Friends: The Reunion had a star-studded guest appearance. Picture: Instagram
Chinese streaming platforms have censored special appearances by celebrities such as BTS, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber on Friends: The Reunion, American media outlets reported on May 27. Chinese fans of the hit TV series were upset to find that iQiyi, Alibaba’s Youku and Tencent Video all censored appearances by the aforementioned celebrities as well as scenes that include gay characters, underwear and more, reported Allkpop.
BTS was one of the guest stars for the show. Picture: Instagram
In the past, Chinese nationalists condemned BTS for comments about South Korea’s alliance with US troops during the Korean War. BTS made the comments after accepting the General James A Van Fleet Award, given for promoting US-Korea ties, in October last year. In the same way, Lady Gaga became a controversial figure in China after voicing support for the Dalai Lama. Justin Bieber suffered backlash for visiting Japan’s Yasukuni Shrine which commemorates the deaths of Japanese troops who served in World War II.
Meanwhile, the boys of BTS briefly appeared in Friends: The Reunion special to share their love of the hit series.
BTS, also known as Bangtan Sonyeondan (Bangtan Boys) consists of seven members: RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. Their ages range from 23 to 28.
The boyband debuted under Big Hit Entertainment in Seoul in 2013. Each BTS member co-writes and co-produces their own music and their music style includes a wide range of genres.
BTS released its debut single album 2 Cool 4 Skool in 2013 followed by US Billboard 200 entries The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2 (2015), The Most Beautiful Moment In Life: Young Forever (2016 and Wings (2016). Wings was the first BTS album to sell one million copies in South Korea.
In 2017, BTS gained popularity internationally, breaking records and was the first Korean group to receive a certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) with the single Mic Drop.
BTS is the first and only Korean act as of 2019 to top the US Billboard 200 with the studio album Love Yourself: Tear (2018). The band has since hit the top of the US charts with the albums Love Yourself: Answer (2018) and Map of the Soul: Persona (2019), making BTS the first group since The Beatles to earn three number one albums in less than a year./TISG
Singapore—Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo took to social media on Friday (May 28) to call out the person responsible for a digitally altered banner that has been making the rounds online.
Without mincing words, Ms Teo told them to put their energies to better use.
She wrote that she had been told by grassroots leaders from the Beo Crescent Residents’ Network (RN) about the banner, which announces a dine-in area for taxi drivers and delivery riders at the covered pavilion at Blk 48A Lower Delta Road.
This follows the ban on dining at hawker centres and restaurants under the phase 2 (heightened alert) restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Unable to eat elsewhere, taxi drivers and food delivery riders have been seen eating in unexpected places such as car boots and kerbsides in pictures circulating online.
As Ms Teo pointed out, a similar area was set up at Beo Crescent, which has a banner designating the “Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng DINE-IN AREA.”
However, someone had altered a photo of the banner to read “DIE-IN AREA” instead.
FB screengrab: Josephine Teo
The minister, who is a Member of Parliament for Jalan Besar GRC (PAP) and whose ward is Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng, did not hide her annoyance at the altered image.
“The distorted wording is done in poor taste. What does the ‘author’ hope to achieve?”
She added that Beo Crescent has a very popular market and hawker centre, and at this time, those who have stalls are already suffering.
“The stall holders are having a hard time and need all the business they can get. They welcome taxi drivers and delivery riders. The RN therefore worked with the Town Council to create this dine-in area for them, just a short walk away,” she added.
“So this ‘author’ thinks it is creative? Far from it. Please put your energies to better use. Even if you don’t have the capacity to help others like the RN doing good, don’t spend your time and effort subtracting from it. They deserve better.”
Kim Seon Ho appears in W Korea magazine. Picture: Instagram
Seoul — Actor Kim Seon Ho undoubtedly possesses a certain charm and attraction. He propelled to stardom with Start Up, where he starred as Han Ji Pyeong, a tough-looking investor who has a soft heart and harbours honest feelings for his childhood pen-pal, Seo Dal Mi (Bae Suzy). He also becomes her mentor to protect her. The actor won the heart of everyone despite not getting the girl in the end. Kim Seon Ho talked about his humble dreams and what changed after the success of Start Up in a recent partnership with Kenzo Parfums for W Korea.
Kim Seon Ho’s brand endorsement doubled after he starred in Start Up. Picture: Instagram
The 35-year-old revealed that he was never ambitious about getting rich and famous and dreams were all he could afford to have. Coming from a humble background, his parents could not afford to have a dream but allowed him to live his life. This made him happy, reported Pinkvilla.
The actor shared that he dreamed every day even though he did not know how to fulfil his dream. Since starring in his hit TV show Start Up, Kim Seon Ho’s brand endorsements have doubled and he has been inundated with calls and messages ever since. The actor is all set to star in Seashore Village Cha Cha Cha alongside Shin Min Ah.
Born on May 8, 1986, Kim Seon Ho is a South Korean actor. He began his career on stage and appeared in numerous plays before making his screen debut in 2017 with Good Manager. He rose to prominence with the 2020 television series Start Up.
After graduating from high school, Kim studied at the Seoul Institute of the Arts where he received a degree from the Department of Broadcasting and Entertainment. While in college, he joined a theatre group and began acting in plays./TISG
The recent muttering about the large BMW grilles has done little to dampen enthusiasm for the brand.
BMW is still among the top brands in terms of overall sales in Singapore and continues to grow globally. The combination of contemporary designs, cutting-edge features, performance and customer satisfaction is a tricky terrain to navigate, but the German brand has been negotiating it well.
Part of the appeal for the brand is due to the historical models that have established its position.
Prior to the arrival of the omnipresent SUV, the bread-and-butter 3 Series was a brand ambassador. The sporty sedan set the tone for BMW’s ambitions, one which it has followed through even as globalisation, sustainability, millennials, electrification and SUVs have raised various sets of challenges.
The seventh-generation 3 Series harks back to some of its original ideology. Like most models making way for fresh variants, the car has grown compared to its original size.
The design factors have been sharpened, and the form is more purposeful in fitting in with the BMW family resemblance.
While once a tight fit for passengers in the back, the new 3 Series has more elbow room, headroom and legroom. And the trim and equipment match that general feeling of comfort and refinement. Leather and high-grade plastics are highlighted by chrome and ambience lighting that can be changed to suit your mood.
There is a large boot that you can easily access by kicking under the bumper where the sensor will release the lid, provided you have the key with you. This is extremely handy if your arms are laden with groceries or bulky items.
The entry-level 318i Sport reviewed here is packed with features you’d expect from a variant higher up in a model range.
The latest displays — a 12.3” instrument display and high-resolution 10.25” control display — deliver sharp, colourful graphics. You can toggle through the various settings to determine what combination of information you would like displayed.
While many brands are opting for touchscreens to deliver the various available functions, BMW has still retained a dial that allows you to access navigation, media and features like CarPlay and Android Auto.
The demands of a connected world mean that you are in sync with your mobile device, to seamlessly — most of the time — switch from home or work to car, without skipping a beat.
On occasion, especially if there is more than one user, the settings can get a bit confused, but that’s usually sorted out by restarting the system or the car.
To extend that sense of connectedness like a virtual umbilical cord, the My BMW app also lets you ventilate your car remotely, which is convenient if you’ve parked outdoors in the heat.
While much of BMW’s reputation was built on the drivability of its cars, that was downplayed as the automotive industry was distracted by alternative fuel sources, sustainability issues, globalisation and a slew of other disruptions.
But the focus on the driver seems to have returned with its recent models.
The 318i Sport is loaded with a detuned 2-litre inline 4-cylinder engine. This is the same engine you’ll find in the 320i model, except those are tuned to deliver a better performance.
In the 318i, the engine delivers 115kW of power, which is well managed by the 8-speed automatic transmission. There’s an immediate response as you hit the accelerator, and the gear changes are smooth.
You have a choice of Comfort, Sport and Eco Pro modes. You can feel the difference in how the car reacts to each. While Comfort is the default setting, in Sport, the pull is a bit more pronounced, and the reaction around bends a bit more urgent.
In Eco Pro, only the bare essentials are running, which means your air-conditioning will not be at the level you’d want it to be. But it means you save some fuel.
While the 318i does the 0-100 kmh sprint in a relatively leisurely 8.4 seconds, it doesn’t feel slow. It’s a tad soft in hard manoeuvres, and there’s some slipping on slick surfaces; this just seems to add to the fun.
Safety has been a key concern for most car manufacturers, with an eye towards autonomous motoring, and BMW has been at the cutting edge of this process. The 318i is equipped with measures to anticipate and avoid unexpected situations like sudden lane changes and close proximity to cars while on the move. You can set the amount of intervention by the car, or switch off these features entirely.
For those who find parallel parking a challenge, the 318i will do it automatically.
All the required functionality — cruise and media control — are on the multifunction sport steering, which is comfortable to grip.
With so many features on board, it’s not surprising that the large BMW grille seems to be smiling.
Specifications
BMW 318i Sport
Engine: inline 4 cylinder
Transmission: automatic 8-speed steptronic
Displacement: 1,998cc
Power output: 115kW
Max torque: 250Nm
0-100kmh: 8.4 seconds
Top speed: 223kmh
Fuel consumption: 5.8L/100km
VES Band: B
Price: $213,888
Please check for the latest price with Performance Motors Limited.
Wang Leehom is not the only talented person in his family. Picture: Weibo
Hong Kong — It is no secret that Wang Leehom is multi-talented in music and it appears that being talented runs in the family.
The award-winning Taiwanese-American singer who holds two honorary doctoral degrees from Berklee College of Music and Williams College once joked that he is the “weakest” person in his family.
The 45-year-old took to Weibo on Wednesday (May 26) to proudly congratulate his older brother Dr. Leo David Wang on receiving a grant from the US state government to aid in an important piece of medical research.
Wang Leehom uploaded a photo of his brother, 48, looking very serious and focused in the lab.
“Congratulations to my older brother, Dr. Leo Wang, on being awarded an important grant from the California government. It is my wish for this scientific research to help save even more children with brain tumours. Leo, jiayou!” Wang Leehom wrote, adding a link to a blog post that shares more information about the study.
Dr. Leo Wang received a grant to aid treatments for brain cancer. Picture: Weibo
Based on the article, Dr. Leo Wang, a pediatric haematologist and oncologist at the City of Hope medical centre, is the principal investigator of a new trial that will study the use of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy to treat brain tumours in children. The research is backed by a US$8.4mil (SGD11.1mil) grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, according to 8days.sg.
In case you did not know, a haematologist specialises in blood disorders, an oncologist diagnoses and treats cancer, and CAR T cell therapy engineers T cells, which are part of the immune system, to fight a specific cancer.
Fans joined Wang Leehom in congratulating his brother on his achievement, praising them for such as “excellent family” and raving over how handsome the doctor looks in the photo. The Wang brothers have garnered attention for their good looks before. Wang Leehom attended the US-Asia Entertainment Summit in Los Angeles with Leo and their youngest brother Lee-kai, 36 in 2019 and netizens couldn’t help but swoon over the three siblings.
The Wang family consist of people you don’t want your parents to compare you to. Other than Leehom and Leo, Lee-kai’s also successful in his own right having graduated from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before reportedly landing a job on Wall Street.
Their father studied at the National Taiwan University College of Medicine and, like Leo, was a paediatrician before his retirement a few years ago, while their mother graduated from Taiwan’s National Chengchi University. Also, if you are not aware, all three brothers are musically inclined and are able to play the piano and violin. /TISG
Singapore – Amid the Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) period where members of the public are urged to minimise interactions to prevent the transmission of Covid-19 within the community, some domestic workers have highlighted being asked to work on their day off with no compensation.
The Ministry of Manpower released an advisory on May 21 urging domestic workers to stay home on their rest days and avoid crowded areas when running errands.
“If MDWs (migrant domestic workers) need to go out for essential errands, they should keep it short, avoid crowded places and keep to the maximum group size of two persons. They should not intermingle between groups, and should also not share food, drinks or utensils,” said MOM.
Furthermore, if a domestic worker decides to stay home on a rest day, employers should not assign them any work, noted MOM.
“If employers come to a mutual agreement with their MDWs to forgo their rest day, employers must provide compensation in lieu of the rest day.”
However, several domestic workers told to stay home on their days off are still being asked to work for substantial periods without the corresponding compensation, reported Straits Times on Friday (May 28).
One domestic worker from Indonesia shared that her employer asked her to do laundry and meal preparation without extra pay.
“I asked (my employer) if I could get paid for working on my day off, but she said no. My day off feels like any other workday,” said the MDW.
Others shared that it was difficult to rest at home as it is also where they work.
“The girl I’m looking after would still come into my room so many times, and I couldn’t rest well,” said another domestic worker who tried resting in her room on her day off after three to four hours of doing chores.
She noted not being compensated for the extra work.
The Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) noted it has yet to study any current trends about such issues faced by MDWs.
However, HOME’s case manager Jaya Anil Kumar urged for rest days to be a 24-hour period to avoid repeating last year’s 25 per cent increase in the number of helpline calls from MDWs highlighting such issues during the circuit breaker period.
“This will entrench the idea that domestic workers who stay at home should not be given work and, if they do, they should be compensated accordingly,” said Ms Jaya.
Executive director of the Centre for Domestic Employees Shamsul Kamar also reminded employers to respect the rest days of MDWs./TISG
Singapore – Over a hundred fish belonging to the Church of Saint Teresa located along Kampong Bahru Road were killed or gobbled up in a span of four days as a family of otters discovered a source of food.
On Monday morning (May 24), staff members were shocked to see numerous dead fish scattered around the premises.
Church staff eventually realised it was caused by a family of otters that decided to pay them a visit.
The remains of dozens of dead koi, some with their heads or tails bitten off, was featured in a video posted by Chinese newspaper Shin Min Daily News on May 28.
As the person recording the scene investigated the area, the otters were soon spotted exiting the pond.
The person continued filming and captured the otters running towards the church’s gate to escape.
The church has two ponds, and some of the koi had been carefully raised by church staff and gardeners for over 15 years, a reader told Shin Min.
The individual shared that the otters sneaked into the church over four consecutive days and went for the smaller pond first. When they had finished the koi there, they moved on to the bigger one.
“As the ponds are outdoors, the otters could’ve sneaked in at night,” said the 71-year-old retiree. He noted that the church staff tried to prevent another incident from happening again.
Although several koi survived the otter attack, the retiree couldn’t help but worry if the otters will be back for the remaining ones./TISG
Singapore—After The Straits Times reported on Friday (May 28) that some domestic helpers are working for free on their rest days during this period of restrictions to curb Covid-19, the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home) said they should not be made to work for free on their day off.
Last Friday (May 21), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) issued a statement strongly encouraging migrant domestic workers (MDWs) to stay at home on their rest days during this phase 2 (Heightened Alert) period.
MOM added, “If MDWs need to go out for essential errands, they should keep it short, avoid crowded places and keep to the maximum group size of two persons. They should not intermingle between groups, and should also not share food, drinks or utensils.”
However, ST carried stories of two domestic helpers working on their rest days while at home, and for no extra salary.
HOME wrote in a Facebook post, “During Phase 2, domestic workers should not be made to work without compensation. If they are staying at home, they should be allowed to rest, and any work done should be compensated fairly.”
The organisation underlined the importance of rest days, as they give helpers physical, mental, and emotional break from work.
HOME also appealed to employers to “show consideration during this period of heightened restrictions”.
“Live-in domestic work can be especially stressful, because the line between work and rest is often blurred,” the organisation added.
HOME also urged that MOM legislate mandatory rest days for migrant domestic workers, for the longer term.
In the ST article, Ms Jaya Anil Kumar, a case manager with HOME, asked for this rest day to be defined as a 24-hour period, in an effort to avoid what happened during last year’s circuit breaker, when the organisation observed a 25 per cent increase in calls to its helpline from helpers who had been asked to perform chores on their rest days.
“This will entrench the idea that domestic workers who stay at home should not be given work and, if they do, they should be compensated accordingly,” Ms Anil Kumar said.
Singapore—Opposition leader Chee Soon Juan took to Facebook on Friday (May 28) to draw attention to two troubling situations at Bukit Batok, where he has been active on the ground for several years.
He shone the light on what he seems to perceive as a lack in estate management as well as the lack of people in food centres and kopitiams, using these issues as a springboard to call on the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) to further help people who are suffering at this time.
Firstly, Dr Chee, the secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), expressed concern over missing drain covers in a particular block.
“The drain covers behind Blk 217 are missing. This was pointed to me by a resident who said that it posed a safety hazard especially during the night,” he wrote.
The SDP head added that people walk through that area when they go from the coffee shop in front of the building to the parking area or other blocks nearby.
He wrote that the JRTC (Jurong-Clementi Town Council) “might want to look into this and quickly remedy the problem before someone gets hurt”.
The second concern Dr Chee wrote about was “the empty food centres and kopitiams”, calling this “disheartening”.
“I’m sure the hawkers are hurting,” he wrote.
“And not just hawkers, shop owners too. Even though there is some rent relief, these folks are still taking a hit on their earnings.”
He added by way of contrast that “Ministers and MPs are still enjoying their more than handsome salaries and allowances. For them, there is little financial worry.”
But for “the common folk,” the situation is not the same.
“Many I have spoken to are living in desperate anxiety,” he added. “Let us remind the PAP clearly and loudly: The people come first.”
Commenters on Dr Chee’s post agreed that the missing drain covers pose a danger to residents.
Others told their own stories of getting hurt when they walked into drains by accident.
One netizen suggested that ministers take a pay cut as this would help them understand the plight of people better.
Another suggested that no further taxes should be imposed while people are suffering from economic hardship.
Others also expressed concern for those who are suffering.
Singapore—On his Facebook page on Friday (May 28), lawyer and opposition leader Lim Tean posted a video clip from a recent parliamentary session in Australia, where Speaker Tony Smith firmly insists that Prime Minister Scott Morrison answer a question.
Mr Lim, the leader of the People’s Voice Party, called it an example of “True Parliamentary Democracy At Work.”
The video had been uploaded by @sbsnews_au Naveen Razik on Thursday (May 27) and has been viewed over 320,000 times.
Mr Smith’s terse answer to Mr Morrison was also reported in the UK’s The Guardian and Australia’s The New Daily.
The session, which occurred on Wednesday (May 26), had apparently been a “particularly rowdy” one, and both government and opposition MPs had been asked to leave the chamber.
As SBS’ Naveen Razik captioned his TikTok post, the Speaker was “taking no prisoners”.
Mr Smith had issued warnings to government and opposition MPs to tone down their behaviour and had said, “If members want to continue interjecting, I’ll eject them.”
At one point, when Mr Morrison did not answer a question from the opposition, the Speaker asked him to return to the question.
Mr Morrison quickly answered, “Happy to do that, Mr Speaker.”
Mr Smith shot back, “I don’t care whether you’re happy or not. You need to return to the question.”
Mr Lim wrote in the caption to his post, “True Parliamentary Democracy At Work -Australian Speaker Of Parliament Insists The PM Answers The Question!
“Doesn’t care whether the PM is happy or not!
“Can’t dodge or siam in the Parliament down under! That is the function of Parliament. It is to hold the government of the day to account and the Opposition must always remember its role too, which is to ask tough questions!
“Every Parliamentary Question has and makes a point!”
The post has been viewed over 7000 times and has also been widely shared.
However, one commenter wrote, “We can only dream of this happening here.”
Others agree that in Singapore, Parliament is quite different.
Still, others expressed the hope that one day this type of exchange will become a reality.
One netizen suggested that ministers take a pay cut as this would help them understand the plight of people better.
Others also expressed concern for those who are suffering.
