NewsLite

Following Barbie Hsu's sudden death from pneumonia on Feb 2, news of the demise of another actor from flu complications has emerged.

Chinese actor Liang Youcheng died on Jan 30, the second day of Chinese New Year.

According to the National Library of Medicine, CNS infections refer to inflammation involving the brain, spinal cord, optic nerves and their membranes.

It recommends getting the flu vaccine to reduce the risks of contracting the flu, complications from the flu as well as death.

The sudden death of popular Taiwanese actress-host Barbie Hsu, which was confirmed on Monday (Feb 3), came as a shock to many.

Influenza, also called the flu, is a contagious viral infection that affects the respiratory tract: the nose, throat and lungs.

Prof Eng added that pneumonia is the second leading cause of death in Singapore, coming just behind cancer.

"Flu vaccination should be an annual exercise especially if one is elderly or has risk factors," said Prof Eng, adding that it is "effective against severe disease and death from flu".

HANOI — Vietnam will hold talks with foreign partners this month about projects to develop its first two nuclear power plants, the government said on Tuesday (Feb 4).

It will discuss the projects with partners that include Russia, Japan, South Korea, France and the United States, according to state media.

In 2009, Vietnam had approved plans to develop its first two nuclear power plants, but those were shelved in 2016 in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan and due to budget constraints.

Vietnam aims to complete the construction of the plants by the end of 2030, adding that the deadline is end-2031.

MADRID — Spanish ministers agreed on Tuesday (Feb 4) to cut the legal working week to 37.5 hours with no change in salary, forging ahead with one of the coalition government's flagship measures despite opposition from employers' associations.

During its weekly meeting, the cabinet approved the reduction, from 40 hours currently, in an executive decree penned by Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz, who leads the hard-left party Sumar.

"This proposal is about living better, working less and being much more productive and more efficient economically," Diaz told reporters.

Diaz, who is also deputy prime minister, made the plan to reduce working hours by the end of 2025 central to her party's support for Sanchez's premiership.

SINGAPORE — Singapore has passed a law designed to protect against foreign interference in its race-based clans and business associations, as the government looks to limit outsiders from undermining racial harmony in the multicultural city-state.

Under the Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill, which was passed late on Tuesday (Feb 4), if an organisation is designated as a race-based entity, they will have to disclose foreign and anonymous donations, foreign affiliations and their leadership.

The new law also empowers the home affairs minister to issue restraining orders against individuals involved in "content that prejudices the maintenance of racial harmony in Singapore".

Singapore's resident population is 74 per cent Chinese, 13.6 per cent Malay, and nine per cent Indian, with 3.3 per cent is classified as others.

With a series of knife attacks in Singapore over the past few months, public safety has once again come into focus.

To gain a better understanding on the matter, AsiaOne polled some 1,226 Singapore-based readers on their sentiments regarding public safety in Singapore between Dec 2 and Dec 5 last year.

This is to safeguard public safety following several knife attacks in 2024, she added.

Edmund Chua, who heads AsiaOne's consumer insights and analytics group, said that despite the overall decrease in the public's perception of safety, Singapore continues to score highly for the sense of personal security.

Zac Efron has been cast alongside Will Ferrell in a new comedy film.

Meanwhile, Zac is set to play dual roles in his upcoming movie Famous, which is set in Los Angeles and explores the dark side of fame.

A synopsis reads: "Lance Dunkquist has one asset that's about to change his life — he has the face of a movie star.

And not just any movie star — Lance is the spitting image of Hollywood icon, James Jansen.

GENEVA — A United Nations (UN) aid official said on Tuesday (Feb 4) that a US funding pause would cut off millions of Afghans from sexual and reproductive health services, and the continued absence of this support could cause over 1,000 maternal deaths in Afghanistan from 2025 to 2028.

"If I just take the example of Afghanistan, between 2025 and 2028 we estimate that the absence of US support will result in 1,200 additional maternal deaths and 109,000 additional unintended pregnancies," he said.

Across the Asia-Pacific region, UNFPA receives about US$94 million (S$127 million) in US funding, he added.

"We can foresee an increase in unintended pregnancies and maternal deaths.

One of the canyons, called Vallis Planck, measures about 174 miles (280 km) long and 2.2 miles (3.5 km) deep.

The other, called Vallis Schrödinger, is about 168 miles (270 km) long and 1.7 miles (2.7 km) deep.

"When the impacting asteroid or comet hit the lunar surface, it excavated a tremendous volume of rock that was launched into space above the lunar surface before it came crashing back down.

Knots of rock within that curtain of debris hit the surface in a series of smaller impact events, effectively carving the canyons.

BAKU — An Azerbaijani passenger plane that crashed in December after being diverted from Russia to Kazakhstan was hit by a Russian Pantsir-S air defence system, an Azerbaijani government source told Reuters on Tuesday (Feb 4).

Thirty-eight people were killed when the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane crashed on Dec 25 near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after re-routing across the Caspian Sea from southern Russia.

"The Azerbaijani side possesses a fragment of a Pantsir-S missile which was extracted from the aircraft and identified through international expertise," the source said.