S'pore needs strong SAF to ensure...
SINGAPORE: Former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has said that as a small country, Singapore needs a strong armed forces to ensure its continued survival.
Speaking at the Temasek Society 30th Anniversary dialogue session, Mr Lee said without a strong Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), "there is no economic future" and "there is no security".
Mr Lee said the SAF has done better than he had hoped.
He highlighted the 3rd Generation SAF, which is now technologically advanced, respected and fully capable of meeting Singapore's defence needs.
Mr Lee added national service is also now widely accepted by Singaporeans.
read more
Singapore willing to return Riau Islands airspace
Indonesia’s efforts to take control of the airspace above Riau Islands, controlled by Singapore since 1946, have been unsuccessful since 1993. Singapore says it is willing to hand over control of the airspace above Riau Islands, provided that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) gives the green light.
The Singaporean consul general in Riau Islands, Raj Kumar, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that Singapore had no qualms with Indonesia managing the airspace over the province, as long as the ICAO consented to the matter.
“There’s no problem, if the ICAO agrees to the matter, please do so,” Kumar said during the ground-breaking ceremony of the Bintan Resort Airport on Bintan Island, Riau Islands, on Wednesday.
According to Kumar, Singapore is also ready to assist in the transfer of technology if Indonesia is trusted by the ICAO to control its airspace.
read more
Singapore’s grim outlook is cause for concern
Although the Singaporean economy ( EWS , quote )
grew 10% year on year for the first quarter of 2012 , this
southeast Asian economy is starting to feel the pain of global economic
woes.
The Singapore economy is highly reliant on exports because of its prominent technology industry and a thriving transport sector .
Like many other emerging market economies, Singapore is suffering from a substantial decrease in demand as the result of concerns over the euro zone.
As a result, most pundits agree it's unlikely the Singaporean economy can continue to grow at such a pace over the next year.
read more
Estranged wife loses countersuit by two firms she previously hired The Singapore economy is highly reliant on exports because of its prominent technology industry and a thriving transport sector .
Like many other emerging market economies, Singapore is suffering from a substantial decrease in demand as the result of concerns over the euro zone.
As a result, most pundits agree it's unlikely the Singaporean economy can continue to grow at such a pace over the next year.
read more
She sued her accountants and lawyer for alleged negligence. But Briton Jane Ong will now have to pay them nearly $900,000 in unpaid professional fees.
The High Court made the order and in judgment grounds released on Friday remarked that the suit should not have dragged on for six years when it could have been settled in half that time.
Ms Ong, 52, sued accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and law firm Arul Chew & Partners (ACP), alleging they committed a breach of professional duties that led the court to undervalue the amount due to her from her late father-in-law's estate.
read more
Widow of Ferrari driver says sorry
THE widow of the Ferrari driver who was killed last weekend broke her silence on Thursday, and apologised to the other victims of the fatal accident.
Madam He Tingting, the wife of Mr Ma Chi, said in a post on Weibo, a popular website for Chinese nationals, that her family 'will not ignore the matter', reported Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao yesterday.
'We apologise to the families of the taxi driver and his female passenger who were killed by Ma Chi's driving error,' she wrote in Chinese. 'We will deal responsibly with whatever comes after (but) it all depends on the accident report that we are waiting for.'
read more
Taxi-Ferrari crash sparks outrage in China
Beijing, CHINA: The recent high-speed crash in Singapore involving a Chinese national, which killed three people, has sparked outrage in China - against the growing number of young and affluent who behave badly.
Observers said it will take another generation, before the civil behaviour of the country's growing nouveau riche, catch up with their income.
Observers said the two high-profile incidents where Chinese nationals ran into trouble with locals in Singapore and Hong Kong will only deepen anti-Chinese sentiment in the region.
Zhang Lijia, writer & social commentator, said: "China is rising so rapidly and many people in the West and our neighbours are watching China very warily. Many people just feel frightened and uneasy about China's rapid rise. I don't think China has been very good at addressing that issue and China's soft power."
Following the tragic Ferrari crash in Singapore which killed three, including the 31-year-old Chinese car owner, commentaries have appeared in China condemning the obnoxious behavior of rich Chinese overseas
A man in the street said: "It's obvious the car he drove doesn't reflect his level of education. Even elementary students know you don't beat the red light."
NEW YORK - Despite all the hype and buzz, Facebook didn't pop - or even budge. In a sober debut, shares of Facebook, the social network operator, closed just barely above their offering price on Friday (yesterday morning, Singapore time) as the company's bankers stepped in to help support the stock.
"Facebook was not just an IPO. It was supposed to be something that would excite the retail investor," said Mr James A Bianco, president of Bianco Research, a research and trading firm. "But that didn't happen."
While disappointing new investors betting on double-digit gains, Facebook had a wide winner's circle. At a closing price of US$38.23 (S$48.77), its market value is nearly US$105 billion, creating huge paper gains for scores of early insiders, hundreds of employees and some stragglers who bought stakes recently.
Mr Mark Zuckerberg, the 28-year-old founder known for his signature hoodie, owns a fifth of the company, worth US$19.3 billion. Facebook's first venture capital investor, Accel Partners, which wrote a US$12.7-million cheque seven years ago, cashed out US$1.9 billion in the stock offering and now holds a stake worth US$5.8 billion.
"If you're Facebook, it is hard to be disappointed when you're one of the 25 biggest companies in the country," said Mr Peter Falvey, the founder of Falvey Partners, an advisory firm.
Real democracy about voting carefully: PM
SINGAPORE - The Hougang by-election is a contest between the People's Action Party's (PAP) candidate Desmond Choo and the Workers' Party's Png Eng Huat, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stressed yesterday. And constituents should cast their votes based on who they think is the better candidate who can take care of their needs best.
Speaking to reporters after he visited three areas in the single-seat ward with Mr Choo in the afternoon, Mr Lee reminded voters to assess carefully who the WP's "critical figure" is in the by-election. And that is Mr Png - not their erstwhile long-time Member of Parliament Low Thia Khiang, he pointed out.
"The Workers' Party is very confident, and as (Deputy Prime Minister) Tharman (Shanmugaratnam) says, 'super-confident' about their chances here; they've been in this ward for a long time - Low Thia Khiang personally was here for 20 plus years, but he's not here anymore," said Mr Lee.
"So really, the voters in Hougang should consider carefully, not blindly but carefully, who is the best candidate, who can represent them well, who will work best for them and has a stronger backing who will look after them."
Cop jailed for fling with illegal immigrant
Photo for illustration purposes only. (Photo / istock)
He first met her at a nightclub in December 2009.
She was a hostess and he was a police officer raiding the premise.
The cop, Lim Yaoquan, 32, took over the case and started an affair with Jiang Qingfeng, a 29 year-old Chinese national.
During the sting operation, Jiang and three other Vietnamese women were caught working without a valid work permit.
Jiang had entered the country using a student pass attained in October 2009.
After taking over the case, Lim, an investigator for narcotics and crimes involving foreign nationals, passed his number to her and they kept in touch.
From January to June 2010, the couple met numerous times and had sex at least eight times.
On 26 January that year, he introduced Jiang to his supervisor and asked him not to take any action against her.
However, deputy inspector Xia Hongjun told him to issue a warning to the Chinese national and to hand her over to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority.
Lim did not obey orders and only issued warnings to the three Vietnamese women. Jiang was able to stay in Singapore using her student pass.
read more
Cause of RI maid's fatal S'pore fall still unclear
How the latest Indonesian maid came to fall from a high-rise flat is still unclear, Indonesian Embassy Counselor Sukmo Yuwono said Friday.
Karini, 34, was found by the police at the foot of a Serangoon North block early Thursday morning. The Indonesian, who went by only one name, was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and died there later.
Sukmo said Karini's agent told him that it was raining heavily on Thursday morning and she may have been closing the windows of her employer's fourth-storey flat when she slipped and fell. A wet rag was believed to have been found near the windows. The agent declined to comment when contacted by The Straits Times.
Sukmo said he hoped the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) would “do a thorough investigation and find out what happened”.
He said: “We will need to interview the foreign domestic worker's employer, household members, the employment agent as well as eyewitnesses in the course of our investigations.”
