The move is introduced to inculcate in students good habits such as a sense of responsibility and care, said the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Thursday (Feb 25).

Cleaning can be carried out at various periods of the school day, such as before the first lesson, during recess, in between classes, or just before dismissal.

Areas that the students will clean include the classrooms and common spaces such as canteens and corridors.

Prior to the move, many schools, such as Xingnan Primary, Park View Primary and New Town Secondary, have already put in place between five and 10 minutes of cleaning activities within their school hours daily.

At Xingnan Primary in Jurong West, for instance, pupils are involved in cleaning after their recess and at the end of the school day. Primary 1 pupils also have an activity to document how they assist their family members with household chores.

At Park View Primary, pupils clean up their classrooms five minutes before the school day ends.

Acting Minister for Education (Schools) Ng Chee Meng, who visited Xingnan Primary School on Thursday afternoon, observed a lesson on inculcating good habits of cleaning up, and joined the students in cleaning up at the end of the school day.

Ng hopes the activities would cultivate in students good life habits, which can be practised at home as well.

Parents welcomed the initiative, and are pleased that the schools are encouraging such life habits from young.

“We need to teach our children such habits and get them involved in cleaning up after themselves,” said administrative executive Julie Tan, 43, who has a eight-year-old daughter.

“It is good to learn these good values from young.”

In an interview with Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Moscow, he said the two countries have co-ordinated in this field for years.

The Klylov State Research Centre and the Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Technology Centre of Russia are considering the possibility of implementing Vietnam’s proposals to help the country’s shipbuilding technology meet international standards.

The two centres are also considering working together in building a deep-sea fleet in Vietnam, and collecting necessary information about Russia’s fishing vessel building projects in order to satisfy Vietnam’s proposals, he said.

He stressed the need to define the kind of ship that would have an advantage in Vietnam, as well as learning about the country’s infrastructure facilities to serve the building of these ships.

Russia is willing to consider financial plans to carry out joint projects with the Southeast Asian country, he stated, adding that Russia’s universities are also willing to help Vietnam train students on shipbuilding, while the Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Technology Centre is ready to consider the provision of hi-tech equipment for the country.

Kuala Selangor OCPD Supt Ruslan Abdullah said police received a call from a man at around 5.10am Thursday saying that the bank was broken into.

“The man said the suspects took off with the two ATMs in a Toyota Hilux. A forensics team from the Selangor police headquarters managed to uncover seven fingerprints at the scene.

“An excavator was left behind,” he explained.

It is learnt that surveillance camera at the bank showed a group of three to four men, all wearing helmets, using the excavator to drag out the ATMs.

The owner of the excavator, who wished to remain anonymous, said he received a call from a man expressing interest to rent the machine.

They decided to meet near the bank on Wednesday, where the man would proceed to borrow the excavator.

However, the owner said the man never showed up. The owner left the excavator near the bank. He was shocked to find out that the machine was used to yank out the ATMs.

It is learnt that the door of the excavator was cut open using oxyacetylene torches. The suspects also tampered with the excavator’s wiring system to jumpstart its engine.

Bank personnel are in the midst of ascertaining the total amount of losses.

The case is classified as burglary under Section 457 of the Penal Code.

On Monday, robbers who ripped off an automated teller machine from a factory at Jalan Kebun in Bandar Putra did not get to keep their loot as they abandoned it with the money inside.

The ATM was found abandoned nearby the Sri Ayu flat at Bandar Putra Klang with the money still intact.

The legislation, known as the construction services bill, is now being deliberated at the House of Representatives.

An article in the bill stipulates that foreign companies or businesspeople intending to carry out construction work in the country will be obliged to set up a representative office in Indonesia or a joint company with a local construction firm.

The representative office will also be obliged to have a joint operation with big national construction firm in the projects and to prioritize the hiring of local workers and the procurement of locally sourced materials and technology, among other things.

Foreign workers intending to work in Indonesia will also be limited to experts who obtain government certification and obliged to perform transfer of technology and information.

“Even though we are in a competitive era, it doesn’t mean we can be open without any protection for local construction service companies. We have to take a side,” Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said on the sidelines of a hearing on the bill on Wednesday.

The minister said the current open market would not be translated into liberalization in the construction sector, even though national companies should also not be too spoiled by protectionism.

Basuki also said that the foreign companies would also have to take big projects, which could also mean they could not take projects valued under Rp 50 billion (US$3.72 million) that are currently only allowed to be taken by regional industry players.

The bill, which would serve as a revision of the existing 1999 law on construction, will also address other things such as the organization of the construction industry, certification, payment of workers and the criminalization of failing construction.

The bill stipulates that the cause of failing construction should be decided by expert assessment and that any legal process involving a construction project should be based on the assessment by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) and the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP).

The government will also formulate a standardized minimal payment for human resources in the construction sector, especially for the experts, as well as assign the ministry to establish the Construction Service Registration and Certification Body (BRSJK) to take over the role of the existing Construction Development Agency (LPJK).

“Compared to the oil and gas sector, the payment is way too small. This is more of the appreciation of the profession,” Basuki said, adding that the ministry also aimed to boost the competitiveness and the competency of the country’s human resources in construction.

Legislator Muhidin Mohamad Said said that once it is passed into law the bill would also empower construction associations to certify their members while the certification body gives accreditation to the associations.

“If there is a construction failure or negligence, we can also warn the association, so the association will not just give away the certification,” said Muhidin, deputy chairman for Commission V overseeing transportation and infrastructure.

He added that there would be requirements for an association before it is authorized to issue certification, including having a certain number of branches across the country.

He said that the bill would likely be deliberated in May this year.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Construction Association (AKI) secretary-general Zali Yahya welcomed the government’s protection of national industries.

“Competitiveness is inevitable in the global market, but the political will is good,” he said.

He also said that since a mere 40 percent of construction workers were certified, he hoped to see more workers get certification following the upcoming deliberation of the bill.

In a statement, PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said that they are now conducting an internal investigation against Capt. Filemon Tacan and will look into how he handled the requests of the passengers who asked to deplane while the ground crew were assessing the aircraft.

Philippine Airlines flight PR-371 was supposed to leave Bangkok at 1:50 p.m. on Sunday but technical issues grounded to plane until 5 pm.

Veteran journalist Inday Espina Varona, who was one of the passengers, described the five-hour ordeal as “hell.” She said that due to the technical issues of the plane, only one emergency air conditioning unit was working. Due to the heat, some parents were forced to strip their toddlers down to their diapers and some opted to stay at the main exit for air.

It was during this juncture that Tacan tried to allay the safety fears of the passengers by saying that his life was more important than theirs.

“My life is more important than your life. That’s why I always consider my life more (important) than anybody. That’s why I will not lie to you. Otherwise I won’t be with you. With that in mind, my life is more important than anybody else’s” he told the passengers.

Tacan was also quoted as saying that he had experienced 10-hour delays and that he is staying in the cockpit where the temperature is far higher compared to the cabin of the plane.

“PAL management is conducting an internal investigation on the matter. Management is reminding all flight crew to use the standard announcement at all times, including during operational exigencies. It is unfortunate that there was a deviation from the norm as far as communication is concerned. We apologize for the way it affected the sensibilities of passengers,” Villaluna said.

PAL said that Tacan is an experienced pilot with more than 30 years of flying experience./

The MicroDragon satellite will be designed and created by Vietnamese engineers, with the support of Japanese experts.

Japan’s Epsilon rocket, created by IHI Aerospace company, will carry the MicroDragon satellite into space.

The satellite will observe the coastal areas of the country to evaluate water quality, navigate marine food resources and follow up on changes in coastal areas to inform Vietnam’s aquaculture breeding sector.

Director of Vietnam National Satellite Centre (VNSC) Pham Anh Tuan said the MicroDragon project is expected to help create an environment in which young people have the chance to practice working with strict discipline and independent creativity.

Vietnam launched the 1kg PicoDragon satellite to give Vietnamese experts the chance to explore the process of designing, creating and piloting a satellite in August 2013.

Under the Made-in-Vietnam satellite development roadmap, the country will launch the 10kg NanoDragon satellite in 2016, the 50kg MicroDragon satellite in 2018 and the 500kg LOTUSat-2 in 2020.

In a limited meeting held at the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Monday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said Indonesia’s current defence budget amounted to 1.1 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), slightly up from previous allocations of 0.89 per cent of GDP in 2015 and 0.79 per cent in 2014.

Jokowi added that with targeted economic growth of 6 per cent, Indonesia’s defence budgetary allocation would increase to 1.5 per cent of GDP, worth around Rp 250 trillion (US$18.66 billion).

“It’s a very large amount. This should be anticipated from now on. There should be proper and detailed planning so the budget allocation will be well-targeted and well-planned from the very beginning,” Jokowi said.

With such defence system development, he hoped the Indonesian Military would be ready to anticipate threats in the future as geographically, two-thirds of the country’s territorial area was sea. Such a geographical situation would affect the constellation of warfare in the future, the President said.

“I’m really aware that to build a professional and respected Indonesian Military, we should be able to meet our defence equipment requirements” he added.

Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said the country’s defences needed to be developed to protect the archipelago.

“The President wants to know the strength of military capacity needed to secure and maintain the vast territory of this country. Moreover, we know Indonesia is an archipelagic country; so, early readiness of our defences is very important,” he told reporters.

The new service runs from Punggol to the city and starts operating next Monday. It was among five new City Direct Services announced on Monday by the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

The others are service 667, serving Clementi and Dover; 668, serving Ang Mo Kio; 669, serving Bedok; and 670, serving Yishun.

The LTA’s Facebook post introducing service 666 drew about 90 comments as of Tuesday (Feb 23) evening.

Most people were amused and joked about the association with Satan. Facebook user Sivaraj Pragasm quipped: “(I) always suspected Satan was living in Punggol.”

But others were serious and concerned it could be insensitive to Christians. “Couldn’t you guys have chosen another number? This is so insensitive,” commented Mr James Poon on LTA’s Facebook post.

“Singapore being a multiracial and multireligious society, our government services should put more thought into such details,” Mr Poon, a 30-year-old self-employed Christian, told The Straits Times.

LTA declined to comment.

City Direct Services connect the heartland with the Central Business District and run on weekdays during morning and evening peak periods, excluding public holidays.

He urged the localities to examine water reservoirs and build plans for water usage, prioritising local daily activities, animals, and highly-economic crops.

He said it was important to define areas that are prone to water deficiency and prepare appropriate plans for growing drought-resistant crops, while speeding up the construction of irrigation facilities.

The Deputy PM asked ministries and sectors to save water at reservoirs to provide sufficient water for drought-hit areas during the dry season, stressing the need for supplementary policies to support people in affected regions.

Ninh Thuan Province and the surrounding region, particularly the Central South and the Central Highlands, have been going through a massive drought since last year as the El Nino phenomenon reached one of its highest peaks in decades.

Binh Thuan Province – the locality most affected by the extreme weather lost more than 15,000ha of rice paddy fields, or approximately 40 per cent of the province’s total amount, due to water shortages. Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan provinces suffered losses of about 10,000 and 5,000ha respectively in the prolonged drought.

The same day, the Deputy PM made a fact-finding tour of the Song Sat water reservoir and inspected Tan My dam. He also visited locals in dry areas of Khanh Tan Hamlet, Nhon Hai Commune, Ninh Hai District.