FairPrice expanding hypermarket chain

SINGAPORE: NTUC FairPrice said it is expanding its chain of hypermarkets to increase accessibility for customers, with the launch of its fourth outlet at Nex mall in Serangoon on Tuesday.

FairPrice said it expects to have six hypermarkets in Singapore by 2013, at least one each in the North, South, East and West heartland areas of Singapore.

Ng Ser Miang, the chairman of FairPrice said, "We always believe in co-existing with smaller proprietors. And the example of Ang Mo Kio Hub, we bring in a lot of traffic so the small provision shops also benefit from it. And because of the size and the different range of products that we carry, so we serve different segments as well."

He added, "The hypermarket format has helped to contribute to the economies of scale that we are able to negotiate for better prices. We have been concerned with the inflation since last year, so we are able to stockpile more rice for example, so we are able to hold the price of rice till August. And for the 500 essential items, we have promised to hold prices and even give discounts until May."

ORIGINAL SOURCE

Maid helps nab suspected thief at Blk 666 Yishun

SINGAPORE - Ms Helen Javier Costales, a domestic helper, saw a man approach an 88-year-old woman who was seating on a bench near Blk 666 Yishun Avenue 4 at about 4pm yesterday and started talking to her.

He suddenly reached forward and took her purse from the pocket of her pants. He removed cash amounting to $57 from the purse, before returning it and fleeing the scene.

For emergencies

Ms Costales alerted the police and provided a detailed description of the suspect. Officers from the Ang Mo Kio Police Division responded swiftly and searched the area. A 27-year-old suspect was arrested, at a nearby block at about 4.55pm. The stolen cash was also recovered from him.

The public-spiritedness of Ms Costales, who alerted the police immediately when she saw a man stealing from an old woman on Sunday, resulted in the culprit being caught within the hour.

He will be charged in court on Tuesday.

The commander of Ang Mo Kio police division HQ, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Hsu Sin Yun, reiterating the importance of close police-community partnership in fighting crime. commended Ms Costales for her public-spiritedness and quick action in alerting the police.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

HOAX: SMS about radiation from Japan nuclear leak spreading to rest of Asia

Last Friday (Mar 11), a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck Japan, causing damage to nuclear reactors in the Fukushima plant.

If you have received this message via SMS or email, do not be alarmed - the message threatening 'acid rain over Asia' is a hoax.

Experts say that there is no basis for this rumour.

"The winds from Japan are moving away from us. It's not true that these winds contain acid rain." said Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) forecaster Aldczar Aurelio in a radio interview.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

SPF Recruitment Drive, 18 to 19 Mar, 11am to 9pm, 313 Somerset

Police Officers are expected to perform difficult and demanding tasks. They must be tenacious, tough and yet thoughtful at the same time. Good interpersonal skills are needed as Police Officers meet people from all levels of society everyday.

The SPF offers many unique rewards, challenges and opportunities to talented young men and women. Whether be it the excitement of conducting criminal investigation, fighting gangsterism, detecting computer fraud or community policing - the job scope and challenges in the various Police units/departments are endless.

Drop by the SPF Recruitment Booth at Home Team Career Fair this Friday 18-3-2011 and this Saturday 19-3-2011 between 11am to 9pm to find out more about a career with the SPF. All our Career Advisors will be there to verify any doubts you might have regarding applying for the Police Force, general questions such as whether or not they can serve NS in police if they sign on, down to whether or not they can join specialized units after they sign on.

For details, please call our career officers at 64782764.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

Next GE: Rules of Engagement (what's ok and what's not)

1. Use of new media in campaign activities

Before: Only party websites, chat rooms, discussion forums, e-mail, SMSes and hyperlinks could be used for Internet election advertising.

Now: Podcasts, video-sharing sites like YouTube, microblogs like Twitter, MMS, social-networking sites like Facebook and electronic media applications are permitted.

2. Appeals to forward election advertisements

Before: Political parties and candidates were not allowed to circulate materials, such as chain e-mail messages, appealing to recipients to forward them.

Now: They are free to do so.

3. Use of live recordings as campaign tools

Before: Candidates or groups of candidates could use only photographs for election advertising.

Now: They can distribute and exhibit live recordings of lawful election activities during the election period.

4. Distribution of live campaign recordings

Before: All films had to be sent to the Board of Film Censors for classification before being shown or distributed.

Now: Live recordings of lawful election activities are exempt from classification. The film must not dramatise the event or have additions, subtractions, omissions or other modifications.

5. Declaration of new-media tools for elections

Before: Not applicable.

Now: All candidates must declare the new-media platforms they own which they intend to use for election advertising within 12 hours of the start of the campaign.

6. Individual Singaporeans participating in Internet election advertising

Before: During the elections period, those who publish election advertisements had to declare their particulars on the material.

Now: They need not do so if they are acting in an unpaid personal capacity.

7. Authorisation for election expenses

Before: Election agents had to fill up two forms reporting the payment of expenses by the party.

Now: Election agents must fill up two additional forms when consolidating the expenses of candidates within a GRC.

8. Non-citizens in election activity

Before: Non-citizens were prohibited from taking part in any form of election activity.

Now: Workers who are Singapore PRs or work-pass holders can now carry out manual work such as putting up election posters.

9. Election-campaign promotional items

Before: Parties and candidates could promote themselves using only buttons, pens, pencils and balloons.

Now: They can distribute items such as diaries, key chains, soft toys, tissue packets and T-shirts without declaring their personal particulars.

10. Permit for Speakers' Corner

Before: People could speak at the Speakers' Corner without a permit since 2008.

Now: This will be revoked during the campaign period. All activities there require a permit from police, whether or not the space is designated as an election site.

ORIGINAL SOURCE
Related Article: Social media OK for online election ads

Telcos must put IDA measures in place by 2012

SINGAPORE - Mobile operators have until early next year to put in place measures to bar unsolicited chargeable text messages, otherwise known as premium rate services (PRS), the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore announced yesterday.

The premium rate services include mobile ring tones, quizzes, information or game downloads that can typically cost about S$3 for each message received.

From July, mobile operators have to obtain explicit consent from subscribers before providing any roaming service, which may currently be available by default to mobile subscribers. Secondly, consumers will soon be able to limit their data roaming usage in any single monthly billing cycle to no more than S$100.

IDA has directed operators to offer such an option for free, and this is expected to be implemented by the first quarter of next year.

IDA will also be reviewing its mobile Quality of Service framework, to improve the minimum service coverage in outdoor areas, in-building areas, and road and MRT tunnels.

The review is expected to be completed in the middle of this year.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

Stringent standards for Singapore University of Technology and Design

Singapore - More than 30 Singapore and foreign companies such as Google, Microsoft and DBS have pledged their support for SUTD's internship programme although the university has not started operations.

Also, out of the 1,300 applications which it has received since March last year, the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), which will open its doors in April next year, has accepted only 112 so far.

Of these, 70 per cent have at least three As. And its stringent standards - which also apply to its recruitment of faculty members - were what SUTD provost Professor Chong Tow Chong was keen to uphold.

Prof Chong told MediaCorp: "We need to continue to maintain this quality (of students), especially it is our founding batch of students."

The university is currently conducting its third round of student recruitments. Another exercise will be held in October, which will target female junior college (JC) students receiving their A-Level results in March next year.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

AVA monitoring food imports from Japan closely

SINGAPORE : The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) has said it is monitoring food imports from Japan "closely" to ensure they are safe for consumption.

This follows a 9.0-magnitude earthquake that struck northeast Japan last Friday, crippling several nuclear plants in the area and raising worldwide fears of a radiation leak.

AVA said it will test fresh produce - including seafood, fruits, vegetables and meat - exported out of Japan after March 11 for radioactive contaminants as a precautionary measure.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

Suspect in deputies' deaths is identified

Ref:
Two Officers Shot Dead, Two Wounded, Suspect Killed
Man armed with rifle, fired at four police officers from mountain, killed one

Buchanan County Deputies Eric Dewayne Rasnake, 32, and Shane Earl Charles, 25, were shot multiple times after responding to a "larceny in progress" call at a salvage business in Vansant, Virginia. The wounded deputies were able to crawl to a nearby residence for cover.

Deputies Cameron Neil Justus, 41, and William Ezra Stiltner, 46, were shot with the same high-powered weapon after they rushed to the scene to help their fallen comrades, but they died at the scene.

On Monday, Virginia State Police named Randy Gilbert Newberry as the suspect in the shootings. Officials say the 52-year-old was hiding on a ridge when he fired at officers responding to both crime scenes.

After the shootings, police found Newberry about a quarter of a mile up the road from the salvage business, talking on a cell phone.

Police said they repeatedly asked Newberry to "put his hands up and get on the ground," but the suspect ignored their orders and instead aimed a handgun at officers.

Newberry was then shot and killed.

"These two men gave their lives for what they dedicated their lives to doing," Sheriff Roy Foster said. "I appreciate every single one of you that was there fighting for the lives of your fallen brothers," he said.

"It's been about 40 years since Buchanan County lost a man in the line of duty and to lose two more and to have two more seriously injured in the same day is overwhelming."

Rasnake was shot three times, according to Foster, and Charles is on a respirator. Both remain hospitalize and in critical condition.

"Our prayers go out to their families to the hope that they will recover and maybe one day return to wear the uniform that we so proudly wear," a tearful Foster said.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

Family Guy writer apologises for Pearl Harbor-quake joke

WASHINGTON - In a message on Twitter about Friday's earthquake, scriptwriter Alec Sulkin wrote: 'If you wanna feel better about this earthquake in Japan, google 'Pearl Harbor death toll.'

Sulkin apologised on Sunday and deleted the message, explaining that he wrote it when he believed the death toll was lower.

'Yesterday death toll = 200. Today = 10,000. I am sorry for my insensitive tweet. It's gone,' he wrote.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

Cops hit naked woman with TASER after kick to groin

Neighbors called Burbank police at 2:32 p.m. to report that a 43-year-old woman, who officials did not identify, was throwing items at car windows while naked.

When officers arrived and confronted the woman, she told them a man inside her home was causing her to act erratically.

When officers entered her apartment and determined no one else was there, she began throwing her possessions at them and managed to kick one officer in the groin.

Police were forced to use a Taser gun to subdue her.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

Somali pirates get life plus 80 years for attack on navy ship

A federal judge today sentenced five Somalis to life plus 80 years in prison for the April 1 pirate attack on the Norfolk-based frigate Nicholas.

The sentences are the first for a piracy conviction in 200 years.

The five Somalis were captured by the Nicholas after the warship took fire from AK47s off the Horn of Africa. Three of the defendants were in what prosecutors called an attack skiff while the other two were in a mother ship loaded with supplies.

Four of the Somalis maintained their innocence and vowed to appeal, but one apologized.

"I'm sorry that I have been accused of these crimes," defendant Mohammed Modin Hasan said through an interpreter.

The four other defendants were more defiant.

"I'm not accepting the outcome of this case," said Abdi Wali Dire.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

Avramovic unhappy with Young Lions

SINGAPORE: It was not the performance Radojko Avramovich was looking for, ahead of the Singapore under-23 team's opening Olympic qualifier for the 2012 London Games.

Four days out from their double-header with Yemen, the Courts Young Lions - 15 of the players in the team have been selected in the latest national under-23 team - lost 1-0 to Hougang United in the Great Eastern-Yeo's S-League on Monday night.

"A lot of players looked like they didn't want to play this game," said Avramovic, when asked if the boys were afraid about picking up injuries before such a big international outing.

"I'll see how they recover from the game against Hougang, and we will continue to tactically to prepare for them for Yemen," he said.

"We have three days to get ready. They were not following instructions, and if they continue this way, we will make changes."

ORIGINAL SOURCE