Seven to 13 days before the flight date is the best time to book tickets, says Expedia

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November 8, 2019

TISG_Expedia_110619 — Expedia says the best time to book is seven to 13 days before the flight date. Photo: Expedia booking page screen shot

While the adage “the earlier, the better” holds true in other situations, travel booking site Expedia recently busted that myth when it comes to booking flights.

Expedia’s expert travel tip—to book seven to 13 days before the flight date—can apparently result in up to 30 percent savings.

If you think it’s too late to plan a Christmas or end-of-the-year vacation, think again. While airfare prices are known to skyrocket during this favoured travel season, booking site Expedia shared a few little-known industry tips in a statement it released at the end of October.

Booking airfare

While most of us believe that we must book flights as early as possible to get the best prices, Expedia revealed that this is a fallacy.

“When it comes to booking flights, common sense typically calls for planning ahead in order to get the best deals. But the sweet spot for flights can vary, with seasonality, travel dates and other factors that could influence flight prices,” said Lavinia Rajaram, Brand Expedia’s APAC head of communications.

Based on historical data from its site, Expedia noted that the worst time to book your flight is actually 61 to 90 days in advance.

Surprisingly, the best time to book your flight is seven to 13 days before the date, which can yield up to 30 percent savings.

Booking accommodation

Expedia also shared its insights into the best time for booking hotels and other accommodation.

Book your hotel room on the day itself or up to six days before your check-in date, says Expedia, explaining that these almost last-minute dates can result in 30 percent lower rates.

As to the worst time to book accommodation—91 days or more in advance will likely yield much higher prices.

Singaporeans’ year-end travel habits

Singaporeans love to travel, and Expedia’s data shows that they’re heading for colder climes to escape the constant heat and humidity of the home.

Pulling on Singaporean customers’ flight and accommodation data for the period of December 15, 2019 to January 14, 2020, the top favourites for year-end travels are Tokyo, London, Seoul, Taipei and Bangkok.

Not only are Singaporeans seeking colder weather, but they’ve also been going on more long-haul flights to the likes of London, Paris, Barcelona and Los Angeles during the year-end travel season. Those destinations have enjoyed year-on-year growth rates of over 60 percent in-flight demand.

619Top 10 fastest growing year-end destinations for Singaporean travellers/Expedia

Destinations that are cheaper in 2019

In its statement, Expedia also noted that flight rates to and accommodations in the following destinations are cheaper this year compared to 2018:

Vancouver—flights up to 20 percent cheaper, hotels up to 29 percent cheaper
Shanghai—flights up to 26 percent cheaper, hotels up to 9 percent cheaper
New York—fights up to 28 percent cheaper, hotels up to 6 percent cheaper
Los Angeles—flights up to 17 percent cheaper, hotels up to 7 percent cheaper
Paris—flights up to 7 percent cheaper, hotels up to 15 percent cheaper

If you follow Expedia’s expert trick, there’s still loads of time to book an amazing Christmas or year-end vacation. /TISG

BTS’s Jungkook involved in minor car accident

By

Lydia Koh

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November 8, 2019

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BTS’s Jungkook was in a minor car accident recently and his management released an official statement regarding the incident.

Here’s the statement from Big Hit Entertainment:

“This is a statement regarding member Jungkook’s car accident.

The police have not closed this case yet, so we cannot reveal the exact details, but Jungkook was driving his car last week when he had a minor collision with another vehicle due to his own mistake.

Both the victim and Jungkook did not sustain any major injuries.

Jungkook admitted that he violated the road Traffic Act immediately after the accident. The scene of the accident was resolved and police questioning was completed according to the due process, and an amicable settlement was made with the victim afterwards.

We once again apologize to the victim, and we also express apologies for causing concern to fans.

Thank you.”

BTS’s Jungkook is being questioned by the Seoul Yongsan Police Station that booked Jungkook on the charge of violating the Road Traffic Act on Nov 4.

On Nov 2, while driving his Mercedes-Benz in the neighbourhood of Hannam in Yongsan District, Jungkook violated a traffic regulation and hit a taxi.

The taxi driver and Jungkook received treatment at the hospital for bruises.

A source representing the police said they cannot disclose the exact details of the investigation on the accident.

BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys is a South Korean boy band formed in Seoul in 2013.

Its members are Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook. The group co-writes and produces most of their material.

In other news, K-pop boy group BTS has officially become the second-ever global artist to top the Social 50 chart in a total of 150 weeks after Justin Bieber according to Billboard on Oct 31.

This marks their 120th consecutive #1 as the group tops the Billboard Social 50 chart for the week of Oct 24.

At 163 weeks, Justin Bieber currently holds the highest number of weeks as #1 on the Social 50 chart.

Taylor Swift and Rihanna have a record of 28 weeks and 21 weeks, respectively.

Jacqueline Wong rumoured to be pregnant

By

Lydia Koh

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November 8, 2019

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The News Straits Times quoted China Post as saying that TVB actress Jacqueline Wong is rumoured to be pregnant and it is being circulated in Chinese social media channels.

Wong, 30 vomited while filming her drama The Maid Alliance last March which sparked the pregnancy rumours.

She said that she had a cold and that her former boyfriend Kenneth Ma brought her to see a doctor.

Ma broke up with Wong when she was caught kissing singer-actor Andy Hui in a taxi in April.

Ma is due to be in Singapore for the StarHub Night Of Stars event on 24 Nov.

The latest rumour is based on the silence from Wong who left for Los Angeles to avoid public backlash after the kissing affair.

She is believed to be learning to direct and acting there but speculation is rife she is preparing for childbirth.

Her employer TVB has given her a second chance by broadcasting her shows that were initially canned.

Wong has not returned to Hong Kong to take upon the opportunity or issues a statement about her new fate.

Veteran Singapore-born actor Hugo Ng has asked the public to forgive Wong.

According to JayneStars as reported by News Straits Times Ng told radio announcer Candy Chea on the RTHK radio programme ‘Those Were The Days’ that Wong, despite her negative image was a serious, disciplined and talented actress.

“She is very smart, and quickly found her chemistry with the main actor Owen Cheung in our new TVB drama series Finding Her Voice.

“Private lives and careers should be taken separately. These are two different things that cannot be put together.

“We’ve all made mistakes before that is why it is important for all of us to have forgiving hearts,” said Ng.

Criticism against Heng Swee Keat for “scoring an own goal” in motion against WP continues

By

Jewel Stolarchuk

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November 8, 2019

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The criticism Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat earned, in the wake of his less-than-stellar performance in Parliament as he introduced a motion against Workers’ Party (WP) politicians, continues.

In a commentary published yesterday (6 Nov), Yahoo Singapore Assistant Editor Nicholas Yong noted that the motion “should have been a slam dunk” but the DPM ended up scoring an “own goal”. Mr Yong was present in the House as DPM Heng moved to require Low Thia Khiang and Sylvia Lim to “recuse themselves” from Aljunied-Hougang Town Council’s (AHTC) financial matters.

Calling his hour-long speech “harsh in tone but rambling in delivery,” Mr Yong said that DPM Heng – who is expected to succeed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as head of government after the next election – “was supposed to carry the ball” but instead he “fumbled” and “dropped the ball” when Parliament convened on Tuesday (5 Nov).

Revealing that Mr Heng struggled to defend his motion during the ensuing debate, Mr Yong recalled: “Instead, just minutes into the debate on the motion, Heng had to call for a time-out. He hummed and hawed, flipping through his folder like a student stumbling through his class presentation. And it all happened under persistent questioning from Lim and even typically mild-mannered Hougang MP Png Eng Huat.”

The DPM asked for a recess to consider Ms Lim’s point that it was improper for him to raise such a motion. Although WP chief Pritam Singh protested that the House had just taken a 20-minute break, Mr Heng was granted a ten-minute adjournment by Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin.

Although other office-holders like Edwin Tong came to Mr Heng’s rescue and engaged in heated exchanges with the WP after the break, Mr Yong opined: “And just like that, the game plan was upended.” He added that the efforts of Mr Heng’s colleagues came “too late to undo the own goal scored by Heng.”

Revealing that this is not the first time he has observed that the ruling party’s fourth-generation (4G) leaders “were unable to think on their feet,” Mr Yong said: “We have been told time and again that the 4G leaders are ready to take over. They need to do a better job of convincing Singaporeans of this.”

Read Mr Yong’s commentary in full HERE.

Despite appearing flustered Heng Swee Keat manages to pass motion against Low Thia Khiang and Sylvia Lim

Edwin Tong comes to “fumbling” Heng Swee Keat’s rescue in AHTC parliamentary debate

Pritam Singh hits back with Keppel scandal as Indranee Rajah suggests WP will have “no moral authority” in the future

Netizen wants to riot because of new PMD law

By

Obbana Rajah

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November 8, 2019

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Screen Shot 2019-05-28 at 7:52am — Photo: You Tube screen grab from PassionGadgets Shop

In a series of expletive-laden posts on Instagram, one user took to calling out the establishment for implementing a rule that banned electric scooters from footpaths.

The woman, only known by her instagram handle as ‘bby’ wrote that Singapore is “probably (going to) have riots soon”.

She also wrote, “y’all can go ahead and tell me that rioting is illegal in sg but I’m sure that (people) would fight for their rights because government (are) doing s***s”.

She opined, “F*****g idiots only think that the accidents occur because of pmd riders, lol haha what (about) those walking on the cycling path w earpods blasting music in their ears and didn’t heard the pmd riders telling them to excuse?”

“No riding on pavement, roads and even grass? Then ride where? Then in the first place y’all shouldn’t even come out w ul2272. I pity those that use their hard earned money to get the ul2272 scooters jus (sic) to go by law”.

On 10 September 2018, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced that the Parliament had passed the Land Transport (Enforcement Measures) Bill which adopts UL2272 as the new safety standard for Personal Mobility Devices. This was to tackle the rampant cases of fire involving poorly made devices. These fires largely consisted of scooters that were illegally modified, purchased from errant online sellers, and models that did not adhere to the Spring Singapore safety certification requirements.

Electric scooters will be banned from footpaths in Singapore from Tuesday (Nov 5), with offenders facing fines of up to S$2,000 and jail time of up to three months once the ban is strictly enforced from 2020.

The use of e-scooters remains banned on roads here, although the use of such devices will be allowed on cycling paths and park connector networks.

Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min said “From Jan 1, 2020, we will carry out strict enforcement, and those caught riding an e-scooter on footpaths will be liable for a fine up to S$2,000 and/or jail up to three months”. /TISG

Emirates Airline profits nearly triple in half-year

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AFP

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November 7, 2019

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Emirates Airline, the largest carrier in the Middle East, on Thursday reported a 282-percent rise in half-year net profits, mainly thanks to a drop in operating costs and fuel prices.

The result was a change of fortunes for the Dubai carrier, which for the full-year to the end of March took a heavy hit from high oil prices and currency fluctuations.

The carrier said it posted a net profit of $235 million in the first six months of the current financial year compared to just $62 million in the same period last year.

The airline attributed the soaring profits to a sharp drop in the cost of fuel which accounts for almost a third of company spending.

An eight-percent drop in operating costs and a rise in the number of passengers per flight also contributed to the healthy results.

“The lower fuel cost was a welcome respite as we saw our fuel bill drop by AED 2.0 billion ($545 million) compared to the same period last year,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline and Group, said in a statement.

“However, unfavourable currency movements wiped off approximately AED 1.2 billion ($327 million) from our profits,” Sheikh Ahmed said.

On average, fuel costs were 13 percent lower compared to the same period last year, the airline said.

In the last full year, Emirates’ net profit dived 69 percent to just $237 million due to high oil prices and currency fluctuations.

“The global outlook is difficult to predict, but we expect the airline and travel industry to continue facing headwinds over the next six months with stiff competition adding downward pressure on margins,” Sheikh Ahmed said.

The airline said its revenue in the April to September period dropped three percent to $12.9 billion compared to $13.3 billion in the same period last year.

Emirates carried 29.6 million passengers in the six-month period, down two percent.

The airline serves a global network spanning over 158 destinations in 84 countries. Its fleet stands at 267 large aircraft, including over more than 100 Airbus 380 superjumbos.

China slams British MP university report as ‘fictitious’

By

AFP

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November 7, 2019

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China Flag — A Chinese Flag floating in Hong Kong - Picture Credit: YouTube grab

Beijing on Thursday criticised as “fictitious” a report by British politicians claiming there was “alarming evidence” of Chinese interference on university campuses.

The report, which was released Tuesday, cited examples where Beijing-linked organisations appeared to suppress freedom of speech at institutions of higher education.

One academic told lawmakers he saw Confucius Institute officials confiscating papers which mentioned Taiwan — which Beijing considers a rebel province awaiting reunification — at an academic conference.

Likened to France’s Alliance Francaise, Spain’s Instituto Cervantes and the British Council, the Confucius Institute teaches students about Chinese language and culture at hundreds of universities around the world.

Christopher Hughes, a professor at the London School of Economics, said he had seen Chinese students in the British capital engaged in activities to “undermine Hong Kong protestors”.

“China has always adhered to a principle of non-interference in internal affairs,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a press briefing.

The UK lawmakers should “do more to… advance China-UK relations, instead of making fictitious remarks and sowing discord,” Geng added.

The report comes as pro-democracy demonstrations in semi-autonomous Hong Kong have sparked tensions across universities in countries such as Australia and New Zealand, as students organise rallies both in support of — and against — the protest movement.

In Australia, public rallies and acts of solidarity have been staged at several campuses, angering some mainland Chinese students who have physically confronted protestors and torn down message boards.

The Chinese government does not appear to have tried to quiet the tensions, with consulates in Auckland and Brisbane praising the “spontaneous patriotism” of pro-Beijing students.

Hong Kong has been convulsed by five months of huge and increasingly violent protests calling for greater democratic freedoms and police accountability — representing the biggest challenge to Beijing’s rule since the city was handed back to Britain in 1997.

In July, Australian education minister Dan Tehan said the government was looking at whether deals between thirteen local universities and the Confucius Institute breached foreign interference laws.

It came after the Sydney Morning Herald published 11 of the 13 contracts between the Confucius Institute and Australian universities.

Four contracts featured clauses giving the organisation final say on “teaching quality” and stated activities must respect “cultural custom”.

In return, the universities received minimum funding of Aus$100,000-$150,000 and 3,000 Chinese books and other materials.

Scores of Indian farmers arrested over polluting fires

By

AFP

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November 7, 2019

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YouTube video screen grab of Amazon fires

More than 80 farmers have been arrested in northern India for starting fires that contributed to the recent pollution crisis in New Delhi and other cities, officials said Thursday.

Each winter the post-harvest burning of crop stubble covers swaths of the region in toxic smog, which combines with car and factory emissions to turn Delhi into the world’s most polluted capital.

India’s top court this week ordered a crackdown on illegal stubble-burning, but the fires continued across Punjab and Haryana states — with many started at night to try and avoid detection.

A senior Punjab police officer said more than 17,000 farm fires had been reported in the state in the past three days, with 4,741 on Wednesday alone.

“More than 84 people have been arrested for violating the law. Cases have been filed against 174 farmers,” the officer told AFP.

Punjab and Haryana make up a key agricultural region that produces nearly 18 million tonnes of rice each year. This, in turn, creates nearly 20 million tonnes of crop stubble — most of which is burnt.

Authorities said more than 48,000 farm fires had been reported in the two states since late September — a dramatic increase from 30,000 cases in 2018.

The Supreme Court ordered a complete stop to the fires on Monday and on Wednesday slammed local governments for not taking action, instructing them to pay hard-up farmers to stop burning the stubble.

“You just want to sit in your ivory towers and rule. You are not bothered and are letting the people die,” said Justice Arun Mishra.

Premature deaths
Pollution levels in the Indian capital remained bad on Thursday, four days after one of its worst pollution attacks in several years during which schools were closed and a public health emergency declared.

Dirty air causes hundreds of thousands of premature deaths in Indian cities each year, according to medical studies.

Tiny particles from the fires, which can enter the bloodstream and penetrate the lungs and heart, get blown over New Delhi.

In the winter, cooler temperatures prevent pollutants from dispersing, while smoke from millions of Diwali firecrackers also help turn the capital’s skies a putrid yellow.

Meanwhile, in Pakistan, air pollution forced the closure of thousands of schools in Lahore, with a local environment agency spokesman blaming the poisonous haze on crop-burning in India.

Lahore, home to at least six million people, is Pakistan’s second-largest city, and is less than an hour from the Indian border

However Usman Buzdar, chief minister for Pakistan’s central Punjab province, said similar burning takes place in Pakistan, and his administration is tackling the problem.

“Administration is already on high alert and have tasked them to escalate actions against crop burning and other factors that contribute to smog,” he said.

Twitter user Ammar Ali Jan wrote that the city was unbearable.

“The smog is impossible to escape. We destroyed our water resources. Now our air is hazardous. We have turned elements of life into vehicles of death,” said Jan.

Baghdadi’s wife revealed IS group secrets after capture

By

AFP

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November 7, 2019

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The wife of slain Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi revealed “a lot of information” about the jihadist group’s “inner workings” after she was captured last year, a Turkish official said.

The official said that Baghdadi’s spouse identified herself as Rania Mahmoud but was in fact Asma Fawzi Muhammad Al-Qubaysi.

She was said to be the “first wife” of the IS leader, who was killed in a US special forces raid in Syria last month.

The woman was arrested on June 2, 2018 in the province of Hatay, near the Syrian border, along with 10 others, including Baghdadi’s daughter, who identified herself as Leila Jabeer.

The official said the family links were confirmed using a DNA sample of Baghdadi provided by Iraqi authorities.

“We discovered (the wife’s) real identity pretty quickly. At that point, she volunteered a lot of information about Baghdadi and the inner workings of ISIS,” the official said.

“We were able to confirm a lot of things that we already knew. We also obtained new information that led to a series of arrests elsewhere.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed for the first time on Wednesday that she had been detained.

“We caught his wife — I say this today for the first time — but we didn’t make a big fuss about it,” Erdogan told a gathering of students in Ankara.

He confirmed that Turkey had also captured Baghdadi’s sister and brother-in-law.

Erdogan took a swipe at the United States for making a big deal of Baghdadi’s killing, saying: “They started a very big communication operation.”

The IS leader was killed in a US special forces raid carried out with the help of Kurdish fighters in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, just across the border from Turkey.

According to the US account, Baghdadi ran into a dead-end tunnel in his hideout and detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and two children.

The raid came in the wake of a Turkish military offensive against the Kurdish militants, who have been a close ally of the West in the fight against IS, but are viewed as terrorists by Ankara.

Hashtag Saudi Arabia: Chasing critics on Twitter

By

AFP

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November 7, 2019

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The US Justice Department has charged three people, including two Saudis, with spying on Twitter users critical of the kingdom’s royal family.

The trio worked to unmask the ownership details behind dissident Twitter accounts on behalf of someone prosecutors designated “Royal Family Member-1”, which The Washington Post reported was Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler.

Here is a look at how Saudi Arabia has cracked down on dissent and criticism on social media.

‘Lord of the flies’Saud al-Qahtani, the royal court’s media czar and a close confidant of Prince Mohammed, has long elicited fear in the kingdom, earning nicknames such as “troll master”, “Mr Hashtag” and “lord of the flies” for managing an electronic army to intimidate critics of the kingdom.

Qahtani was sacked over his suspected role in the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year. He has not appeared in public since the murder and his whereabouts are unknown.

Last year, The New York Times reported that Qahtani spearheaded an official Saudi effort to harass and silence the kingdom’s critics on Twitter by using troll farms.

Qahtani also “tried to buy tools that would let him ban Twitter accounts” of critics, according to a Bellingcat investigation.

In September, Twitter said it shut down thousands of accounts worldwide for spreading misinformation, including some artificially amplifying pro-Saudi messaging as part of a regional propaganda war.

It also shut down Qahtani’s account, which had some 1.3 million followers.

Aggressive diplomacySaudi Arabia has also deployed Twitter to go after governments critical of Saudi Arabia, including rival Qatar which has faced a Riyadh-led economic boycott since June 2017.

A bitter row erupted with Ottawa last year after an Arabic language tweet on August 5 from the Canadian embassy in Riyadh — calling for the “immediate release” of activists jailed in the kingdom — infuriated the Saudi government.

Saudi Arabia subsequently expelled Canada’s ambassador and froze all new trade, in a clearly combative approach to international censure.

Multiple Western officials said Canada was asked to delete that tweet, which in Arabic is seen to have the potential to go viral in the kingdom, an absolute monarchy known for its tightly controlled public messaging.

While the message was also tweeted in English, a Western official said the Arabic version was interpreted locally as an attempt to “communicate directly” with Saudi people — a serious infraction in the eyes of the kingdom.

Staying out of troubleSaudi Arabia has more than 11 million Twitter users, according to marketing and research firm Talkwalker.

Around 70 percent of the country’s 34 million people are “active social media users”, Talkwalker says.

But the crackdown on dissidents has prompted many Saudis to shut down their Twitter accounts — including those engaged constructively in critiquing Prince Mohammed’s reforms.

Growing nationalism also appears to be causing alarm.

In a televised debate last year, Shura Council member Abdallah al-Fawzan said Saudis had the right to brand someone a “traitor” if that person fails to defend the country or chooses to remain silent.

Saudi economist Essam al-Zamil was targeted by authorities last year after he tweeted criticism of the government’s planned public listing of state oil giant Aramco.

Zamil, “who had called into question Saudi projections of revenue from the Aramco initial public offering”, is on trial for alleged membership of the Muslim Brotherhood, according to Human Rights Watch.

Seven to 13 days before the flight date is the best time to book tickets, says Expedia

Booking airfare

Booking accommodation

Singaporeans’ year-end travel habits

Destinations that are cheaper in 2019

BTS’s Jungkook involved in minor car accident

“This is a statement regarding member Jungkook’s car accident.

The police have not closed this case yet, so we cannot reveal the exact details, but Jungkook was driving his car last week when he had a minor collision with another vehicle due to his own mistake.

Both the victim and Jungkook did not sustain any major injuries.

Jungkook admitted that he violated the road Traffic Act immediately after the accident. The scene of the accident was resolved and police questioning was completed according to the due process, and an amicable settlement was made with the victim afterwards.

We once again apologize to the victim, and we also express apologies for causing concern to fans.

Thank you.”

Jacqueline Wong rumoured to be pregnant

Criticism against Heng Swee Keat for “scoring an own goal” in motion against WP continues

Netizen wants to riot because of new PMD law

Emirates Airline profits nearly triple in half-year

China slams British MP university report as ‘fictitious’

Scores of Indian farmers arrested over polluting fires

Baghdadi’s wife revealed IS group secrets after capture

Hashtag Saudi Arabia: Chasing critics on Twitter

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