Rescued pig-tailed macaque rehomed in Malaysia

The endangered monkey was rescued from a car workshop in Defu Lane in May after a tip-off from ACRES.
Channel NewsAsia 24 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE: A rare pig-tailed macaque found chained in a cage in a car workshop this year been sent to a new home in Malaysia.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) rescued the monkey from the workshop in Defu Lane on May 6, following a tip-off from the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES). Its owner claimed the animal was abandoned there and proceeded to keep it as a pet illegally. He was later fined S$500.

In a joint news release on Monday (Aug 24), AVA, ACRES and Wildlife Reserves Singapore said they worked with Malaysian wildlife authorities to rehome the macaque.

On Sunday, it was transported from the Singapore Zoo to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN Negeri Johor), where it is being rehabilitated and quarantined. Authorities will assess its suitability to be released back into its natural habitat.

All macaques are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international agreement to help prevent extinction of wildlife species.

AVA stated: “Under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act, possession of a CITES animal which has been imported without a permit is an offence. It is also a violation of the Wild Animal & Birds Act to keep a wild animal without a licence from AVA."

Offenders could be fined up to S$50,000 per species and be jailed for up to two years. They could also be fined up to S$1,000 per wild animal or bird.

- CNA/dl

Endangered pig-tailed macaque rehomed in Malaysia after rescue from Singapore car workshop
Today Online 14 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE — An endangered pig-tailed macaque rescued from a car workshop in Singapore has been rehomed in Malaysia.

The macaque was found chained in a cage at a Defu Lane car workshop on May 6 by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), following a tip-off from the Animals Concerns Research & Education Society (ACRES).

It was then sent to the Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) for care and custody. The owner of the workshop, who had kept the macaque as a pet after it was found abandoned at his workshop, was fined S$500 by AVA for keeping the macaque.

Yesterday (Aug 23), the macaque was transported from the Singapore Zoo to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Malaysia. It is currently being rehabilitated and quarantined at a Wildlife Rescue Centre, following which the authorities will assess its suitability to be released back into the wild, said ACRES, AVA and WRS in a joint statement today.

“AVA would like to remind the public not to import or keep wild animals, as doing so would perpetuate the exploitation of wild animals and fuel the growth of the illegal wildlife trade,” said the joint statement.

Ms Lye Fong Keng, Deputy Director, Quarantine & Inspection Group (Wildlife Section), AVA, said that wild animals are not suitable as pets because they may transmit zoonotic diseases to humans and pose a public safety risk if they escape into the Republic’s dense environment.

“Wild animals that are nonnative to Singapore may also pose a threat to our biodiversity by upsetting the ecological balance of nature,” said Ms Lye.

All macaques are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which is an international agreement to ensure that trade does not threaten wildlife species with extinction. The import and export of the pig-tailed macaque is regulated by CITES permits.

Under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act, possession of a CITES animal which has been imported without a permit is an offence. The offender may be fined up to S$50,000 per scheduled species (not exceeding an aggregate of S$500,000) and/or jailed up to two years.

It is also a violation of the Wild Animal & Birds Act to keep a wild animal without a licence from AVA. Offenders may be fined up to S$1,000 per wild animal or bird. The illegally acquired animals would be confiscated and forfeited by AVA.

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Kyoto protocol's carbon credit scheme ‘increased emissions by 600m tonnes’

Major UNFCCC carbon trading scheme hit by serious corruption allegations involving organised crime in Russia and Ukraine
Arthur Neslen The Guardian 24 Aug 15;

A key carbon offsetting scheme was so open to abuse that three quarters of its allowances lacked environmental integrity, a new report says.

UN officials confirm the findings by the Stockholm Environment Institute that around 600m tonnes of carbon were wrongly emitted as a result, under the UNFCCC’s Joint Implementation (JI) scheme.

An estimated 80% of JI projects were of low environmental quality, according to the paper which was published today in Nature Climate Change.

“Many of them didn’t observe the requirements of JI on ‘additionality’ as they would probably have happened anyway, and I would even doubt the physical existence of some of these projects,” said Vladyslav Zhezherin, one of the report’s authors. “I would say that many of them were fake.”

A senior UN official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Guardian that the new report was “thoroughly researched and probably correct.”

JI had been beset by “significant criminal energy” in Russia and Ukraine, after the EU banned the trading of credits from an industrial gas scam on the Emissions Trading System (ETS) from April 2013, he explained. This led to a flood of what he called “almost completely bogus” credits in 2012.

“It was an outstretched middle finger to the EU saying ‘You’re shutting out our credits, we’re flooding your markets,’ a mix of retaliation and crime,” he said.

Another source with regulatory experience in Ukraine’s JI market told the Guardian that, as the 2000s dragged on, JI increasingly came to be seen by market participants there as “a corruption mechanism.”

“The approval of projects stopped depending on their quality but rather on connections and side payments,” he said. To gain official approval for registration under the JI scheme, Ukrainian market participants often had to transfer ERUs to a limited number of intermediary companies in Switzerland, the source alleged.

Russia and Ukraine were the two biggest beneficiaries of the JI system, which allowed them to trade emissions reductions units (ERUs) ‘proving’ that carbon cuts had been made, for assigned amount units (AAUs) from rich world polluters, in the exotic lexicon of carbon trading.

But under the scheme’s ‘Track 1’ – which covered around 97% of projects – states only needed to verify reductions between themselves, without any UNFCCC oversight.

The eastern countries had been over-supplied with credits after the fall of the Soviet Union – but before its subsequent industrial collapse. They were also smarting at the withdrawal from the Kyoto protocol of their presumed main buyer, the USA.

A decision to flood the EU’s carbon market with dud credits “was partly because of hurt feelings from having had no proper compensation,” the UN source said.

He added: “This is what happens if you give free resources, or install a subsidy-like mechanism without proper oversight in failing states, or countries with significant corrupt structures.”

The issue may well be discussed at climate talks in Paris, where the EU is pushing for oversight of future market-based mechanisms to be take out of the UNFCCC’s hands.

The UN body is believed to prefer a reformed version of the scheme’s ‘Track 2’, for which it has oversight.

Anja Kollmuss, another of the study’s authors, said the implications of the story for the EU emissions trading system (ETS) would be profound. “Almost two-thirds of JI credits were used in the ETS, so the poor overall quality of JI projects may have undermined the EU’s emission reduction target by some 400 million tonnes of CO2, about a third of the reductions required by the ETS from 2013 to 2020,” she said.

More than a quarter of JI carbon credits went to projects to staunch the spontaneous ignition of coal piles, mostly in Ukraine. The country’s estimate that such waste piles produced roughly 30% of its coal was “highly unrealistic” and probably led to substantial over-crediting, the report says.

The report found that only one of the six major project types in the JI system reduced emissions by more than would have happened anyway. This covered N20 abatement from nitric acid production, and was also the only project-type correctly supplied with ERUs.

JI is one of the three carbon offsetting schemes accredited by the Kyoto protocol – along with emissions trading and the clean development mechanism. It allowed some 872m ERUs to be issued by ex-Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact countries, accounting for around a third of UN-accredited emissions allowances.


Carbon credits undercut climate change actions says report
Matt McGrath BBC News 25 Aug 15;

The vast majority of carbon credits generated by Russia and Ukraine did not represent cuts in emissions, according to a new study.

The authors say that offsets created under a UN scheme "significantly undermined" efforts to tackle climate change.

The credits may have increased emissions by 600 million tonnes.

In some projects, chemicals known to warm the climate were created and then destroyed to claim cash.

As a result of political horse trading at UN negotiations on climate change, countries like Russia and the Ukraine were allowed to create carbon credits from activities like curbing coal waste fires, or restricting gas emissions from petroleum production.

Under the UN scheme, called Joint Implementation, they then were able to see those credits to the European Union's carbon market. Companies bought the offsets rather than making their own more expensive, emissions cuts.

But this study, from the Stockholm Environment Institute, says the vast majority of Russian and Ukrainian credits were in fact, "hot air" - no actual emissions were reduced.

They looked at a random sample of 60 projects and found that 73% of the offsets generated didn't meet the key criteria of "additionality". This means that these projects would have happened anyway without any carbon credit finance.

"Some early projects were of good quality, but in 2011-2012, numerous projects were registered in Ukraine and Russia which had started long before and were clearly not motivated by carbon credits," said Vladyslav Zhezherin, a co-author of the study.

"This was like printing money."

According to the review, the vast majority of the offset credits went into the European Union's flagship Emissions Trading Scheme. The authors estimate these may have undermined EU emissions reduction targets by 400 million tonnes of CO2, worth over $2bn at current market prices.

Unlike the Russian and Ukrainian projects, similar offsetting plans in Poland and Germany were said to meet very strict criteria.

"We were surprised ourselves by the extent, we didn't expect such a large number," co-author Anja Kollmuss told BBC News.

"What went on was that these countries could approve these projects by themselves there was no international oversight, in particular Russia and the Ukraine didn't have any incentive to guarantee the quality of these credits."

Because Germany and Poland had tougher emissions targets to meet, they were very careful with their certificates. This wasn't the case in Russia and the Ukraine.

One part of the larger review has been published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

It concerns the activities of projects that made money from the removal of chemicals HFC-23 and sulphur hexafluoride, which add significantly to global warming.

They found that, in 2011, all three projects in the study significantly and simultaneously ramped up the amount of the chemicals they were destroying.

"As researchers we can not prove the fraud, we can just point to the facts so in the HFC case at the moment when they could gain credits they immediately increased production of this greenhouse gas in order to destroy them, and that lead to them getting many more credits than if they had produced it like they did before," said Anja Kollmuss.

Experts familiar with the Russian carbon projects said that there had been longstanding and well acknowledged issues with the destruction of chemicals for carbon credits.


This had been seen in China for several years.

Michael Yulkin, from Russia's Environmental Investment Centre rejected the idea that many of these Eastern projects broke the rules.

"That's just not true," he told BBC News.

"All the projects have been validated and the additionality has been proved - it was all following the rules and if the rules allowed them to be in, so you have them in."

Mr Yulkin pointed out that the projects were no longer an issue. The EU emissions trading scheme no longer accepted the credits - and Russia was not taking part in the next commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.

The authors of the study argue that lessons must be learned for any future market mechanisms that are incorporated into a new global agreement on climate change, expected to be signed later this year at a conference in Paris.

"In future, we need to do better and we can do better, but the devil will be in the detail and tighter controls will be needed," said James Wilde from the Carbon Trust.

"If firms are to invest at scale driven by a price for carbon, they need to know that the schemes setting this price in future will be robust and survive for the lifetime of investments."

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Best of our wild blogs: 24 Aug 15

How will the new Punggol SIT campus affect wild habitats?
wild shores of singapore

5 Sep (Sat) evening: Free guided walk at the Pasir Ris mangroves
Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs

Sea Herp: An injured Marbled Sea Snake @ Chek Jawa
Herpetological Society of Singapore

Injured Marbled sea snake at Chek Jawa
wild shores of singapore

Traps – still dangerous, still deadly
Life of a common palm civet in Singapore

Clouded Monitor (Varanus nebulosus) @ Hindhede Nature Park
Monday Morgue

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New Punggol campus for SIT

Singapore Institute of Technology's intake to rise to 3,500 over the next five years
Sandra Davie Senior Education Correspondent Straits Times 24 Aug 15;


The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), set up for polytechnic graduates, will become Singapore's university in the north-east and be integrated with the creative industry cluster that will rise up there.

SIT, which now runs its courses at its satellite campuses in the five polytechnics, will have a centralised campus in Punggol, announced Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last night. Residents there will get to use SIT's facilities, including classrooms, workshops and a multi-purpose hall.

"We have Punggol 21 Plus. With SIT, it will be Punggol 21 A-Plus," he said, drawing laughter from the audience gathered at ITE College Central in Ang Mo Kio to listen to his National Day Rally address. Punggol 21 Plus refers to the plan to transform the former fishing village into a model town for 21st century living.


An artist's impression of the campus boulevard (above) at the Singapore Institute of Technology. Punggol residents will get to use its facilities, such as classrooms, workshops and a multi-purpose hall.PHOTO: SINGAPORE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Mr Lee also announced that SIT's yearly intake will rise to 3,500 over the next five years, up from this year's intake of 2,000 students in over 30 courses. This is in line with the Government's promise to enable 40 per cent of each age group to study for full-time degrees in the six local universities.

Mr Lee did not say when the Punggol campus will be ready, but said it will be linked by bridges to the creative industry cluster that will be built by developer JTC across the road.

"Students can easily go from classroom to workplace and apply what they learn, and companies can go to SIT to get help if they need some new idea or some problems solved," said Mr Lee, highlighting SIT's distinctive education model which integrates work with study.

SIT aims to nurture "best-in-class specialists" - graduates with deep knowledge and skills in a particular field - and requires students to spend eight months to a year on a work-study programme designed to be more in-depth and structured than traditional attachments.

Mr Lee said SIT's focus on applied learning is in line with the Government's SkillsFuture initiative to build deep skills and expertise in Singaporean workers.

He cited SIT graduate Chen Zhangkai, 27, who went from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) to polytechnic and then SIT, as a prime example.

Earlier this year, the Government announced several schemes under the initiative, including the Earn and Learn Programme where ITE and polytechnic graduates can further their qualifications while working.

"SkillsFuture will produce more success stories like Zhangkai," said Mr Lee, but quoted a Chinese proverb to stress that it is a long-term endeavour. "We are planting for the long term, planting seeds now to bear fruit many years from now."

Two Punggol residents interviewed welcomed SIT's move there, saying higher education institutions are now mainly in the west.

The National University of Singapore, SIM University and Nanyang Technological University have their campuses in the western and north-western parts of the island; while SMU has a campus in Bras Basah. The Singapore University of Technology and Design opened its campus in Changi in May.

Said Mr S. Suppiah, 35, a manager, who lives in Punggol and has two children in primary school: "It is good that the Government is spreading the higher-education institutions around."

When contacted, SIT president Tan Thiam Soon said the university is extremely grateful for the land.

He said: "SIT's Punggol campus will be borderless and integrated with the surrounding community and industry, providing a vibrant learning environment which underpins the applied learning pedagogy that we are developing.

"We will work closely with all the relevant agencies as well as community groups to ensure that the campus becomes a beacon for industry, adding vibrancy to Punggol and turning it into a true university town."

NDR 2015: SIT to get a new centralised campus
The Singapore Institute of Technology's new centralised campus in Punggol will be integrated with a JTC-built creative industry cluster said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Channel NewsAsia 23 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) will get a new centralised campus located in Punggol, announced Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the National Day Rally on Sunday (Aug 23).

Currently, SIT - Singapore's fifth autonomous university which provides applied-learning pathways for students - has a main campus at Dover Road, with branch campuses in all the polytechnics. "We will bring all the branch campuses together," said Mr Lee.

Across the road from the new campus, JTC will build a creative industry cluster which SIT will be integrated with. Students will be able to "easily go from classroom to workplace and apply what they learn", said Mr Lee. At the same time companies can cross the road to approach SIT with any problems that need solving.

SIT will also be integrated into Punggol Downtown and HDB's upcoming Northshore District - the first new public housing estate to test-bed smart technologies. The community will share SIT's facilities, such as its classrooms, workshops and multi-purpose hall.

"So we have Punggol 21 plus, and with SIT it will now be Punggol 21 A-Plus!" Mr Lee said.

SIT was established in 2009. It awards its own degrees as well as degrees in collaboration with overseas partners such as the Culinary Institute of America and DigiPen Institute of Technology. It is expanding its intakes, to 2,000 students this year and 3,500 by 2020.

- CNA/yv

National Day Rally 2015: Singapore Institute of Technology's new central campus to be housed in Punggol
Lee Min Kok Straits Times 23 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE - The Singapore Institute of Technology's (SIT) new central campus will be located in Punggol, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced during his National Day Rally speech on Sunday.

SIT's campus will be integrated with a nearby creative industry cluster to be built by the JTC Corporation, along with Punggol Downtown and the Housing Development Board's upcoming Northshore District.

"So Punggol 21 Plus will now be Punggol 21 A-Plus!" said PM Lee, expanding on the vision of Punggol that he first unveiled in his 2007 rally speech.

The university's main campus at Dover Road - along with its five satellite campuses located in the various polytechnics - will be housed together in the new Punggol site, he added.

SIT, which was set up in 2009 with the aim to offer degree opportunities to polytechnic graduates, took in 2,000 students this year. It plans to expands its courses and have an annual intake of 3,500 by 2020.

This is in line with the Government's goal to enable 40 per cent of each age group to study for full-time degrees in the six local universities.

"Students can easily go from classroom to workplace and apply what they learn," said PM Lee. "The community will share SIT's facilities - classrooms, workshops and multi-purpose hall."

PM Lee also provided a sneak preview of how the new campus will look like, with the university campus connected to the JTC cluster by link bridges.

Mr Lee, who visited the SIT campus at Dover Road earlier this year, cited one its students, 27-year-old Chen Zhangkai, as a prime example of how SIT's focus on applied learning is in tune with the SkillsFuture initiative. The initiative aims to build deep skills and expertise in Singaporean workers.

Mr Chen took a less direct path than the average student - after his Primary School Leaving Examination, he ended up in the Normal (Technical) stream in Secondary School before moving to the Institute of Technical Education.

He then went to Nanyang Polytechnic before embarking on his SIT journey.

"Step by step, he perservered and overcame setbacks."

Mr Chen graduated from SIT last year. The director of an animation studio was so impressed with his final year project and portfolio that he offered him an internship.

He is now working as an animator.

Earlier in his speech, PM Lee also spoke of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew's wish for Singapore to become a "rugged society".

He said it was key for the country's people to still be robust and tough, take hard knocks and strive to be better.

"But a rugged society doesn't mean every man for himself; we are strong even though we are small, because we are strong together," he said.

"The ethos of our society is clear. If you work hard, you should do well. And if you do well. we expect you to help others. And everyone has to work together so that we succeed as Team Singapore."

On the need to inculcate this value in the young, PM Lee explained why it was important to send them to Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) in Pulau Ubin and overseas expeditions for adventure learning and character education.

He recounted about his own OBS experience in Secondary 4, which left an indelible impression.

Nowadays, students have many more opportunities to go for adventure learning, here and abroad, he noted. Tanjong Katong Primary School, for instance, has a very successful programme - the Omega Challenge - which has been going on for seven years.

The most recent expedition to climb Mount Kinabalu ended in tragedy when the group was caught in an earthquake, resulting in the deaths of seven students, two teachers and a guide.

"We all mourned them, and grieved with their families. We held a National Day of Remembrance, and it will take us a long time to get over this tragedy.

"But we have to go on with adventure learning. Take necessary precautions, but keep on pushing our limits."

Locating SIT in Punggol 'a sensible move'
Danson Cheong Straits Times AsiaOne 27 Aug 15;

The Singapore Institute of Technology's centralised campus will be built on a site behind the Punggol Waterway. Experts say Punggol is a natural choice for the new campus as the estate is one of the few left in Singapore with enough space to accommodate it.

The move to site the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) in Punggol was a natural one, as the estate is one of the few left in Singapore with enough space to accommodate it, experts said.

They added that infrastructural developments in the pipeline will also be more than adequate to cater to the influx of students commuting in and out of the area when the campus is completed.

The decision to locate a centralised campus for SIT in Punggol was announced on Sunday by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day Rally speech.

PM Lee did not reveal when the campus will be ready or when construction will begin, but the Singapore University for Technology and Design's campus, which opened in May, took about four years to build.

Punggol residents will get to use SIT's facilities, including classrooms, workshops and a multi-purpose hall.

At the moment, the university is housed in a main campus in Dover Road and five satellite campuses across the island.

Experts told The Straits Times that locating the centralised campus in Punggol was a sensible move.

Transport expert Park Byung Joon noted that the campus will be quite big and it will be linked to a forthcoming creative industry cluster around it. "We need a huge space, and I think Punggol is the only space left for such a purpose," he said.

Addressing concerns about whether transport infrastructure will be equal to the task of moving thousands of students, Dr Park said that he is sure the Government will build new roads and provide more bus services.

There are plans to expand Punggol bus interchange, he noted.

National University of Singapore (NUS) transport researcher Lee Der Horng also pointed out that there are three unopened Punggol LRT stations - Samudera, Punggol Point and Teck Lee - located near the future SIT campus that are surrounded largely by dense vegetation.

Professor Lee added that he is glad the Government will provide other amenities in Punggol.

But NUS geographer Lily Kong said the influx of students will increase the pressure on other facilities. "There will also be spillover into the surrounding area beyond the campus itself, in terms of food and beverage and other retail, as well as recreational needs," she said.

Businesses and residents feel that SIT will invigorate the area, which is almost deserted during the day.

"On the weekdays right now, there is not much business," said Mr Ravi Anchan, general manager of Indian restaurant Curry Gardenn near Punggol Jetty.

Property agent Edwin Lim, 43, is looking forward to moving into a flat in Sumang Link, near the planned campus.

He remarked: "If my son wants to go to university, this will be very near for him."

Transport consultant Gopinath Menon added that the new campus is a chance to test bicycle-friendly infrastructure.

SIT president Tan Thiam Soon said that the "smart and green campus" will be consistent with Punggol becoming the first eco-town in Singapore.

He added that the campus would feature "tinker spaces and maker spaces" - where students and faculty can test new technologies alongside industry players.

"We will ensure that the relationship with industry is symbiotic, such that both students as well as the industries benefit," he said.

Second-year SIT engineering student Tengku Muhammad Khalaf, 26, will probably not get to study at the new campus, but he feels that the changes will greatly benefit his juniors.

"Right now, if we have laboratory sessions, we may have to go to another satellite campus. If everything is in one campus, it'll be a better university experience," he said.

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Number of GBS cases fall after restrictions on raw fish dishes: MOH

The number of GBS infections reported per week has decreased from 20 since the beginning of the year to an average of three in the last three weeks, says the Ministry of Health.
Channel NewsAsia 23 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE: The number of cases of Group B Streptococcus infections has gone down since mid-July this year, following restrictions on the sale of certain types of raw fish dishes, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Sunday (Aug 23).

The number of cases of such bacterial infections reported to MOH has decreased to an average of three per week in the past three weeks, from an average of 20 cases per week since the beginning of 2015, said the ministry in a news release. The current number is similar to the baseline level before the outbreak, added MOH.

The decrease came after the National Environment Agency (NEA) advised food stallholders to temporarily stop selling raw fish dishes made using Song (Asian Bighead Carp) and Toman (Snakehead) fish, said MOH. In July, some samples of raw fish were found to contain GBS bacteria.

Some GBS patients had told Channel NewsAsia that they had painful swelling in their limbs after consuming yusheng, which is a popular raw fish dish at hawker centres.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore investigated the entire food supply chain of these fish, MOH said. Tests have so far not detected the same strain of GBS that has been detected in humans. "Nevertheless, as a precautionary measure, NEA’s advisory to licensed foodshop and foodstall holders to withhold the sales of raw fish dishes using Song and Toman fish continues to be in place," the ministry said.

NEA, MOH and AVA will conduct further investigations. In the meantime, the Health Ministry advises vulnerable groups such as young children, pregnant women, the elderly, or people with chronic illnesses to exercise caution by avoiding raw ready-to-eat food.

GBS is a common bacterium found in the human gut and urinary tract of about 15 to 30 per cent of adults without causing disease, said MOH. However, GBS may occasionally cause infections of the skin, joints, heart and brain. Most GBS infections are treatable with antibiotics.

- CNA/xq

GBS infections fall after curbs on sale of raw-fish dishes
Today Online 23 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE — The number of cases of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infections has gone down since mid-July this year, following restrictions on the sale of certain types of raw fish dishes, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) today (Aug 23).

The number of cases of such bacterial infections reported to MOH decreased to an average of three per week in the past three weeks, from an average of 20 cases per week since the beginning of 2015, said the ministry in a news release. The current number is similar to the baseline level before the outbreak, it added.

Last month, the authorities asked eateries to suspend the sale of raw-fish dishes that use Song fish and Toman fish as a precautionary measure, after tests on samples of these species found traces of GBS bacteria.

The MOH said the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore has investigated the entire food supply chain of these fish. “Tests have so far not detected the same strain of GBS that has been detected in humans,” the ministry said.

But as a precautionary measure, the restrictions on sales of raw fish dishes using Song and Toman fish will remain. Further investigations are being conducted by the MOH, AVA and the National Environment Agency.

“As a general precaution, vulnerable groups of people, especially young children, pregnant women, elderly persons, or people with chronic illness such as diabetes, should continue to exercise caution by avoiding raw ready-to-eat food,” the MOH said.

GBS is a common bacterium found in the human gut and urinary tract of about 15 to 30 per cent of adults without causing disease, said MOH.

However, GBS may occasionally cause infections of the skin, joints, heart and brain. Most GBS infections are treatable with antibiotics.

No link found between GBS and sashimi consumption: MOH
The Health Ministry issues a clarification in response to a rumour circulating via WhatsApp and SMS.
Channel NewsAsia 26 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) has not found any link between the Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection and consumption of sashimi-style raw fish, it said on Wednesday (Aug 26).

It posted a clarification on Facebook, stating that its investigations have only found an association between GBS infections and the consumption of "yusheng" - a raw fish dish. It had earlier detected traces of the bacteria on samples of Toman fish and Song fish.

MOH's Facebook note comes after was alerted to a rumour being circulated via WhatsApp and SMS. The message claims one person died from a bacterial infection after eating sashimi over the Jubilee weekend and that a professor was critically ill from consuming salmon sashimi two months ago.

In July, the ministry noticed a spike in GBS cases and advised food stall holders to temporarily stop the sales of raw fish dishes using Song fish and Toman fish. A few GBS patients told Channel NewsAsia that they had painful swelling of the joints and some had to have surgery.

The health ministry on Wednesday reiterated that there has been a downtrend in the number of GBS cases since mid-July, after the sale of yusheng was halted.

“MOH would like to reiterate that GBS is a common bacterium that colonises the human gut and urinary tract. While GBS does not usually cause disease in healthy individuals, it may occasionally cause infections of the bloodstream, skin and soft tissue, joints, lungs and brain. The risk factors for GBS infection include underlying chronic or co-morbid conditions,” it said.

“As a general precaution, vulnerable groups of people, especially young children, pregnant women, elderly persons, or people with chronic illness such as diabetes, should continue to exercise caution by avoiding raw ready-to-eat food.”

- CNA/dl

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Malaysia: Haze hits southern Sarawak

YU JI The Star 24 Aug 15;

KUCHING: Southern Sarawak is shrouded in haze, with pollution readings breaching unhealthy levels. At the start of the weekend, the Air Pollutant Index (API) was still within the moderate range of 51 to 100 on Friday evening but rose steadily later.

By noon on Saturday, visibility had reduced to about 5km and yesterday morning, the smell of ash was evident.

Visibility was reduced to 1.5km yesterday afternoon at the usually picturesque Kuching Waterfront along the Sarawak River, with an API reading of 117.

Over in Sri Aman, a small town of 20,000 people about 160km from here, the API reading of 125 was the highest recorded in the country.

Further north, the API was 92 in Sibu and 90 in Miri.

According to satellite imagery from the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre, no hotspots were detected within Sarawak.

But this could be due to cloud cover. Data showed that most of the haze was transboundary, with as many as 85 hotspots detected in Borneo on Friday, which reduced to 35 yesterday.

“Drier weather conditions over the region in the past few days led to an escalation in the number of hotspots,” according to the latest report from the Singapore-based centre. The report stated that dry weather conditions were likely to persist in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

“Under prevailing wind conditions, transboundary smoke haze is likely to affect other parts of the region should the hotspot activities continue to persist,” it added.

Since Aug 18, the centre has categorised South-East Asia at “Alert Level Two”, the second most severe level. It indicates moderate to dense haze is likely to occur.

Since July, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei have been receiving lower than normal rainfall which is partly due to the prevailing El Nino conditions.

A Malaysian Meteorological Department seasonal forecast stated that there was a 90% probability for moderate levels of El Nino conditions to continue well into March or April next year.

The worst affected areas will be in southern Sarawak. The department said Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman, Betong and parts of Sibu, Bintulu and Mukah would experience slightly drier weather in September.

The average monthly rainfall forecast until September is between 130mm and 190mm. This estimated reduction translates to between 20% and 40% less compared with the long-term average rainfall amount.

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Best of our wild blogs: 23 Aug 15

We’re back in business! [Public walks now OPEN]
BES Drongos

Crested Goshawks preying on Palm Roosting Bats
Singapore Bird Group

Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot – immature female feeding on Macaranga gigantea fruits and leaf galls
Bird Ecology Study Group

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'Occasional slightly hazy conditions' expected through Sunday: NEA

Everyone can continue with normal activities, the agency adds.
Channel NewsAsia 22 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE: Slightly hazy conditions continued to affect Singapore on Saturday (Aug 22) and are expected to persist until tomorrow, said the National Environment Agency (NEA).

The agency added that at 7pm, the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index was recorded at 75-86 - within the Moderate range - and that it will maintain so for the next 24 hours.

NEA said "everyone can continue with normal activities", given the air quality forecast.

Later, it issued an update stating that a total of 132 hotspots were detected in Sumatra that day, mainly in the southern half of the island. Moderate haze was visible from some hotspots in Jambi and South Sumatra, it added.

- CNA/hs

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Indonesia: Forest Fire Alert Issued as Hundreds of Hotspots Detected in Riaus

Jakarta Globe 22 Aug 15;

Jakarta. Indonesia's meteorological agency has detected more than a hundred fire hotspots in eight areas across Riau province on Thursday, warning residents and officials of exacerbating haze from forest and land fires.

Pekanbaru's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has so far identified 140 hotspots, with three particular districts expected to be the biggest contributors of haze, said BMKG chief Sugarin.

"Out of the eight districts, Pelalawan, Indragiri Hulu and Indragiri Hilir will likely be the source of the greatest amount of haze," Sugarin said on Thursday.

Pelalawan currently has 40 fire hotspots, Indragiri Hilir has 33 and Indragiri Hulu 47, while the remaining are spread throughout Siak, Bengkalis, Dumai, Kampar and Kuantan Singingi.

Sugarin said the agency earlier detected 326 fire hotspots across seven provinces on Sumatra island, with the majority concentrated in Riau, where as of last Sunday 1,246 hectares of land have gone ablaze. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has dispatched two helicopters to waterbomb these areas in an attempt to prevent the fires from spreading.

The increasing number of fire hotspots emerging across the province has deteriorated its air quality, Sugarin said.

"According to our monitors, the air here has become unhealthy," he said, adding that the number of residents suffering from respiratory ailments (ISPA) as a result of the haze has increased by 10 percent.

"More than 1,400 people are presently struggling with ISPA. Yet, this number is still categorized as normal," said Helsa S. Munir, head of Pekanbaru's health agency.

Riau has for years been plagued by debilitating haze caused by bush and forest fires, especially in the dry season.

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Best of our wild blogs: 22 Aug 15

Jubilee Whale Fund Donation Drive
News from Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Two Rare Butterflies Near Jurong Eco Green
Beauty of Fauna and Flora in Nature

Night Walk At Pasir Ris Park (21 Aug 2015)
Beetles@SG BLOG

Blue-crowned Hanging-parrot eats Alexandra Palm flowers
Bird Ecology Study Group

Life History of the Bamboo Paintbrush Swift
Butterflies of Singapore

《狮城有约》－《发现小红点》圣约翰岛上的热带海洋科学研究所。(Hello Singapore – Discovering the Red Dot: St John’s Island Tropical Marine Science Institute)
Neo Mei Lin

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3 in critical condition after Pulau Bukom fire

Six people were injured after fire broke out at Shell's Pulau Bukom Manufacturing Site on Friday evening (Aug 21).
Channel NewsAsia 21 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE: Three people are in critical condition after a fire broke out at Shell's Pulau Bukom Manufacturing Site on Friday (Aug 21).

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the fire at 6.15pm on Friday evening. The blaze was extinguished by the Company Emergency Response Team before SCDF arrived on the scene.

Six contractor workers suffered burn injuries and were sent to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH). "Contrary to speculation, there is no SCDF personnel among the casualties," the civil defence force said on Facebook.

Of the six workers injured, three have been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, SGH confirmed. One is in stable condition, while the two have been discharged after receiving outpatient treatment.

"We are following the progress and treatment of the other workers closely and are working with our contractors to ensure all possible support and assistance are rendered to the injured workers and their families. All other personnel are accounted for at the site," a Shell spokesperson said.

Shell added that the fire was put out by the site’s first emergency responders within an hour and said there is no other impact on the site’s operations. The firm added that it is working with the Singapore Civil Defence Force to investigate the incident.

- CNA/dl

6 injured in fire at Shell's Pulau Bukom manufacturing site
AsiaOne 21 Aug 15;

*Update as at Aug 22, 10.30am: One more contractor worker has been discharged, bringing the total number of workers discharged after receiving outpatient treatment to three as of 9am this morning (22 August).

SINGAPORE - A fire which occurred on Friday evening at Shell's Pulau Bukom manufacturing site left six contractor workers with burn injuries.

In a Facebook post by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), the casualties were sent to Singapore General Hospital.

According to a Shell spokesperson, Shell has confirmed that the fire took place and two of the workers have since been discharged after receiving treatment.

SCDF stated in its Facebook post that they received a call from the site at approximately 6.15pm.

Upon SCDF's arrival, the fire had been extinguished by the company's emergency response team. The fire was put out within an hour and there is no other impact on the site's operations, said the spokesperson.

There were no SCDF personnel among the casualties.

While the cause of the fire was not stated, Shell assures that they are working with the SCDF to investigate the incident.

"We are following the progress and treatment of the other workers closely and are working with our contractors to ensure all possible support and assistance are rendered to the injured workers and their families. All other personnel are accounted for at the site," said the spokesperson.

Shell's Bukom refinery fire occurred at a section under maintenance: Spokesperson
Reuters AsiaOne 22 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE - A fire which broke out at Royal Dutch Shell's 500,000 barrels-per-day refinery on Pulau Bukom island off Singapore on Friday occurred at a section of one of the units currently under scheduled maintenance, a company spokeswoman said on Saturday.

The fire at the unidentified unit of the Pulau Bukom Manufacturing Site, Shell's largest wholly owned plant, was put out by the site's first emergency responders within an hour, Shell said.

Three of the six contract workers hospitalised with burns were treated and discharged while the remaining three were still being monitored, the spokeswoman said.

She did not elaborate on what caused the fire but added that there was no other impact on the site's operations.

In May, Reuters reported that Shell was planning to shut Bukom's largest 210,000 bpd crude unit for one to two months in the third quarter for planned maintenance.

The refinery saw production losses in September 2011 due to a fire that forced the company to shut down a crude unit and a fluid catalytic cracker, which drove up margins of oil products.

Friday's fire at Bukom had caused gasoil spreads and exchange of futures for swaps (EFS) derivatives to firm up, a Singapore-based trader said.

Fire at Shell's Pulau Bukom plant leaves 6 injured, including 3 in critical condition
Lim Yi Han Straits Times 21 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE - A fire broke out at oil giant Shell's manufacturing site on Pulau Bukom on Friday evening, leaving six workers with burn injuries.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they received a call at around 6.15pm about the fire from the Pulau Bukom Manufacturing Site.

Upon its arrival, the fire had already been extinguished by Shell's emergency response team.


The six victims were sent to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

Three of them are in a "critical condition", said a SGH spokesman. One is in a stable condition, and two others were discharged after receiving outpatient treatment.

In a statement. a Shell spokesperson said: "We are following the progress and treatment of the other workers closely and are working with our contractors to ensure all possible support and assistance are rendered to the injured workers and their families. All other personnel are accounted for at the site."

Shell also confirmed that the fire was put out within an hour by the site's first emergency responders and there were no other impact on the site's operations.

"We are working with the Singapore Civil Defence Force to investigate the incident," the statement also said.

In the Facebook post, SCDF also said that "contrary to speculation, there is no SCDF personnel among the casualties".

Pulau Bukom houses the $4.1 billion Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex, which opened in May 2010, and is Shell's largest petrochemical investment.

This is not the first time a fire broke out at Pulau Bukom. In September 2011, more than 100 firefighters helped to put out a fire that raged for 32 hours at the Pulau Bukom refinery. Shell was fined $80,000 the following year for lapses in workplace safety that led to the fire.

Pulau Bukom fire: Three workers discharged, three still in hospital
Jalelah Abu Baker and Ng Huiwen Straits Times 22 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE- Three of the six contractor workers injured in a fire in oil giant Shell's manufacturing site on Pulau Bukom were discharged from hospital by Saturday morning, said Shell in a statement.

However there are still three others in hospital. Two of them are in the Intensive Care Unit, while the other is in "stable condition", said a Singapore General Hospital (SGH) spokesman.

"We continue to follow the progress and treatment of the other three workers closely and are working with our contractor to ensure all possible support and assistance are rendered to the injured workers and their families," the Shell spokesman added.

The fire broke out on Friday evening at a section of the manufacturing site that was under scheduled maintenance.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said they received a call at around 6.15pm.

When they arrived, the fire had already been extinguished by Shell's emergency response team.

Shell confirmed that the fire was put out within an hour by the site's first emergency responders and there were no other impact on the site's operations.

The incident response team from the Migrant Workers' Centre (MWC) were also at SGH on Friday to assess the workers' conditions, said MWC Chairman Yeo Guat Kwang

"The MWC would like to remind all employers on their legal obligations to provide safe working conditions for their workers and to ensure that their workers are protected in all circumstances," he added.

Pulau Bukom houses the $4.1 billion Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex, which opened in May 2010. It is Shell's largest petrochemical investment.

2 in critical condition after Pulau Bukom fire
Channel NewsAsia 22 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE: Two people are in critical condition after a fire broke out at Shell's Pulau Bukom Manufacturing Site on Friday (Aug 21).

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the fire at 6.15pm on Friday evening. The blaze was extinguished by the Company Emergency Response Team before SCDF arrived on the scene.

Six contractor workers suffered burn injuries and were sent to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH). "Contrary to speculation, there is no SCDF personnel among the casualties," the civil defence force said on Facebook.

A Shell spokesperson said that the fire was put out by the site’s first emergency responders within an hour and said there is no other impact on the site’s operations. The firm added that it is working with the Singapore Civil Defence Force to investigate the incident.

On Saturday, Shell stated that out of the six workers injured, two are still in the Intensive Care Unit of SGH, while one has been placed in the general ward. The other three are in stable condition - two of them were discharged after receiving outpatient treatment.

"We continue to follow their progress and treatment closely and are working with our contractor to ensure all possible support and assistance are rendered to the injured workers and their families," Shell added.

- CNA/dl/hs

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'Slight haziness' expected through Saturday: NEA

Despite improved conditions in the morning, "slight haziness" is expected on Friday (Aug 21) night, says the National Environment Agency.
Channel NewsAsia 21 Aug 15;

SINGAPORE: Hazy conditions in Singapore improved on Friday (Aug 21) morning, though "slight haziness" is still expected at night, said the National Environment Agency (NEA).

At 6pm, the 3-hour Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) reading was 81, while the 24-hour PSI was recorded at 68-74, within the Moderate range. "Nonetheless, we can still experience slight haziness tonight," NEA said.

The recent hazy conditions have been due to smoke from fires in Sumatra and 120 hotspots were detected on the Indonesian island the day before. However only two hotspots were detected in Sumatra on Friday due to "cloud cover over the island", NEA stated.

The agency also said that "occasional slightly hazy conditions" can be expected on Saturday, with prevailing winds forecast to blow from the southwest. Thundery showers are expected in the late morning and early afternoon, NEA added.

The agency also advised people who are not feeling well, especially the elderly and children and those with chronic heart and lung conditions, to seek medical attention. "Given the air quality forecast for the next 24 hours, everyone can continue with normal activities," it added.

The three-hour PSI briefly crossed the 100-mark on Thursday, though the 24-hour reading remained in the Moderate range.

- CNA/hs

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