NYP students to run on-campus restaurant

SINGAPORE: Students of Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) will get to run a restaurant on campus from April, as part of their final-year studies.The exposure will give them an idea of what they can expect in the food and beverage industry.The students, who are now honing their skills in the kitchen of the polytechnic, will take on bigger challenges when the restaurant is up and running.They will...

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US, Europe 'biggest risks' for global economy in 2013, says Nobel laureate

FRANKFURT: Debt problems in both the United States and Europe represent the biggest risks for the global economy in 2013, Nobel prize laureate Joseph Stiglitz wrote in a newspaper article on Wednesday."In the outlook for 2013, the biggest risks for the global economy are in the US and in Europe," Stiglitz wrote in a guest column for the business daily Handelsblatt.But "the real risk for...

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Tennis: Britain's Robson crashes out in Shenzhen

BEIJING: British teenage tennis sensation Laura Robson crashed out of the Shenzhen Open in straight sets on Tuesday, a disappointing start to a year in which she is seeking to break into the world top 50.The 18-year-old, currently ranked 53rd in the world, lost her second-round match against Romania's Monica Niculescu 2-6 3-6 in one hour and 16 minutes.She was seeded seventh in the hard...

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S'pore rocked by spate of sex scandals in 2012

SINGAPORE: 2012 has been a year of sex scandals in Singapore.In April, 44 men were charged with having sex with the same underage girl.The number of men implicated in the online vice ring case swelled to 51 after some time.The lack of details in the charges drew barbs."How is anybody going to know what he is charged for when you don't know who the girl is, you do not know what her age...

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Japan tunnel closed again after crash

TOKYO: A five-car crash closed a highway tunnel in Japan on Sunday, just one day after it was re-opened following a ceiling cave-in which killed nine people four weeks ago, police said.One person was injured in the crash in the congested Sasago Tunnel, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) west of Tokyo.Nine people died on December 2 when concrete panels suspended from the roof of the tunnel crashed...

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Cyclone tears roofs off houses in Solomon Islands

SUVA: Freshly formed Cyclone Freda whipped roofs off houses and flattened trees in the Solomon Islands as it gathered strength en route to New Caledonia, forecasters said on Saturday.There was also flooding from rising rivers as winds of up to 130 kilometres an hour (80 mph) blew in, but there were no reports of deaths or injuries, Solomon Islands Meteorological Service officer Manoah...

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Temasek raises stake in Olam to 19%

SINGAPORE: Singapore-listed Olam International said its second-largest shareholder Temasek Holdings has further increased its stake to 19 per cent, from 18 per cent.This is the third time in a month that the Singapore investment firm had boosted its shareholdings in the commodities group, which has been the target of short-seller Carson Block and his research firm Muddy Waters.In a filing...

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Duke-NUS governing board chairman to step down

SINGAPORE: Mr Tony Chew Leong-Chee is to step down as Chairman of the Duke-NUS' governing board on Monday.The business leader has been at the helm for seven years.He remains on the Duke-NUS Board till the end of February 2013. Ex-banker Mr Kai Nargolwala, who joined the Duke-NUS Board in January this year, will assume the appointment of Chairman from 1 January 2013.Mr Nargolwala is the...

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NParks steps up checks to prevent falling trees during storms

SINGAPORE: The National Parks Board (NParks) has stepped up measures to ensure that fewer trees fall during storms. In the last five years, an average of 300 trees fell a year in bad weather. To ensure public safety, NParks has increased the number of checks on trees since the beginning of last year. Checks on trees near busy roads are now made once every 12 months, up from once every...

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Syria peace envoy Brahimi meets opposition

DAMASCUS: International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met Tuesday in Damascus with three opposition groups tolerated by the regime, a day after holding talks with President Bashar al-Assad, an AFP correspondent said.Brahimi, the UN-Arab League's special envoy to Syria, arrived in the country on Sunday to launch a fresh bid to end the country's spiralling conflict, which in almost two years...

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S'pore's top social issues in 2012

SINGAPORE: Singaporeans are under significant environmental and psychological pressure, say sociologists. Stress from competitive workplaces and dense living conditions is just one reason people are showing more signs of intolerance and ungraciousness towards one another. As the population gets older and more diverse, Singapore will continue to grapple with its social consciousness in...

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Agents to hire more Sri Lankan maids next year

SINGAPORE: Maid agents in Singapore are looking to hire more foreign domestic helpers from Sri Lanka.From next year, the Association of Employment Agencies plans to bring in between 500 and 1,000 Sri Lankan maids a month, up from the current 100 to 200 a month.Based on records from the Sri Lankan High Commission in Singapore, there are about 4,500 Sri Lankan maids here.The association...

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SIA to spend S$95m upgrading B77-200ER cabins

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines said it will spend S$95 million refitting 10 Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with new long-haul cabin products.The improvements include seats that fold down into full-flat beds in Business Class and larger entertainment screens for both Business and Economy.A shift in seat layouts will allow every passenger in the Business Class direct access to the aisle.The first...

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Train service on NEL resumes after disruption

SINGAPORE: Services on the North East Line (NEL) have resumed after a disruption due to train fault. SBS Transit said full operations resumed at 5.18pm on Thursday. Earlier, a statement from SBS Transit said there was no service between Punggol and Little India.Free bus rides were made available at designated bus stops near affected NEL stations. SBS Transit has apologised for the inconvenience...

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Changi Airport's aircraft handling capacity to be increased 40%

SINGAPORE - The authorities are gearing up to increase Changi Airport's aircraft handling capacity as there is scope for Changi Airport to handle about 40 per cent more aircraft movements than the 302,000 aircraft movements handled last year. The airport's air traffic potential of about 430,000 annual aircraft movements is based on findings from a terminal airspace consultancy study commissioned...

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PM Lee congratulates Japan's Shinzo Abe on election win

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has congratulated the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, Mr Shinzo Abe, on the party's victory in the lower house elections.In a letter, Mr Lee said he looks forward to working closely with Mr Abe to improve bilateral ties.Mr Lee said Singapore and Japan share a longstanding and strong relationship and that bilateral relations are...

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S'pore offers condolences to victims of US school shooting

SINGAPORE: Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam offered his condolences to the victims and families of the Connecticut shooting which left more than 20 dead, including young children.In his Facebook post, Mr Shanmugam said the news is "heartbreaking"."Children are innocent, full of life and promise. Cut down in a hail of bullets by a person with a rifle," he said.He noted there have been...

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Philippines says rebels violating typhoon truce

MANILA: The Philippine government on Saturday accused Maoist rebels of violating a self-imposed truce in typhoon-hit areas with attacks on government forces involved in rescue and relief work.The New People's Army (NPA) guerrilla group began a 29-day unilateral ceasefire on December 5 to allow what it said would be unhampered rescue and relief work for victims of Typhoon Bopha that had...

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Philippines' agriculture sector suffers US$270m damage from typhoon

COMPOSTELA VALLEY, Mindanao: Damage caused by Typhoon Bopha to agriculture in the Philippines has reached more than US$270 million.Victims lost not just their homes, but also their livelihood.In an instant, 60-year-old Aurelia Yray lost everything to Typhoon Bopha.The storm also wiped out the banana plantation that serves as her family's main source of income."We do not have anymore livelihood....

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35-year-old man jailed for causing death of motorcyclist

SINGAPORE: A man who caused the death of a motorcyclist, and cajoled his friend into lying for him to escape punishment, was sentenced to 30 months' jail on Thursday.35-year-old Sivabalan Suppiah, who is self-employed, was also disqualified from driving for 12 years.Suppiah was found guilty of one count of causing the death of 51-year-old Jalal Abdul Rahman by driving dangerously, and...

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