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