Coach in bride case fined $20,000

Leading for leniency after admitting to accept $3,000 bribe, former national badminton coach Zhen Qinjin on Friday said that the media coverage of his case had made him depressed because he felt it ought not to overshadow his many accomplishment on the badminton court. He was sentence to a $20,000 fine. Zheng,64, was also ordered to pay another $6,000 as a penalty for accepting kickback in 2004. His legal woes started in 2002 when he recommended Mr You Guangli, a china national, to the Singapore badminton association for the position of chief coach of the women's team. He had planned to negotiate a good deal for Mr You on condition for a financial reward. Mr You was offered a two-year contract with SBA in 2003, an don Jan 29, 2004, he paid Zheng $3,000 for the reference.

New Word
kickback-> bribe: a sum of money paid illegally in order to gain concessions or favors

Tiger enclosure wall too low, says zoo chief

The director of the zoo where a teenager was killed by an escaped tiger has acknowledge that the wall around the animal's pen was well below the recommended height. According to the Us Association of Zoos, the wall of a tiger exhibit should be at least 5m high. But the wall was only 3.8m high. The animal went on a rampage on Christmas day, mauling three visitor before it was shot to death by police. A teenager was killed and two other injured badly.

Three killed in Orisa as Hindus fight Christians

Police in eastern India's Orissa state killed at least three people when they opened fire on a group of hardline Hindus who set clashes between Hindus and Christians. The killing occured on Thursday, when the Hindus attack a police station in protest against lack of protection after a group of christian burned down several Hindu homes in an apparent retaliation against attacks on churches. At least 25 people, have been areested for suspected involvement in the violence.

Patients dies after 30 hospitals rejected her

An 89-year-old woman died after an ambulance crew spent two hours trying t30 hospitals before finding one that would accept her for treatment. That was about 2hours after her family had called for an ambulance. The women's heart stopped when she was taken to Osaka Minami Medical Centre.The other hospital have rejected the woman, claiming that they were full. Last year, a pregnant woman died in western Japan after being refused admission by about 20 hospital that say they were full. Critics said that long working hours and a government policy change several years ago to keep number of doctors down are to blame.

Veg prices up in rain-soaked Malaysia

The heavy rains that flooded parts of Malaysia may have subsided, but the bad news remains-prices of vegetables are likely to stay high in the run-up to Chinese New Year. The reason: increased demand, along with a bad drop in supply due to bad weather and flooding. Mr Chay added that farmers also have to factor in recent increases in the cost of fertilisers, pesticides and seeds into their prices. Prices of vegetable are now between 40 per cent and 50 per cent higher than normal. In addition the production had dropped about 20 per cent.

Singapore Red Cross has given out $83m

Three years after the Boxing day tsunami, money donated by people in Singapore to the earthquake and tsunami survivors continues to bring cheer and fresh start to people in the region. Homes, fishing boats, schools and even brick making factories are among the projects that $88 million in donations have paid for, said the Singapore Red Cross on Thursday. The natural disater claimed some 250,000 lives in the region.

New Word
disbursed-> pay: to pay out money, especially from a fund

Korean couple killed in the Phillipines as children watch

Masked men shot dead a Korean couple in their northern Philippines home as their two terrified children hid and watched, police said yesterday. Mr Oh Young Kwan,38, and his wife Lee Hyen Koung,36, were killed in Go-Hayang Ville, a Korean enclave in Pampanga province's Porac town on Christmas Day but the incident was not reported to he police until the next morning. He said investigation were still searching for clues but robbery seemed unlikely to be the motive of the three attackers. Money and other valuables were left untouched.

Girl's leg caught in MRT plateform gap

With one leg wedged tightly in the gap between an MRT train and the station plate form, it wasn't the most comfortable 15minutes for a 15-year-old girl. The girl found herself caught this way yesterday, when she was alighting at Bugis station shortly before 5pm, in the second such incident this year. As a result west-bound train services between Aljunied and Outram Park stations were delayed for 20 minutes.

Taxi driver's quick thinking help nab theif

Quick scribbling of the car licence plate number and a call to the police was all it took to nab a member of snatch-theft gang. The prompt reaction of 53-year-old taxi driver Choo Lye Seng led police to the driver of the gang's gateway car and recover $3,000 belonging to an apparel shop. The money was $17,000, which was in a bag carried by a 20-year-old employee on her way to deposit it with a bank on Wednesday. As the victim walked past Wheelock Place at about 11am, a dark-complexioned man grabbed the bag and fled.

Light, safe,action....

It is set to be the biggest countdown party in town this New Year's Eve-and the organiser of the Marina Bay Countdown 07/08 and the police are working hard to ensure party revellers remember the night for all the right reasons. Last year, about 160,000 merry marker crowded onto the streets around Marina Bay to watch the fireworks display and usher in the New Year: Organiser are expecting a similar, if not bigger,turnout this year. About 750 police officers will be on the ground for traffic and crowd-control duties.

Easing the tariffs burden

Next month, eligible low-and middle-income households will receive second installment of rebats worth between $50 and $110 to help them scope withing rising utility bills. The annoucement by the Ministry of Finance came a day after electricity retailer SP Services said it would rise tariffs in the first quater of next year.The MOF said the Utilities( U-Save) rebates for HDB household range from $100 for a one-to three-room flat to $50 for an executive flat.

New Word
tariffs-> duty levied on goods: a duty levied by a government on imported or exported goods

Extremism destroying Pakistan: musharraf

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said yesterday that extremism and terrorism were destroying both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Since the Sept 11,2001, attacks on the United States. The two US-backed leaders have regularly accused each other of not doing enough to rein militants. At her rally in Peshwar yesterday, police caught a would be suicide bomber as he tried to to enter the venue. The 15 year old, who had a small bomb was arrested by the police at the checkpoint.

Study mama's death Bus driver jailed

He was hoping his own misfortune- the loss of his income as well as his left leg- was reprisal enough for causing the death of a Chinese national woman on Sept 11 in a road accident. Malaysian bus driver Lai Fook Siang,41, pleaded for a lighter sentence after he was sentenced to three weeks in jail and also banned him from driving all classes of vehicles for a period of five years. Because of his carelessness, Madan Rui Yin was dragged beneath the moving bus, and died from multiple injuries 15 minutes later.

Tears, Prayers and sirens

Survivors prayed at mass graves and mosques yesterday to mark the third anniversary of the Asian tsunami, while warning sirens sent hundreds fleeing beaches during a drill to test an alert network establish since the disater. The waves on Dec 26,2004, spawned by the mightiest earthquake in 40 years, killed around 230,000 people in 12 Indian Ocean nations, with just under half of the casualties in the Indonesian province of aceh on Sumatra island. The waves also crash into tourist resorts killing more than 5,000 tourist.

New Word
ecumenical-> involving friendship between religions: involving or promoting friendly relations between different religions

Going up from next month-power tariffs pegged to oil prices

From next month, the price of electricity will be increased by an average of 1.24 cents per killowat hour-or about 6 per cent- from the current 21.38cents per KWH. The hike will apply to both busnesses big and small, and households. One-room HDB flat dwellers are expected to pay between $1.50 and $5.50 more per month depending on usage, while the average for a five-room flat would be slightly above $100,up from $95.

Another boxing day tragedy

Exactly three years to the day the Asian tsunami took about 168,000 lives in Indonesia, the country was hit by another calamity on Boxing Day yesterday,with dozens killed in landslides triggered by torrential rains. Landslide hit villagers in the densely populated Karaganyar and Wonogirl district in Central Java, with floods also swelling in several areas. Volunteer dug desperately with their bare hands, hoping to find the survivors while they waited for heavy equipment to arrive. At least 42 had been confirmed dead and scores missing in centre Java, while the number of casualties expected to rise.

Alleged bomb-maker caught in UK

A 38-year-old man was charged on Monday with intending to carry out a terrorist attack.Mr Hassan Mohammad Sabri Al Tabbakh, from Brimingham, is accused of compiling a document with instruction on how to make a bomb and stockpile chemicals for such a device. The court had heard that Mr Tabbakh had been arrested near his home on Brimingham last Tuesday Act 2006.

Pilgrims die in bridge collapse

At least 11 people died and hundereds on a religous pilgrimage were missing after an overcrowded bridge collapsed in western Nepal yesterday. Nearly 400 people were said to have been on the bridge across a gorge over the Bheri River, 380km west of the capital Kathmandu, when it collapsed, district officials and police said.

New Word

pilgrimage->religious journey: a journey to a holy place, undertaken for religious reasons

Underpaid,abused Banglahdeshi workers flee from employers, seek refuge at M'sian mission

More than 200 Bangladeshi migrant workers who claim that their employers underpaid and abused them have sought refuge outside their country's embassy in Malaysia. The Bangladesh High Commission has turned a section for its misson into a temporary shelter for some of the 225 workers, but most of them have been sheltering on the pavement since early this month due to a lack of space inside the premises.

New Word

consensus->broad unanimity: general or widespread agreement among all the members of a group

A $2-Million icon or eyesore?

It is a $2-million addition to shenton way skyline, but some passer-by are not sure what to make it. It stands on a island at the busy intersection of Finlayson Green, opposite One Raffles Quay, and is painted steel sculpture known as Momentum. There are those who mistook the 13.85m artwork, in the shape of a Chritmas tree, as a curious Yuletide offering.

New Word

Yulitide-> Christmastime: the Christmas season

Silly stunt results in death of superbike racer

When superbike enthusiast Marcus Tan set out on his $40,000 Ducati 999 for Johor Racing Circuit in Paisr Gudang on Sunday morning , he was looking forward to an exhilarating race- and a very special Chritmas on his return. On Monday night,Rachel wept as the body of her 28-year-old fiance was brought back to singapore more than 18hours after he died following a high-speed collision with another racer at the 3.8km circuit, which was built in 1986 and is about 20km from Johor Baru.He collided with another driver at about 150kmh and was flung off the bike. His hip was factured and Mr tan Died and hour and a half later from internal bleeding.

Not nearly there, tsunami alerts by Nov 2008

As the third anniversary of the Asian tsunami nears, German scientists said they are working hard to honour a promise made to Indonesia to create an Indian Ocean alert system to prevent a repeat of the 2004 tragedy. Their aim is to be able to send out an alert within 10 minutes of the earthquake that set of the giant wave and to save lives.

Phillippine police downplay terror threat

Australia has warned there could be terrorist attack in the Philippines over Christmas, although the Asian nation's police chief said yesterday that security officials had not uncovered a specific threat. Australian Embassy strongly advised against travel in the southern region of Mindanao, where AL Qaeda-linked militants are active.

A race to raise understanding

Some 30 wheelchair-bound youth and 60 of their able-bodied peers were on sentosa yesterday morning competing in the first-ever South West Amazing Wheelchair Race championship. Organised by the South West Amazing Wheelchair Race championship. Organised by the South West Community Development Council, the competition sought to foster friendship and understanding between the able-bodied and the wheelchair-bound, and to give the latter an additional opportunity to experience the outdoors.

Beer bringe ends in cofeeshop murder

In the third murder case in two weeks, a man died on Saturday night after he was punched while drinking with his friends at a coffee shop in Yishun. 51-year-old Lau Ah Song had gone to the coffee shop to meet his friends. A quarrel broke out after the group had a few rounds of beers. Mr Lau was punched and collapsed several metres from the table where he was drinking. The police were alerted at 10.30pm and the paramedics who arrived shortly after pronuced Mr Lau dead at the scene at 10.50pm.

The Ride of your dreams is here

Have you ever dreamt of being chauffeured around in style? Well, soon you can be driven around in town in Singapore's first 8-m-long super stretch limousine-similar to those used by Hollywood's stars at red-carpet events. The sliver Chrysler 300, which is due to arrive here today, will be the longest car ever to take to Singapore's roads. The limousine, which seats eight passengers, is about twice the lengths of regular car. It comes with a J-shaped leather couch, a fully-stocked bar completed with ice bucket for champagne; a stereo, DVD player and LCD television screen for entertainment; as well as tinted window for privacy and special lighting that can be adjusted to suit every mood. Cruising in the Chrysler will not come cheap=it costs $100 per person per hour to rent the limousine and for alcoholic drinks, be prepared to pay at least $35 extra per person per hour.

New Word
patronise->be regular customer of business: to be a regular customer of a store or business

Japan calls off plan to start hunting humpbacks

Japan said on Friday it was dropping plans to start hunting humpbacks whale for the first time in four decades after protest lead by Australia seeking to spare the popular mammals . It is the first time that Japan has backed down over one of its whaling expeditions, which have been a longstanding strain in its relations with its Western allies.

Sir Lanka sacked airline chief

The British head of Sri Lankan Airlines has been sacked after the carrier, 51-per-cent governments owned, refused to bump passengers off a flight from London to make way from the President of Sri Lanka. The government of Sri Lanka said yesterday it was cancelling a work permit for Mr Peter Hill, who has been the carrier's chief executive for eight years. It blamed him for the air lines' refusal to clear 35 seats for President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his entourage on a flight from London to Colombo on Dec 13.

New Words
entourage->people accompanying VIP: a group of special employees who go with a high-ranking or famous person on visits and engagements

Construction worker arrested for maid's death

A Banglahdeshi worker has been arrested in connection with the murder of an Indonesian maid. Kamrul Hasan Adbul Quddus,34, is alleged to have caused the death of Ms Yulia Afriyanti,25, on the third floor of Viz@Holland at Block 3 Queensway between 10pm last Sunday and 11.07am the next day. Kamrul was arrested on Wenesday night at the worksite. Kamrul, who faces the death penalty if found guilty of murder, is being remanded at Central police disvision. His cases is up for mention on Thursday.

New Words
remanded-> return prisoner to custody: to return a prisoner or accused person to custody, or arrange for somebody to be released on bail when a court case is adjourned

Feeling the pinch

The battle of wills, inevitable with the introduction of a fare hike, is talking its tolls on taxi driver too. More than half of 20 ComfortDelGro drivers , whose company rolled out the hike on Monday, told Today that they were feeling the pinch , with their taking falling between 5 per cent to as much as 50 per cent. Could it be that the travelling public was staying away from using taxis in a knee jerk reaction to the hike? Or could the apparent fall in passenger be due simply to the fact that many were out of the country because of school holidays.

New Word
inevitable-> unavoidable: impossible to avoid or to prevent from happening

S'poreans on drug rap in India

Two singaporeans- one of them an alleged international drug kingpin-were arrested in Mumbai on Monday along with 290kg of raw material used to make party drug such as Ice and Ecstasy. The 63-year-old and 36-year-old, were extracting raw substances to make the drugs in a kitchen laboratory when officers from India's Nacrotics Control Burea busted the farm house, about 15km away from the city. Two Indians and one Mexican were also arrested when nacotics officers seized eight sacks of pseudo epethrine powder and several packets of kamagra tablets.

Better brains with foster care

Toddlers rescued from orphanages and placed in Good foster homes score much higher on IQ test years later than those who were left behind, concludes a one-of-kind project in Romania that has profound implications for child welfare around the globe. The boost means the difference between borderline retardation and average intelligence for some youngster.

M'sia to get two new dogs to sniff out pirated DVDs

Malaysia will get two new sniffer dogs to unearth pirated DVDs after the resounding success of their predecessor Lucky and Flo earlier this year. Paddy and Manny, who are being trained to sniff out chemicals used in DVDs, will arrive in Malaysia in February to be permanently based there. The male Labradors from Ireland- one black and one white- are trained by the same person who trained Lucky and Flo.

Supper run ends in tragedy

Airport technician Ow Kah Hoe,28, got into another accident yesterday morning- a hit and run case. He died at 1.20am after his motorcycle was involved in a collision with a lorry at the McPherson Road and Airport road intersection. Mr Ow was flung about 10m, landing on the windscreen of the taxi that had stopped at the junction. he succumbed to head injuries minutes later.

New Word

succumbed-> die from something: to die from an illness or injury

US gun laws to get tougher

The United States Congress has approved the first major gun control legislation in more than a decade, braodening background checks for gun buyers in the wake of the country's deadliest campus shooting ealier this year by mentally-ill student. It also allocates funds for gun owners and potential gun owners who are prevented from owning wepons due to mental illness so that they may challenge the ruling in court.

New Words

Senate-> the main faculty governing body in some universities and colleges

Hard line on whaling

Fresh from winning global plaudits for a policy turnaround on global warming, Australia's new government is turning to another thorny international evnvironmental issu: japan whale hunt. Canberra anouced on wenesday that it would use a ship and a plane to spy on Jpanese whalers in Antartica waters and collect evidence for a possible case in international courts. Japan takes out more than 1,000 whales a year.

New Word
pluadits->expression of praise: an expression of praise or approval

The mysterious tower of CBD

A mysterious tiered tower, seemingly shrink-wrapped in canvas, has been under construction at one of the busiest intersections in the Central Business District for several months. Tomorrow,it will finally be revealed as Singapore's tallest sculpture. One that day, the protective canvas of the first tier of the 18.35-metre, 44-tone sculpture-titled Momentum-will be removed with the rest of the spiral progressively unveiled one tier per day. It will culminate in the entire sculpture being specially illuminated for the first time by a state-of-art lighting system at 7pm on New Year's Eve as many people are expected in the area for the Marina Bay Countdown.

culminate-> to come or bring something to an end, especially a climactic

The future's grey for China

China's rapidly ageing population coud wipe out the country's low cost labour advantage within the next few decade and stifle economic growth. A report on the China National Comitee on Ageing, said that sometime between 2030 and 2050, there will be only 2 workers for every retiree-down from the current ratio of six is to one. With fewer people of working age and even more pressure on supporting the elderly, the economy will suffer it productivity sees no major progress.

New Words

disintegrate->lose wholeness: to destroy the cohesion, unity, or wholeness of something, or undergo such destruction

Japan tests missile shield

Japan said yesterday that it had successfully shot down a ballistic missile over the Pacific as part of joint effects with the United States to erect a shield against possible attacks from North Korea. Japan tested the US-developed Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) interceptor from a warship (picture) in waters off Hawaii, becoming the first US alley to successfully intercept a target using the system.

New Words
ballistic->relating to projectiles: relating to the movements of objects propelled through the air

Taiwanese identity at heart of vote : Hsieh

Presidential hopeful; Frank Hsieh said yesterday that the sensitive issue of the Taiwan's national identity would be at the heart of the March 22 presidential election. The next Taiwan presidential election will ask the people to choose their national identity, whether they pick the Taiwanese identity or the Chinese identity.

Maths textbook California-bound

The tropical "rambutan" may have been replaced by the ubiquitous "apple"-but otherwise, the same mathematics textbooks that Singapore students learn from may soon be used in classrooms across California in the United States, too. A local education publisher has received approval from California's education board to sell mathematics textbook in its schools. This makes it the first Asian content provider to reach the Golden State's 3-million- strong student population in Grades 1 to 5

New Words
ubiquitous-> existing everywhere: present everywhere at once, or seeming to be

Courts find brother guilty of killing former Indian minister

A court found the younger brother of late Indian Hindu former federal minister Pramod Mahajan yesterday guilty of his murder last year. Mahajan stormed into the apartment of his elder brother and shot him three times with a gun in April last year. Mr Pramod, who was 56, died of multiple-organ failure in 12 days after the shooting.

Prima cakes too tasty to forgo?

In spite of the spate of food posioning that had led to the closure of the bakery's 40 outlets on Dec 5, Ms Julie Raihan,32, echoed the majority view when she said there was little cause for worry given the authorities "stringent checks". Yesterday the AVA took microbiological swabs from the factory. Once the factory is given a clean bill of health, Laywer Dennis Loh,53, would not hesitate to return to its shop.

Fares up but waiting time still a bother

Blame it on the rain or the festive rush. But even as new taxi charges by market-leader ComfortDelGro kicked in yesterday, aimed in part at driving up the supply of cabs during peak hours in the city area, some commuters found themselves having to pay 10 to 49 percent more-but still having to wait in frustration for an elusive ride. at about 10.30 am, ques of at least 20 people formed a taxi stands in front of Centre point.Vacant taxis were spotted cruising the streets without stopping for passengers.

A new era for local music or just a idol dream

Some call it a triumph to silence the sceptics; others, an unexpected and lucky win.Hardy Mizar has been crown as the first Asian idol contest. But some viewers were surprised that the 27-year-old winner of the second season of Singapore idol could beat out strong contestant such as Indonesia Mike Mohede, 24, and Malaysian Jacklyn Victor, 29.

Turkey bombs Kurdish rebel targets in north Iraq

Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish rebel targets in northern iraq early yesterday. Turkey's military said, the first such confirmed attack since the United States led invasion of Iraq. An Iraqi official said the plane attack several villages, killing one woman.

First human cases of bird flu in Myanmar, Pakistan

The World Health Organisation yesterday praised Asian countries for swiftly reporting the latest bird-flu cases, after Pakistan announced its first human death and Myanmar revealed it first human case. Pakistan authorities said on Saturday a man who culled infected birds had died, becoming the country first human fatality. Meanwhile, a seven-year-old girl become Myanmar first confirmed human case, although she had since been discharged from hospital after showing signs of recovery.

5-year-old heaves her way into record books

A 5-year0old girl lifted 14.7kg- altmost equivalent of her own body weight- to earn a place in Malaysia's record book. Logassree's father and trainer M Thanabalasingam, who is also a weight lifter, said that she had eaten inmported food supplements, and 10 half-boiled eggs,chese, bread and milk for breadfast.He had started training with his daughter in February and wanted her to become an international athlete in 15 years.

New Words
sanctioned->authorization: official permission or approval for a course of action

puch saves swimer from jaws of death

A swimmer was attacked by a shark on Bondi Beach but made a miraculous escape by punching his way out from the shark's jaw. He managed to reach the Sydney beach before collapsing.He was found several hours later by his girlfriend on Saturday.He is expected to undergo surgery in his arm.

New Words
miraculous-> extraordinary: unexpected, extraordinary, and marvelous

Woman's body at worksite

A Yet-to-be-identified body of a woman was found at a construction site along Queensway yesterday. It was found at around 10.45am by a worker on the third storey of a block at the District 10 condo development called Viz @ holiday. The worker was carrying out tiling work when he made the gruesome discovery and all work at the development was stopped as police arrived to comb the scene.

Cyclone-hit Banglahdeshi needs billiions to recover

Banglahdeshi faces a multibillion-dollar battle to get cyclone survivors back on their feet and repair damaged infrastructure after Cyclone Sidir . Cyclone Sidir hit the Banglahdeshi coast on Nov 15, killing 3,300 people and 800 more are still missing and presume dead.$3.2 billion have been donated by other country so far.

Views->Countries shoould donate more so that they could recover from their loses, and the government could built homes for the victims.

New Word
interim-> having temporary effect: serving as a temporary measure until something more complete and permanent can be established

Snatch theift jailed-he was nabbed by resturant staff

He grabbed a woman handbag at a restuarant and almost got away with it- but for the quick thinking of the two staff members of the restuarant.The two gave chase and managed to wrestle him to the ground neat the staircase outside the shopping centre. Yesterday, Tan Kie Tiong,38, was jailed for a total of 31 and a half years for stealing the handbag and its contents worth $997 and for assualting a restuarant waiter.

Views->The two resturant staff who nabbed the theif should be rewarded as the risk their life to get the handbag back as the theif might be arm with a knife.

New Word
remission->a lessening or a reduction in the severity of something

Meat cheats nabbed by NEA

As cost and competition escalate, 31 pork retailers have been fined $300 each for trying to pass of thawed frozen pork as chilled fresh pork.Two were supermarkets, while the other were retailers at wet and dry markets. It declined to reveal names, as they were first-time offenders.A pork retailer at a wet market said some stallholder resort to such methods as competition from supermarkets has made it difficult to earn a profit. Of the 13 stalls selling pork at the market,he claimed, two or three mixed frozen pork in with the chilled pork alternative.

Views->They should impose a heavier fine for those who try to pass of thawed frozen pork as chilled fresh pork as thawed meat the is refrozen carriers a "risk of contamination" and could result in food poisoning.

Boy kills brother 9, with grandfather's gun

The victim and his 11-year-old brother were alone in their grandfather's orchard when their grandfather had gone to the mosque for prayers.The brothers, together with four friends toyed around with the gun for a while before the victim went to rest on the hammock. As the elder brother was walking down the steps with the shotgun, he tripped and the gun went off killing his little brother.

Views-> Guns should not be allowed to be purchase, as it is a dangerous object which have killed many people.

New Words
distruaght->extremely upset: extremely upset and distressed

China may sue over German Terracotta scam

Chinese cultural authories may take legal action over fake "Terracotta Warriors" that appeared at a German museum. Shaanxi's authority in charge of the orginal 2,200-year-old life-size clay soldiers,said it had not sent any artefacts fot the exhibition at the Hamburg Museum of Ethnology. The Hamburg Museum admitted on Thursday that it eight clay statue on display is fake.

Views->China should not sue them as they were only showing the statue and they never claimed it was real, also on a radio station a lot of people say they don't care if the warriors are real or fakes,they just want to see it .

Japanese defence officer arrested for alleged spying

Police arrested a Japanese naval officer yesterday for allegedly leaking sensitive defence technology that the United States have shared with japan. Sumitaka Matsuuchi,34, a lieutenant commander in the Maritime Self-Defence Force, was arrested over an alleged leak of classified data to a Japanese naval academy instructor in August 2002, in violation of a Japan-US security pact. The data involves US-developed technology for the Aegis radar system used on several Japanese destroyer and US warship carrying missile interceptors.

New Words
alleged->presumed: asserted but not yet proven to have taken place, have been committed, or be as described

Minor Quake Hits PAHANG

a minor earthquake, measuring 3.2 on the Richer scale struck Pahang on Wednesday. It caused weak tremors in and around Bukit Tinggi. Such tremors have been intermittently felt along the fault line at Bukit Tinggi since Nov 30. Citing meteorological officials, it attributed the seismic activity to the release of stress that has accumulated at the fault line, caused by major earthquake in recent years in Indonesia.

New Words
intermittently->irregular: occurring at irregular intervals

Crocs prey on Johor flood victims

Crocodiles are becoming a menace in flood-hit southern Malaysia, as the death toll rose to at least 13 and authorities struggled to cope with 33,000 evacuees. Some villages in Johor are living in fear of crocodile,which have been seen feasting on dead chickens dumped by poultry farm.

New Words
menace-> a possible source of danger or harm

Officer in NLB unit charged with graft

Senior officer of a subsidiary of the National Library Board was charged in court yesterday with accepting bribes in returns= for helping an IT firm score contracts with his own company. Lim Sem Peng accept a total of $102,985 from Mr Chia, the managing director of Knowledge Internet Solutions, a software development company that provide IT services to libraries. To cover their track, the money was allegedly paid as "consultation fees" to Astersolf, a company owned by Lim. If convicted, Mr Lim faces a maximum five-year jail term or a fine up to $100,000 or both.

New Words
subsidiary->of lesser importance: having secondary importance, or occupying a subordinate position

adjourned-> to postpone a meeting to another time, or become postponed

CAB FRIMS MUST DO MORE THAN UP FARES

Taxi companies appear to have tackled the dilemma of either paying its driver more or leaving them poorer due to rising cost, by deciding to hike fares and passing the problem on the passenger.Right now, it seems rather optimistic to think that the fare hikes will solve the issues of touting, lack of taxis where they are needed.

New Words
ethic->set of principles: a system of moral standards or principles

Filipino charged with killing British Hubby

A 22-year-old Philippine woman has been charged with killing her British hubby after his partially-burnt body was found in a swap in the country's south.

Ms Annalyn Bataller has confessed to having killed, then burnt her 62-year-old husband's body and dumping the remains in a swamp.

Police said the woman led them to the body, which had been hogtied with a chain and bore signs of torture.The woman two male accomplices are still at large.

New Words
hogtied-> to tie the legs of an animal or the feet and hands of a person together

Six teenagers gunned down at Las Vegas bus stop

Assailants have shot six young people at a school bus stop in Las Vegas,wounding two critically, in a midday attack that followed a fight over a girl.

School police arrested three teenagers in the fight that happened hours before the shooting on tuesday.

An 18-year-old male has been in critical condition and a 17-year-old youth has been been in serious condition, both with gunshot on the torso. Four people have been treated for gunshot injuries to their arms and legs and later released.

21 killed in China apartment fire

Twenty-one people were killed when a high-rise building caught fire in eastern China yesterday.

The blaze in the 28-storey building in Zhejiang province's bustling Wenzhou city lasted for three hours, with the 200 people in the complex when the fire broke out.

Fire fighters rescued 105 people who were trapped by smoke, while another 100 were evacuated in line with emergency procedures.

From gangster to godson

Mr Ong Chee Siang was just 10 years old when he was recurited into a gang.By 14, he was sporting muti-coloured hair,carrying a parang as a wepon and stealing parts from stolen cars.One day in school, he throwed a projectile across the classroom which struck his 20-yers-old relief teacher which earned him a public caning.

And til today he remain thankful that he was spared expulsion by Ms Paramita Bandara, then the school principal.

Looking at Mr Ong today-he is currently pursuing a degree course at the Nanyang Technological University-you would hardly imagine he once presided over a gang with 50 members.

New Words
presided->have control: to be the most powerful person or the one everyone else obeys, usually in a specific place or situation

Tourist have it ez now

Tourist can now buy the Singapore Tourist Pass from MRT stations at $8 a day which offers them unlimited rides on buses,MRTS and LRTs at $8 a day.

The Singapore Tourist Pass comes with a refunable rental deposit of $10 if it is returned whithin 5 days of issue.

Tourist can buy 1,2 or 3 day passes after the vadility period, they either repurchase another muti-trippass at $8 a day ortop it up to use like normal ez-link card.

New Words
daunting->disheartening: likely to discourage, intimidate, or frighten somebody

All veggies on sale are safe:AVA

The AVA says all vegetable sold in Singapore are safe for consumption,following checks at vegetables farms where red spots were found on crops there. The spots were caused by a dye released from an RSAF aircraft being tested at Tengah Airbase in preparation for an upcoming aerobatic display. The AVA said the red spots were found at crops in six farms in the Lorong Semangka area in Sungei Tengah.The farmers have three day to destroy the affected crops,which come up to about 200 tonnes of vegetables.

Cabbies feel pinch, seek fair hike

The pressure is growing on taxi companies to raise taxi meter fares as cab drivers complain of rising operational costs.Last wenesday's increase in the price of diesel oil brought the retail pump price to $1,523, and increase of about 20 to 50 cents per litre from last year. Taxi Drivers estimate that their takings have been reduced by about $20 each day due to the higher fuel price.

Guilty cabbie's cancer plea

He was found guilty of causing the death of 30-year-old financial adviser Alex Lim following an argument at Scott Road earlier this year.Now, taxi driver Lee Kuet Kong is hoping his health problem can help him avoid mandatory jail time.Lee was suffering from cancer and a history of heart failure.He faces up to two years in prison and a maximum of $1,000 fine for his offence.

New Words
Mandatory->compulsory: needing to be done, followed, or complied with, usually because of an official requirement

Discard Prima Deli choclate cakes:MOH,AVA

customers of Prima Deli have been advised by the authorities to throw away the bakery's chocolate cake,after at least 106 people came down with food poisoning.Prima Deli worked closely with the MOH and the AVA, and found that one of their China national workers was a carrier of the bacteria.The worker has been quarantined.

New Words
disinfect-> to clean something so as to destroy disease-carrying microorganisms and prevent infection

"Treeman Man" may be denied treatment

Indonesia has barred a villager dubbed the "Tree Man" for huge bark-like warts growing on his body from traveling to United States to receive treatment. Woody growths cover 32-year-old Dede's hand in root-like tendrils that leave him unable to work.The villagers are not given permission to bring DeDe to the US.

Quake in Indonesia

A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia's Sumbawa island yesterday, killing three, injuring 55 and damaging hundreds of home. Building collapsed in Dompu and Bima district, some resident gather to high ground fearing tsunami. In Bima,a radio annoucer broadcasting when the quake struck jumped from the five-storey studio building in panic,badly injuring himself.

New Words
rattle->to make somebody lose composure and feel frightened, worried, confused, or annoyed

Motorist hurt as scaffolding collapses

Scaffolding at a construction site along Selegie road collapsed yesterday afternoon, injuring a passing motorist.The driver, belived to be in his 40s, escaped with minor cuts on his finger. One eyewitness said that several metal pole approximately 1.7m in length fell from the 12-storey project known as Wikie Edge, smashing the car's windsheild and denting its roof.

New Words
debris-> fragments of something that has been destroyed or broken into pieces

Cambodia survivors come home

17 members of the dragon boat team arrived at Changi Airport on flight M1601. According to officals who met them on arrival. 10 hours later Chee Wei Cheng, 20 , Jeremy Goh Tze,10, Stephen Loh Soon Ann,31,and two others were brought home. The "isolated and unfortunate event" is the sport first fatality in in the SBDA'S almost 20-year-history.

New Words
devastated-> to shock or upset somebody greatly

Sumatra's 6.5-magnitude quake felt in parts of Singapore

A 6.5 magnitude quake hit the Indonesia island about 560km from Singapore at 10.51am.The tremor shook telephone and electricity as panicking Indonesian fled their homes.There were no immediate report of injuries. Singapore's National Environmental agency said it received reports of shock in Kampong Glam and Whampoa.They said they felt tremors in the southern and eastern part of the island.

Have we Become Greener?

Six months after the start of the Bring Your Own Bag campaign,have we become greener.If the aim is to inculcate the habit of recycling, we would have succeeded only if people take their own bag every time -rather than just a appointed day-they visit the supermarket. The problem with such campaigns is that people no longer are enthusiastic about them once the novelty wears off.However according to BBC poll of 22,000people in 21 countries, four out of five people are prepared to alter their lifestyle due to climate changes.

New Words
inculcate-> to fix something firmly in somebody's mind through frequent, forceful repetition
novelty-> something new, original, and different that is interesting or exciting, though often for only a short time

Malibu fires;Hollywood celebs among homeless

Hollywood stars were among thousands of people who found themselves homeless yesterday after wind-driven wildfires gutted nearly 50 multi-million-dollar homes in the celebrity enclave of Malibu and forced scores of local resident to flee. Fire erupted before dawn on Saturday,spreading rapidly through tinder-dry brush as winds packing gusts of up to 80km per hour fanned the inferno. By early yesterday, around 1,800ha had been scorched and 51 buildings, including 49 homes,had been destroyed.A further 27 structures had been damaged, said Los Angeles County Fire Department officials.

New Words
enclave-> a distinct group that lives or operates together within a larger community

Vietnamese woman enslaved and totured for 13 years

For 13 years, a Vietnamese couple abused and tortured a young woman they kept as a virtual slave,until she was finally rescued by a compassionate neighbour.The couple used electric cables, wooden sticks and pliers to torture her.They had kept her as an unpaid maid and let her sleep only three hours at night. Scars covered 37 per cent of her body. Her suffering only ended after a 70-year-old neighbour spirited her away to a farm outside Hanoi.She had reported the abuse to local police three times,but they did nothing. The couple first denied,then admitted the barbarous treatment.

New Words
virtual->being something in effect even if not in reality or not conforming to the generally accepted definition of the term

GARBAGE OUT,CASH IN

The Jurong Town Council is set to launch the first GRC-wide "cash for trash" drive to send their message that it pays to care for the environment. From Dec 9,Jurong residents will be able to cash in on their trash every Sunday from 7.30am to noon at the recycling kiosks around the estate. They managed to gather over 128,000kg of rubbish and they paid the resident $26,000.

Gerif tributes for dragon boaters

After finishing a race on Cambodia's Tonle Sap, the trio,along with physical education teacher Stephen Loh,31, and student Chee Wei Cheng,20, vanished when their dragon boat capsized in a freak accident.Seventeen other Singapore teammates were rescued.Yesterday, the bodies of the five were fished out of the murky river, following a 30-hour search involving about 200 fisherman, soldiers and a team from the Singapore Navy's diving unit.Two of the bodies had drifted some 4km from the accident site.

New Words
doused->to plunge or submerge somebody or something in water

Nicked!

Detective Inspector Dudden drove into Smith School at 5.11pm. The policemen hurried to Mr Fisher's classroom. There were three boys in Mr Fisher's classroom one had black hair,one had red hair, and one had blonde hair. The inspector was sure of one thing.There had been several thefts from this room.One or more of these boys was behind them.Nick said that he was having dentention as he was seen in the carpark with the video camera.Mr Fisher lent him the video camera, the condition was that he only used it at home.Inspector Dudden asked if the blonde hair boy knew who the other boys were.He said that they do not even belong to this school.The inspector ask Nick Hopper if he had stolen a video camera from the school, he said he had borrowed the video camera from the school to catch the theives who had been stealing equipments. The two other boy look worried.He also said he videoed the other two boy getting electrical gear out of the boot of a car.They handed the stuff over to someone. From the video the inspector could only see the first two number of the car. There were only three cars in it. One was the Head's.One was the police car. The other was a white golf. Nick annouced that they did not steal the video eqipment.He watched them in the Coach and Horses car park.They were selling all sorts-smuggled cigarettes,dodgy perfume, stereo stuff.He think that they bought the equipment from the real theif. Nick explained that the real theif told these two thuds that nick would be here.The idea was that would beat him up and get the tape out of him. The theif drives a white Golf which is in the carpark now. Before Nick could finish the sentence, Mr Fisher jumped to his feet and began to ran.The Inspector handcuff him.Mr Fisher was indeed the real theif.

Sailors' families left highad dry in HK

Hundreds of family members of naval member in a US aircraft carrier group were left to celebrate Thanks giving here on their own after the city turned away the warships.The family members of some of the 8,000 sailors of the Kitty Hawk carrier group had flown in from Japan and the United States meet them.None expected the warship to be refused permission on Wednesday to dock in Hong Kong

New Words
relented-> to become more sympathetic or amenable and do something previously ruled out or allow something previously forbidden

Titanic moment for cruise ship

Some 100 passengers and crew escaped unhurt after their cruise ship hit an iceberg in the Antartic and started sinking.A Norwegian passenger ship in the area picked up the occupants of the MS Explorer from the lifeboats they used to escape the ship, which ran into problems off King George Island in Antartica.Captain Arnvid Hansen of the Norwegian cruise ship Nordnorge, said he had sucessfully picked up the passengers and crew from the sttricken liner, and they appeared to be in a good health.

Fined $3,000 for stealing online game account

In the first court case here involving a stolen virtual world game account, a $3,000 meted out yesterday to a video game enthusiast.Joshua Chua,20, first sold his game account,then stole the account from the buyer before trying to peddle it again.Chua had sold his account for $1,000. He found a buyer, and the two met. The buyer verified that the account have the items he claimed it did, and then changed the account password before paying Chua. The buyer however neglected to change the email adress which was Chua links to the account. Chua noticed this and later request a new password for the account. He then changed the password and the victim was locked out from the account.

New Words
meted->issued out

Lanslide on highway causes massive jam

A lanslide along the North-South Expressway near here caused a massive traffic snarl which stretched for more than 5km on Thursday. A 10 tonne lorry was badly damaged after it was hit by tonnes of earth, tree and vegetation in the 10 am accident.Both lanes of the trunk road were covered with earth and tree trunks,

Man jailed 9 months for stealing metal item

The two men were stainless steel specialist and the last four months of last year were especially busy. One of the men, was jailed for 9 months after he admit to eight charges of theft involving $25,300 worth of items.Between September and December last year, they scoured areas such as Ang Mo Kio, Bedok and and woodlands in a lorry. They removed assorted stainless steel items from various sites and sold these as scrap metal for about $3000.

New Words
scoured-> to remove something by rubbing with an abrasive substance or material

Blast hit India courthouse

A series of near simultaneous blasts on Friday outside courts in three Indian cities left at least 13 people dead and more than 40 wounded in what the police described as a terror attack on lawyers. Nine people were killed, including three lawyers, in the holidest Hindu city of Vatanasi and four more people died in Faizabad. The attack came a week after the Uttar Pradcidedesh bar council decided not to defend Islamist militants facing charges in the state.
New Words
advocates-> recommend or support something: to support or speak in favor of something

Illegal bookmaking: 20 caught, $24,000 seized in raid

Police have arrested 20 people for illegal soccer bookmaking and gambling in its latest island-wide raise, in which they also seized $24,000 in cash, as well as 86 personal computers. Person convicted fro betting with an illegal bookmaker face a maximum jail term of six months.
New Words
simultaneous-> at same time: done, happening, or existing at the same time

5 Singaporeans missing in Cambodia

Five members of the Singapore national dragon boat team are missing, feared drowned, and 17 others were hospitalised after their boat capsized on Friday during Cambodia's annual water festival river race. The mishap occured late in the afternoon on the first day of the races, which draws millions to the capital Phnom Penh. The Singaporean's boat capsized on as the crew of 22 were rowing back to the starting line, at the end of the Cambodia Asean Traditional Boat Race, in which 10 teams competed.

Budget S'pore-KL ait travel to take off in February

Travellers flying between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur for next year's Chinese New Year holiday will have more,and cheaper, options. From February, Singapore's and Malaysia's low-cost carriers will be able to operate a total of four daily return flights for the first time on the much-in-demand route. All the restrictions on this sector will be lifted from from Dec 1, 2008, in line with Asean's goal to remove all restriction on passengers flights between capital cities.

New Words
consultations-> a discussion aimed at ascertaining opinions or reaching an agreement
reiterated-> to say or do something again, once or several times, sometimes in a tiresome way

Damaged, but 737 lands safetly

A 2-m long piece of wing broke away from a plane minutes after it took off from Indonesian's main airport, but the plane managed to land safetly. The inccident later on wenesday adds to concerns about the safety of flying in Indonesia, as several accidents this year has killed more than 120 people.

Jellyfish attack wipes out salmon stock

The only fishing farm in Northern has lost its entire stock of more than 100,000 fish to a spectacular jellyfish attack. The Northern Salmon said billions of jellyfish overhwelmed the fish in two nets about 1.5km off the coast of the Glens of Antrim,north of Belfast, last week. Dozen of the company worker tried to rescue the salmon, but their boat struggled for hours to push their way through the mass of jellyfishh.All of the fish were dead or dying from stings and stress. Untill the past decade tthe mauve stinger have rarely been spotted so far in north in British or Irish waters, and scientist cite that as further evidence of global warming.

S'pore seaweed "satisfacotry", says AVA

Roasted seaweed exporter from singapore that failed Malaysian food safety standards has been tested and found to be satisfactory, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authroity. Roasted seaweed from singapore was found to contain metal contaminants on four ocassion from july to September.

A 'FIGHTER' IS PSLE HIGHEST-SCORER EVER

her teacher call her a "fighter" and it was the fighting spirit Natasha Nabila Muhamad displayed en route to becoming this year's top Primary School Leaving examination(psle) pupil-and the highest-scoring student ever. SHE SCORED four A stars and an aggregate of 294.

'shattered' by Maths paper, but they did fine

One parent said his son return home "shattered" and countless others concurred. But after uproar caused by the PSLE Mathematics paper this year-which many parents had described as exceptionally difficult-all seems to have ended well following the release of the results yesterday.At St Hilda's Primary School, most parents Today spoke to approved for their children's grade.

32 made-in-China food items on M'sia alert list

At least 32 kinds of China-made products,including honey, oyster sauce and dried murshrooms, have been placed on Malaysia's food alert list for contravening local regulation.Routine test between January and October this year found pesticide residue in Chinese dried murshroom,drug residue in a honey sample and a cancer-causing agent in oyester sauce.

A recipe for overcoming despair

When 64-year-old retiree Mdm Lee Kim Wah lost her life saving of $80,000 to con artists,she felt that all was lost. A glimer of hope took shape,when the young girl whom she cared for as a nanny came to her rescue.Marketing executive Karen Yeo,now 30, approached a United Kingdom- based security firm for help. Touched by Mdm Lee's story, a former scotland yard detective volunteered his services. Although he couldn't crack the case,the detective was so impressed with Mdm Lee's cooking that he suggested that he recepies be documented.

Bootlegger gets 6 months' jail

It was one of the largest haul from a single store here, according to Microsolf south east asia. When officers of the Itellectual Property Rights Branch of the Criminal Investigation department raided a nameless Ang Mo Kio store in 2004, they uncovered 1,062 bootleg computer disc.The stash value was valued at $545,570.At the court yesterday, Goh Hai Pah-who manned the store during the raid- was sentenced to six month's jail.

TV on your cell phone

By the end of next year,you could be watching up to 20 channels on your mobile device anywhere. The MDA is getting ready to launch mobile TV services .And unlike the existing 3G services, MTV does not limit the number of subscribbers accesing the network.

On the straight and narrow

Singapore cabbies seem to be toeing the line since stiffer penalties for errant taxi drivers kick in on Monday.No drivers was found overcharging, touting or refusing to convey passengers that day during an enforcement blitz by the LTA.

The Famous Five-Five on a Secret trail

Timmy's ear could not stop bleeding as an old rusty barbed wire caught his ear, and ripped an awful cut. George brought Timmy to the vet.The vet stitched the wound up and said that Timmy had to wear a collar made of cardboard around his neck, so that he would not scratch the wound. George made a cardboard for Timmy to wear.Everybody started laughing when they saw Timmy.Feeling angry,George decided to camp near Carters Lane until Timmy ears got better.The next day, Anne came to visit George. She said that Dick and Julian would be coming the next day. George was excited as it would be the five of them again.That stormy night, Anne and George peeped out of the tent. She was shocked to see many people in the middle of the night.George knew that they couldn't possibly be up to any good.The next day, the boy arrived.George and Anne told them about what had happened that night. They decided to explore the old cottage as they wanted to have a adventure. They examined everything and they realised that a big white flat stone was lifted by the people they saw last night.They knew that the people were looking for something as they would not possibly lift such a heavy stone for no reason. That night, Dick and Julian hid at the roof of the old cottage to see what could be happening. The people came back and continued lifting stones again. They said that the map showed water and then it showed the stone of that size.Another guy said that he would dig every stone if he had to as the treasure could make him become rich. At about 2am, the people gave up and left. Julian and Dick came out of the roof and went back to the camp.They then told George and Anne what had happened.Feeling very exhausted, they all fell asleep after a while.The next day, they went to the spring to get some water to drink.Suddenly Julian saw a stone the same size as the one the people were looking for, and it was beside the water.He lifted up the rock with the help of the rest and they found a passage. They went down and explored the cave. They saw a door that was locked and they broke it open, hoping to find some sort of treasure.However, they found a bag which was very light.Suddenly, they heard the sound of a man whom they recognise, it was one of the people.Julian had a great plan. They came out of the cave and went to the side where the people came down from. It was much deeper and so the people hung ropes on the top for them to climb up later.Julian took his penknife and cut the ropes so they could not leave the cave. They then quickly ran back to kirrin cottage which was George's home and they called the police. The inspector came and opened the bag. They were disappointed when they realised it was empty.The inspector thought that they would not carry an empty bag, he then examined it. Finally he took out a sharp knife and gently slit the lining at the bottom of the bag. There was something under the linings, it was a blueprint for some project. George's father was a scientist and so he called him to come down. His father was so shocked when he saw the blueprint. He said that there are only two such prints in existence-he had one of them and the other was with Sir James Lawton-Harrison, however his was stolen. George asked his father what was the blueprint for, but he said that he was not going to tell her nor the inspector as it was one of the biggest secrets they had.

Grades not everything

The media should not highlight studnts who scored top marks in exam as it is a negative effect on those who did not perfrom as well. The comments came just days after a Year 6 pupil commited sucide becuase she got lower than expected grades in her Primary School Acheivement Test.Psychologist warned that more students are commiting sucide in Jpan and Hong Kong, and it was a mater of time before it becomes the norm in Malaysia.

Here's to clean food

Beijing has taken yet an other step to reassure the international community that it places heavy emphasis on food and product safety. Yesterday, China and Asean signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation to ensuring food safety. In recent months,China has scrambled to clamp down on shoddy goods in a bid to build confidence in the "made in china" brand label.

Termites' worst enemy

PIPPA is a new addition to local pest control company Origin Eterminator and her jobs is to nose around and finds termites. When she detected termites, she'll indicate it by sitting and looking around.It will cost $200-$380 per ispection,depending on the type of house. And for every inspection Pippa is involed in, $10 will be donated to SPCA.

$300k more anually to reform young offenders

Rather than put youth who commit pretty crimes through the criminal prosection wringer, this pogramme sends them for counselling and comnuity service- and so far, fewer than one in 10 who have gone through the course have replased.Now the government will pump in 300k more every year for the rehabilitation of young offenders under the successful Guidance Programme.More than 6,000 have undergone the pogramme for and fewer than 10% re-offend.

Actions, not words, key to Padra Branca

As singapore sewed up its case yesterday for the Pendra Branca wuthout any demands from Malaysia to lower it, the Republic staked its claims of sovereignty the International court of justices.

More pay for A380 piliots

All SIA pilots and first officers selected to fly the airline's A380 planes would get hikes of $700 and $450 respectively. Those who do not meet the minimum salary after the adjustment will get more, taking their salary to $10,700 monthly for captains and $6,050 for first officers.

Cleaner discover man's body in Kallang

An Indian man in his late 20s was found dead at Block 50 at the Kallang Bahru Idustrial Park yesterday morning. Banglahdeshi cleaner Khairul Islam, 29, discovered the body lying face down, in the pool of the seventh stoery at 7.30am

S'pore rebuts M'sia's 'prejudical' remark

Malaysia claims that the British had asked for permission to build the Horsburgh Lighthouse on the rocky island, and then the Johor ruler gave consent. Professor Jayakumar reiterated Singapore's stand that it does not have a copy of the letters, as many of its document were lost in World War two. Mr Chao Produced anothe rphotograph taken by Singapore a few day ago, and said Malyasia had given a wrong potrayal. Placing the two photograph side by side, Malaysia had exaggerated the size of Johor background by about seven times.

Teacher under investigation for altered answer is PSLE Mother Tongue papers

A teacher have altered the answer on three pupils mother tongue( Tamil Language) paper and was caught. The MOE is mot revealing the name of the school yet as it has called the corrupt Practice investigation Bureau, and investigation are in progress. Pupils may collect the result slips from noon on Thursday.

In line, but will it last?

It was the first day of the new and harsher penalty regime against rouge taxi driver. Commuters in the Central Business District did not have to wait more than 10 mins for a taxi most of time during the peak hour yesterday. At lucky plaza, at least five cabs could be seen queuing at any one time.No drivers turn away passengers, but how long will this last?

Then Famous Five, Five Go to mystery Moor

Anne and George had been staying at Captain Johnson's Riding School for a week. While Julian and Dick had gone to camp with other boys from their school.They would be back in about a week's time. George met Henrietta at the stable. They hated each another at sight.George's real name was Georgina, but she would only answer to George.Henry's real name was Henrietta but she would answer to Henry. Both of them always acted like a boy.Henrietta was a wonderful rider. George hadn't enjoyed herself because for once a girl had outshined her. Luckily a week later,Julian and Dick arrived at the riding school. They wanted to have a great adventure, and the only exciting place they have heard of is Mystery Moor. They met a boy called Sniffer who had come to ask for bandage for his lame horse.Sniffer was a friendly boy, but his father was horrible. He always slapped Sniffer without a good reason. He was a traveller who explored Mystery Moor about once a month. They were going there in about a couple of days' time. George heard about patrins which were sticks and leaves arranged in certain patterns.Patrins were message to any traveller following. George wanted to know how to read them, so she asked Sniffer to teach her.They were curious what Sniffer's father and the other traveller goes to Mystery Moor for. So they decided to follow them. George told Sniffer to leave patrins behind for them to follow and he did so. They followed the traveller when they left for Mystery Moor the next day. That night, they camped near the traveller camp. In the middle of the night, the travellers lit a bright light.After a while, an aeroplane came and something fell not far from Julian, they thought they were trying to bomb them so they took shelter in a cave. When the plane had flew away , they went to see what it had dropped. They were parcels. Julian took out his knife from his pocket and slit open one of the parcels. There were hundreds of hundred-dollar notes in the parcel. Julian and Dick took all the parcel and decided to hide it, leaving the girls and Timmy behind. The travellers knew that they had the parcel and they went to their campsite.They saw Anne,George and Timmy at the campsite resting.Sniifer's father tied them up in a cave. Suddenly a terrible mist occured. It was so thick that Dick and Julian had to wait for the mist to be over before they could return to the campsite.One of the travellers asked where the parcel was. Anne told them that it was with Julian and Dick. Sniffer's father told George to write a note to the two boys and tied it to Timmy's collar asking them to save them. She wrote the letter exactly what she was told to write.However, instead she signed off her name as Georgina and told Timmy to pass the note to Henry.Timmy then hurried back to the Riding school and woke Henry up.Timmy then showed her the letter.When she had read the letter, she woke Captain Johnson up. Captain Johnson then called the police and they followed Timmy when the police arrived. The travellers were caught by the police .The money was actually stolen. The thief would deliver the notes to the traveller so that the police would not catch him with the money.After about a month, they would then share the money together and buy whatever they wanted.But now thousands of dollar had been founded, thanks to the famous five.

As Japan sets out on whale hunt, eco-warriors vow to 'hunt the whalers'

A defiant Japan yesterdayembarked on its largest whaling expedition in decades, targeting protected humpbacks for the first time since the 1960s despite international opposition. Japan argues that whale populations have recovered enough to allow a managed catch , but militant environmentalists have vowed in turn to "hunt the whalers" to save the still-vulnerable humpbacks.

There's gold in them toilets

A town in sothern china is proving that where there's muck there's gold and silver.In one of the mosrt extreme signs of China's modern grasp of entrepreneurial possibilities, gold pannels are striking deals with jewellery factories to buy the contents of their septic tanks. The price of precious metal has soared to such record highs on the world's market that sifting the tank's content for scrapings anf offcut has become a profitable busniess.

M'sian royalty won't support anti-govt protest:Sultan

A Malaysian Sultan has urged people to shun opposition-led street demonstrations calling for electoral reforms, saying that the country's royalty still firmly support the government.Sultan Ahmad Shah, the ruler of Pahang gave a rare media statement on Friday, in which he expressed regret over a political protest on Nov 10 and dismissed claims he had approved or supported it.

US$200 For A Barrel OF Oil?

Since the start of the year, oil prices have surged from below US$60 a barrel to come dangerously close to the psychological US$100 mark. If the US is mad enough to invade Iran or make an aggression against Venezuela again, the price of oil will not be US$100 but maybe US$200.Oil prices climbed due to increasingly energy-hungry countries such as emerging china.

While LTA weilds stick, MP propeses carrot-a new taxi surcharge

Even as the Land Transport Authority brings out the big stick in its bid to rein in errant cabbies starting today, a Member of Parliament has proposed a peak-hour carrot-a "loacation surcharge"- to improve taxi services in areas with greater demand. MP Senh Han Thong has suggested an additional sum for busy places like clubs, pubs, hotels, shopping malls and Raffles Place.

Thousands evacuated as Cyclone Sidr hits Banglahdesh

Tropical Cyclone Sidr hit Banglahdesh's southern coast yesterday.The cyclone has battered coastal areas of Bangladesh.Earlier yesterday, the authorities in Bangladesh and India raced to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people. The area is also home to the endangered Royal Bengal tigers.

Power5ful quake rocks Chile

A powerful earthquake hammered the country's north on Wednesday, killing at least two people and injuring more than 150. The 7.7 magnitude quake, centered in Chile's Atacama desert, 1,260km from it capital Santiango, was so strong that it was felt on the other side of the continent in Sao Paulo, Brazil.It damaged thousands of houses, blocked roads, crushed cars and knocked out power across northern Chile.

Three Philippines bimb-blasts suspects arrested

Philippines police killed three people, including a suspected Muslim militant , and detained three others in a raid yesterday linked to a deadly explosion outside the country's congress.Police officers and army operatives were trying to serve a warrant of arrest when they were fired upon.They shot back, killing the suspected militant and two others.

Japanese pay to listen to Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama arrived at Narita airport near Tokyo to start his 10-day visit at the invitation of a Buddhist group. The 5,000 tickets for a lecture he is delivering next week in Yokohama,near Tokyo, sold out within hours.One person who initially missed out even bought a pair of tickets through an online auction site for 53,500yen($700).
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Woman fine $4k for making maid work on balcony ledge

There is no protective grille or barricade around the balcony ledge- a lethal 10-storey drop to the ground. Tang Cheong Kim had ordered her maid to climb out of the ledge on several occasions to water and rearrange the potted plants. For failing to provide a safe working environment, Tang was fined $4,000 in court on Nov 6.Employers who fail to provide a safe working environment for their maids can be fined up to $5,000 and jailed for up to six months.They will also be debarred from employing another maid.

How retail theft costs the honest buyer

Bottles of liquor, make-up compact and clothings are all favourite target of shoplifters, and their gain is part of the honest consumer's loss- $271 per household a year, to be exact. The number of thefts caught by retailers this year is 2,300 and the average amount stolen per incident is $271.

Average Indon fearful but nuclear power is safe:Expert

The average Indonesian's response to the government's proposed nuclear plants may not be favourable, but that is because most are unaware how safe nuclear plants can be.Indonesian understanding of nuclear power plants is based on pre-conceived notions about explosion and things like that.The Idonesian authorities is trying to carry out public information campaigns to educate and allay the fears of going nuclear, he said,stressing that nuclear power plant are safe.

Musharraf may quit arm by job this month

Pakistan President Pervez Musharaff said yesterday he expects to step down as army chief by the end of the month and begin a new presidential term as a civilian, warning that the country risked choas if he gave into oppostition demand to resign.

Was lawmaker killed for quitting Abu Sayyaf

A congressman killed in bombing outside the Philippine legislature was an Al Qaeda-linked militants before he switched sides to support an offensive against the group.But it was not clear if the blast was revenge for that betrayal, officials said yesterday.Police said Mr Akbar, appeared to have been the target of the remotely detonated explosion,which shattered one of the entrances to the House of Representative after a session had ended.

No man's land? No way:M'sia

Malaysia has dismissed Singapore's claim that Pedra Branca was no man's land when the British built the Horsburgh Lighthouse on the island in 1847. He added that a 1655 Dutch diplomatic note referred to it as being within Johor's territory,reported Bernama.

Topping up the coffers

More than 1,500 people from over 20 countries have registered for a major gems auction in Myanmar opening today, despite calls from human rights groups to block the purchase of precious stones from the military-ruled country. Merchants from China and Hong Kong usually constitute the largest contingents of buyers at the auction. This auction includes some 5,140 lots of jade,274 lots of gems and 259 lots of pearl that will be sold by the government and private dealer.

Worker falls 7 storeys to death in city

A Bangladeshi worker fell to his death yesterday from International Plaza, to the shock of commuters at a bus stop just metre away. The man, in his 30s, an employee of Seiko Architectural Wall Systems, was installing an overhead aluminium panel with two other Bangladeshis workers at the seventh-floor car park when he fell at about 2.45pm.

Sympathy verdict.’ Upped to 3-year term

The jilted man who pushed his ex-girlfriend into the path of an MRT train last year had received a “sympathy verdict”, the Court of Appeal head yesterday. Kwong Hok Hing, a permanent resident from Malaysia, had been given one year jail for attempted manslaughter and has served his sentence. Yesterday, the three judges hearing the appeal upped his total jail term to three years after unanimously agreeing he deserved a stiffer punishment.

Blast at Philippines congress kills Basilan lawmaker, raises tensions in capital

A powerful bomb ripped through a section of the Philippines house of representatives yesterday, killing two people including Philippine congressman Wahab Akbar, who represent Basilian island, a stronghold of Islamic militants, remnants of the Abu Sayyaf, an Al Qaeda linked extremist group. Mr Akbar have received death threats in the past.

‘Naval presence a problem’

Malaysia told the United Nation’s highest court yesterday that Singapore was seeking to enlarge its sea border by claiming sovereignty over Pendra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge –islets close to key shipping lanes and seeks to disrupt the longstanding arrangements in the straits. Singapore is endeavouring to create for itself a maritime domain.

MPs tackle worries over food price rise

With goceries costing more by the day and consumers still getting used to the four-month-old 2-per-cent hike in GST, it was inevitable that inflation-and the government's handling of it- became one of the talking points in Parliament yesterday

Gunfire mars Arafat rally

At least seven people were killed and 150 were injured after Hamas security forces opened fire yesterday as hundreds of thousands gathered to make the third death anniversary of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.The shot brought end to the largest public support for the rival Fatah movement since Hamas sized control of the Gaze strip in June.Shots rang up after the crowds started chanting"shia,"shia"-accusing Hmas of being a proxy for Shia Iran and its ally Syria.

Empty monasteries, blood-stained floors

Myanmar's monasteries used to teemed with Buddhist monks,revered as spiritual guides and moral authorities in a country in the grip of a repressive military regime. Nobody knows how many of the more than 500,000 monks in Myanmar remain.Monasteries around the country have been depleted-especially in Yangon and Mandalay, where the protest were staged.Many monks have slipped into other countries or are hiding in their home towns and village.

Mp tells of young nephew's video game addiction

A 12-YEAR OLD nephew addiction to cyber and gamers cafe had led to his incurring debt. Ellen Lee ask if there were sufficient controls and measures against against the proliferation of cyber gaming cafe , especially in the heartlands and close to school. In reply, Minister Ho Peng Kee said the police did not allow computer gaming establishment to be set up in Housing and Development Board(HDB) residential zones where most schools are located.Such establishment are only allowed in shopping, recreation or commercial centres,he said.

Will new penalties make "disappearing" taxis reappear

From Monday, taxi drivers who solict for, overcharge or refuse to pick up passengers will face higher fines, more demerit points and immendiate suspension of their vocational licence of two to four weeks. Repeat offenders, found guilty of soliciting or overcharging within a period of two years, will have their vacational liceence revoked.

yangtze blocked for construction of second largest dam

China has blocked the flow of the country's longest river to build it second-largest hydro power project. The Xiludo power station on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, also known as Jinsha River in that area, will be the largest dam downstream, when it is completed in 2015 at a cost of more than 50 billion yuan.The Yangtze was last blocked in 1997 for the 18.2megawatt three gorges dam, the world largest hydro power project. When completed, the dam will stand 278m high with a reservoir containing 11.57 billion cu m of water.

Bhutto freed from house arrest after just hours

Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was freed from house arrest late yesterday, hours after she was stopped from leaving her Islamabad home to lead a rally against the president.The detention order has been withdrawn.Ms Bhutto, the politician most capable of galvanising mass protest aginst general Musharraf's imposition for emergency rule, appealed to police to like her through her cordon.

Oil and sulfur split in Black Sea catastrophe

A Russian oil tanker split into two during fierce storm yesterday, spilling at least 2,000 metric tons of fuel into a strait leading to the black sea, leading to one of the worst environmental disasters in the region in years.Three other cargo vessels sank in the storm. It would take several years to clean up the oil spill. Two freighters carrying sulphur also sank nearby .Storms of Ukraine's coast also sank a ship which was carrying 5,600 tonnes of scrap metal.They were 17 people on board...two crew members were found on the shore, the other 15 sailors are still missing.

Malaysia's oldest varisity out of world's top 200

Malysian universities have crashed out of the world top-200 in global rankings, jeopardising the antions attempt to lure foreign students.Three years ago, they had University Sains Malaysia among the top first 100 and other two universities top 200.Now none of the Malaysian University are in the top 200.

RALLY'S WET ENDING

Malaysia's opposition and human rights groups yesterday condemned the authorities for trying to supress the biggest political rally in a decade with tear gas, water cannons and arrest.Organiser said at least seven people were beaten by the police, and that some needed to be treated in the hospital,including a broken leg. Prime Minister Adbullah had vowed to shut down Saturday rally in Kuala Lumpur, held to campaign for electrical reforms as the Nation heads for polls expected to be held early next year.

Heroes Don't Run

Adam wanted to join the marines as soon as he got to his grandfather's farm.His grandfather was an old soldier from world war 1.He had lost an arm during the war. Adam's father had served too, however he died in the war.He wanted to join up now, as by the time he reached eighteen the war might be over.He persuaded his grandfather to sign him up and his grandfather finally agreed. Adam reported to the base camp . After weeks of training, Adam had made new friends like Ben, Andy and Roy.Finally there were ready to fight the war.They boarded the LST(landing ship for troops). They had been on the LST of weeks , and still didn't know where they were going.All they knew there were in the middle of the Pacific. Some days later, they started hearing the sound of distant guns, explosions. One morning, they woke to find themselves in the midst of an Amanda of allied warships-more ships than he had seen in his life. There had been a battle here. The commanding officer , assembled them on the tank deck and said that they were at Okinawa and it is where they were attacking. Adam was feeling half fear and half rage.He thought that now they were paying the Japanese for what they did to them,for starting the war and killing his father. The LST unloaded directly on the beach, Ben and Adam stayed together,but had lose sight of Andy and Roy. Everyone was milling around, there didn't seems to be any order, and it didn't look like anyone was in charge.Adam meet Sergent Rosie who had been fighting here for about three weeks.They stayed together, suddenly a Shell exploded and flipped Adam over, burying him in dirt.Everyone was safe except Ben, he was killed when a piece of shrapnel skinned him on the head. Adam was trembling when he saw that Ben was dead.Everyday was the same thing, Japanese were everywhere. They kept pushing.Men were hit all the time. Bullets could kill you,Shrapnel could kill and sometimes a shell concussion killed a man.Before that there were 250 men in Adam group, but there were only 50 of them still on their feet after 10 days.Rosie and Adam where in a shell hole so deep. Suddenly a mortar shell exploded on top of them. Adam was sent to a Hospital in Honolulu as he was unable to fight anymore. The blast had blown fragments of rock and dirt into his body. He was then sent home later. About a month later, America use a new kind of bomb on japan and they surrendered .The war was over, whenever a civilian called Adam a hero, he would tell them that there were many other heroes ,but most of them never got a medal or came home.There was another world, a dark world of guns and death,but that world was over maybe forever. They had made a better world.It was the only way to understand why why Adam's father had died and Ben and Rosie and all the others.

Ongoing plan to curb air pollution

The National Environment Agency (NEA), therefore has a multi-pronged programme in place to control air pollution from motor vehicle.This includes setting stringent emission standards,requiring the use of cleaner fuel such as unleaded petrol.The air quality in Singapore are well within the Untied States Environmental Agency's air quality standards except for particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in size.

'Speedy,safe recovery a piority

SMRT places priority to ensur enormal train service resumes in the shortest time, while keeping commuters informed of the stituation when possible during a service disruption. Once the duration fo the train service delay is determined, passengers were informed of the stations affected by the service disruption and free bus-bridgeing services.

SIgn fo fuel price hike in malaysia

Malaysia's prime minister said that energy subsides have to be reduced,as Malaysia could not afford to spend RM35 billion($15.2billion) on oil and gas subsidies each year. He said that the RM40 billion spent annually on energy and other subsidies were equal to the funds spent promoting national development-part of Malaysia's plans to achieve develop status by 2020.

Oil dicovery could give Brazil boost into 'top 10'

A huge offshore discovery could raise Brazil's petroleum reserve by a whopping 40 per cent and boost the country into the top 10 ranks if the world's major exporters.The government oil company said that the new"ultra deep " Tupi field could hold as much as 8 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil.

Indonesia thanks Singapore for help in rebuilding Aceh

Indonesian president express his gratitude to Singapore for helping to rebuild Aceh, which was devastated by the tsunami in 2004, when he met foreign minister George Yeo. After officiating at the opening of a boarding school,which was built by contribution from Singapore.

Honda plans system or drives to make hydrogen at home for fuel-cell cars

Honda, aim to start mass production of fuel-cells car by about 2015, is developing a system using solar energy for drivers to make hydrogen at home to fuel such vehicles.Individual production of hydrogen would let people refuel their cars without for a network of stations to be set up.Vehicle manufactures,under pressure, are seeking alternatives to oil as prices for the commodity approach US$100 a barrel.

Proverty drives 11-year-old to kill herself

An 11-year-old girl hanged herself in Philippines last week after leaving a letter and diary depicting a life in rampant poverty.Nearly 14 per cent of the 87 million live on less that $1.45 a day. Her only wish was to be able to finish studying and buy a bicycle..Reports said that the night before she killed herself, she had asked her father for 100 pesos($3.30) for a school project,but he did not have any money.

After trial treatment, this woman beat the odds of final-stage colon cancer

In the final stage of cancer,Madam Phua Ah Moey would have just nine to twelve months to live.However till today 2 years later , she is still living, thanks to a new treatment that promises a lifeline with little hope. Since going for the new treatment her tumour have shrunk to half it size. The 20-patient trial saw 35 percent of the patients responding to the treatment, with the tumour shrinking or the progress of the cancer halted. Colorectal cancer is the most common cancer in Singapore with more than 1,000 cases diagnosed each year.

I will eliminate all who're unfit:Killer

Holed up with eight victims lying dead and the police closing in,Finland's teenager gunman prepared to leave behind the "miserable,arrogant and selfish human race". Pointing his pistol at his head, Pekaa-Eric, an 18-year-old student known to support radical cause,pulled the trigger.The shootings killed headmistress, a nurse and five boys aged between 16 to 18. He said that he would eliminate all who see unfit, disgraces of human race and failure of natural selection.

Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe was born in the town of york.He was the youngest of three sons.His eldest brother was a soldier and died in a battle against Spain.His second brother simply disappeared.He left one day and never returned.His parents have lost both son and did not want a third.Though they wanted him to be a lawyer, Robinson craved grand adventures and faraway lands-he wanted to be a sailor. He met Captain Culpeper in Landon, who had returned from Africa, his African voyage was so that he was about to set off from another one.When Captain Culpeper learned of Robinson desire to see the world, he decided to take him along. When they set sail that day, the weather was good.However on the twelve day a violent storm hit them. The weather finally claim but the ship was badly damaged and leaking heavily. Two days later a second storm started, the ship rocked violently back and forth. The ship was stuck, it would surely break into pieces if the wind didn't change direction. They had no choice but to get their smaller boat to sea. They had rowed for about 15 minutes before a waves as tall as a mountain rolled towards them, the wave threw them overboard.However he was saved as he managed to swim to an island. Robinson saw his ship, it was stuck in the rock nearby.He went to the ship and take all the food,clothing and things that he would need. He build a tent for himself and stayed there. He also found a dog to be his companion. He started to plant crops in the island and he breed sheep for clothing,milk and meat. One morning Robinson saw a number of natives they had two prisoners with them. One very large man knock down one of his prisoners with his bare hands.After watching his companion get hit, the second man took a chance of his life and ran away. Two other man chased the prisoners, Robinson decided to help the poor man, he crouched in the bushes and waited.The prisoner ran by Robinson, he then tripped one of the man chasing him and knock out the other with his gun. They then tied the two who were chasing the prisoner. Robinson decided to call him Friday, he gave him food and drink. Robinson point to himself and said he was Robinson Crusoe. Friday and Robinson spent the next three years working and living together. Friday soon learn Robinson language and they became good friends. One day they saw a boat ,the ship anchor just near the beach, a group of rough, angry men dragged three prisoners of the boat on the shore.When there was no one around Robinson save them. One of the prisoners were the captain of the ship, and the other two were his first mates Morgan and Pace. Once they were sailing safety but two men convinced the others to mutiny and were now leading them all astray.The two bandit only think about money. Robinson Crusoe gave each men a weapon and some gun powder they surrounded the men, and Robinson counted to three and they fired their guns into the air.The men jumped scared and shock. They then tied the two villains up. The rest of the men listen to the captain and felt embarrass for betraying him. They then set sail to England, finally Robinson Crusoe return home after twenty-six years later.

Afghan factory sucide attack

A suicide attack inside a sugar factory in the town of Pul-i-Khumri killed 90 and wounded 50,with five law makers among the dead.The bomber blew himself up in the factory as a parliamentary economics committee were visiting.There was about 18 MPs in the delegation that visited the factory. Bodyguards and other members of the delegation was also killed.

Guangdong mulls libel suit against Mattel

A Chinese province is likely to join a planned libel suit against United States giant Mattel, accusing the toy maker of harming the region's reputation. Mattel issued a safety recall on more than 21 million Chinese-made toys recently, but late apologised saying 85% of the recall was due to its design flaws. The incident had stained the reputation of Chinese toy manufacturers and made a large number of toy factories in Guangdong lose a great deal of money.Lida Plastic Toy Co, based in Guangdong, is supporting a lawsuit due to the large losses it incurred following the recall, while Chinese lawyers expect "billions of dollars" in compensation.

Us maid abuse case;Slavery or withcraft?

An Indonesian servant of a millionaire couple in New York accused them of modern-day slavery saying that she was force to eat her own vomit and was scalded with hot water for deeds such as sleeping late. The-51-year-old said through an interpreter that she was also repeatedly poked with a knife. They are accused of abusing her and another Indonesian woman, known as Ms Eung, by subjecting them to physical abuse and only giving them $145 .If convicted, the couple could face 40 years in jail.

USAF grounds f-15 fleet

The US Air Force has temporarily grounded its fleet of Boeing F-15 fighter bombers after the crash of an F-15C fighter in Missouri. The cause of the crash is not known yet. Nobody is allowed to fly an F-15 until the reason of the crash have been known

Anti-terror raids in Italy

Police launched raids in Milan yesterday target ting about 20 people suspected of recruiting suicide bombers for attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan. The suspected terrorist apparently was not planning attacks in Italy.

I cried, I cried and I cried-Runner-up

For the first time a woman has won the MediaCorp Radio Station-Subaru Impreza Challenge,now into sixth year. Ms Sandra Yeow,25,was declared the ultimate winner after beating 388 contestant including the 2004 winner Ian Lee.

ET joins Sentosa Ir fun

Resort world in sentosa has upped is budget from $5.2 billion to $5.7billion. The developer is bumping up its theme park offerings, with two new rides-one a roller coaster, the other based on the hit movie ET-for its universal studio theme park.

one and a half-year-old girl falls to death at condominium

An 18-month-old Japanese nationality toddler fell to death, from the eighth storey yesterday. She had died of an unnatural death and the police are still investigating.

95-Years old block her way to fame

At first she though a blog was just an online diary and no one would pay attention to old woman like her. But she was surprised by the internet, because young people tell her about their lives and what they think and ask her for advice. Among her reader is prime minister Jose Luis, who has written to congratulate her on her blog.

'Snake king bitten to death by cobra'

Bangladesh snake king Tota Miah was bitten to death after failing to tamed two cobras, he was bitten on his hands and he felt in to coma, dying the late Saturday.

Next tourist draw;Great wheel of china

Great wheel of china would be 208m-high , which will be the world tallest and largest ferries wheel. It comprises 48 air-conditioner observation capsule each carrying up to 40 people. On a good day, the great wall of china is expected to be visible. Ticket will go for 100 yuan per person

Former top Macau official in the dock of corruption

Macau's biggest corruption trial open yesterday with the court hearing charges that a former top official had taken millions of dollars in kickbacks to speed up construction of the gaming haven's mulltibillon-dollar casino. Ao Man Long, 50,faces charges of corruption, , including excepting bribes ,laundering money and abuse of power.

Hundres of pakistani lawyers held in crackdown

Thousands of lawyer battled police on the streets of Pakistan yesterday as President Pervez Musharaf faced the first signs of concerted resistance to his declaration of emergency rule. In the city of Lahore, baton-welding police fired tear gases and clashed with 2,000 lawyers following the arrest of over 1,500 of the president's oppnent after his imposition of de facto martial law on saturday evening.

More now see gambling as a way to get rich quick

The past year have change in attitdude towards gambling here- and not for the better. Though more people can tell the signs of problem gambling and where to get help, they also see gambling as a way to get rich after recent survey. The decision to develop integrated resorts with casinos may have led people to feel that gambling is a way to get rich quick. When people begin to view gambling as a form of recreation and therefore harmless,it means they have become blindsided to its ills.

Boyband ban banned

Paya Lebar Methodist Girl School has topped an online poll conducted by local radio station 987FM two weeks ago and was to be rewarded by a suprise visit from american pop-rock band click 5 , last tuesday. But the principal said "no" causing students of that school to be very angry since most fo their exam was over.

Floods leave 1M homeless in mexico

Devasting floods cause 1 million people to evacuate from their home. At least 1 death have been reported so far and nearly all public service, including drinking water and transportation have been shut down. The-week-long heavy rain have caused rivers to be overflow submerging at leats 80% of the region. Food was extremely scare, and there is warning for outbreak of cholera and other waterborne diseases.

Dark days for KL cops but morale "High"

No.3 Cheif Ramil Yusof was charge with corruption of at least RM 1 million. The fifty-five years old is the highest ranked policeman to be charged with corruption. The Ramil case have added to a spate of negative publicity for the men in blue. Police had still not caught the suspected drug trafficker, who killed two cops and have also failed to trace the muderer of eigt years old Nurin.Two Police after duty was caught after carying out snatch theif on motorcycle.