2015 was Singapore's warmest year on record: MSS
It was also the 2nd-driest year after 1997, according to the Meteorological Service Singapore.
Posted 22 Mar 2016 11:02 Updated 22 Mar 2016 11:10
SINGAPORE: The average mean temperature for the Republic last year was 28.3°C, making it the warmest recorded year in the country's history - tied with 1997 and 1998, according to the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) on Tuesday (Mar 22).
The temperature in 2015 exceeded the climatological average by 0.8°C, MSS added.
The meteorological agency said that in 2015, Singapore saw warmer than normal monthly temperatures for all months except February, with the warmest months being July, October, November and December. December 2015 had the highest recorded temperatures since Singapore’s temperature records began in 1929.
The warming trend in Singapore has been observed over a number of decades, MSS said. The average rise of 0.25°C per decade from 1948 to 2015 in the Republic is higher than the global warming rate of 0.12°C for a similar period (1951 to 2012).
According to MSS, this trend appears to be accompanied by an increase in the number of warm days and warm nights with temperatures above 34.1°C, occurring against a background of year-to-year climate variability mostly associated with El Niño and La Niña events.
It added that 2015 was also the second driest year recorded in Singapore, with only 1,266.8mm of rainfall recorded. The drier weather in the second half of 2015 was exacerbated by the prevailing El Nino, which in turn contributed to one of the longest and most severe transboundary haze events experienced in Singapore, MSS said.
The driest year on record was 1997, with 1,118.9mm of rainfall.
EL NINO "GRADUALLY WEAKENING"
Prevailing El Nino conditions, which peaked in December after developing in mid-2015, are "gradually weakening" said MSS. This is forecast to weaken further around mid-2016, where conditions transition to neutral, the authority added.
For the later part of 2016, there is is equal likelihood for neutral conditions to persist or for La Nina, added. MSS.
However, for the next one or two months, warmer conditions can still be expected with the mean monthly temperatures likely to be significantly higher than their respective long-term averages.
"More warm days with daily maximum temperatures between 33°C and 35°C can be expected," said MSS.
In its release on Tuesday, MSS also announced the free "Weather@SG" app that provides the latest national forecasts, as well as warnings and advisories. It will be available on the Apple App Store and the Android Play Store.
- CNA/mz
- wong chee tat :)
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Singapore cyber-security provider e-Cop relaunches as Quann
Singapore cyber-security provider e-Cop relaunches as Quann
The company says it is expanding its cyber-security offerings and upgrading its Security Operation Centres.
By Calvin Hui
Posted 21 Mar 2016 14:19 Updated 21 Mar 2016 23:56
SINGAPORE: Amid growing demand for cyber-security in the region, services provider e-Cop on Monday (Mar 21) announced that it will be relaunching as Quann.
The company, which is a business unit under security organisation Certis CISCO, said the relaunch comes as it expands security offerings and upgrades its next-generation Security Operations Centres.
According to a report from Micro Market Monitor, the cyber-security market in the Asia-Pacific region is projected to expand from US$17.19 billion in 2015 to US$30.39 billion by 2020.
Quann's annual revenue grew by more than 30 per cent per year from 2011 to 2015. This exceeded the industry's growth rate of 13.7 per cent, the firm said.
Research firm Gartner said the rapid change in how people use technology has made it harder for companies to keep up-to-date. "Everything has changed technologically in the ways that we have been working in organisations or banking,” said Mr Ammol Singh, its principal research analyst.
“Security also has to advance on the same terms in order to meet expectations of those innovations. We are seeing attacks all at different surfaces that a user communicates with. We have got threats on mobile phones, web services and on any different devices that you communicate with in your daily lives," he added.
On top of establishing strategic alliances with fellow cyber-security companies Palo Alto Networks and Team8 Industrial, Quann also signed agreements with the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Management University on Monday.
Under the five-year partnership, Quann will jointly develop enterprise cyber-security training modules for students and cyber-security professionals. There will also be joint research and development of cyber-security courses, as well as internship and recruitment programmes.
"We recognise that as the cyber-security market grows worldwide, we also need to evolve as these cyber threats have evolved," said managing director of Quann, Foo Siang-Tse. The firm identified five markets where it sees greater growth opportunities - Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.
- CNA/jo
- wong chee tat :)
The company says it is expanding its cyber-security offerings and upgrading its Security Operation Centres.
By Calvin Hui
Posted 21 Mar 2016 14:19 Updated 21 Mar 2016 23:56
SINGAPORE: Amid growing demand for cyber-security in the region, services provider e-Cop on Monday (Mar 21) announced that it will be relaunching as Quann.
The company, which is a business unit under security organisation Certis CISCO, said the relaunch comes as it expands security offerings and upgrades its next-generation Security Operations Centres.
According to a report from Micro Market Monitor, the cyber-security market in the Asia-Pacific region is projected to expand from US$17.19 billion in 2015 to US$30.39 billion by 2020.
Quann's annual revenue grew by more than 30 per cent per year from 2011 to 2015. This exceeded the industry's growth rate of 13.7 per cent, the firm said.
Research firm Gartner said the rapid change in how people use technology has made it harder for companies to keep up-to-date. "Everything has changed technologically in the ways that we have been working in organisations or banking,” said Mr Ammol Singh, its principal research analyst.
“Security also has to advance on the same terms in order to meet expectations of those innovations. We are seeing attacks all at different surfaces that a user communicates with. We have got threats on mobile phones, web services and on any different devices that you communicate with in your daily lives," he added.
On top of establishing strategic alliances with fellow cyber-security companies Palo Alto Networks and Team8 Industrial, Quann also signed agreements with the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Management University on Monday.
Under the five-year partnership, Quann will jointly develop enterprise cyber-security training modules for students and cyber-security professionals. There will also be joint research and development of cyber-security courses, as well as internship and recruitment programmes.
"We recognise that as the cyber-security market grows worldwide, we also need to evolve as these cyber threats have evolved," said managing director of Quann, Foo Siang-Tse. The firm identified five markets where it sees greater growth opportunities - Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.
- CNA/jo
- wong chee tat :)
FundedHere commences operations in Singapore
FundedHere commences operations in Singapore
The equity and debt crowdfunding platform says it will connect start-ups in Southeast Asia and China with accredited investors in Singapore, with investment amounts starting from S$5,000.
By Akshobh Giridharadas, Channel NewsAsia
Posted 21 Mar 2016 22:51 Updated 21 Mar 2016 23:15
SINGAPORE: An equity-based and lending crowdfunding platform on Monday (Mar 21) commenced operations in Singapore, following its receipt of a Capital Markets Services licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
FundedHere said it will connect start-ups in Southeast Asia and China with accredited investors in Singapore, with investment amounts starting from S$5,000.
Under Singapore law, accredited investors must have at least S$2 million in net personal assets, excluding the primary residence. Alternatively, they must have an annual income of at least S$300,000.
FundedHere said it has reviewed more than 100 start-ups, mostly from Singapore. Of these, about 10 have the potential to be crowdfunded. It also hopes to register at least 1,000 accredited investors by the end of this year.
Crowdfunding is a multi-billion dollar industry in the West. The concept has also taken off in Asia, although most platforms in the region tend to be reward-based, whereby donors receive a gift or a prototype in exchange for donations.
- CNA/dl
- wong chee tat :)
The equity and debt crowdfunding platform says it will connect start-ups in Southeast Asia and China with accredited investors in Singapore, with investment amounts starting from S$5,000.
By Akshobh Giridharadas, Channel NewsAsia
Posted 21 Mar 2016 22:51 Updated 21 Mar 2016 23:15
SINGAPORE: An equity-based and lending crowdfunding platform on Monday (Mar 21) commenced operations in Singapore, following its receipt of a Capital Markets Services licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
FundedHere said it will connect start-ups in Southeast Asia and China with accredited investors in Singapore, with investment amounts starting from S$5,000.
Under Singapore law, accredited investors must have at least S$2 million in net personal assets, excluding the primary residence. Alternatively, they must have an annual income of at least S$300,000.
FundedHere said it has reviewed more than 100 start-ups, mostly from Singapore. Of these, about 10 have the potential to be crowdfunded. It also hopes to register at least 1,000 accredited investors by the end of this year.
Crowdfunding is a multi-billion dollar industry in the West. The concept has also taken off in Asia, although most platforms in the region tend to be reward-based, whereby donors receive a gift or a prototype in exchange for donations.
- CNA/dl
- wong chee tat :)
2 weeks paternity leave will be made into law: Josephine Teo
2 weeks paternity leave will be made into law: Josephine Teo
The move is part of a wider push to help Singaporeans better balance work and family life, and that it will be discussed at the upcoming Committee and Supply debate in Parliament, says the Senior Minister of State.
By John Leong
Posted 19 Mar 2016 15:59 Updated 19 Mar 2016 22:58
COPENHAGEN: While a second week of paternity leave can currently only be used if an employer allows it under a voluntary scheme, it will soon be made into law.
Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo, who oversees population matters, said this on Friday (Mar 18) as she wrapped up an overseas trip to Seoul and Copenhagen to study marriage and parenthood trends.
She said the move is part of a wider push to help Singaporeans better balance work and family life, and that it will be discussed at the upcoming Committee of Supply debate in Parliament.
In Denmark, 60 per cent of men take up the two weeks of legislated paid leave. That is a higher proportion than in Singapore, where 40 per cent of fathers use their one week of Government-paid paternity leave.
Since January last year, fathers could receive an additional week, but only if their companies agreed to it.
"The willingness is there," said Mrs Teo. "In fact you will hear a lot of fathers talking about the joy that they get out of bonding with their children at different ages, and starting from a very, very young age, soon after birth. It’s a good thing. I think the time has come for Singapore, for fathers, because they’re willing to play a bigger part and we should enable it."
She said employers will be given enough time to prepare for this, citing the four months notice they were given during legislation for the first week of paternity leave.
Mrs Teo added that there are also plans to expand the recently introduced shared parental leave system, where a father can use up to a week of a mother's 16-week entitlement.
EMPLOYERS CAN PLAY "A BIG ROLE"
Pointing to how many Danish companies have already introduced flexi-work arrangements, the Senior Minister of State said employers in Singapore can also play a big role in creating a pro-family environment for Singaporeans by following suit.
In a 2015 study, Denmark was found to have the best work-life balance in the developed world.
Early childhood education providers, whether they are home-based or in kindergartens, typically open from 6.30am to 5pm. While some of them have explored extended hours for parents who work late, there has been very little demand for such a service.
In fact, many parents pick their kids up from as early as 3pm, thanks to the option of flexi-work hours offered by many employers here.
"What seems clear to me, when we talk about flexible work arrangements, it need not be promoted as something exclusively for parents or caregivers," said Mrs Teo. "Whatever it is that is your need, making flexible work arrangements available is a smart move on the part of the employers."
"It is win-win-win," she added. "It could be a win for employers, because they stand a better chance of attracting and retaining talents; win for the employee who needs the flexible work arrangements; it could be a win for the co-workers too, because by making sure that you have an environment where the mutual support is strong, everyone can be productive together. That is the conversation that will happen."
Mrs Teo said that another area that the Government will pay more attention to is childcare, particularly for kids below 18 months of age.
She had observed such options earlier on the trip in Seoul, and also in Copenhagen, where there were both smaller scale centre-based, and home-based models. Such initiatives could soon be piloted in Singapore.
"What is very clear is that there will be a need, there will be an increasing need and the sooner we test out the ideas the better for us. So we are open to different formats at this point in time," Mrs Teo said.
A series of initiatives that addressed work-life balance in Denmark has seen its Total Fertility Rate or TFR recover to around 1.7, following a sharp drop beginning from 2010.
Likewise, Mrs Teo said Singapore will need a a combination of interventions to improve its TFR beyond the current 1.25.
- CNA/av
- wong chee tat :)
The move is part of a wider push to help Singaporeans better balance work and family life, and that it will be discussed at the upcoming Committee and Supply debate in Parliament, says the Senior Minister of State.
By John Leong
Posted 19 Mar 2016 15:59 Updated 19 Mar 2016 22:58
COPENHAGEN: While a second week of paternity leave can currently only be used if an employer allows it under a voluntary scheme, it will soon be made into law.
Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo, who oversees population matters, said this on Friday (Mar 18) as she wrapped up an overseas trip to Seoul and Copenhagen to study marriage and parenthood trends.
She said the move is part of a wider push to help Singaporeans better balance work and family life, and that it will be discussed at the upcoming Committee of Supply debate in Parliament.
In Denmark, 60 per cent of men take up the two weeks of legislated paid leave. That is a higher proportion than in Singapore, where 40 per cent of fathers use their one week of Government-paid paternity leave.
Since January last year, fathers could receive an additional week, but only if their companies agreed to it.
"The willingness is there," said Mrs Teo. "In fact you will hear a lot of fathers talking about the joy that they get out of bonding with their children at different ages, and starting from a very, very young age, soon after birth. It’s a good thing. I think the time has come for Singapore, for fathers, because they’re willing to play a bigger part and we should enable it."
She said employers will be given enough time to prepare for this, citing the four months notice they were given during legislation for the first week of paternity leave.
Mrs Teo added that there are also plans to expand the recently introduced shared parental leave system, where a father can use up to a week of a mother's 16-week entitlement.
EMPLOYERS CAN PLAY "A BIG ROLE"
Pointing to how many Danish companies have already introduced flexi-work arrangements, the Senior Minister of State said employers in Singapore can also play a big role in creating a pro-family environment for Singaporeans by following suit.
In a 2015 study, Denmark was found to have the best work-life balance in the developed world.
Early childhood education providers, whether they are home-based or in kindergartens, typically open from 6.30am to 5pm. While some of them have explored extended hours for parents who work late, there has been very little demand for such a service.
In fact, many parents pick their kids up from as early as 3pm, thanks to the option of flexi-work hours offered by many employers here.
"What seems clear to me, when we talk about flexible work arrangements, it need not be promoted as something exclusively for parents or caregivers," said Mrs Teo. "Whatever it is that is your need, making flexible work arrangements available is a smart move on the part of the employers."
"It is win-win-win," she added. "It could be a win for employers, because they stand a better chance of attracting and retaining talents; win for the employee who needs the flexible work arrangements; it could be a win for the co-workers too, because by making sure that you have an environment where the mutual support is strong, everyone can be productive together. That is the conversation that will happen."
Mrs Teo said that another area that the Government will pay more attention to is childcare, particularly for kids below 18 months of age.
She had observed such options earlier on the trip in Seoul, and also in Copenhagen, where there were both smaller scale centre-based, and home-based models. Such initiatives could soon be piloted in Singapore.
"What is very clear is that there will be a need, there will be an increasing need and the sooner we test out the ideas the better for us. So we are open to different formats at this point in time," Mrs Teo said.
A series of initiatives that addressed work-life balance in Denmark has seen its Total Fertility Rate or TFR recover to around 1.7, following a sharp drop beginning from 2010.
Likewise, Mrs Teo said Singapore will need a a combination of interventions to improve its TFR beyond the current 1.25.
- CNA/av
- wong chee tat :)
Blog Updates:
Blog Updates:
Minor updates:
- Update labels on some old posts
Will continue to make minor improvements for this blog!
- wong chee tat :)
Minor updates:
- Update labels on some old posts
Will continue to make minor improvements for this blog!
- wong chee tat :)
ntpd usage
ntpd - NTP daemon program - Ver. 4.2.6p5
Usage: ntpd [ - [] | --[{=| }] ]...
Flg Arg Option-Name Description
-4 no ipv4 Force IPv4 DNS name resolution
- prohibits the option 'ipv6'
-6 no ipv6 Force IPv6 DNS name resolution
- prohibits the option 'ipv4'
-a no authreq Require crypto authentication
- prohibits the option 'authnoreq'
-A no authnoreq Do not require crypto authentication
- prohibits the option 'authreq'
-b no bcastsync Allow us to sync to broadcast servers
-c Str configfile configuration file name
-d no debug-level Increase output debug message level
- may appear multiple times
-D Str set-debug-level Set the output debug message level
- may appear multiple times
-f Str driftfile frequency drift file name
-g no panicgate Allow the first adjustment to be Big
- may appear multiple times
-i Str jaildir Jail directory
-I Str interface Listen on an interface name or address
- may appear multiple times
-k Str keyfile path to symmetric keys
-l Str logfile path to the log file
-L no novirtualips Do not listen to virtual interfaces
-m no mlock Lock memory
-n no nofork Do not fork
-N no nice Run at high priority
-p Str pidfile path to the PID file
- may appear up to 2 times
-P Num priority Process priority
-q no quit Set the time and quit
-r Str propagationdelay Broadcast/propagation delay
Str saveconfigquit Save parsed configuration and quit
-s Str statsdir Statistics file location
-t Str trustedkey Trusted key number
- may appear multiple times
-u Str user Run as userid (or userid:groupid)
- may appear up to 2 times
-U Num updateinterval interval in seconds between scans for new or dropped interfaces
Str var make ARG an ntp variable (RW)
- may appear multiple times
Str dvar make ARG an ntp variable (RW|DEF)
- may appear multiple times
-x no slew Slew up to 600 seconds
-! opt version output version information and exit
-? no help display extended usage information and exit
-! no more-help extended usage information passed thru pager
Options are specified by doubled hyphens and their name or by a single
hyphen and the flag character.
The following option preset mechanisms are supported:
- examining environment variables named NTPD_*
Please send bug reports to:
- wong chee tat :)
Usage: ntpd [ -
Flg Arg Option-Name Description
-4 no ipv4 Force IPv4 DNS name resolution
- prohibits the option 'ipv6'
-6 no ipv6 Force IPv6 DNS name resolution
- prohibits the option 'ipv4'
-a no authreq Require crypto authentication
- prohibits the option 'authnoreq'
-A no authnoreq Do not require crypto authentication
- prohibits the option 'authreq'
-b no bcastsync Allow us to sync to broadcast servers
-c Str configfile configuration file name
-d no debug-level Increase output debug message level
- may appear multiple times
-D Str set-debug-level Set the output debug message level
- may appear multiple times
-f Str driftfile frequency drift file name
-g no panicgate Allow the first adjustment to be Big
- may appear multiple times
-i Str jaildir Jail directory
-I Str interface Listen on an interface name or address
- may appear multiple times
-k Str keyfile path to symmetric keys
-l Str logfile path to the log file
-L no novirtualips Do not listen to virtual interfaces
-m no mlock Lock memory
-n no nofork Do not fork
-N no nice Run at high priority
-p Str pidfile path to the PID file
- may appear up to 2 times
-P Num priority Process priority
-q no quit Set the time and quit
-r Str propagationdelay Broadcast/propagation delay
Str saveconfigquit Save parsed configuration and quit
-s Str statsdir Statistics file location
-t Str trustedkey Trusted key number
- may appear multiple times
-u Str user Run as userid (or userid:groupid)
- may appear up to 2 times
-U Num updateinterval interval in seconds between scans for new or dropped interfaces
Str var make ARG an ntp variable (RW)
- may appear multiple times
Str dvar make ARG an ntp variable (RW|DEF)
- may appear multiple times
-x no slew Slew up to 600 seconds
-! opt version output version information and exit
-? no help display extended usage information and exit
-! no more-help extended usage information passed thru pager
Options are specified by doubled hyphens and their name or by a single
hyphen and the flag character.
The following option preset mechanisms are supported:
- examining environment variables named NTPD_*
Please send bug reports to:
- wong chee tat :)
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