Singapore Botanic Gardens declared UNESCO World Heritage Site

It is Singapore's first World Heritage site and the third Botanic Gardens to be listed as a World Heritage Site, after Kew Gardens in England and the Padua Gardens in Italy.

• By Monica Kotwani, Channel NewsAsia and Nur Afifah Ariffin, Channel NewsAsia
• POSTED: 04 Jul 2015 17:37
 
• UPDATED: 04 Jul 2015 19:09

Singapore Botanic Gardens. (File Photo: Calvin Oh)

•  9649
 
•  228
 
•  19
 
•  Email
•  More

 
• • A
   
  • A
 

BONN, Germany: The Singapore Botanic Gardens is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, after it was inscribed at the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee in Bonn, Germany on Saturday (July 4).

The decision was met with cheers from a jubilant Singapore delegation, led by Culture, Community and Youth Minister, Lawrence Wong. Others in the Singapore delegation included chief executive of the National Heritage Board Rosa Daniel and CEO of the National Parks Board, Kenneth Er.

In his thank you speech, Mr Wong said he was “deeply honoured” to have the Singapore Botanic Gardens inscribed as the nation’s first World Heritage Site. He added: “This is a very humbling experience … and I thank the Chairperson and all the members of the World Heritage Committee for the unanimous and wholehearted endorsement of the recommendation.”

"A great Jubilee year gift to Singaporeans," said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his Facebook page. "The Gardens played an important part in making Singapore a Garden City. Besides supplying shrubs and trees for our parks and roadsides, the Gardens also trained horticulturalists in the school of ornamental horticulture." 

Mr Lee congratulated the National Heritage Board, NParks, and Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth which had worked hard for the successful inscription.

The 156-year-old Singapore attraction joins more than 1,000 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in some 160 countries. It is the third Botanic Gardens to be listed as a World Heritage Site, after Kew Gardens in England and the Padua Gardens in Italy and Singapore's first World Heritage Site.

Singapore's bid was the fifth to be discussed on Saturday, after China, Iran, Mongolia and South Korea. 

The inscription comes almost five years after a feasibility study by the authorities found that the Botanic Gardens was Singapore’s best candidate to achieve UNESCO World Heritage status.

Singapore officially submitted the Gardens' nomination dossier to UNESCO in January last year.

Last September, a technical assessor from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) visited the Gardens. In May, ICOMOS recommended the Gardens to be inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, saying it was an "exceptional example of a British tropical colonial botanic garden in Southeast Asia".

Still, the final decision lay with the 21-member UNESCO World Heritage Committee. Before he left for Bonn, Minister Wong said he was optimistic about the bid, and said the World Heritage status would strengthen conservation efforts at the Gardens.

The Botanic Gardens spans 74-hectares and includes the National Orchid Garden which has over 1,000 orchird species and 2,000 hybrids on display.

Nestled in the heart of Singapore, the Botanic Gardens is the only English-style garden in the tropics. It was also the site where crops were developed for commercial use in Singapore and the region.

Dr Nigel Taylor, director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, said: "The trial of various crops, including rubber, was done behind closed doors. Nowadays, we can go into these areas of the Gardens and see ancient trees that are part of the plants tested for their timber or latex or other properties, and realise that these remnants of this once great economic garden are actually a testimony to the economic survival of the region."

It was once home to a host of animals, including a sloth bear, emus and a leopard. 

The Gardens is also home to Burkill Hall, a colonial house which was built almost 150 years ago. "It's an example of a very rare architectural form, possibly the last surviving example anywhere of what we call the Anglo-Malay plantation-style house," Dr Taylor said.

Next to Burkill Hall lies one of the Gardens' most popular sites - the National Orchid Garden. It was officially opened in 1995 and home to thousands of orchid species including 2,000 hybrid orchids, which are also Singapore's goodwill ambassadors.

More than 200 orchid hybrids are named after celebrities such as Jackie Chan, and foreign dignitaries such as Nelson Mendela and Margaret Thatcher.

Beyond heritage, the Gardens is also a place that has been intricately woven into Singapore's social fabric. On weekends, friends and families enjoy a stroll at the Gardens, or watch musical performances at the Symphony Lake - a long-standing tradition that dates back to 1861. 

Watch Channel NewsAsia's special the Botanic Gardens: Stories and Secrets here.

- CNA/ly/al

Flights cancelled, delayed amid work dispute at Toronto Pearson

About 70 flights in and out of Toronto Pearson International Airport have been canceled due to a dispute between airlines and their fueling company. 

PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

JUL 3, 201510:43 PM

[TORONTO] About 70 flights in and out of Toronto Pearson International Airport have been canceled due to a dispute between airlines and their fueling company.

There have been 31 departing flights canceled as of 10:05 am, along with almost 40 inbound flights, according to the airport's website.

"It's hard to predict" how long the disruptions will last as the dispute is between the airlines and the fueling company, Shabeen Hanifa, a spokeswoman for the airport, said in a phone interview on Friday.

"We're supporting on our end and managing the terminal and airfields."

The dispute is between the airlines and Consolidated Aviation Fueling Toronto, a unit of closely held Allied Aviation Services Inc, based in New York.

Dozens of departing flights at Air Canada, the largest airline operator in the nation, had been canceled or delayed starting at 6:30 am, to destinations including Montreal, Ottawa, New York and Philadelphia, according to the airport website.

Air Canada declined 0.7 per cent to C$13.41 at 9:58 am in Toronto trading.

Messages left with Robert Rose, president at Allied Aviation, and Peter Fitzpatrick, a spokesman at Air Canada, were not immediately returned.

The airlines and Pearson Airport had discussions in the days leading up to the cancellations, Ms Hanifa said. Additional staff have been brought in to work at the airport today.

More than 400,000 flights arrive and depart from the airport each year, carrying more than 38.6 million passengers, according to the website for Canada's busiest airport.

BLOOMBERG

    
 

Hundreds of flights canceled in Toronto fuel strike

      

JUL 4, 20159:13 AM

[MONTREAL] More than 200 flights were canceled and hundreds of others delayed to and from Toronto's largest airport on Friday after staff responsible for refueling planes suddenly went on strike.

There were chaotic scenes at terminals and boarding counters at Toronto Pearson International Airport, with some of the delays for several hours or more, causing travel misery for many.

"Toronto Pearson International Airport continues to experience operational disruptions due to ongoing issues with the air carrier consortium's fuel service provider," an airport statement said.

"As the fuel service provider experiences escalating labor shortages, aircraft movements have been significantly impacted - as of 5:00 pm (2100 GMT), 185 flights have been canceled." The airport's website showed more than 30 additional cancellations after that.

Some workers with Consolidated Aviation Fueling of Toronto unexpectedly took the day off in protest at a decision by an airline consortium to cut ties with it.

Howard Eng, president and CEO of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, urged the two sides to find a compromise.

"Our focus is to ensure those passengers currently impacted by this disruption are provided with necessities and receive regular updates on their flight status," said Mr Eng.

"We urge the air carrier consortium to work with their fuel service provider to address this situation immediately." International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said in a statement: "An airline consortium led by Air Canada and West Jet will not renew its agreement with Consolidated Aviation to supply fuel at both Pearson in Toronto and Trudeau International in Montreal.

"The consortium has already signed agreements with other fueling providers resulting in more than 300 IAM members losing their jobs."

AFP

      

Gold rebounds as dollar dips, focus on Greek vote

Gold prices firmed on Friday, rebounding from a 3-1/2-month low as the dollar softened, while investors remained cautious ahead of Greece's referendum on an international bailout deal. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

JUL 4, 20156:51 AM

[LONDON] Gold prices firmed on Friday, rebounding from a 3-1/2-month low as the dollar softened, while investors remained cautious ahead of Greece's referendum on an international bailout deal.

Liquidity was thinner, with US markets closed for the Independence Day public holiday.

Spot gold was up 0.2 per cent at US$1,167.73 an ounce by 1823 GMT. It had dropped to US$1,156.85 - its lowest since mid-March - ahead of Thursday's US non-farm payrolls data but pared losses as the dollar fell against a basket of currencies after the data showed jobs growth was weaker than expected last month. "Judging from how gold fell ahead of yesterday's US data, the bias in the gold market is clearly to the bearish side," Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke said.

Before the data there had been strong expectations that the Fed would raise rates for the first time in nearly a decade in September, given recent strong numbers on consumer spending and housing.

Gold has been under pressure this year from uncertainty over the timing of any rate increase, which could boost the dollar further and dent demand for non-interest-paying bullion.

The metal was still heading for a 0.5 per cent fall on the week, adding to the previous week's 2 per cent loss, mostly as a result of gains in the dollar against the euro as the Greek debt crisis unfolded.

Uncertainty around Greece has failed so far to trigger strong retail demand for gold, often perceived as a safe-haven asset. "It's not only about the outcome of the referendum, but also about the reaction of the European Central Bank, which could cut the credit levels of its funding to Greece," Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said. "That could trigger some buying on gold." The Greek government has called the referendum on Sunday after five months of acrimonious talks with its creditors broke down without an aid-for-reforms deal.

Silver fell 0.5 per cent to US$15.61 an ounce, while platinum dropped 0.3 per cent to US$1,078.00 and palladium lost 1.3 per cent to US$683.00.

REUTERS

   
 

New Credit Suisse CEO promises "ruthlessly selective" review: FT

Newly appointed Credit Suisse AG Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam, in an interview with the Financial Times, promised a "ruthlessly selective" review of the Swiss bank's businesses, amid expectations that the incoming CEO would cut staff by about 15 per cent from its investment banking arm.

PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

JUL 4, 20159:40 AM

[ZURICH] Newly appointed Credit Suisse AG Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam, in an interview with the Financial Times, promised a "ruthlessly selective" review of the Swiss bank's businesses, amid expectations that the incoming CEO would cut staff by about 15 per cent from its investment banking arm.

Thiam's strategic review will involve executives competing with each other for capital allocations by showing their units'profitability throughout various economic cycles, although "people who have no performance issues have no concerns," Mr Thiam was quoted as saying in the Financial Times. Even though investors and analysts expect the new CEO to scale back operations in the capital-intensive investment banking area and focus more on private banking in Asia, he would not necessarily take the decisions they expect, the FT reported.

The 52-year old former chief executive of British insurer Prudential said that Credit Suisse may pursue growth by expanding internationally in emerging markets, United States and Switzerland, the FT said.

Thiam's reputation follows his success at Prudential, where he expanded into Asia with a clear strategy by laying out medium-term targets, and after an early spat over a failed takeover of rival Asian-focused insurer AIA, built good rapport with regulators.

See who is talking about CREDIT SUISSE

Last 30 days:

• 2533
• 307
• 1752

30 days avg

HOT COMPANIES

BP +350% messages

Dixons Carphone+128%
RBS+99%
G4S+86%
Rolls-Royce+74%
Shell+54%
Persimmon+50%
Unilever+49%
Anglo American+47%
ITV+43%
Dixons Carphone+128%
RBS+99%
G4S+86%
Rolls-Royce+74%
Shell+54%
Persimmon+50%
Unilever+49%
Anglo American+47%
ITV+43%

In an internal memo to staff soon after assuming office, Mr Thiam said choosing what the bank will do and where it invests its cash will be a focus in the weeks and months ahead, adding that he would determine the strategy later this year.

REUTERS

    
 

Row breaks out over Greek medicine supplies  

Wholesalers trading medicines across European borders have criticised a suggestion by manufacturers that Greek exports should be restricted to prevent shortages of life-saving drugs in the country. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

JUL 4, 20156:59 AM

[LONDON] Wholesalers trading medicines across European borders have criticised a suggestion by manufacturers that Greek exports should be restricted to prevent shortages of life-saving drugs in the country.

Such trade, which allows traders to buy products in low-cost markets and sell them where prices are higher, is allowed under EU free trade rules. But drugmakers have argued this could suck supplies out of Greece if Athens leaves the euro and prices in euro terms fall sharply.

The European Association of Euro Pharmaceutical Companies (EAEPC), representing firms involved in this so-called parallel trade, said drugmakers were wrong to say supplies could be in jeopardy if Europe did not take such emergency action. "The wealthy pharmaceutical industry is exploiting the potential advent of another crisis in Greece for their own commercial purposes in portraying a medicines shortage," EAEPC wrote in a letter to EU Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis.

The move came in response to a previous letter sent to Andriukaitis earlier this week by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, urging curbs on the re-export of drugs.

The EAEPC said parallel exports of medicines from Greece had actually decreased by more than a third since 2012 and the real reason for drug shortages in countries in financial crisis was liquidity problems affecting the whole supply chain.

Reuters reported in May that drug companies were owed more than 1.1 billion euros (S$1.6 billion) by Greek hospitals and the state-run health insurer EOPYY, after not being paid since December.

REUTERS

China unveils 'Internet Plus' action plan to juice slow economy 

China unveiled a plan to use the Internet to rejuvenate traditional industries and boost flagging economic growth, the State Council said in a statement Saturday. 

PHOTO: EPA

JUL 4, 20151:49 PM

[BEIJING] China unveiled a plan to use the Internet to rejuvenate traditional industries and boost flagging economic growth, the State Council said in a statement Saturday.

"Internet Plus," as the plan is called, will help the manufacturing sector optimize and better serve clients through technologies such as cloud computing and artificial intel