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The Trust-Building Playbook: 5 Tips Every Digital Health Marketer Needs to Know

Building trust while simultaneously building products, selling, recruiting, and fundraising can feel impossible. But it’s required whether you have the time or not, and it doesn’t stop no matter how big you grow.

The post The Trust-Building Playbook: 5 Tips Every Digital Health Marketer Needs to Know appeared first on MedCity News.




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Driving Genetic Testing Adoption and Improved Patient Care through Health Data Intelligence

By fostering collaboration and seamless data integration into healthcare systems, the industry is laying the groundwork for a future in which “personalized medicine” is so commonplace within clinical practice that we will just start calling it “medicine.”

The post Driving Genetic Testing Adoption and Improved Patient Care through Health Data Intelligence appeared first on MedCity News.




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‘Serial Killing’ Cell Therapy From Autolus Lands FDA Approval in Blood Cancer

Autolus Therapeutics’ Aucatzyl is now FDA approved for treating advanced cases of B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia. While it goes after the same target as Gilead Sciences’ Tecartus, Autolus engineered its CAR T-therapy with properties that could improve safety, efficacy, and durability.

The post ‘Serial Killing’ Cell Therapy From Autolus Lands FDA Approval in Blood Cancer appeared first on MedCity News.




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An Integrated Approach to Optimizing Specialty Pharmacy and Accelerating Performance

Top challenges impacting specialty pharmacy outcomes, and how health systems may achieve efficiencies and enhance performance for optimal outcomes.

The post An Integrated Approach to Optimizing Specialty Pharmacy and Accelerating Performance appeared first on MedCity News.




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Closing Staffing Gaps in Healthcare by Utilizing Diverse Pipelines of Contingent Talent

By adopting a contingent workforce model and investing in the right data tools to power better informed decision-making and talent strategy, healthcare organizations can begin to address staffing challenges and turn their talent goals into reality. 

The post Closing Staffing Gaps in Healthcare by Utilizing Diverse Pipelines of Contingent Talent appeared first on MedCity News.




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How 4 Health Systems Are Partnering with Microsoft

Here’s how four different health systems are partnering with Microsoft to save time for clinicians.

The post How 4 Health Systems Are Partnering with Microsoft appeared first on MedCity News.




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Unlocking the Future of Radioligand Therapy: From Discovery to Delivering at Scale

As radiopharmaceuticals enter a new phase, industry leaders must rethink external services and internal capabilities to master the complexities of delivering advanced therapies.

The post Unlocking the Future of Radioligand Therapy: From Discovery to Delivering at Scale appeared first on MedCity News.




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Pew Urges Federal Government to Prioritize Better Exchange of Health Data

The Pew Charitable Trusts sent comments Jan. 4 to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) urging them to support the easy exchange of individuals’ health records through a pair of regulations.




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State Initiatives Pivot to Address Public Health Challenges During Pandemic

Research has consistently demonstrated strong links between people’s health and societal sectors such as employment, community development, education, housing, and transportation.




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Diagnostic Test Regulation Should Rank High on Agenda of New Congress

Faulty diagnostic tests can compromise both patient care and the nation’s response to infectious diseases—as made all too clear earlier this month when the Food and Drug Administration issued a safety alert about a COVID-19 test that carries a high risk of false negative results.




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Clinical Lab Tests Need Stronger FDA Oversight to Improve Patient Safety

In vitro diagnostics (IVDs) play an indispensable role in modern medicine. Health care providers routinely rely on these tests—which analyze samples such as blood or saliva—to help diagnose conditions and guide potentially life-altering treatment decisions. In 2017, for example, clinicians ordered blood tests during about 45% of emergency room visits in the United States, according to the Centers...




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4 Key Priorities for Fighting Superbugs in 2021

Over the past year, COVID-19 has taken a grave toll in lives as well as on medical and health care systems worldwide. The pandemic has laid bare the importance of public health readiness and the myriad consequences when such a crisis strikes an unprepared population.




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Pew Applauds Michigan for Enacting Bipartisan Legislation to Safely Reduce Jail Populations

The Pew Charitable Trusts today commended Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D), state Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R), and Lee Chatfield (R)—whose term as state House Speaker ended last month—for passing and signing a bipartisan package of bills aimed at protecting public safety while reducing the number of people in county jails.




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Expanding Treatment for Opioid Use Disorders

As the coronavirus pandemic grips the world, the opioid epidemic continues to affect millions of Americans. Several states are developing innovative ways to tackle this public health issue. In this episode, we speak with Beth Connolly, who leads Pew’s research on substance use disorders, and Louisiana Representative Paula Davis, who helped ensure effective treatment in her state.




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Despite COVID-19 Challenges Dental Therapy Had a Watershed 2020 and Is Poised to Grow

2020 was a difficult year for dental providers as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the country. When stay-at-home orders went into effect in the spring, dental offices closed their doors to all but emergency patients.




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Extending the Patentable Life of 3D Printers: A Lesson From the Pharmaceutical Industry

Modern innovation typically occurs one step-improvement at a time. Some clients initially question whether their new application of an existing technology is patentable. Usually, the answer is ‘yes.’ Under U.S. law (and most other jurisdictions), an innovation to an existing technology is patentable so long as at least one claim limitation is novel and non-obvious....… Continue Reading




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Looking Forward/Looking Backward – Day 1 Notes from the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference

A large amount of wind, much discussion about the U.S healthcare, and the public getting soaked again – if you were thinking about Washington, DC and the new Congress, you’re 3,000 miles away from the action. This is the week of the annual JP Morgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco, with many thousands of healthcare...… Continue Reading




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Impact of Trump and Harris on Prescription Drug Pricing

The upcoming U.S. presidential election is stirring discussions around healthcare, especially the cost of prescription drugs and the […]

The post Impact of Trump and Harris on Prescription Drug Pricing appeared first on World of DTC Marketing.



  • As I See It
  • Business of the drug industry
  • Cost of healthcare in the U.S.
  • in the news
  • Election & Pharma

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Pain Management in Crisis: Why Hospitals Are Limiting Pain Medications and What This Means for Patients

Hospitals across the U.S. have significantly restricted the use of pain medications containing narcotics. This shift comes amid […]

The post Pain Management in Crisis: Why Hospitals Are Limiting Pain Medications and What This Means for Patients appeared first on World of DTC Marketing.




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Impact of Trump on Drug Pricing Policies

With Trump’s victory, healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry could shift significantly. Based on Trump’s first-term policies, his administration […]

The post Impact of Trump on Drug Pricing Policies appeared first on World of DTC Marketing.



  • in the news
  • Changes in healthcare


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Let us show you panel data modeling

Watch the video and learn basic principles of modeling panel data using SAS/ETS.




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SAS/STAT Users Still Moving to the SAS 9.4 Platform?

 We introduced a Topics tab in the online documentation a few releases ago, and there are corresponding pages in our focus area that briefly describe the topic areas and the procedures that perform analyses for those areas.




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Using SAS Simulation Studio to Test and Validate SAS/OR Optimization Models

This paper begins with a look at both optimization modeling and discrete-event simulation modeling, and explores how they can most effectively work together to create additional analytic value. It then considers two examples of a combined optimization and simulation approach and discusses the resulting benefits.




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Tips and Strategies for Mixed Modeling with SAS/STAT Procedures

This paper provides recommendations for circumventing memory problems and reducing execution times for your mixed-modeling analyses, as well as showing the new HPMIXED procedure can be beneficial for certain situations, as with large sparse mixed models.




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Statistical Model Building for Large, Complex Data: Five New Directions in SAS/STAT Software

This paper provides a high-level tour of five modern approaches to model building that are available in recent releases of SAS/STAT.




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Understanding splines in the EFFECT statement

This SAS Usage Note illustrates fitting a model containing a spline effect in PROC GLIMMIX. It discusses the spline basis output, the interpretation of the output, how to use the spline model to make predictions, and how to use the LSMEANS and ESTIMATE statements to compute quantities of interest.




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Fitting Multilevel Hierarchical Mixed Models Using PROC NLMIXED

This paper provides an example that shows you how to use multiple RANDOM statements in PROC NLMIXED to fit nested nonlinear mixed models, and it provides details about the computation that is involved in fitting these models.




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'I try not to think about myself': Woman battles breast cancer while caring for mum who has gall bladder cancer

To mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we speak to inspiring Singaporeans about their journey in battling and overcoming cancer.  Warda Ismail gets anxious about things easily, especially when it comes to her health.  So much so that her doctor once told her that she is a "borderline hypochondriac", she shared with AsiaOne in an interview.  For the uninitiated, hypochondria is a condition where a person is excessively and unduly worried about having a serious illness. To keep her mind at ease, the 44-year-old preschool educator has the habit of going for regular medical checkups.  Though she was vigilant, her worst nightmare came true — she was diagnosed with breast cancer on May 8 this year.  And in the midst of her recovery journey, she got more terrible news — her mother, who had been caring for her, was diagnosed with stage-three gall bladder cancer.  Despite the string of unfortunate events, Warda persevered and tried to have a more positive outlook on life and her health. 




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China unveils first diagnosis guidelines to battle escalating obesity crisis

HONG KONG — China's National Health Commission (NHC) published its first set of guidelines to standardise the diagnosis and treatment of obesity, with more than half of China's adults already overweight and obese, and the rate expected to keep rising.  The guidelines, made public on October 17, come as China experiences an upward morbidity trend of its overweight and obese population. The rate of overweight or obese people could reach 65.3 per cent by 2030, the NHC said.   "Obesity has become a major public health issue in China, ranking as the sixth leading risk factor for death and disability in the country," the guidelines said. China is facing a twin challenge that feeds its weight problem: In a modernising economy underpinned by technological innovation, more jobs have become static or desk-bound, while a prolonged slowdown in growth is forcing people to adopt cheaper, unhealthy diets.




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Keto life in Singapore: How to eat out without breaking your diet

Singapore's food culture is legendary, with staples such as chicken rice, bak chor mee, laksa, and roti prata feeding generations of locals and visitors alike. But there's one thing they all have in common — carbs! In carb-crazy Singapore, sticking to a keto diet might seem like a gone case and borderline sacrilegious, but trust me, it's doable. I've been through it, and I'm here to share my tips on how you can enjoy our local food scene while staying keto. What is keto? In case you blur about what a ketogenic (keto) diet is, it's all about cutting carbs and eating more fat. Yup, you read that right — more fat. Sounds shiok, right? The goal is to push your body into ketosis, where instead of burning carbs for energy, it burns fat. Hello, weight loss! Beyond that, keto helps you avoid those pesky post-meal sugar crashes — you know, the ones that make want to toh after a heavy meal. My keto experience I first tried keto as a teen, thinking it was just about cutting out rice, bread, and noodles. Wrong! Keto is stricter than that. To stay in ketosis, you've got to limit your carbs to just 20-50g a day.




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David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson didn't speak to each other for 'weeks at a time' while working on The X Files

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson didn't speak to each other for "weeks at a time" when they worked on The X Files. The 64-year-old actor and Gillian, 56, enjoyed huge success with the iconic sci-fi series — but the duo actually had a turbulent relationship for many years. David said on the Fail Better podcast: "There was a long time, working on the show, where we were just not even dealing with one another off-camera. And there was a lot of tension. Which didn't matter, apparently, for the work cause we're both f****** crazy, I guess. We could just go out there and do what we needed to do." Gillian was amazed that they achieved so much success while their off-screen relationship was so tense.




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Megan Fox expecting her first child with Machine Gun Kelly

Megan Fox is pregnant. The 38-year-old actress — who has Noah, 12, Bodhi, ten, and Journey, eight, with her ex-husband Brian Austin Green — has confirmed via social media that she's expecting her first child with Machine Gun Kelly.




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Michelle Yeoh hadn't heard of musical Wicked before being asked to join cast of movie

Michelle Yeoh had never heard of Wicked before she was asked to join the cast of the movie-musical. The Oscar-winning actress plays Madame Morrible in the new film version of the hit stage show, which is based around characters first seen on screen in 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. She's confessed she knew nothing about the popular musical before she was approached by director Jon M. Chu about joining the cast. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she said: "At that point, I had no clue what he was talking about because I had not seen Wicked the musical before. I knew Wizard of Oz, who doesn't, but not Wicked because I hadn't been going to the theatres and was not doing what I love which is watching musicals for quite a while, I hate to say." The new movie stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda during their time at Shiz University in the Land of Oz with Michelle's character Madame Morrible serving as the school's headmistress. Michelle went on to say: "So I read it [the script] and called Jon back and said, 'This is a musical and she sings'. And he said, 'Oh easy, you'll have fun, you're up for the challenge.'




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Blackpink's Lisa holds 1st Singapore fan-meet; fans fight over signed T-shirts while others dress up for chance to meet her

Monday blues were non-existent at the Singapore Indoor Stadium yesterday (Nov 11) as fans of Blackpink's Lisa strolled into the venue in their Y2K-style outfits inspired by the Thai singer's Rockstar music video. Singapore was the first stop for the 27-year-old's first solo fan-meet tour and needless to say, the excitement could be felt, and heard. Once the lights turned off and Lisa appeared, the screams were deafening. The show started with a bang, fittingly with her self-titled hit song Lalisa. Usually at fan-meets of K-pop idols, the special effects are kept to a minimum unlike concerts. PHOTO: UnUsUaL Entertainment But at Lisa's, the performances were elevated with bursts of pyrotechnics and visual effects. After the first song, she sat down for a few interactive segments. During Welcome Lisa, she tried local delicacies like kaya toast and chicken rice.




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Thai drama under fire for drugging cat for real in death scene, allegedly causing it seizures

The quest for realism in Thai drama The Empress of Ayodhaya went too far when a cat was reportedly drugged in a poisoning scene. In episode five of the show, the character Indravedi (Fern Nopjira Lerkkajornnamkul) suspects her drink has been drugged, so she asks nanny Thongdee (Ja Molywon Phantara) to test it out on the black feline. The cat can be seen convulsing and retching, and the camera moves to show Indravedi looking concerned, while Thongdee declares that it is dead. The scene caused public outrage with fears that the cat had actually been killed, and calls to ban the period drama were trending on X. On Nov 7, a now-deleted X account reportedly belonging to Ja posted: "The cat didn't actually die. We put it under anaesthesia, but while filming, the cat retched and seized." She and Fern initially thought the cat had actually died while filming and their faces "turned pale", she added.




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Denzel Washington confirms he will star in Black Panther 3 before retirement

Denzel Washington has confirmed he will star in Black Panther 3 before his retirement. The 69-year-old actor is the first to talk about the existence of a third film in the blockbuster Marvel franchise — which will follow the 2018 original and 2022 sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — and has also revealed the film will be among a handful of roles he will take on before he bows out of acting after a career spanning four decades. Confirming director Ryan Coogler has written a role just for the Oscar-winner for the third instalment, Denzel told Australia's Today show: "At this point in my career, I'm only interested in working with the best, I don't know how many more films I will make, probably not that many. I want to do things that I haven't done." Sharing the roles he has lined up before he bids farewell to his Hollywood career, he said: "I played Othello at 22, I'm now going to play it at 70. After that, I'm playing Hannibal. After that, I've been talking with Steve McQueen about a film. After that, Ryan Coogler is writing a part for me in the next Black Panther.




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Sir Elton John overhauls diet after suffering health scare

Sir Elton John has overhauled his diet after suffering a health scare. The 77-year-old singer has made a concerted effort to control his blood sugar levels in recent times, after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the early 2000s and battling a "severe eye infection" earlier this year. Elton said on Ruthie's Table 4 podcast: "I can have an apple, I can eat a bit of melon. As long as you're sensible about it, it doesn't shoot your blood sugar up. But what I crave is chocolate and ice cream — I can't have any ice cream." Despite this, Elton revealed that his dream meal would still be full of sugar-filled desserts. The award-winning star — who is married to filmmaker David Furnish — said: "If I had a death row meal, it wouldn't contain anything except sweets, because I can't eat them now. So, I'd have ice cream, doughnuts, apple pie, rhubarb crumble." Elton has dealt with various health issues over the years, including having surgery for prostate cancer and battling a "severe eye infection". The singer detailed his most-recent problem in an Instagram post in September.




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South Korean actor Song Jae-rim dies aged 39, celebrities pay tribute

South Korean actor Song Jae-rim died yesterday (Nov 12) at the age of 39. The Seongdong Police Station in Seoul confirmed that he was found deceased in his apartment at around 12.30pm. According to media reports, a friend whom he was supposed to meet for lunch had visited his home and reported the death. A two-page letter was reportedly found at the scene but the cause of death has not been confirmed. A police official, however, stated that there are "no signs of foul play". His wake was held at Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital Funeral Hall at 5.30pm yesterday. His funeral will be held tomorrow at Seoul City Crematorium. Jae-rim gained popularity after starring in the 2012 drama The Moon Embracing the Sun and the 2014 reality series We Got Married. This year, he starred in two dramas — My Military Valentine and Queen Woo. Following news of his death, comedian Hong Seok-cheon and other celebrities posted tributes to Jae-rim on social media.




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The legal status of assisted dying in different countries

LONDON — Britain is to debate whether to legalise assisted dying for the terminally ill, potentially paving the way for the law to change. Below is a list of countries which allow people to choose to end their lives or are considering doing so.  Switzerland Switzerland legalised assisted dying in 1942 on the condition the motive is not selfish, making it the first country in the world to permit the practice. Doctors can prescribe drugs and administer them or had them over for self-administration. A number of Swiss organisations such as Dignitas offer their services to foreign nationals.   United States Medical aid in dying, also known as physician assisted dying is legal in 10 states: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, plus the District of Columbia. Oregon was the first state to legalise it under a law which came into effect in 1997. It allows mentally competent patients who are terminally ill and with less than six months to live to ask for life-ending medication. People from outside Oregon may travel to the state to take advantage of the law. 




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Trump's Day One: Deportations, border wall, scrapping Biden humanitarian programs

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump is expected to take a slew of executive actions on his first day as president to ramp up immigration enforcement and roll back signature Biden legal entry programs, a sweeping effort that will be led by incoming "border czar" Tom Homan and other Republican immigration hardliners, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The executive actions would give federal immigration officers more latitude to arrest people with no criminal records, surge troops to the US-Mexico border and restart construction of the border wall, the sources said. Homan, who served as acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement from 2017-2018 under Trump, will bring a deep understanding of the US immigration system after a four-decade career that took him from a frontline Border Patrol agent to head of the agency that arrests and deports immigrants in the US illegally.




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Who are Trump's cabinet picks so far and who is in the running?

Donald Trump has begun the process of choosing a cabinet and selecting other high-ranking administration officials following his presidential election victory. Here are the early picks and top contenders for some of the key posts overseeing defence, intelligence, diplomacy, trade, immigration and economic policymaking. Some are in contention for a range of posts. Susie Wiles, chief of staff Susie Wiles reacts as Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump speaks, following early results from the 2024 US presidential election in Palm Beach County Convention Center, in West Palm Beach, Florida, US on Nov 6, 2024. PHOTO: Reuters Trump announced last week that Wiles, one of his two campaign managers, will be his White House chief of staff.




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Public service committed to flexible work arrangements to meet workforce's changing needs: Govt

The Public Service has expressed its commitment to implementing flexible work arrangements (FWAs) for its employees, taking into account the workforce's changing needs. In a written answer to a Parliamentary question posed by Choa Chu Kang GRC MP Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim on Monday (Nov 11), Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing said the Government recognises the growing need for FWAs, given Singapore's demographic changes and its ever-changing demands on Singaporeans. Zhulkarnain had asked whether the Civil Service will continue to support flexible working arrangements despite some companies in the private sector requiring employees to work from the office five days a week. Grab Singapore, for example, said it will enforce its five-day return-to-office mandate starting Dec 2, reported CNA. Referencing the Tripartite Guidelines on FWA Requests (TG-FWAR), which will be enforced starting Dec 1, Chan stressed the importance of such arrangements in supporting working caregivers, encouraging workforce re-entry, sustaining labour force participation, and attracting and retaining talent.




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Man admits to forging Grab receipts to make over $16,000 worth of claims

SINGAPORE — On more than 460 occasions, a man forged Grab receipts and sent them to his company, causing the firm to disburse over $16,400 to him. He also made false medical certificates and an electronic letter purportedly from the Singapore Armed Forces, causing the Ministry of Health (MOH), where he worked as a temporary staff, to excuse him from reporting for work. On Nov 12, Muhammad Fariz Shaik Sha Marican, 33, pleaded guilty to two forgery charges. Two other similar charges will be taken into consideration during sentencing. Deputy Public Prosecutor Kelly Ng said that Fariz was employed by recruitment firm Persolkelly (PSK), which worked with MOH to provide manpower. Fariz was deployed by PSK in November 2021 to work as a temporary staff for MOH to support the ministry's Covid-19 operations. In April 2023, MOH checked on Fariz's annual leave balance as the ministry wanted to convert him into a staff member.




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Police probing deepfake nude photos of Singapore Sports School students; school meting out disciplinary actions

SINGAPORE – The police are investigating deepfake nude photos of Singapore Sports School (SSP) students that were created and spread by other students. In response to queries from The Straits Times, school principal Ong Kim Soon said SSP is “aware of the incident involving the creation and sharing of deepfake photos by our student-athletes”. “The school does not condone such harmful behaviour,” he said, adding that it has launched an investigation and lodged a police report. The police, in response to queries from ST, confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing. A reader who identified himself as a parent of a victim had alerted ST in an e-mail on Nov 12 about the deepfake nude images that were being circulated. “Many parents of affected female students in Singapore Sports School are making police reports about deepfake nude photos of their daughters generated by male students from the school,” the parent said. When contacted, the parent said that female teachers were also targeted, and that the school has offered affected students counselling.




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Singtel's half-year net profit falls 42%

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) reported a 42 per cent fall in its half-year profit on Wednesday (Nov 13), as the firm was hurt by the absense of S$1.2 billion it had logged through the divestiture of Telkomsel shares in its prior corresponding period. Last year, Telkomsel, the Indonesian associate of Southeast Asia's largest telecom firm, agreed to merge with its parent's IndiHome broadband arm in an effort to expand into Indonesia's fixed broadband market. SingTel's Australian unit Optus, currently embroiled in a legal battle with the country's competition watchdog, reported operating revenue of A$4.02 billion (S$3.51 billion) during the six months, in line with A$4.02 billion reported a year ago. "Optus and NCS drove the positive momentum, underscoring our focus on execution and operating rigour," the group's Chief Executive Officer Yuen Kuan Moon said. Southeast Asia's largest telecom firm said net profit for the six months ended Sept. 30 was S$1.23 billion, as compared to S$2.14 billion last year and missing a Visible Alpha estimate of S$1.37 billion.




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Fugitive lawyer Charles Yeo in UK custody, awaiting extradition hearing

Fugitive lawyer Charles Yeo, who is in custody in the UK, is currently awaiting an extradition hearing, reported CNA on Tuesday (Nov 12).  A court date for the extradition hearing has not been determined, but Yeo is set to attend a bail hearing on Friday, according to the report. In an Instagram post on Nov 1, the former chairman of the Reform Party said the Singapore government had made a formal request for his extradition. In his post, Yeo also said that he will be presenting himself, together with his legal team, at Westminster Magistrates Court on Nov 11. Yeo left Singapore in July 2022 after being charged earlier that year with multiple offences relating to harassment and wounding the religious feelings of Christians in several social media posts. In August 2022, a warrant of arrest was issued against him for breaching the conditions for overseas travel while on bail.  He was allowed to travel to Vietnam for work, but failed to return to Singapore and claimed he was seeking political asylum in the UK. 




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Indonesia says it has no overlapping South China Sea claims with China, despite joint agreement

JAKARTA — Indonesia said on Monday (Nov 11) it does not recognise China's claims over the South China Sea despite signing a joint maritime development deal with Beijing, as some analysts warned the agreement risked compromising the country's sovereign rights. Beijing has long clashed with its Southeast Asian neighbours over territory in the South China Sea, which it claims sovereignty over in almost its entirety via a "nine-dash line" on its maps that cuts into the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of several countries. Joint agreements with China in the strategic waterway have for years been sensitive, with some claimant states wary of entering into deals they fear could be interpreted as legitimising Beijing's vast claims. An arbitral tribunal in 2016 said the Chinese claim, based on its old maps, has no basis under international law, a decision China refuses to recognise. A joint statement issued at the weekend during Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's visit to Beijing mentioned the two countries had "reached important common understanding on joint development in areas of overlapping claims".




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Bus falls into Indus river in Pakistan, killing 14

ISLAMABAD — A bus carrying 27 passengers fell into the Indus river in northern Pakistan on Nov 12, killing 14 people, according to a statement from the Gilgit Baltistan authorities. Twelve of the remaining passengers are missing, and one passenger has survived the accident with injuries, the statement from the authorities said. The accident occurred due to speeding, and the driver losing control of the vehicle, according to the authorities. According to local broadcaster Geo, the bus was part of a wedding procession headed towards Pakistan's Chakwal district when it fell into the river from Telchi bridge at the limits of Diamer district. Fatal road accidents are common in Pakistan, where traffic rules are rarely followed and roads in many rural areas are in poor condition. Earlier in August, two bus accidents in north-east and south-west Pakistan killed at least 34 people.




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Beijing pushes to join security efforts for citizens in Pakistan, sources say

ISLAMABAD — Beijing is pushing Pakistan to allow its own security staff to provide protection to thousands of Chinese citizens working in the South Asian nation, during talks after a car bombing in Karachi that was seen as a major security breach, sources said. Last month's airport bombing in the southern port city that killed two Chinese engineers returning to work on a project after a holiday in Thailand was the latest in a string of attacks on Beijing's interests in Pakistan. The attacks, and Islamabad's failure to deter them, have angered China, which has pushed Pakistan to begin formal negotiations for a joint security management system. Reuters spoke to five Pakistani security and government sources with direct knowledge of the previously unreported negotiations and demands on condition of anonymity, as the talks are sensitive, and reviewed a written proposal sent by Beijing to Islamabad. "They (Chinese) want to bring in their own security," said one official, who sat in on a recent meeting, adding that Pakistan had not so far agreed to such a step.