• City state has applied to have its beloved hawker scene, which dates back to mid-1800s, recognised on Unesco List of Intangible Cultural Heritage
  
• Thousands of owners of food stalls – popular with locals and tourists – form Facebook group to promote their businesses during Covid-19 outbreak
  

• On Tuesday, Apple is holding a launch event where it will reveal this year’s iPhone lineup. 
  
• This year’s iPhone launch is a significant one. It could be the first major case redesign since 2018 and the expectation that Apple’s new iPhones will support 5G cellular networks have investors hoping for a big upgrade cycle.
  
• “We expect this fall’s launch to be the most significant iPhone event in years,” Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty wrote this week.
  

(CNN)President Donald Trump takes his Covid denial tour back to the campaign trail Monday as the tense final stretch of an election now three weeks away gets a fresh jolt with Senate hearings on his Supreme Court pick Amy Coney Barrett.

Trump, who announced Sunday, without providing evidence, that he has tested "totally negative" after his bout with the virus, plans to hold his first rally since his diagnosis was publicly disclosed, in Florida, in what risks turning into yet another super spreader event.

"I'm immune. So, the President is in very good shape to fight the battles," Trump said on Fox's "Sunday Morning Futures," in comments that misrepresented his own capacity to spread the virus if he is exposed to it again. A tweet along the same lines earned a warning from Twitter that the President was spreading misleading information about the virus. The President's proclamations about his own health followed another opaque memo from his physician, who cleared Trump to end isolation but who hasn't taken reporters' questions in a week.


- Continue reading -

MELBOURNE, Oct 12 — The virus that causes Covid-19 can survive on banknotes, glass and stainless steel for up to 28 days, much longer than the flu virus, Australian researchers said today, highlighting the need for cleaning and handwashing to combat the virus.

Researchers at Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, found that at 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) the SARS-COV-2 virus remained infectious for 28 days on smooth surfaces such as plastic banknotes and glass found on mobile phone screens. The study was published in Virology Journal.

- Continue reading -

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — The fall of Barisan Nasional in 2018 after six decades in power changed Malaysia’s political landscape.

It has opened up avenues to more political players heading into the next general election, including a group of NGOs called Gerak Independent with a unique premise.

The group is a collaboration between Malaysian Action for Justice, Unity Foundation (Maju), I Am The Third Force, KitaBantuKita, and Malaysia First.

- Continue reading -

PETALING JAYA: The National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) has urged the government to play a bigger role by setting up a special committee to protect both airline businesses and staff from an economic downturn.

In a statement today, Nufam said this would help airlines and thousands of employees survive at a time when Covid-19 travel restrictions have greatly impacted the industry.

The union said it was waiting for a response from the transport ministry and those in the aviation sector to discuss the matter.

It warned the ministry not to make any decisions without consulting workers’ unions and associations first, and urged the government to avoid merging airlines as it would further impact airline staff.

- Continue reading -