BTS Butter SUGA & Jin concept clips, ENHYPEN’s 1st win, New KPop girl group & more: DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

May 4 was a busy day for fans trying to keep up with everything that happened in the K-industry. Well, our Daily Highlights segment is here to help you do exactly that - but in a much easier way! Take a look at the key moments that happened today below in a bite-sized format.

Mystic Story’s new girl group scheduled to launch in second half of 2021 The entertainment label has reported that they plan to launch the debut of their first girl group later in the year, though the name of the band is not known at this moment. The group will consist of six members, of which only the identities of Kim Su Hyun and Moon Sua have been revealed. Kim Su Hyun played the popular character of a high school girl in ‘A-TEEN’, while Moon Sua made an appearance on ‘Unpretty Rapstar 2’, and is the younger sibling of ASTRO’s Moonbin. Last year, an Instagram account named ‘Mystic Rookies’ was started by the label, featuring updates about trainees and the group. Rocket Punch unveils concept photos for upcoming album ‘Ring Ring’ With the group’s first single album set to release on May 17, the promotions are definitely going to create much hype. The first set of concept photos feature beautiful portraits of the individual members, along with one of the entire group together. Certainly colourful with a slight cartoonish look, the photos project a definite ‘lightness’ to the upcoming album. This is going to be the group’s latest comeback, following their third mini album, BLUE PUNCH, from the ‘COLOUR PUNCH’ series, featuring title track ‘JUICY’. 로켓펀치(Rocket Punch) 1st Single Album 'Ring Ring' Concept Photo #1 2021.05.17 MON 6PM(KST)#로켓펀치 #RocketPunch#연희 #YeonHee#RingRing #20210517_6PM pic.twitter.com/rYjRGbvuY6 — Rocket Punch(로켓펀치) (@RocketPunch) May 4, 2021 로켓펀치(Rocket Punch) 1st Single Album 'Ring Ring' Concept Photo #1 2021.05.17 MON 6PM(KST)#로켓펀치 #RocketPunch#쥬리 #Juri#RingRing #20210517_6PM pic.twitter.com/uSOO3rjNXE — Rocket Punch(로켓펀치) (@RocketPunch) May 4, 2021 로켓펀치(Rocket Punch) 1st Single Album 'Ring Ring' Concept Photo #1 2021.05.17 MON 6PM(KST)#로켓펀치 #RocketPunch#수윤 #SuYun#RingRing #20210517_6PM pic.twitter.com/ButuYFrdXJ — Rocket Punch(로켓펀치) (@RocketPunch) May 4, 2021 로켓펀치(Rocket Punch) 1st Single Album 'Ring Ring' Concept Photo #1 2021.05.17 MON 6PM(KST)#로켓펀치 #RocketPunch#윤경 #YunKyoung#RingRing #20210517_6PM pic.twitter.com/1Sw3IMuOq9 — Rocket Punch(로켓펀치) (@RocketPunch) May 4, 2021 로켓펀치(Rocket Punch) 1st Single Album 'Ring Ring' Concept Photo #1 — Rocket Punch(로켓펀치) (@RocketPunch) May 4, 2021 로켓펀치(Rocket Punch) 1st Single Album 'Ring Ring' Concept Photo #1 2021.05.17 MON 6PM(KST)#로켓펀치 #RocketPunch#RingRing #20210517_6PM pic.twitter.com/eBBShGEaQA — Rocket Punch(로켓펀치) (@RocketPunch) May 4, 2021 Red Velvet’s Peek-A-Boo surpasses 200 million views; becomes their fourth MV to achieve this

The hauntingly beautiful music video Peek-A-Boo was released on November 17, 2017 and today, on May 4, 2021 surpassed 200 million views on YouTube today! The video has an edgy, seductive vibe, and is clearly a fan favourite. It is Red Velvet’s fourth MV to achieve this after Bad Boy, Psycho and Russian Roulette. Congratulations, Red Velvet! ENHYPEN takes its first-ever win on The Show with their comeback track Drunk-Dazed Rookie group ENHYPEN made their first comeback just a few days ago with their album titled BORDER: CARNIVAL. The album’s title track Drunk-Dazed has been doing rounds and is a catchy song. They were strong contenders to other first place competitors CLOSE by AB6IX and Ugly Dance by ONF. In the end, ENHYPEN’s Drunk-Dazed won by 6,790 points, making them achieve their first-ever trophy! Kim Nam Gil in talks to star as a lead in SBS’ upcoming crime thriller Actor Kim Nam Gil has shown his acting prowess by being a part of commendable projects such as Pandora and Memoir of A Murderer. Currently being cast in the upcoming drama ‘Island’, he has received an offer to play the role of a criminal profiler in SBS’ new crime thriller called Those Who Read Hearts of Evil. The actor;s agency confirmed that he has received the role and is still reviewing. They also stated that he has received many offers after being cast in Island but nothing is yet confirmed. BTS’ #3rdTasteOfButter: Members Jin and SUGA show a fun side in the concept clip BTS’ highly-anticipated single Butter has been creating a lot of buzz lately. Yesterday, BIG HIT MUSIC released Jungkook and RM’s concept clips. Today, they released clips of the oldest members Jin and SUGA’s clips. Jin holds a bunch of smiley balloons in his hands, which are both red and yellow in color, SUGA’s prop is that of an old camera, and he goes around clicking pictures,posing with it and taking out reels in the video. #BTS #방탄소년단 #BTS_Butter Concept Clip - 진 (Jin) pic.twitter.com/gNMCqtcSC6 — BIGHIT MUSIC (@BIGHIT_MUSIC) May 4, 2021 #BTS #방탄소년단 #BTS_Butter Concept Clip - 슈가 (SUGA) pic.twitter.com/AdteQ1zCFv — BIGHIT MUSIC (@BIGHIT_MUSIC) May 4, 2021

Luciano Kruk's 'House in the Trees' Is a Minimal Concrete Artifact

The 185 m² home sits in isolation on a 1.110 m² plot of land located 8 miles outside of the city of Pinamar, or four hours away from Buenos Aires. Nestled between the coastline and a row of pine trees, the House in the Trees features one master bedroom, two secondary bedrooms, a communal area, and an outdoor pool. The house was made with the environment in mind and offers stark juxtaposition while leaving minimal impact on the surrounding wilderness.

For minimal maintenance and structural impact on the terrain, tread surface was kept at just the entrance and service/engine rooms; at the same time the entire home is made from concrete, glass, and framed with aluminum. With plenty of windows and a large skylight that sits at the top of the staircase, natural lighting is in abundance. The pool appears as an independent structure as it looks to only touch the main structure perpendicularly where it sits on a thin slab of reinforced concrete — the end result is a large concrete structure that floats over a transparent lower floor. Scroll through the images above for a thorough look at this concrete artifact in the woods, and head over to Luciano Kruk’s website for more information on past projects.

Poggy Links Up with Hamilton For an Elvis Presley-Inspired Limited Edition Ventura

Motofumi “Poggy” Kogi has joined Swiss watchmaker Hamilton to create a limited-edition Ventura POGGYTHEMAN inspired by none other than Elvis Presley, aka the King. Retaining the iconic shape of the Ventura, the collaboration sees the PVD-coated stainless steel case and dial completely blacked out — a tribute to the model’s original design in 1957. A playful dash of color comes in the form of a bright pink logo and hour markers, inspired by the suits Elvis used to wear on stage, providing a welcome contrast to the otherwise subtle color scheme.

Protecting the Swiss-made quartz movement is a caseback engraved with Poggy’s image, which adds a nice touch of detailing in honor of the fashion icon. Tying the entire look together is a black calf leather strap with bright pink lining, perfectly complementing the watch. Limited to just 500 pieces, the Motofumi Kogi x Hamilton Limited-Edition Ventura POGGYTHEMAN is now available over on the Swiss brand’s online store, going for CHF 945, or roughly $946 USD. Head over to grab yours now.

Nike's Latest "Just Do It" Pack is Coming in Kids Sizing

Nike is expanding on its “Just Do It” offerings this Thanksgiving by extending into the kids category, dressing three iconic Air Max silhouettes in its two-tone colorway. Using a completely blacked out base for all three models, the Air Max 97 and Air Max 270 React both carry the double-stacked Swoosh logo in contrasting shades of blue by the midfoot, complemented by identically-colored accents running along the tongue and the heel tab.

Foregoing that logo, the newer Air Max 720 model instead opts for a blue concentric patch near the heel, with the same tonal approach to the “AIR” logo written across it, coupled with smaller Swoosh logos on the toebox and on the lateral side. For those interested, all three silhouettes from the Nike Kids “Just Do It” Air Max Pack are now available over at the company’s official online store and select retailers, going for $150 USD for the AM 97, $120 for the AM 270 React, and $160 USD for the AM 720. Take a detailed look in the gallery above.

Grimes Digs Into Coldwave Territory With New Cut "My Name is Dark"

Continuing the run-up to her forthcoming album Miss_Anthropocene, avant-pop songstress Grimes has returned with a brand new single entitled “My Name is Dark.” Produced, written, performed, and engineered by the Canadian artist, the single originally appeared in Apple’s “Behind the Mac” ad from last June.

Undergoing a relative overhaul, the newly released track relishes in coldwave tonalities, whereby driving minimalistic guitar riffs and percussion take hold alongside electronic production. According to a tweet, the song is about her struggle with insomnia. The new single follows the release of “So Heavy I Fell Through The Earth” from earlier this month as well as her collaborative track with i_o titled “Violence.” Recently Grimes was the subject of outrage from a variety of artists after comments regarding AI and the future of music.

Dubai's Police Department Will Soon Be Patrolling in a Tesla Cybertruck

Dubai‘s police department has long been known to hold an impressive roster of patrol cars, ranging from the Porsche 918 to the Lamborghini Aventador to even a Bugatti Veyron, but now joining the roster may be one of the most robust vehicles in their lineup yet: the Tesla Cybertruck. Announcing the news via a Twitter post (that Elon Musk himself liked), the Dubai police force attached a rendering of the upcoming Cybertruck which, unlike the silver model unveiled by Tesla, carries a white body along with a green patterning and decor you’d usually find on other law enforcement vehicles in the United Arab Emirates city.

Though the caption reads “2020” in the post, Musk’s company has announced that production of the electric pickup truck won’t begin until at least 2021, so it’s uncertain whether Dubai’s government has a special arrangement with Tesla. Speaking on the new purchase, Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri informed Arabian Business that the new vehicle will be in charge of patrolling major tourist areas in the city, such as the Burj Khalifa, La Mer, Jumeirah Beach Residence, and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard.

New Balance Gifts Liverpool With a Black & Gold Made in UK 1500

Earlier this week New Balance announced it was launching a limited edition “Six Times” black collection to celebrate lauded English football club Liverpool. Comprised of both apparel and accessories, each item in the collection celebrates Liverpool’s illustrious history and its six European cups in particular. Now we have a better look at the footwear silhouette that has been specially designed for the capsule.

Utilizing New Balance’s Made in UK 1500, the sneaker has been crafted from luxe leather and dressed in contrasting hits of gold found on the slanted-N insignia, Liverpool’s liver bird crest on the tongue tab, and the six starry marks on the heel. Each one of those stars pays homage to Liverpool’s continental triumphs in 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005 and 2019. this all then sits atop a white midsole and black and grey patterned outsole. Interested readers can pre-order this pristine black and gold New Balance Made in UK 1500 Liverpool FC now via newbalance.com. The sneaker will then officially launch at select retailers on December 4 for $220 USD.

Trippie Redd Projected to Land First No. 1 With 'A Love Letter to You 4'

Trippie Redd is looking to land his first ever No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as projections reflect A Love Letter to You 4‘s total equivalent album units to 90,000 to 105,000, with between 10,000 to 15,000 from traditional album sales. This would also mark his largest chart total, with Life’s a Trip debuting at No. 4 with 72,000 units and ! and A Love Letter to You 3 both debuting at No. 3 with 51,000 and 84,000 units respectively.

Redd’s 21-track project is the fourth installment in his A Love Letter to You mixtape series that began in 2017. He worked with the likes of Lil Mosey in “This Ain’t That,” Juice WRLD and YNW Melly in “6 Kiss,” Chris King and Quanta in “You Deserve It,” YoungBoy Never Broke Again in “Hate Me,” Smokepurpp in “All For Me,” Tory Lanez in “Sickening,” DaBaby in “Death” and Lil Yachty and Pi’erre Bourne in “M’s.”

Kanye West and Family Roam the Cold Wyoming Landscape in "Closed on Sunday"

Kanye West’s last video from his Jesus Is King album was “Follow God,” which starred his father as they traversed a picturesque landscape in a rugged all-terrain vehicle. West is mirroring that theme for his new music visual for the song “Closed on Sunday.” This time around, ‘Ye gets the whole family involved and it’s almost a reunion of sorts as we see Kim Kardashian and kids, Kourtney and kids and even Kris Jenner.

The vibe of the video feels a bit post-apocalyptic but with a more hopeful tone. Towards the end of the clip, we also see the Sunday Service gospel ensemble perform with West at the lead. The release of the video is very appropriate as today is Thanksgiving, a day when most celebrate the occasion with family and “Closed on Sunday” echoes that sentiment with its family-themed direction.

Singaporeans can weather world uncertainties by training and upgrading of skills: Lee Hsien Loong

The world economy is facing challenging times, but Singaporeans will be able to weather the storm with the right tools and mindset, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at a dinner for his constituents on Saturday (Aug 24). "Last week, at the National Day Rally, I talked about the economy and how conditions are difficult because of uncertainties in the world and how that's affecting us," said PM Lee at the Teck Ghee National Day Celebration Dinner. "And how we will be able to respond, not just with stimulus, not just with relief packages, but also with training, with upgrading, and with transformation of companies." He emphasised the importance of workers learning new skills to stay relevant in a changing economy, and older workers continuing to receive new training. "These are things which will help companies... which will help all of us in Singapore weather economic difficulties and do well when conditions get better," he said. PM Lee reiterated other announcements made at the rally, such as enhancements to subsidies and reductions in fees for pre-school, which will help, in particular, low- and middle-income families with more than one child of that age. The Government will raise the monthly income ceiling for means-tested subsidies for pre-school education from $7,500 to $12,000, and increase the quantum of the subsidies, from next year.

This will translate to 30,000 more households qualifying for financial help. In addition, government bursaries for educational institutions will be enhanced, said the prime minister. Those who will benefit are students at universities, polytechnics, the Institute of Technical Education, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Nafa) and Lasalle College of the Arts. For example, government bursaries will be raised to cover 75 per cent of the fees for needy students across all six universities taking up general degrees, up from the 50 per cent currently. "What we are trying to do is to make sure that education is completely affordable," he said. "If you have the ability, you must go and take that education opportunity." Mr Lee was accompanied by his wife at the dinner. The celebration for Singapore's 54th birthday was attended by about 2,500 Teck Ghee residents and guests, including the prime minister's fellow grassroots advisers in Ang Mo Kio GRC. He also thanked the 80 grassroots leaders serving in Teck Ghee division who received the Long Service Award at the dinner, for their contributions. PM Lee noted that nine of them had served for more than 30 years. The event organised by Teck Ghee Grassroots Organisations also featured performances of National Day songs and the reciting of the National Pledge.

Sometimes, we scare ourselves thinking about the future of work: Ong Ye Kung

Most occupations and jobs that exist today will still be around in the future, but in a "re-fashioned" form, said Education Minister Ong Ye Kung. "You will need to learn new tools, you may need to apply your skills slightly differently. You must be technologically savvy and open-minded. But the fundamental skill stays," said Mr Ong in an interview on Tuesday (Aug 27). He gave his take on the future of work at the end of the 45th WorldSkills Competition in Kazan, Russia. For example, the skills needed by a customer chatbot programmer or trainer - relatively new roles - are probably similar to those of a customer service officer trainer, he said. "It is still founded on those (customer service) skills, though you will also need to know how to operate the machine and the software," Mr Ong said. And when a chatbot cannot answer a customer's questions, one still needs to fall back on the human, he told The Straits Times. "We always talk about the future of jobs, jobs we never think of and things we cannot imagine yet... but sometimes we are scaring ourselves." The importance of fundamental skills, even as jobs change, means "many of the things we are doing in the education system and training actually are relevant" in preparing the young and old for the future, Mr Ong said. "But we ourselves now need to be adaptable and open to the different ways that the work is being done," he added. On how the higher education landscape should evolve to keep pace with the changing job landscape, Mr Ong highlighted four trends taking place in universities worldwide. The first, he said, is the blurring of lines between industry training - which is apprenticeship-based - and university training, which involves intellectual inquiry. Universities will have to work with industries to co-develop curriculum and co-deliver lessons, he added. The second theme is that education and learning in general, including for graduates, will have to be lifelong.

"That means you no longer frontload education so much, and backload working in the later part of your life... now it is more work and learn interspersing with each other all the way until you retire, and even post-retirement," he said. And these two themes lead to the third: That regardless of which route one starts out on - vocational or academic - learning will progressively have to be skills-based in nature. Said Mr Ong: "Essentially, we're moving into a world where knowledge increasingly may lose its premium, because it's so accessible, but instead it's how we do things and achieve an outcome, that has a premium." The last theme he highlighted was that education will become more interdisciplinary. Citing the Singapore University of Technology and Design, which emphasises interdisciplinary learning, Mr Ong said: "Innovation is critical for the future, and innovation happens at the intersection of disciplines. "Look at the wonderful inventions we see day to day - they are often products of interdisciplinary creation. "To do that requires a lot of soft skills - how you bring different people together, synergise what they know, and draw on each other's strengths." Asked about best practices around the world that Singapore is drawing from, Mr Ong said the Government picks features from different countries and develops something of its own, instead of learning wholesale from one country. He listed Denmark, Switzerland and Australia as "systems that influenced us deeply". Denmark's "flexicurity" model allows employers flexibility to reconfigure the workforce, while providing a system of income security. Mr Ong said this model is one where "training is not just for training", but also has to lead to outcomes like job placements. Meanwhile, the Swiss have the ability to bring "prestige and acceptance and celebration" into vocational training. The SkillsFuture movement draws a lot of inspiration from them, he added. Singapore also developed the Workforce Skills Qualifications, or a common qualifications framework, through learning from Australia. As for the future of work in Singapore decades down the road, Mr Ong said it would "depend on our economic future". He noted how Singapore used to have a strong foreign direct investment (FDI) strategy to "leapfrog the region". "Today, our region is stable, peaceful and growing... So you don't want to leapfrog the region. You want to be part of the region and tap into the vibrant opportunities and dynamism of the region. "It's no longer about attracting FDI - which continues to be very important - but also to be able to position Singapore as a platform to engage the region, which means our people need to get out of Singapore. Be enterprising, and venture out. "If we succeed, then you will find more jobs that are exciting and different from today."

Hannah Green cards 63 to take 5-stroke lead over Kim Sei-young and Park Sung-hyun at Portland Classic

Australian Hannah Green eagled the par-five fifth hole to shoot a nine-under 63 on Friday (Aug 30) and take a five-stroke lead at 17 under after the second round of the LPGA Portland Classic. The winner of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship in June was at 127 after 36 holes at Columbia Edgewater Country Club. Kim Sei-young was joint second after a record-setting 61 in the long-running tournament. She had 11 birdies to put her at 12 under. Fellow South Korean and world No. 2 Park Sung-hyun was also at 132, a stroke up on a group that included Monday qualifier Yealimi Noh. Green's 63 was a career-low round, and it came after she opened the tournament with a first-round 64. "I just don't want to get too ahead of myself.

Obviously this is quite new to me, shooting such low scores back-to-back," she said. "I want to make sure I continue to do the same things and don't get too disappointed if I don't back it up with another solid round. Going to keep the same game plan." Top-ranked Ko Jin-young, who won the CP Women's Open by five shots last week, had a second-round 69 and was well back of the leaders at seven under. Defending champion Marina Alex was at nine under after the first two rounds in the 72-hole tournament that started in 1972 and is the tour's longest running non-Major event. She was asked if she has been thinking back to what she did last year. "I think I did a little bit yesterday, probably more so than I should have," the 29-year-old American said. "Now just going to try and go out and put as many birdies together as I can. I mean, I think that Hannah is playing exceptionally well right now, so there's still a lot of chase to do." Dana Finkelstein, ranked 240th, made a hole-in-one on the par-three eighth and was also at nine under.

Medvedev embraces boos to reach last 16 at US Open, pain-free Djokovic joins him

Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev overcame a hostile crowd to secure a 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 win over Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in a tension-filled clash on Friday (Aug 30) and book a spot in the last 16 of the US Open. Medvedev, who was heartily booed by the crowd inside Louis Armstrong Stadium at every opportunity after giving them the middle finger, relied on his powerful serve to put away Lopez and keep alive his hopes for a maiden Grand Slam tennis title. In another late match, reigning champion Novak Djokovic said he felt "almost pain free" as he strolled into the round of 16 with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Denis Kudla. The Serb struggled with a left shoulder injury in Wednesday's second-round win, but the top seed looked far more at ease against the 111th-ranked American as he advanced to a showdown with 2016 champion Stan Wawrinka. "I managed to play almost pain free. That's a big improvement from last match," the world No. 1 said. "Obviously I didn't know how my body would react and I'm glad to just finish the match tonight. I'm not going to go into medical details, but it was definitely bothering me the last couple weeks." He added: "I didn't practise yesterday. I just wanted to give myself time and do everything possible to recover." Meanwhile, Medvedev, playing for the second consecutive day after rain wiped out a slew of Wednesday matches, later told the crowd that their negative energy is what carried him to victory. "The energy you are giving me right now I think it will be enough for my next (four) matches. The more you do this the more I will win for you. Thank you," he said in his on-court interview through a chorus of boos. "I want all of you to know when you are asleep tonight I won because of you." The crowd turned on Medvedev in the first set when he angrily snatched a towel from a ballman's hands. Medvedev got an unsportsmanlike conduct code violation for the incident and when it was announced, the 23-year-old tossed his racquet towards the centre of the court before telling the umpire he did not belong in the chair.

The crowd resumed their booing of Medvedev and as he walked back to his chair, he decided to hold up his middle finger close to the side of his head. When Medvedev's gesture was shown on the replay screen, the crowd showered him with boos and the umpire also gave him a talking-to. "I cannot give you a code because of what I saw on the screen. I have to see it myself," chair umpire Damien Dumusois told Medvedev. From there, the crowd were firmly behind Lopez and used every opportunity they could to boo Medvedev, including every time he double faulted or missed a routine shot. "I paid for it the whole match but the crowd was electric," he told a small group of reporters when asked about the inspiration he drew from the crowd. "Even the bad energy I needed to turn it into good energy and that's why I won." The Russian said he talked to Lopez at the net and to the Spaniard's coach, Jose Clavet, in the locker room after that match to assure them his actions were not against them and, according to him, both understood. Medvedev also said he was not sure whether the New York crowds would continue their booing for his next match but did say he does not expect to behave the same when he takes the court on Saturday. "I am working on myself and hopefully I will be better next time," he said. Medvedev arrived at the year's final Grand Slam with more confidence than ever after reaching the final in US Open tune-up events in Washington and Montreal before securing the biggest title of his career in Cincinnati 12 days ago. The Russian is also considered one of the favourites to keep one of the Big Three of Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, who have combined to win each of the last 11 Grand Slams, from winning in New York. Medvedev, who is still four wins away from a maiden Grand Slam title, welcomed the post-match boos and waved for more before addressing the crowd in what was certainly the most bizarre moment of the US Open. "First of all I can say thank you to all you guys because your energy tonight gave me the win," Medvedev, who will face German qualifier Dominik Koepfer in the next round, said on court. "If you were not here I would probably lose the match because I was so tired, I was cramping yesterday and it was hard for me to play." Djokovic is attempting to become the first back-to-back men's champion at Flushing Meadows since Roger Federer won five titles in a row from 2004 to 2008. He will meet Wawrinka, the man who beat him in the US Open final three years ago, for a place in the last eight. "We've had some great battles over the years, all over the world and especially here," Djokovic said of his upcoming clash with the Swiss three-time Grand Slam champion.

ST Run 2019: All women's races sold out, men's 18.45km slots selling fast

All slots for women at this year's The Straits Times Run are sold out, organisers announced on Friday (Aug 30). This covers all three categories - 3.5km fun run, 10km and 18.45km. Slots for the men's 18.45km distance are expected to sell out over the weekend too. However, there are still places in the men's 10km and 3.5km fun run available and the deadline to register for these two categories has been extended till Sept 15. This is the first time in six years that a category for the seven-year-old run has sold out. The only other edition that was completely sold out was the first ST Run in 2013. This year's ST Run will begin and end at the Singapore Sports Hub.

It is one of only two mass runs whose finish line is inside the National Stadium. Register for the Sept 29 ST Run at www.straitstimesrun.com. Normal registration fees are $70 (18.45km), $60 (10km) and $50 (3.5km). Participants of any past edition enjoy a Loyal Runner rate and need pay only $58, $48 and $38, respectively. OCBC card holders and participants of the OCBC Cycle 2019, a partner of the ST Run, will enjoy 15 per cent off the normal rates. All ST Run participants will receive goodie bags that include a New Balance NB Dry running top and NB Dry finisher's T-shirt. Both are limited edition and worth $49. Unlock all Premium articles and discover exclusive stories, in-depth analysis, award-winning multimedia content and more. Cancel anytime.

FAS instructs SPL club Warriors to remove GM Paul Poh from post

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said in a media statement on Friday morning (Aug 30) that it has directed Singapore Premier League (SPL) club Warriors FC to remove the club's general manager and honorary secretary, Paul Poh Por Chuan, from both appointments with immediate effect. It is believed this is the first time the FAS has issued such a directive to a professional club in Singapore, since the S-League was formed in 1996. It comes after a period of turmoil at the club, which has seen it struggle to pay its staff on time on a number of occasions over the past 14 months, leading to a Ministry of Manpower investigation, and two subsequent bans on foreign hires. However, Poh told The Straits Times he has not resigned from his roles at Warriors, and indicated he would not make any further comments on the FAS' directive until he had learnt more about it. He joined the Warriors in 2016 and ran the club's operations on a day-to-day basis. In July, ST had reported that the FAS was "gravely concerned" by the way funds, which it disburses to all six local SPL clubs, are being managed at the Warriors. Each SPL club receives a little over $1 million in subsidies a year from the FAS for salaries of staff like the general manager, coaches, and foreign players. About one fifth of this is not disbursed to the clubs as they comprise insurance and facilities subsidies which the FAS underwrites. In its statement on Friday, the FAS revealed that Warriors had been unable to pay staff and players' monthly Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions since January 2019. Said the FAS: "There is an obligation in law to do so, and this failure is presently being looked into. "This direction (to remove Poh) arises from the FAS' discovery of serious and repeated lapses which Warriors have failed to take steps to rectify, and also having regard to the best interests of the players and staff at (the club)."

The FAS also said it would assist Warriors in the interim, including the possibility of seconding an FAS staff member to manage the club's administration till the end of the ongoing season, which concludes on Sept 29. To ensure that the Warriors players are able to keep to their training regimen, the FAS will also assist with the club's field bookings so that the team are able to focus on preparing for their remaining five matches. ST's report in July uncovered a number of business ventures the club had undertaken since May 2018, which are understood to have not reaped dividends. This includes a five-year deal with Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund to become the German club's official youth development partner in Singapore and a karaoke outlet at the club's Choa Chu Kang Stadium premises. Warriors chairman, Philip Lam Tin Sing, who is listed on finance resources online as the president commissioner of an Indonesian-based company, is said to have a hands-off approach to running the club. Created from the Singapore Armed Forces Sports Association, the club was named SAFFC from the league's inception in 1996 and it came under the direct purview of the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) until 2017. As SAFFC, the club lifted eight titles in the first 14 seasons of the S-League. Since then, they have won just one championship - in 2014 - over nine seasons. A name change from SAFFC to Warriors FC in 2013 preceded the club's eventual move away from military control, which became official in January 2017. Mindef had ceded control of the team as an incoming private sponsor had sought more say in the running of the club, although the sponsor was not named.

Lewis Hamilton crashes as Charles Leclerc tops final Belgian GP practice

Formula One world championship leader Lewis Hamilton smashed his Mercedes into a barrier in final practice for the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday (Aug 31) in a session topped by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Leclerc posted a best 1 minute 44.206 seconds around the iconic 7.004 km of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit with teammate Sebastian Vettel around 45 hundredths of a second back. Ferrari led both sessions on Friday and will be in confident mood going into qualifying later Saturday despite not having won this season. Their last victory was from Vettel a year ago in Belgium. Mercedes have struggled so far in Spa and now face a battle just to repair Hamilton's car in time for qualifying. Hamilton ended the session seventh having caused a red flag by losing his car entering the Fagnes chicane and hitting the barriers at high speed.

"I'm in the wall, guys. Sorry," he told his garage over team radio. Lewis Hamilton ended the session seventh having caused a red flag by losing his car entering the Fagnes chicane and hitting the barriers at high speed. It was a rare mistake from the five-time world champion who left the car unaided and did not need to attend the medical centre for checks. Hamilton leads the drivers' championship by 62 points from teammate Valtteri Bottas going into Sunday's race, the first after the mid-season break. He has not made a smooth return having endured a difficult Friday when a throttle pedal problem hampered his early runs. Mercedes were well off the single lap pace set by Ferrari though they looked better in long run simulations. Bottas was third in final practice, just under half a second off Leclerc, while Daniel Ricciardo was fourth for Renault and Red Bull's Max Verstappen fifth. Sergio Perez, a day after extending his Racing Point contract to 2022, was sixth. Unlock all Premium articles and discover exclusive stories, in-depth analysis, award-winning multimedia content and more. Cancel anytime.

'Tiger-looking' Yeo Jia Min wants more than just success on court

Yeo Jia Min watched the flying shuttlecocks at the OCBC Arena as she pondered the questions asked in this interview, as though looking to the court for answers. She is a woman of few words, but her achievements on the badminton court have so far done the talking for her and the court is where she has found confidence. This confidence led to her remarkable quarter-final run at last week's BWF World Championships, during which she upset world No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi in the second round. It is in her trademark unassuming tone that Yeo says: "Even before I played or won, I already had confidence in myself, so I think (this result) gives me more motivation to train harder." A picture of Yeo's celebration after her victory over Yamaguchi shows the Singaporean kneeling on court and pumping both fists, her eyes shut as she exclaims in triumph. It is a picture that captures the ferocity with which the soft-spoken Yeo competes, one that surprises even her friends. Smiling as she described how some of her friends have made memes of her facial expressions, Yeo told The Straits Times: "(There's a photo) of my face looking 'chill', another with a focused expression, then there's one 'tiger-looking' face." The 20-year-old is the first Singapore woman to reach the singles quarter-final at the world championships but she is not revelling in her history-making accomplishment or her giant-killing feat. Instead, it is her 21-17, 21-11 quarter-final loss to 2013 world champion Ratchanok Intanon that has been on her mind. "I've been thinking of the match every day and how I can prepare and perform better. I think of that loss more than the wins," she said. Yeo, who was back in the gym the day after returning from Basel, Switzerland, believes she did not move as fast as she could against Ratchanok because she did not recover well from her previous match, a gruelling 72-minute battle with Vietnam's Vu Thi Trang. That is just one lesson among many others that she has learnt over the past year. A two-month professional stint with Danish badminton club Ab Aarhus from October to December last year has helped with her improvement on court, but her time in Denmark taught her more off the court. "I did everything on my own - go for training, cook, liaise with (the club) and with the Singapore Badminton Association, fly to and from competitions," said Yeo, who sought her mother's help in sending her recipes for Asian dishes. "I became more independent." Initial kitchen disasters did not faze her, though a sheepish expression crossed Yeo's face as she recounted: "There was once when I put noodles inside the pan without boiling them first, and they weren't cooking and I just left them there."

She fell in love with badminton at age seven, saying: "I like that there are so many (elements) to the game - mental, physical, tactical, technical. There are always things to work on and new challenges, and I like seeing progress in my game and in training. That's one of my motivations." Yeo had been tipped as a rising star even before she started training full-time in 2016, the year she won the first of her three BWF titles at the Vietnam Open. She was the first Singaporean to win the girls' Under-15 title at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships when she triumphed in 2013, and two years later she won the Under-17 title. She was also the junior world No. 1 in 2017, becoming the first from the Republic to top any of badminton's world rankings. Her achievement at the world championships has led to a career-high world ranking of No. 28 and though this may mean greater scrutiny and expectation, Yeo is not bothered. "I don't feel pressure, I just feel very blessed and honoured to be the one to make history," she said. She has drawn strength from her Christian faith when encountering setbacks like the injury that denied her a SEA Games debut in 2015 and the bout of gastric flu that ruled her out of the junior world championships that same year. Her goal when she was 14 was to win an Olympic medal and while that has not changed today, she is also seeking something bigger. "A lot of other players definitely have the same dream, which is to reach the highest level of competition at the Olympics. But more than that, I (also) want to have an influence, not just on Singaporeans, but on anyone I may come across," she explained. "I'm blessed to be able to play well and I think I should use this gift to my fullest and hopefully through my hard work, I can be a positive influence on people. "Of course you strive for excellence, but it's not everything." Still, she knows the areas of her game to improve to get closer to her goal: bettering her footwork for more stable and efficient movement, and honing her mental strength for greater focus. Yeo will book her ticket to the Games if she is within the top 38 in the BWF's Olympic rankings by April 28 next year. Unlike the world rankings, which take into account points from the top 10 competitions in the last 52 weeks, the Olympic listing is calculated using a player's 10 best tournaments in the qualifying period. She has no superstitions but at last month's Hyderabad Open, she started telling herself before walking out on court: "God is with me." She won the tournament and continued that ritual at the world championships. Off the court, she is working on mastering another language - Japanese this time, after already learning Korean. "I have many Japanese friends, and I find Japanese quite a nice language," said Yeo, who admires men's world No. 1 Kento Momota for his composure. "When you learn a language, you learn its culture and other things about the country, and I find it quite satisfying when you improve and can converse in the language." It is only when this reporter suggests that perhaps being fluent in Japanese would help if she qualifies for the Tokyo Olympic Games next year that Yeo bursts into laughter. "Maybe." Yeo may say little, but her feats have spoken volumes of the potential that is to be unleashed. Unlock all Premium articles and discover exclusive stories, in-depth analysis, award-winning multimedia content and more. Cancel anytime.

Cherie Tan wins historic first World Bowling Women's Championship masters title

National kegler Cherie Tan became the first Singaporean to win gold in the Masters category of the World Bowling Women's Championships, after defeating Colombia's top-ranked bowler Maria Rodriguez in the final at the South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas on Friday night (Aug 30). Tan beat Rodriguez by two games to nil, holding her nerve to win the first game 203-201, and then the second 258-217, in the best-of-three series. Rodriguez, 30,had topped the standings in the All Events two days earlier, with a total pinfall of 5,488. Tan, 31, had placed fifth with 5,376. Tan said: "I'm really, really happy to finally win the gold! Especially since I've been coming so close (2015, 2017 and 2019) and never really attained it. "I felt that I bowled well the entire tournament though I fell short in the singles and all-events. "Coming up for this world championships, the main goal of the team was to win the team gold and we fell short of that as well.

"So this medal is not only for Singapore, it's for the team." An overjoyed Jessie Phua, president of SingaporeBowling, told The Straits Times: "(Tan's achievement was) totally deserving and long overdue. Cherie is one of our most hardworking, disciplined and focused athletes at SingaporeBowling. "Her win certainly helped reaffirm and stamp our premier standing in the bowling world - a truly world-class performance that Singapore can be proud of !" Only the top 24 bowlers with the highest pinfalls in the All Events standings qualified for the Masters finals. The only other Singaporean that qualified for the Masters was Bernice Lim, who placed 23rd with 5,132 pinfalls. But she lost 2-1 (227-163, 202-225, 224-246) to Rodriguez in the third round of the Masters finals. Some 180 bowlers from 34 nations competed in this year's championships. This is Tan's second individual medal at the biennial world championships, after winning a silver medal in the singles category in Abu Dhabi in 2015. She had also won a silver in the trios and a bronze in the doubles then. The previous best performance by Singaporean bowlers in the Masters category of at the world championships were silver medals, won by Daphne Tan in Hong Kong in 2011 and Jazreel Tan in Mexico in 2007. Unlock all Premium articles and discover exclusive stories, in-depth analysis, award-winning multimedia content and more. Cancel anytime.

How America’s opioid epidemic could get even worse

The latest news on America’s opioid epidemic seems positive: Based on preliminary data, drug overdose deaths may have fallen in 2018 — for the first time since the crisis began in the 1990s. But a new, exhaustive report by RAND, led by researcher Bryce Pardo, points to one way the opioid crisis could still take a turn for the worse, possibly leading to thousands more deaths each year, if the market for fentanyl were to become more widespread. The report documents the rise of the synthetic opioid fentanyl and its analogs, which have increasingly been mixed with — or outright replaced — heroin and opioid painkillers in the illicit drug market. This trend toward fentanyl is known as the third wave of the opioid crisis, following the first wave of prescription opioids and the second wave of heroin.

The trend has led to a steep increase in overdose deaths, because fentanyl and its analogs are far more potent than other illicit opioids, and they’re a less-known quantity than heroin, making it hard for people who use opioids to properly calculate a safe dose. RAND’s report finds the introduction of fentanyl doesn’t increase the number of people who use opioids — the past decades’ increase continues to be linked primarily to the proliferation of painkillers — but instead increases the number of overdose deaths. But while fentanyl and its ilk have already led to an increase in overdose deaths, that has mostly happened in the eastern parts of the US and especially the Northeast and Midwest, largely due to differences in drug trafficking networks and the kinds of heroin that fentanyl was initially laced in. And that means, in a terrifying possibility, that fentanyl still has a lot of room to grow. “One of the most important — and depressing — insights in this analysis is that however bad the synthetic opioid problem is now, it is likely to get worse before it gets better,” the report explains. If this estimate held, Pardo told me, it would translate to almost 10,000 more synthetic opioid overdose deaths compared to 2017, or about a third more than the over 28,000 synthetic opioid overdose deaths (excluding methadone) that actually happened that year.

'Where are the aliens?': Elon Musk gets, like, deep with fellow billionaire Jack Ma

Sitting next to Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba, Elon Musk talked about SpaceX's plans to visit Mars. And then he went into full stoner mode. "I think it’s important for us to take the set of actions that are most likely to continue consciousness into the future," he said. "I think we should not take it for granted that consciousness will continue because we have not encountered any aliens." It got better: "Where are the aliens? This is the Fermi Paradox. This is one of the most important questions: how come we have not found any aliens? There are people out there who think that we’ve found aliens. Trust me, I would know, we have not." That was just part of a weird and sometimes wonderful "debate" between the two billionaires in Shanghai, where they pontificated on jobs, education, and, mostly, argued about the future humans face with artificial intelligence. Musk said he considered humans to already be something of "a cyborg" thanks to our dependency on phones and computers, but we were doomed in attempts to keep up with AI. "Assuming a benign scenario with AI, we will just be too slow," he said. "Human speech to a computer will sound like very slow tonal wheezing, kind of like whale sounds." In contrast, Ma said he was "quite optimistic" about how AI would benefit humanity. "I don’t think AI is a threat," he said. "I don’t think AI is something terrible.” Musk's response: “I don’t know, man, that’s like famous last words.” He added that technology's rate of advancement is "outpacing our ability to understand it.” This issue came up a bit later when, talking about education, Ma took a humanist approach, saying the focus should be on the arts and growing wisdom: "A computer is just a toy. A computer has chips, man has heart. The heart is where wisdom comes from."

This divide was broken wide open when Ma said he didn't believe in a coming AI disaster and that humans would never be controlled by machines. Musk took umbrage and pointed to how humans have already been outsmarted by machines at games like chess and Go. Ma insisted that it was "stupid" to consider this a sign computers were smarter than humans, comparing it to a human trying to out-run a car. Man created the car, but just because he can't run as fast, Ma suggested, doesn't mean man isn't as smart as a car. "I’ve never seen a computer invent a human being," Ma said. They also talked at length about Mars. Humanity must become a multi-planet species, Musk insisted, because we are in what he considers a short window to "secure the future of consciousness such that the light of consciousness is not extinguished" before something happens to Earth, be it something "external" (i.e., a meteor strike) or an "internal unforced error" (which likely was a reference to something like climate change). While Musk had visions of Mars, Ma claimed to have his feet firmly on the ground: "I admire your courage for exploring Mars, but I admire a lot people who are spending efforts improving earth." When the topic turned to jobs, Ma said that as advancements helped people live longer and AI took over more jobs, humans would find more time enjoy being human. In a bit that seemed to expose a billionaire's disconnect from a working class that lives paycheck to paycheck just to keep food on the table, Ma said people should work a 12-hour week (four hours per day, three days a week). This would enable humanity to be happier and enjoy being human beings. If the idea of humanity being able to only work 12 hours a week and apparently make enough money to live comfortably seems weird, it was nothing compared to what followed when Musk started talking, a 90-second jaunt that perfectly captured the occasionally weird tone of the affair. The two were clearly more comfortable with the back-and-forth by the end, when Musk talked about using Neuralink as a way to "save your state and restore your state like a saved game" and Ma agreed about AI's ability to improve sustainability. It was, at times, an enthralling intellectual battle of billionaires. Other times ... not so much. Maybe they should get a moderator for the next debate.