip them with advanced skills and create clear patterns or collaborative care. 'If, as regulators, we disallow this evolution of practice, then the needs of an ageing population will not be met,' said Mr Ong. Also, manpower upgrading will be made easier, with working nurses able to take up courses lasting a few weeks or a couple of months, and then applying them at the workplace immediately. The two polytechnics delivering three advanced and specialist diploma programmes in palliative nursing, in both part-time and full-time formats, will be shifting these programmes to a work-study format in 2027, Mr Ong said. On Monday , the 141 nurses who received the merit awards each received a medal to wear on their uniform and a cash prize of $1,000. Nurses at the Nurses' Merit Award ceremony in Shangri-La Hotel, on July 7. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY One of them is Azhar Mohd, a 56-year-old nurse clinician from Singapore General Hospital with 34 years of nursing experience. Based at the hospital's Ambulatory Endoscopy Centre, he has developed training programmes for new endoscopy nurses. He has also been a lecturer for the Specialist Diploma in Endoscopy at Nanyang Polytechnic since 2018. Endoscopy is a procedure in which an instrument is introduced into the body to give a view of its internal parts and look out for diseases. Ms Megawati, 39, a nurse clinician from NUHS Regional Health System Office, has contributed to improving the transitional care for patients moving from the community to nursing homes, which reduced the frequency of their hospital re-admissions. As a community nurse, on any given day, she might be heading to a patient's home to assess for risk of falls or help them manage their chronic issues for instance, or to Community Health Post to do the same. Ms Megawati, a nurse clinician from NUHS Regional Health System Office, heads a team of 11 nurses who are now focusing on helping the residents in Chua Chu Kang with their health. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY 'When you step inside the home, you can see their challenges and how to help them better,' said the mother of two. Ms Megawati, who spent 18 years studying part-time for a Bachelor's degree in nursing that she obtained last year, heads a team of 11 nurses who are now focusing on helping the residents in Chua Chu Kang with their health. Ms Tan Nengping, 61, a senior nurse manager from the Health Promotion Board who leads three school health screening teams is another winner. She led efforts to develop a more efficient system for the equipment and surgical inventory such as swabs for HPB's Youth Preventive Health Service department.
Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- Straits Times
$1.46b nickel scam: Ng Yu Zhi opts to remain silent after judge calls for his defence
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The prosecution proceeded on 42 charges against Ng Yu Zhi in the current trial, which began in November 2024. SINGAPORE - The trial of Ng Yu Zhi, who is accused of masterminding a nickel-trading scam that attracted $1.46 billion from hundreds of investors, came to an end on July 7 after he made the rare move of opting not to take the stand. Judicial Commissioner Christopher Tan had called for Ng, 38, to give his defence after finding that the prosecution has presented a sufficient case against him. The judge told Ng that he can choose to give evidence on the stand and be liable to cross-examination. If he chooses to remain silent, the court may draw an adverse inference against him in deciding whether he is guilty or not, the judge added. Ng chose to remain silent after speaking for about an hour to his lawyers, Mr Nichol Yeo, Mr Nicholas Narayanan and Ms N.K. Anitha. Mr Yeo added that his client will not be calling any witnesses to testify for him. The judge told parties to file closing submissions by Aug 4 and replies by Aug 18. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Construction starts on Cross Island Line Phase 2; 6 MRT stations in S'pore's west ready by 2032 Singapore New SkillsFuture requirements from April 2026 to mandate regular training for adult educators Singapore MPs should not ask questions to 'clock numbers'; focus should be improving S'poreans' lives: Seah Kian Peng Singapore Sequencing and standards: Indranee on role of Leader of the House Asia Australian woman found guilty of all counts in mushroom murders case Singapore askST Jobs: Facing intrusive demands from your employer? Here's what you can do Singapore NUS College draws 10,000 applications for 400 places, showing strong liberal arts interest Singapore Life After... blazing biomedical research trail in S'pore: Renowned scientist breaks new ground at 59 Ng is accused of deceiving investors, who include lawyers and financiers, into investing money to finance the trading of physical nickel. He faces a total of 108 charges over offences including cheating, forgery, fraudulent trading, money laundering and criminal breach of trust. The prosecution proceeded on 42 of these charges in the current trial, which began in November 2024. Ng allegedly told investors he could buy nickel at a discount and then sell the metal for profit. He also used forged documents to spin a convincing tale. The prosecution said the nickel trades never took place, and earlier investors were paid with money put in by other investors. Ng's scheme was first offered through Envy Asset Management in February 2016. After the firm was placed on the Monetary Authority of Singapore's investor alert list, the scheme was moved to Envy Global Trading from April 2020 to March 2021. The prosecution also alleged that Ng's lavish lifestyle was funded by his ill-gotten gains. During the trial, the court heard evidence that he had splurged millions on luxury cars for his wife and girlfriends, property, works of art, and jewellery. Ng was declared bankrupt in December 2022, after he and three others were sued by the liquidators of the Envy companies. He has been remanded in prison since Feb 7, 2024. His $6 million bail was revoked after he breached his bail conditions by trying to get $500,000 from the sale of a shophouse. On June 30, 2025, after 35 days of trial, Ng sought to be released on bail , contending that being held in custody hampered his ability to prepare his case. His attempt was denied on July 3, with the judge saying he was a flight risk.
Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Straits Times
Sweet-smelling fungi with sinister name at centre of Australia's mushroom murders
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A death cap mushroom is easily mistaken for other edible varieties, and has a pleasant taste when used in cooking. SYDNEY – An innocuous-looking mushroom with a sweet smell and a sinister name lay at the centre of Australian Erin Patterson's triple-murder conviction on July 7. Patterson was found guilty of killing her husband's parents and aunt in 2023, and attempting to kill a fourth guest, by lacing their beef Wellington lunch with highly toxic death cap mushrooms. The 50-year-old denied the accusations, saying the hearty meal was contaminated by accident . Throughout a headline-grabbing trial spanning more than two months, experts have dissected the brown-and-white fungi in forensic detail. Death caps – or Amanita phalloides – are responsible for around 90 per cent of all fungus-related fatalities, making them the deadliest mushrooms in the world. The brown-and-white sporing bodies are easily mistaken for other edible varieties, and reportedly possess a pleasant taste when used in cooking. But they are saturated with deadly chemicals known as amatoxins, toxicologist Dimitri Gerostamoulos told Patterson's trial. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Construction starts on Cross Island Line Phase 2; 6 MRT stations in S'pore's west ready by 2032 Singapore New SkillsFuture requirements from April 2026 to mandate regular training for adult educators Singapore MPs should not ask questions to 'clock numbers'; focus should be improving S'poreans' lives: Seah Kian Peng Singapore Sequencing and standards: Indranee on role of Leader of the House Asia Australian woman found guilty of all counts in mushroom murders case Singapore askST Jobs: Facing intrusive demands from your employer? Here's what you can do Singapore NUS College draws 10,000 applications for 400 places, showing strong liberal arts interest Singapore Life After... blazing biomedical research trail in S'pore: Renowned scientist breaks new ground at 59 'They can lead to someone experiencing symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting, feeling really unwell,' Dr Gerostamoulos told the jury. 'And they progressively get worse if the toxins are not removed.' 'They progress to tissue necrosis, organ failure and can obviously lead to death if not treated appropriately,' he added. Three of Patterson's guests died of organ failure a week after unknowingly eating death cap mushrooms baked into individual portions of beef Wellington. 'It was very apparent that this was not survivable,' intensive care specialist Stephen Warrillow told the jury. A fourth guest fell gravely ill but survived after weeks in hospital. Death cap mushrooms are native to Europe but have spread to the United States, Australia and New Zealand, fungi expert Tom May said during Patterson's trial. He said the mushrooms had a 'slightly sweet' odour when fresh. 'In Australia, it is an exotic species and it was accidentally introduced,' Dr May said in his testimony. They sprout during warm and wet autumn weather and are typically found growing in the shade of oak trees. 'From time to time, every year, usually under suitable conditions, it produces a sporing body, which is the mushroom that we see,' Dr May said. 'They're quite fleshy and they decay quite readily, so they would not last longer than a couple of weeks when they're sitting in the field.' Patterson will be sentenced at a later date. AFP
Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Three children among 27 wounded in Russia's drone attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox At least three children were among 27 people wounded as a result of a Russian drone attack on Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv overnight that damaged apartments and a kindergarten, Ukrainian authorities said on Monday. Kharkiv, which lies in northeastern Ukraine near the border with Russia, has been the target of regular Russian drone and missile attacks since the start of the war that Moscow launched with a full-scale invasion more than three years ago. A fire broke out in a multi-storey residential building in Kharkiv as a result of the attack, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. Oleh Sinehubov, governor of the broader Kharkiv region of which the city of Kharkiv is the administrative centre, said that most of the injuries occurred in the city's Shevchenkivskyi district. Emergency services were working at the site, Sinehubov said on the Telegram messaging app. The full scale of the attack was not immediately clear. There was no comment on the attacks from Moscow. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war, but thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian. A Russian attack on the region of Sumy, also in Ukraine's northeast, on Sunday afternoon killed two people and injured another two, while damaging about 20 buildings, State Emergency Service of Ukraine said on Telegram. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Construction starts on Cross Island Line Phase 2; 6 MRT stations in S'pore's west ready by 2032 Singapore New SkillsFuture requirements from April 2026 to mandate regular training for adult educators Singapore MPs should not ask questions to 'clock numbers'; focus should be improving S'poreans' lives: Seah Kian Peng Singapore Sequencing and standards: Indranee on role of Leader of the House Asia Australian woman found guilty of all counts in mushroom murders case Singapore askST Jobs: Facing intrusive demands from your employer? Here's what you can do Singapore NUS College draws 10,000 applications for 400 places, showing strong liberal arts interest Singapore Life After... blazing biomedical research trail in S'pore: Renowned scientist breaks new ground at 59 An overnight attack damaged several buildings and cars in three of the 10 districts of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. There were no reports of injuries, he added. REUTERS
