news: Jailed for trying to steal phone after losing money at Singapore casino SINGAPORE, Feb 18 — An Indonesian man who lost about S$1,000 (RM2,400) — all the money he had with him — at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) has become the first to resort to crime after a blowout at the casino.The unemployed Indonesian tried to steal a Samsung Omnia handphone from an undergraduate at Changi Airport, in a last-ditch attempt to return home with some money.Paulus Djohar, 49, had planned to sell the S$500 handphone.Instead, the court jailed him yesterday for four weeks after he pleaded guilty to theft.read more > MI news: Electoral rolls to be updated SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has called for the electoral rolls to be revised, exactly one year after the Elections Department was previously directed to do so.An update now of the Registers of Electors would allow those who did not qualify to vote following the last revision, to have their names added to the list of eligible voters.This would include, for example, those who have turned 21 or have become new citizens after the previous revision of the rolls was completed in March last year.The Registration Officer will have up to March 31 to complete the latest update, according to the notice yesterday in the electronic version of the Government Gazette.read more > Today opinoin: HDB can help change image of rental flats I REFER to yesterday's letter by Mr Dennis Lee, 'Distressed by divisions', and agree it is unhealthy to create an artificial divide between those who rent and those who buy an HDB flat.The image of HDB rental flat dwellers has been created by the application criteria and the design of the flats, typically the one-bedroom type sharing a long common corridor. Apart from the HDB application criterion of a household income of $1,500, other factors can better describe the fabric of this close-knit group of citizens, which Mr Lee aptly describes: 'We knew our neighbours well and even exchanged gifts on festive occasions.'read more > ST opinion: Don't underestimate casino gambling's negative consequences THE enthusiasm about the opening of the casino at Resorts World Sentosa seems to have realised the worst nightmare of those who opposed the legalisation of casino gaming in Singapore. The proportion of Singaporeans to foreign visitors remains to be seen. But one thing is certain, the dress code requirements (no flip-flops) seems a better deterrent than the $100 entry fee. In fact, one Singaporean interviewed on television said he would be a frequent visitor. So I do not think the $2,000 annual pass has deterred him either.In addition, I am not convinced by the assurances of the American Gaming Association ('No link between gambling and bankruptcy', Tuesday) of the relative harmlessness of gaming. Based on what it considers updated research, the association claims there is a negative correlation between gaming and bankruptcy.read more > ST opinion: Good govt must allow political vibrancy DR YIK Keng Yeong's letter ('...As long as PAP remains incorruptible', Feb 9) alluded to the negative ramifications of political competitiveness and the positive prognosis of firm and decisive leadership.Political leadership dictates that a government's overriding mandate is the welfare of the nation and the people it governs. And a corrupted government almost certainly leads to a decline in the nation's welfare.However, incorruptibility alone is not enough. A government can be incorruptible but not infallible, simply because no human being is.read more > ST news: 3 women caned in Malaysia for adultery Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (CNN) -- For the first time, Malaysian authorities have caned three Muslim women under Islamic law for acts of adultery, the Malaysian national news agency Bernama said.Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein announced the canings Wednesday, saying the penalty was carried out February 9 at a women's prison near Kuala Lumpur.The canings -- a punishment that persists across Malaysian society since the British colonial era of the 19th century -- have been denounced by one Amnesty International official, who says "caning is tantamount to torture."read more > cnn news: Journalist deaths 'reach record level' in 2009 Seventy journalists were killed in 2009, making it the worst year since records began 30 years ago, the Committee to Protect Journalists says.A massacre of 31 journalists in the Philippines and other deaths took the total past the 2007 record of 67. Some 150 journalists are currently in jail, including 60 in Iran where the CJP says the authorities have in effect criminalised journalism. The group said online journalists were particularly vulnerable to repression. read more > bbc news: Limited land area means more underground and underwater cities: experts SINGAPORE: Experts said they won't be surprised if the government introduces changes to land zoning policies as well as measures in the upcoming Budget that will enable the use of subterranean space. Earlier this month, the Economic Strategies Committee recommended that Singapore explore the option of building underground cities. With a rapidly growing population, Singapore's 700 square kilometre land area isn't enough. So experts said digging down, like the underground networks in Japan and Canada is the way to go.read more > cna news: Illegal ads an 'unsightly' problem SINGAPORE : The demand for housing in the rental and resale markets is indirectly contributing to an undesired sight around the island: Illegal advertisements touting housing options that appear at bus stops, lift lobbies and on lamp posts. Notices are appearing faster than they can be removed, some causing paint to peel or leaving behind marks while others end up as litter on the ground. Ang Mo Kio resident Martin Sim feels that the notices are "unsightly". "Those who put up rental notices at bus stops don't care about what happens to the notices. They end up as a mess," said the 32-year-old. The problem has caught the attention of the Land Transport Authority (LTA), which received 941 "feedback" reports last year about illegal ads on its street fixtures, up from 569 in 2008. read more > cna news: Dalai Lama arrives in US ahead of Obama meeting WASHINGTON: Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Wednesday opened a visit to the United States to meet President Barack Obama, infuriating China as it tries to sideline the revered monk. The Dalai Lama, who has tried to use foreign trips to throw a spotlight on China's treatment of his homeland, flew into Washington and headed to a hotel to greet fellow Tibetans for their Losar new year. The 74-year-old will head on Thursday to the White House for a long-awaited meeting with Obama. Describing the encounter as private, the White House said Obama will receive him in the Map Room - not the more official Oval Office. Beijing has opposed any meeting with the Dalai Lama, demanding that the United States reverse its "wrong decision" to "avoid any more damage to Sino-US relations." read more > cna news: Education narrows income gap between Chinese men, women: blue paper BEIJING, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Even as some Chinese women claim discrimination at the workplace, a government blue paper says education has been important in narrowing the income gap between men and women.The blue paper, "China's educational development report 2009," released by the Social Sciences Academic Press at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a major government think tank, says women who have received higher education suffer less gender discrimination at work."With the advancement of women's education level, the income gap between men and women has gradually narrowed," the blue paper said.read more > xinhua news: Unwise for Obama to meet Dalai Lama: U.S.-China expert NEW YORK, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- It is "unwise" for President Barak Obama to meet with the Dalai Lama because the session would negatively affect American ties with China, says an expert on U.S.-China relations.Instead, Obama should spend additional time with Chinese leaders and focus on more important issues instead of harming U.S.-China relations by meeting with the Dalai Lama, Fred Teng, a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, told Xinhua on Tuesday."We need more constructive relations between the United States and China and it will be in the best interest of both the American and Chinese people," said Teng, who also is president of the Chinese Community Relations Council.read more > xinhua tech: Seesaw internet TV service launches in UK Seesaw's online TV service has launched in full for British internet users after less than a month of beta testing on 20,000 users.The service offers viewers the chance to catch up for free on 3,000 hours of archive and recent programmes from the BBC, Channel 4 and Five. read more > bbc opinion: You don’t have that power, Home Minister! — Richard Wee (loyarburok.com) FEB 17 — The ‘Allah’ decision back in middle January by the High Court of Malaya may include the subject matter of the word ‘Allah’ but the legal substance and principle matter in issue in that case is the extent of the Home Minister’s power to curtail the usage of a certain word.I do not wish to bore the readers with a legal cross reference of this case and that statute, but safe to say, the High Court Judge in that case had to decide if a Home Minister can ban the word, like ‘Allah’, from being used by non-muslims. This is significant! For, if the High Court confirms that the Home Minister has such a power, then the next question to ask is ‘To what extent?’.read more > MI news: Umno Youth tasked with seeking ideas from youth PUTRAJAYA, Feb 17 — The Umno Youth movement will hold meetings with the young generation to seek ideas on tackling current issues and find out their “wish list” with regard to government policies.Umno Youth head Khairy Jamaluddin said the movement had been asked to do so by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak so that the ideas and aspirations of the young generation could be conveyed to and subsequently acted upon by the government.read more > MI opinion: Gambling started two weeks ago On that fateful Friday, well against the tide of the general market, shares of Genting Singapore, the main shareholder of RWS, put on a strong showing. When contacted, an RWS spokesman had no comment, except to say that the casino was "on track to open in the first quarter of 2010".Less than 24 hours later, on Saturday, RWS announced that it had received its casino licence from the Casino Regulatory Authority.The day before, Genting Singapore shares rose more than 9 per cent in intra-day trade to a high of $1.18 with a hefty 276.96 million shares changing hands, three times the average daily volume of that week, making it the day's most heavily traded stock.read more > Today news: Temasek appoints 2 new directors Temasek Holdings has appointed Mr Michael Lien and Mr Hsieh Fu Hua as non-executive directors of the Temasek Board from Jan 2 and Feb 1 respectively.Mr Lien has been appointed a member of the Audit Committee and the Leadership Development & Compensation Committee (LDCC), while Mr Hsieh has been appointed to the LDCC as well as the Board Executive Committee.Additionally, Mr Hsieh has been appointed Special Advisor to Temasek CEO, Ms Ho Ching.read more > Asiaone news: What's happening here Women in Singapore are having their first child later in life, according to a senior doctor with more than 15 years' experience in women's fertility issues."There has been an increase in age of first conception," said Dr Cheng Li Chang, the medical director of Thomson Fertility Centre, at Thomson Medical Centre.But he added that he does not "notice a difference in incidence of infertility in young women" from when he started infertility work in the early 1990s to the present.According to the latest available figures - 2008 statistics from the National Population Secretariat - the median age of mothers who are Singapore citizens, when their first child is born, is 29.4 years.read more > Today health: Women lose 90% of eggs by age 30 LONDON - Scientists have discovered the reason why women find it difficult to conceive later in life - they have used up about 90 per cent of their "ovarian reserve" by the age of 30.While they may continue to produce eggs throughout their 30s and 40s, the reservoir of potential eggs from which they are taken has shrunk to almost nothing, it suggests.As the body chooses the best eggs from the reserve, the likelihood is that the quality of the eggs will suffer as women get older, increasing the difficulty of conception and the risk of an unhealthy baby.read more > Today news: Overstayers and passport scammers INGAPORE - The casino has been open for less than 72 hours and already several Singaporeans and permanent residents have tried to get in without paying the $100 levy, others who have overstayed their 24-hour entitlement and a pair of foreigners even tried to use their friends passports to get in.These are just some of the bad apples in the barrel and Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) is taking a zero-tolerance approach to all of them.The exact number of punters who had exceeded the 24 hours they were entitled to after paying the $100 one-day levy was not available at press time last night, but this much is clear: RWS is making sure overstayers pay an additional $100 levy.read more > Today opinion: Too easy a draw? BY LAW, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are not allowed in the casino - a clause included in the Casino Control Act as a social safeguard.But in living up to the letter of the law, Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) has not quite embraced the spirit of the law.At least that's my sense after joining the crowds at the casino on the opening day, despite not placing a wager myself.For those of you who have not visited the casino, the ATMs are just a short walk from the gambling hall.And if, for whatever reason, queues form there, punters can go to another set of ATMs conveniently located directly above the casino entrance area.read more > Today opinion: Offer Singaporeans an exclusive preview at Sentosa LAST Friday, I queued up at Resorts World Sentosa to try and get tickets for the eight-day sneak-peek period. I had to wait nearly two hours in the queue before finding out that the tickets were sold out for all eight days.The vast majority of people who had queued before me to purchase the tickets were foreigners. I am very disappointed that as a Singaporean, I am unable to get even a sneak preview of what is supposed to be a proud achievement for Singapore and Singaporeans.Once the theme park is opened with all the rides fully functional, we are going to see a rush of hundreds of thousands of visitors wanting to get a glimpse of the first Universal Studios theme park in South-east Asia. read more > ST opinion: Distressed by divisions I READ the report, 'Uproar over new rental flats going up' (Feb 9), with great concern. Although Singapore is a developed country, we have somehow created divisions in our cohesive society.People are now more self-centred. Some look at the type of flats they live in and conclude that having rental flats around theirs will lower the value of their property. Some assume that people who live in rental flats are trouble makers.read more > ST news: Singapore’s productivity level is 60—70% of what is possible: PM Lee SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Sunday the country has a considerable way to go in its productivity drive, especially when compared with other countries which have achieved significant productivity growth.He said Singapore’s productivity level is 60 to 70 per cent of what is possible.Mr Lee’s remarks follow the release of the Economic Strategies Committee Report, which placed productivity as the key growth strategy for Singapore’s economy.The Prime Minister made the assessment on the first day of the Year of the Tiger, as he visited a select group of workers who are keeping the country going during the holiday period.read more > yahoo news: Multi—ethnic study aims to provide information for eye research in Asia SINGAPORE: Asia is home to nearly half of all the world’s 40 million blind people. But despite that, knowledge about major eye diseases is limited.Now some researchers from the Singapore Eye Research Institute are shedding more light with a series of multi—ethnic studies.Early detection of eye diseases will soon be made easier with a new study that aims to provide multi—ethnic information for eye research in Asia.The project is a world first and consists of three studies involving more than 10,000 Chinese, Malay and Indian participants living in Singapore.Each of the studies spans a two—year period.read more > yahoo business: China's holding of US Treasury bonds tumbles WASHINGTON: China's holding of US Treasury bonds has tumbled, according to US Treasury data released on Tuesday, after Beijing expressed concern over the swelling US deficit and amid new US-China tensions.The drop in China's bond holdings by 34.2 billion dollars or 4.3 percent to 755.4 billion dollars in December also fuelled the biggest drop in foreign purchase of short-term US bonds, said the Treasury's latest international capital data report and based on comparative figures.China's US bond holding decline was also its biggest drop since August 2000 and allowed Japan to regain its position as top holder of American government debt after a 15-month hiatus.read more > cna news: Malay community to look at playing a more active part in integrating new citizens SINGAPORE: With many new citizens coming from China and India, the local Chinese and Indian communities have been busy trying to integrate these new citizens.Malay dance and silat are items put up at community events by members of the People's Association Malay Activity Executive Committee Co-ordinating Council or MESRA.They are part of efforts to promote social cohesion in Singapore's multi-racial society.However, with the arrival of more new citizens, MESRA wants to be more pro-active in reaching out to them.Mustaffa Abu Bakar, chairman, MESRA, said: "I think in a way, we have taken things for granted. We have been quiet and maybe we have to partake in the integration exercise by sending our tarian, our silat. But I think more needs to be done." read more > cna news: More S'poreans setting foot onto Middle Eastern countries to explore opportunities SINGAPORE: Singaporeans have been urged to grow the country's external wing so that the republic can prosper further. And on a recent trip to Oman and Bahrain, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong told Singaporeans there to expand their opportunities while in the Middle East.Singaporeans are making inroads into the Middle East, albeit slowly.And those already there encourage others to explore the opportunities as Singapore's expertise is needed and welcomed.Elias Tang Siew Mun, director, ASM Technology (Oman), said: "Have an open mind because very often when we tell people come to the Middle East, the idea is always, ‘is it safe?’. This is a very safe place and people are very friendly and there are a lot of opportunities and they welcome you. read more > cna news: China to become even more important globally: Singapore leader SINGAPORE, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said on Tuesday that China will become even more important globally and Singapore must find opportunities to ride on China's growth.Speaking at the Business China spring reception on Tuesday night, Goh said that China has over the past year weathered the global economic downturn with exceptional resilience.Despite shrinking external demand and rising unemployment, China's timely and bold policy responses have enabled its economy to grow at a sizzling 8.7 percent last year, he said, adding that China is now reinforcing its role as the engine for growth in Asia, if not the world.Goh said that the city state recognized China's potential early, soon after China began to open up its economy in 1978.read more > xinhua news: Mending hearts in times of conflict Every year the hospital performs more than 100 operations on Pakistani patients, most of them children, says Dr Shetty."For us children of this country and children of Pakistan are the same. What sin have they done? It's not fair on our part to think when a child in Pakistan is in distress and I'm in a position to help the child, [that] I shouldn't help the child. It doesn't work that way. read more > bbc