More children"s books from Singapore hit the shelves

Children can now reach out for more local reads. Singapore publishers are rolling out at least 25 titles for readers aged three to 14 this year, along with e-books and online games.

This is unusual since the market here is traditionally dominated by overseas imprints such as Scholastic’s bestselling Geronimo Stilton series, or Abrams, which publishes Jeff Kinney’s Diary Of A Wimpy Kid novels.

The closest Singaporean success would be Flame Of The Forest’s ongoing Mr Midnight mysteries – now 77 volumes long, with 2 million copies sold since the first instalment came out in 1998.

Epigram Books’ The Diary Of Amos Lee quartet, by Singaporean writer Adeline Foo, has also done well, selling over 120,000 copies since the first novel about a primary school boy’s diary was released in 2009.

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More children"s books from Singapore hit the shelves

GRAND COPTHORNE WATERFRONT HOTEL SINGAPORE ENCOURAGES ...

The Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel is launching a multi-tasking programme to ensure that employees are adequately trained and prepared before they are being deployed to other sister properties and / or other departments within the Hotel.

(TRAVPR.COM) SINGAPORE – February 27th, 2013 – SINGAPORE, 4 February 2013: The Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore is participating in the Job Flexibility for Productive (JFP) initiative in line with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Singapore Tourism Board (STB)’s efforts to optimise workforce deployment, reduce reliance on foreign workers and improve productivity and wages.

The Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore is also the first hotel in Asia within the Millennium Copthorne group to receive the official endorsement from MOM and STB to participate in the JFP  initiative.

From 31 January 2013 to 30 January 2015, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore will be encouraging local and foreign (work permit holders) employees to attend cross training so that they can be deployed to other departments within the Hotel to assist with the manpower needs.

Senior Vice President (Asia), Millennium Copthorne International, Mr Lim Boon Kwee says, “

The Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel is delighted to receive the endorsement from MOM and STB to participate in this pilot initiative. We are confident that the JFP initiative will help to equip our employees with more skills and to improve productivity and morale at the workplace. This will also help us to manage our resources more effectively. Our employees are excited about the opportunities arising from this initiative and have already approached our Human Resource Department to express their interest in attending the relevant multi-task training.”

In addition, we have also obtained a separate MOM’s approval to deploy our foreign workers across our five fully-owned hotels. This will further promote greater efficiency, synergy and productivity.” he added.

The Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel is launching a multi-tasking programme to ensure that employees are adequately trained and prepared before they are being deployed to other sister properties and / or other departments within the Hotel.

Director of Human Resource, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Ms Grace Nah says, “We are in the midst of working on training sessions to help equip our employees with the right skills before their deployment to other properties and/ or other departments within the Hotel. Our employees are important to us and we will ensure that our employees are remunerated fairly for taking on these additional job functions.”

For more information, please contact

Jennifer Yeo                                                 

Marketing Communications Manager

Tel: (65) 6233 1004/ 9850 4305

Email: jennifer.yeo@millenniumhotels.com   

About Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore

With 574 guest rooms and suites, including the exclusive La Residenza for long-staying guests, each guestroom is equipped with business-enabling conveniences such as data port for dial-up modems, broadband internet access, a selection of cable channels and pay-movies, in-room personal safe, IDD service, hair-dryer, and coffee and tea making facilities. Room categories include Superior, Deluxe, Club, Club Deluxe as well as Suites and a Presidential Suite. With the growing demand for non-smoking rooms, a total of 21 floors of rooms are appointed for non-smoking guests.

Guest facilities include the gymnasium, tennis courts, outdoor swimming pool and Jacuzzi, a business centre and hair, beauty and wellness services. This city hotel in Singapore (http://www.millenniumhotels.com.sg/grandcopthornewaterfront/hotel-location/)  hotel also offers much to satisfy all palates with Italian cuisine at the award-winning Pontini, Shanghainese cuisine at Grand Shanghai, international and Asian cuisine at Café Brio’s and music at The Piano Bar.

Combined with 34 meeting rooms across more than 6,200 square metres of meeting space at the Waterfront Conference Centre, the hotel provides meeting planners a one-stop solution for all events. From meetings to themed breaks, meals and accommodation arrangements, our dedicated Events Services Team will take care of them all. Accommodating up to 900 delegates in the column-free, 820 square-metre Grand Ballroom, with its towering six-metre high ceiling, the Waterfront Conference Centre is equipped with a full complement of meeting aids including wireless, audio-visual, intelligent light and sound facilities.

MILLENNIUM COPTHORNE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

Millennium Copthorne International Limited is part of Millennium Copthorne Hotels plc, which operates and manages a worldwide portfolio of over 100 properties across five distinct global brands – Grand Millennium, Millennium, Copthorne, Kingsgate and Studio M – across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East and North America.

Millennium Copthorne International Limited operates and manages 20 properties across China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Founded on the philosophy of genuine hospitality, the dynamic hospitality group has an outstanding reputation for excellence, taking pride in exceeding the needs of its business and leisure travellers. The strategic locality of its properties in gateway cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok makes Millennium Hotels and Resorts the perfect address to conduct your business or indulge yourself while on holiday.

For more information, please visit www.millenniumhotels.com

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GRAND COPTHORNE WATERFRONT HOTEL SINGAPORE ENCOURAGES ...

Ikea Singapore Pulls Meatballs Off Menu for Horsemeat Tests

Singapore. Ikea’s famous meatballs were off the menu Tuesday night as a “precautionary measure” by the furniture giant following a global horse meat scandal.

The company said in a statement on Tuesday that it is testing the Swedish dish for traces of horse meat, but added that it was unlikely to contain the meat because the meatballs sold at its two branches here are made only of beef and pork sourced from and produced in Australia.

Its halal meatballs are made of chicken from Brazil and beef from Australia, a spokesman added.

So far, Australia has not been identified as one of the countries which produce horse meat-tainted “beef”. But Ikea Singapore has temporarily stopped selling meatballs pending the DNA test results.

By 5 p.m. Tuesday, meatballs were off the menu and the frozen ones removed from shelves at the branches in Tampines and Alexandra, after the staff were briefed.

When The Straits Times visited the Tampines outlet at 7:30 p.m., signs were put up near the store entrance, at the restaurant and at the Swedish food market to inform customers. The restaurant was still quite crowded.

The outlets normally sell 10 to 12 tones of meatballs a month.

Ikea’s signature dish is usually served with cream sauce, lingonberry jam and potatoes at its restaurants. It costs S$5.50 (US$4.4) for 10 pieces, $8 for 15 and $9.50 for 20.

Frozen meatballs are also typically sold at the store’s Swedish food markets in 1 kg packs.

On Monday, the Czech authorities said they found horse meat in Swedish-made meatballs which were to be sold at Ikea stores in the Czech Republic.

Ikea has since withdrawn frozen meatballs from its stores in more than 20 countries, mostly in Europe, as well as in Thailand and Hong Kong.

The food scandal started in Europe after tests by Ireland’s food safety watchdog revealed on Jan. 15 that horse meat was found in frozen beef burgers.

Sandra Keasberry, assistant advertising and public relations manager for Ikea Singapore, said: “None of our ingredients is produced by the affected suppliers.”

Ikea is testing the meatballs in a local independent laboratory. The results are expected to be released at the end of next week.
Some customers approved of the decision to stop meatball sales.

Beautician May Chong, 36, said in Mandarin that Ikea carrying out such tests made her feel safer.

But others like Nathaniel Sim thought it unnecessary. The 32-year-old safety officer said: “Stopping sales seems to suggest that, internally, they have doubts about whether the meatballs have horse meat.”

Assistant manager William Tay, 49, agreed: “They could just put up signs to explain the situation and reassure customers that the beef is not from the countries affected, without stopping sales.”

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) said last Tuesday that horse meat is not mixed with any processed beef products here.

Since 1996, when mad cow disease swept through Europe, all European countries have been banned from exporting processed beef products to Singapore, said an AVA spokesman on Monday night.

But a few European countries can export boneless whole beef cuts to Singapore, only after meat establishments there are approved by the AVA.

Nevertheless, the AVA has stepped up checks on imports of other processed meat items.

About 40 percent of Singapore’s beef products are imported from Australia, 20 per cent from New Zealand, another 20 per cent from Brazil and less than 1 per cent from Europe.

Reprinted courtesy of The Straits Times

Ikea Singapore Pulls Meatballs Off Menu for Horsemeat Tests