And just like that, the year is coming to an end. What does that mean? Holidays! Not just the festive kind, but the travelling kind too. Let’s face it: It’s what many of us look forward to, including our favourite Singapore celebrities. And with them always looking so picture-perfect in all their holiday snapshots, we want to know what their packing essentials are so we can take inspiration for our own photos too. So with the year-end travel season upon us, CNA Lifestyle asked actress Ya Hui, born Koh Ya Hwee, what she packs along on vacation. For her, 2024 has been a “pretty good mix of work and leisure holidays”. A quick scroll through her socials and photos of her taking in the sights across England, Iceland and Scotland came up. A post shared by Ya Hui 雅慧 (@yahuiyh) “Iceland was on the top of my list for the past few years; I’m so glad I could tick it off finally!” And when it comes to year-end breaks, the Coded Love actress shared that she often chooses places with cooler temperatures. Her travel bucket list includes countries like New Zealand, Switzerland and Portugal. “I’ve heard too many good stuff about these places that I need to check them out for myself,” she said. As a traveller, Ya Hui admits that she is usually an over-packer, bringing more than she needs to use and wear on her trip. Her motto: It’s always better to bring more. “I always have different medication and even medicated oil on standby, which has always come in useful.” In fact, she shared that on her most recent trip, one of her travel mates did indeed fall ill, and she was thankful that she had the essential medication to help. Ya Hui applies the same mentality towards clothes too, and especially when she is travelling in winter. “I would pack a lot more than usual because I don’t want to risk becoming a snow-woman and freeze. And if my friends need anything extra, we can share what I have too.” Back from a recent trip to the UK, she shared her packing tips and what she brought with her for a five-night city break. YA HUI'S OUTFITS AND ACCESSORIES To ensure that she not only looks good in photos but feels comfy as she takes in the sights on her vacation, Ya Hui focuses on versatile pieces when choosing what outfits and even accessories to bring along. A post shared by Ya Hui 雅慧 (@yahuiyh) Her go-tos are a pair of comfortable jeans and a couple of plain white or black T-shirts. According to her, jeans are easy to match with and if the jeans are roomy, you can also add layers underneath during winter holidays. In addition, T-shirts are the epitome of versatility. “Dress them up or down, depending on what you pair them with. Accessorise with chic jewellery – like earrings, bracelets or a watch, or a denim jacket, and you’re good to go,” added the actress. In addition, she also packs a little black dress along for city trips because one should always be prepared for spur of the moment plans, such as scoring tickets to an always sold-out musical or having a meal in a fancy restaurant. Whatever the surprise event may be, “you’ll always be ready for it”, she said. A post shared by Ya Hui 雅慧 (@yahuiyh) And let’s face it: Going on a holiday, especially a city one, often means clocking in at least 15,000 steps, or more, daily, as you visit the various places of interest. It’s why comfy shoes are a definite must. To this, Ya Hui shared that she usually opts for a pair of nice sports shoes or white sneakers that can match easily with any outfit. Other essentials that she always brings along include a cap to shield from the elements like the rain or sun, or just from “a bad hair day”, as well as an all-in-one bag, like a lightweight backpack that she can store all her necessities, such as umbrella, sunblock, portable charger and camera. YA HUI'S BEAUTY MUST-HAV E S Just because you’re on holiday doesn’t mean that your skincare routine can take a break too. She keeps her travel beauty arsenal simple with the following: FINAL PACKING TIPS To ensure that she doesn’t forget anything, Ya Hui always writes down a packing list of the things she needs throughout her trip. In addition, she also tries to pack early to minimise any last-minute panicking. And because wrinkled clothes show up badly on photos, she shared that she tends to opt for clothes that don’t require ironing. “It can save a lot of time and trouble.” In addition, if winter wear is needed for a year-end holiday, she packs them into vacuum bags to minimise space in the luggage. All the more for shopping, we say!
New Delhi, Nov 23: The Congress on Saturday described the Maharashtra poll outcome as "unexpected and inexplicable", and claimed that the level-playing field in the state was disturbed in a targeted manner as part of a conspiracy to defeat it. The opposition party, however, hailed the poll results in Jharkhand, saying the people of the state have categorically rejected the "politics of polarisation" peddled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance swept the Maharashtra polls, decimating the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) with a landslide victory, while the INDIA bloc retained Jharkhand, voters in both states giving the parties in power an emphatic thumbs up. #WATCH | Delhi: On #MaharashtraElection2024 , Congress MP Jairam Ramesh says, "We will definitely analyse the result that has come. But today we can say that even those who won did not anticipate that this result would come. We were assuming that we will get the mandate. The... pic.twitter.com/F7jMpnrYKU Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh asserted that his party may have lost the polls in Maharashtra but it would continue to raise the issues that it has been raising since the parliamentary polls. "On Maharashtra, there can be no two ways about it that in a targeted manner, the level-playing field, a phrase that the Election Commission often uses, was disturbed. The election results are unexpected, very surprising and inexplicable," Ramesh said. "Some people are analysing the poll results of Maharashtra and saying this is a victory of development, and an NCP leader has stated that the Congress party's fake narrative has been rejected by the people of the state. This is wrong, there should not be any doubt that the agenda we had during the Lok Sabha polls -- economic inequalities, social polarisation, protection of the Constitution, a caste census and the Modani scams -- these issues are as important and we will continue to raise those," he added. The people of Maharashtra have not rejected this, the Congress leader said. The Congress will analyse the results but even those who won did not expect this, Ramesh said. "We were expecting that we will get the mandate. Farmers were upset and everyone believed that we will get the mandate. The results are absolutely opposite to this, but this does not mean that we will deviate from our agenda," he said. "We will re-energise our organisation on the basis of this agenda. We have gotten a jolt but this jolt was given. There was a conspiracy to defeat us," Ramesh claimed. He said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had a word with AICC Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala and in the next 24 to 36 hours, there will be a meeting where various issues related to the poll results will be discussed. Hailing the Jharkhand Assembly polls verdict, Ramesh congratulated the people of the state for showing the country a new way and "categorically rejecting" the politics of polarisation. "(Assam Chief Minister) Himanta Biswa Sarma, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, (Union minister) Shivraj Chouhan, Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- what all did they not say? The entire election was about one issue and one word -- 'ghuspetiya' (infiltrators). Attempts were made to create fear but people have given a decisive verdict," he said. "This is a positive message for the whole country that politics of polarisation can be defeated and we will defeat it," the Congress leader asserted. Addressing the presser, Congress's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said as the principal opposition party, "we find it our responsibility to keep raising issues of transparency in elections". "The Lok Sabha election was fought in the name of Modiji in Maharashtra and the BJP did not do well. The same state gives the same BJP 132 out of 148 seats (contested by the saffron party) within four-five months. What kind of a strike rate is this? Is this strike rate possible? Democracy is our concern," Khera said. "Whether we win or lose, we will continue to question the election process and raise issues of transparency. In a country where exam papers are leaked, can we blindly trust the machines? You cannot shut us up by showing the results of Jharkhand. To date, apart from poetry, we have not received any concrete answer from the Election Commission," he said. ( Disclaimer: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
He is not yet in power but President-elect Donald Trump rattled much of the world with an off-hours warning of stiff tariffs on close allies and China — a loud hint that Trump-style government by social media post is coming back. With word of these levies against goods imported from Mexico, Canada and China, Trump sent auto industry stocks plummeting, raised fears for global supply chains and unnerved the world’s major economies. For Washington-watchers with memories of the Republican’s first term, the impromptu policy volley on Monday evening foreshadowed a second term of startling announcements of all manner, fired off at all hours of the day from his smartphone. “Donald Trump is never going to change much of anything,” said Larry Sabato, a leading US political scientist and director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “You can expect in the second term pretty much what he showed us about himself and his methods in the first term. Social media announcements of policy, hirings and firings will continue.” The first of Trump’s tariff announcements — a 25 percent levy on everything coming in from Mexico and Canada — came amid an angry rebuke of lax border security at 6:45 pm on Truth Social, Trump’s own platform. The United States is bound by agreements on the movement of goods and services brokered by Trump in a free trade treaty with both nations during his first term. But Trump warned that the new levy would “remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country” — sowing panic from Ottawa to Mexico City. Seconds later, another message from the incoming commander-in-chief turned the focus on Chinese imports, which he said would be hit with “an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs.” The consequences were immediate. Almost every major US automaker operates plants in Mexico, and shares in General Motors and Stellantis — which produce pickup trucks in America’s southern neighbor — plummeted. Canada, China and Mexico protested, while Germany called on its European partners to prepare for Trump to impose hefty tariffs on their exports and stick together to combat such measures. – Framing the debate – The tumult recalls Trump’s first term, when journalists, business leaders and politicians at home and abroad would scan their phones for the latest pronouncements, often long after they had left the office or over breakfast. During his first four years in the Oval Office, the tweet — in those days his newsy posts were almost exclusively limited to Twitter, now known as X — became the quasi-official gazette for administration policy. The public learned of the president-elect’s 2020 Covid-19 diagnosis via an early-hours post, and when Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani was assassinated on Trump’s order, the Republican confirmed the kill by tweeting a US flag. The public and media learned of numerous other decisions big and small by the same source, from the introduction of customs duties to the dismissal of cabinet secretaries. It is not a communication method that has been favored by any previous US administration and runs counter to the policies and practices of most governments around the world. Throughout his third White House campaign, and with every twist and turn in his various entanglements with the justice system, Trump has poured his heart out on Truth Social, an app he turned to during his 20-month ban from Twitter. In recent days, the mercurial Republican has even named his attorney general secretaries of justice and health via announcements on the network. “He sees social media as a tool to shape and direct the national conversation and will do so again,” said political scientist Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University professor. With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.An estimated 18 million Americans are invested in cryptocurrency, according to the Federal Reserve. And the United States just elected a pro-crypto president. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have become a trendy digital asset. Supporters claim that crypto subverts capitalism because it bypasses traditional bankers. Crypto can offer quick riches along with an air of high-tech sophistication. Early adopters reaped enormous rewards, many becoming millionaires and billionaires. Currently, there are about 100,000 crypto millionaires. Cryptocurrency wealth, furthermore, has built Fairshake, the largest crypto lobbying group in the U.S. During the recent election, it claims it helped elect 253 pro-crypto candidates. But is cryptocurrency a good ethical investment? As a business professor who studies technology and its consequences, I've identified three ethical harms associated with cryptocurrency that might give investors pause. The three harms The first harm is excessive energy use, most notably by Bitcoin, the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Bitcoins are created, or "mined," by tens of thousands of computers in massive data centers, contributing significantly to carbon emissions and environmental degradation. Bitcoin mining, which represents the lion's share of crypto energy consumption, uses as much as 0.9% of global demand for electricity – similar to the annual energy needs of Australia. Second, unregulated and anonymous crypto is the payment system of choice for criminals behind fraud, tax evasion, human trafficking and ransomware – the latter costing victims an estimated $1 billion in extorted cryptocurrency payments. Until about a decade ago, these bad actors generally moved and laundered money through cash and shell companies. But around 2015, many transitioned to cryptocurrency, a much less troublesome form of handling dirty money anonymously. A bank cannot hold or transfer money anonymously. By law, a bank is passively complicit in money laundering if it isn't enforcing know-your-customer measures to restrict bad actors, such as money launderers. In the case of a crypto coin, however, legal and ethical accountability cannot be transferred to a bank – there is no bank. So, who is complicit? Anyone in the crypto ecosystem may be viewed as ethically complicit in enabling illicit activities. I believe these first two harms are the most ethically troublesome. The first one harms the Earth and the second undermines global systems of trust – the interplay of institutions that underpin economic activity and social order. Cryptocurrency's third problem is its predatory culture. A predatory system, especially without regulatory oversight, takes advantage of small investors. And some cryptos have enriched their founders while taking advantage of investors' lack of knowledge about the virtual currency. Some cryptocurrencies, especially the smaller coins and initial coin offerings, have characteristics of Ponzi schemes. The now defunct Bitconnect, for example, promised large profits to investors who exchanged their Bitcoins for Bitconnect tokens. New investor money paid out "profits" to the first layer of investors with money from later investors. Ultimately, Satish Kumbhani, the Bitconnect founder, was indicted by a federal grand jury, and as of 2024 his whereabouts are unknown. Pernicious myth Besides cryptocurrency's ethical harms, a pernicious myth surrounds the digital coin. It is the myth of inclusion, that cryptocurrency has the power to benefit society's disadvantaged, especially the unbanked. The global poor who don't have bank accounts, and who could use cryptocurrency for international money transfers to family back home, do not necessarily benefit from crypto's advantages. That's because of the need to pay fees when converting and transferring, say, dollars to crypto and then from crypto to the local currency of the person receiving the money transfer. In reality, the distribution of crypto assets is highly concentrated among the wealthy. A 2021 study found that just 0.01% of Bitcoin holders control 27% of its value. Democratizing finance is often framed as a movement to break the dominance of traditional financial institutions – private banks and government central banks. However, this narrative has not played out. Instead, a new elite has emerged: cryptocurrency's creators, early backers and maintainers, who tweak the crypto's software code and influence its future direction. This group holds disproportionate control, including over the crypto coin's governance. All of this replicates the concentration of power that crypto was meant to dismantle. A bit more ethical? To be fair, the crypto community hasn't ignored the criticism, including calls for more environmental awareness. In early 2021, members of the community founded the Crypto Climate Accord. The group enlisted some 250 crypto firms to reduce environmental harm. The following year, Ethereum, with its Ether coin, took the most significant step. It reduced its energy consumption by over 99% by migrating to a coin mining mechanism called "proof-of-stake," which doesn't require miners to solve complex, energy-guzzling puzzles to validate transactions. This was a brave move. However, Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, hasn't followed Ethereum's lead. Bitcoin stands out because its energy consumption surpasses any other crypto coin. To address cryptocurrency's other harms, some regulatory bodies began controlling the crypto market in 2023. The European Union, United Kingdom and United States began attempting to curb illegal activities and protect investors. In January 2024, U.S. regulators permitted exchange-traded funds, which are popular investment funds, to invest in crypto. This move was meant to help small investors trade in a safer marketplace. But normalizing crypto trading can create perverse ethical repercussions. For example, the most successful 2023 "ethical" fund, Nikko Ark Positive Change Innovation Fund, prospered with a 68% return because it made a bet on crypto. Its manager rationalized this investment by repeating the myth that cryptocurrency allows "provision of financial services to the underbanked." Where does all this leave the ethical investor? Investors, I believe, have two clear ethical choices on cryptocurrency: They can divest from Bitcoin or, at the very least, invest in other cryptocurrencies that minimize harms, especially harms that jeopardize the environment. But even so-called ethical investments come with hidden ethical issues. Many ethical investors invest in so-called ESG funds that stress social or environmental impact. Some of these ESG funds may avoid shares in petroleum companies while investing directly or indirectly in crypto. This doesn't seem ethically consistent. While cryptocurrency offers exciting opportunities and the potential for high returns, its environmental impact, association with illegal activities and predatory nature all present significant ethical challenges. (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)