The Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced that they have suspended all flights between Singapore’s Changi Airport and Russia, effective immediately until further notice.
SIA made the announcement on their website earlier today (28 February), with the airlines citing “operational reasons” for the suspension of flights.
The suspension of flights between the two countries affects flights SQ 362 and SQ 361, and the airline apologised to the customers who are affected by the suspension.
Passengers who are affected by the suspension of the flights to Russia will be offered a full refund by the airline, for the unused portion of their flight ticket.
For passengers who have made bookings via their travel agents or their partner airlines, SIA advised these passengers to get in touch with their travel agent and/or purchasing airline for help.
The Dalai Lama, shared his thoughts on the Russian invasion of Ukraine with a statement on Facebook, saying that he is deeply saddened by the conflict.
In his statement, he expressed how we mustn’t lose hope – the 20th century was a century of war and bloodshed, and the 21st century must be one of dialogue.
His comments on the conflict in Ukraine came on the 5th day of the Russian invasion.
Here is his statement
I have been deeply saddened by the conflict in Ukraine.
Our world has become so interdependent that violent conflict between two countries inevitably impacts the rest of the world. War is outdated – non-violence is the only way.
We need to develop a sense of the oneness of humanity by considering other human beings as brothers and sisters. This is how we will build a more peaceful world.
Problems and disagreements are best resolved through dialogue. Genuine peace comes about through mutual understanding and respect for each other’s wellbeing.
We must not lose hope. The 20th century was a century of war and bloodshed. The 21st century must be a century of dialogue.
I pray that peace is swiftly restored in Ukraine.
The world’s largest plane, the Antonov-225 cargo plane, was destroyed by Russian forces on day 4 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, tweeted on 27 February that the “Mriya” was destroyed by Russian strikes.
Kuleba added that Russia may have destroyed their Mriya, but Ukraine’s dream of a free and democratic country will never be destroyed, and that they will prevail.”
The biggest plane in the world
The Mriya, which translates to “dream”, is an 84 meters long aircraft that can transport up to 250 tonnes of cargo.
It can also travel at a velocity of about 850km/h, and was initially built as part of a Soviet programme, used to transport space vehicles.
The Mriya was also used to transport humanitarian aid globally, but it hadn’t flown since the Soviet Union fell.
This was the world’s largest aircraft, AN-225 ‘Mriya’ (‘Dream’ in Ukrainian). Russia may have destroyed our ‘Mriya’. But they will never be able to destroy our dream of a strong, free and democratic European state. We shall prevail! pic.twitter.com/TdnBFlj3N8
A video emerged online showing an errant taxi driver hitting a cyclist at a zebra crossing after failing to give way to the cyclist.
The incident happened along Old Airport Road on 24 February at about 9.21pm, at a pedestrian zebra crossing.
The cyclist was seen in the video trying to cross the zebra pedestrian crossing, just as the taxi was approaching.
Under the traffic rules, the cyclist had the right of way to cross the crossing and the taxi was supposed to give way.
However, the taxi failed to stop and hit the cyclist, causing the man to almost fall off his bike, and the taxi then drove away.
Potential penalties
Failing to give way at pedestrian crossing
The penalty for failing to give way to pedestrians at a pedestrian crossing is a $200 fine and 6 demerit points.
Hit and run
It is a punishable offence to leave the scene of an accident, which is considered a hit-and-run – upon conviction, first-time offenders face a fine of up to $3,000 or a jail term of up to 12 months.
A Singaporean man was among a group of 12 people evacuated from Ukraine by Malaysia, following the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.
Malaysia Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a Facebook statement that a convoy of 9 Malaysians, 2 Ukrainians and a Singaporeans arrived at the border of Ukraine and Poland on 27 February at about 5.45am.
The successful evacuation of the group was led by Fadhilah Daud, the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of Malaysia’s Embassy in Ukraine, and they were received by officials from the Malaysian embassy in Poland.
Here is Malaysia’s statement
The convoy of 9 Malaysians, 2 Ukrainian dependants and 1 Singaporean national evacuated from Kyiv led by Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, Ms. Fadhilah Daud, have safely arrived at Korczowa-Krakovets border of Ukraine and Poland at 5.45am on 27 February 2022 (local time at 10.45pm) on 26 February 2022.
The convoy was received by two officials from the Embassy of Malaysia in Poland. All evacuees and accompanying officials will be making their way to Warsaw, Poland.
Wisma Putra is in constant contact with officials of the Embassies on their location, safety as well as of the accompanying convoy.
Friend in need is a friend indeed
The Singapore High Commission in KL and Consulate-General in JB posted a statement on Facebook thanking their Malaysian counterparts for their help.
They said:
We are very grateful to Wisma Putra for assisting one of our Singaporeans to evacuate from Kyiv amid difficult circumstances. A friend in need is a friend indeed!
The situation in Ukraine remains deeply concerning. Singapore strongly condemns any unprovoked invasion of a sovereign country under any pretext. The sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine must be respected.
A Malaysian man who was due to return back home to Malaysia the next day, passed away in an accident in Tampines on 24 February.
The 36-year-old man was riding his motorcycle along Tampines Avenue when he was forced to swerve to avoid colliding with an elderly pedestrian who was crossing the road.
He then crashed his motorcycle and later passed away from his injuries.
What happened?
According to The New Paper, the deceased was Mohammad Syaifful, a 36-year-old man working as a technician in Singapore.
He was riding along Tampines Avenue 1 in the early hours of 24 February, amidst heavy downpour, and visibility was reduced.
He spotted a 72-year-old elderly pedestrian crossing the road too late and swerved his bike to the side to avoid him.
He then crashed his bike and was conveyed to the hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
The elderly pedestrian was also injured and hospitalized.
A video emerged online showing a group of men fighting at a hawker centre, in full view of the public, as the men rained blows on each other.
The group was seen in front of a stall selling pastries, with one of the men using his hands to cover his head and cowering down.
The man in white then held the man down, while the other man then rained punches on the victim, to the horror of the diners.
The woman who was presumably filming the incident, was seen asking “what happened?”, before shouting for them to stop as the men rained blows on the man.
The man was then dragged to the other side of the stall, before being savagely beaten by a man in grey with his mask down.
Potential penalties
Fighting in public
According to Chapter 224 of the Penal Code, anyone who disturbs public peace by fighting in public is guilty of committing an affray.
Upon conviction, offenders could face a jail term of up to one year and/or a fine of up to $5,000.
Voluntarily causing hurt
According to Chapter 321 of the Penal Code, anyone who performs an act that causes hurt to a person is guilty of Voluntarily Causing Hurt.
Upon conviction, offenders could face a jail term of up to 3 years and/or a fine of up to $5,000.
Breach of safe distancing measures
First-time offenders who breach safe distancing measures are fined $300.
For non-compliance with safe management measures under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020, offenders may be jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both.
Not wearing masks
If they are caught by the Police for not wearing a mask or not wearing a mask properly they can be charged under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020.
Penalties include a fine of up to SGD$10,000 and jail for up to six months.
A video emerged online on 24 February showing a wild boar allegedly swimming from Singapore to Johor Bahru.
The 27-second video shows a person enjoying a tranquil boat ride, before the amphibious wild boar was discovered swimming in the water.
The boat then caught up with the wild boar, who was seen with its little ears and snout above the water and it swam and swam.
Unbothered by the presence of the boat, the pig continued on its journey forwards and displayed the type of fitness levels not seen since Mas Selamat attempted the same feat in 2008.
Netizens online joked that the wild boar was exempt from the rules of travel, what with the current VTL rules and safety precautions.
Netizens’ comments
Looking for Greener pastures
Oh good! finally VTL for wildlife
hope it brought passpork along,….afraid of hogging the causeway ?
Get him u-turn back he may forgot to bring his passport plus ART
The Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island who went viral for famously telling an invading Russian warship to go and F themselves, might still be alive after all.
Initial response
According to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, who posted a Facebook statement on 26 February, they said that they’re of the strong belief that the Ukrainian defenders of the Zmiinyi Island may be alive.
Preliminary information determined that the soldiers might be dead because they had lost contact with the men.
The Border Guard Service said that they hope the boys will return home soon, as they held hope that the reports of their deaths are proven false.
They summarised their statement by saying “Glory to Ukrainian defenders!”
Captured alive by Russian forces
The defence ministry of Russia has also revealed that the Ukrainian soldiers are still alive after purportedly surrendering to the Russian forces.
Russia released photos of the captured soldiers being given bottled food and water, and boarding buses, they said that the Ukrainian soldiers will be released and allowed to return to their families.
They stopped short of mentioning the strikes carried out by them or the casualties on the island.
Contradicts Ukraine president’s statements
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky had said a day before that the “heroic deceased border guards” will be posthumously awarded.
A woman shared how she is paranoid and worried because he boyfriend is always initiating to meet his female friend one on one.
Here is the story
BF always initiates to meet his female friend 1 on 1, is this normal?
My bf has a close female friend. They’re friends years before I got together with him. He seems kinda protective over this relationship and tend to divulge very few details to me about her and their meetups.
Though they meet once every 3 months or so, bf will make an effort to rush over to meet her at their dinner place even though he usually has OT, then send her home after a 3-4 hrs dinner at a mid/high end restaurant.
While her house is somewhat along the way, he had to take the further route home, pay for ERP and drive in/upslope to the estate, spending additional 15-20 min on his journey which is rather inconvenient.
I came across his chat messages recently and found that he is always the one initiating to meet the female friend, offering to send/pick her home, asking how is her work going, celebrating her bday etc and she had never initiated once and never celebrated his bday.
She also frequently left his messages on double tick and he had to double/triple text her to ask her out for a meal again.
I don’t think the female friend has any intentions to stay near my bf given her lack of enthusiasm and often no replies in the text conversation but I’m feeing wary as to why my bf is willing to put in so much effort in meeting this friend of his.
He also shares with her about my salary, work and rants i shared with him but on the other hand I knew nothing about her.
FYI. he also didn’t entertain the idea of bringing me over for a meal with his female friend despite me asking.
