Hougang by-election outdoor assembly centres identified

The police have identified two outdoor assembly centres - Hougang Stadium and Serangoon Junior College - for the Hougang by-election candidates and members of the public to gather and wait for the results of the election on Polling Day. Polling Day is on May 26.

Each candidate can apply for one outdoor assembly centre permit for the night of Polling Day. Candidates and supporters can stay at the approved centres 8pm until 30 minutes after the announcement of the results.

Police said in a statement on May 18 that application for a permit to hold an assembly at an outdoor assembly centre must be made in person by a candidate or his election agent at the Singapore Police Force Police Elections Liaison Office (Pelo) on May 25 between 8.30am and 2.30pm.

Should there be two contesting applications for a venue, a ballot will then be conducted in the presence of the applicants to determine its allocation.

If a candidate decides against applying for an outdoor venue as his assembly centre, he can book an indoor assembly centre. The indoor assembly centre should be enclosed wholly within a building, where only people attending the meeting will be able to hear or see the activities going on inside, said the police.

A police permit will also be required for an indoor assembly centre and must be applied on May 25.

The application results for all assembly centres will be updated on the Pelo website.

SOURCE:
http://www.straitstimes.com/The-Big-Story/The-Big-Story-2/Story/STIStory_800693.html
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Singapore willing to return Riau Islands airspace

Singapore controls airspace of up to 110 nautical miles in radius, which encompasses Batam, Natuna until Dumai in Riau. The airspace is also included in Singapore's Flight Information Region (FIR), which should have been included in Indonesia's FIR.

However, as the airspace is included in Singapore's FIR, Indonesia has no absolute authority over the airspace, which has deprived the country of income from route charges imposed on aircraft passing through the airspace. Patrols conducted by the Indonesian Military (TNI) Air Force and Navy in the territory must also be guided by Singapore.

Indonesia has entrusted Singapore with the management of the airspace for the safety of civilian and military aviation in the province.

Singapore, in this matter acts as an authorized party in providing take off and landing instructions in the area, as well as guiding aircraft through the airspace.

Indonesia's efforts to take control of the airspace above Riau Islands, controlled by Singapore since 1946, have been unsuccessful since 1993. Singapore says it is willing to hand over control of the airspace above Riau Islands, provided that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) gives the green light.

"There's no problem, if the ICAO agrees to the matter, please do so," Singaporean consul general in Riau Islands, Raj Kumar, said during the ground-breaking ceremony of the Bintan Resort Airport on Bintan Island, Riau Islands, on Wednesday.

According to Kumar, Singapore is also ready to assist in the transfer of technology if Indonesia is trusted by the ICAO to control its airspace.

Transportation Ministry secretary-general Afianti Samad said that Law No. 1/2009 stipulated that the airspace above Indonesia must be controlled by Indonesia.

In the law, Indonesia, or in this matter the Indonesian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has been given 15 years to take control of any airspace managed by another nation.

"Indonesia has sovereignty over its airspace, Singapore is just the party which manages it. However, in accordance with Law No. 1/2009, we will manage all of the airspace by the next 15 years, or by 2024, but the takeover could happen faster than the specified time," said Afianti.

Riau Islands Regional Representatives Council (DPD) member Zulaikah Nasution said that Indonesia should take control of the airspace immediately for the sake of national interests.

"We should be able to manage what we own, and enhance human resources. We should have sovereignty over our airspace, as the area's economic potential is also huge," said Zulaikah.

SOURCE:
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120519-346904.html
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Woman bites off lover's penis

A Sri Lankan woman bit off the penis of her 30-year-old lover during a row on Friday, a doctor said, as police investigated two other incidents.

The man was rushed to a rural hospital in Andapana, 180 kilometres (110 miles) south of Colombo, after a quarrel with the 45-year-old female turned violent.

"About three-quarters of the penis had been bitten off," a doctor told AFP, asking not to be named.

"We stopped the bleeding and sent him to a urologist at Karapitiya (a bigger town nearby) to see if the severed part can be re-attached."

A police official in the southern town of Hakmana said the man, identified as Chandana Pradeep, a barber, had argued with the woman after she refused to give him money for alcohol. 

SOURCE:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1202240/1/.html
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Jackie Chan goes out fighting in his last action movie

Jackie Chan says he is landing his last punch.

The Hong Kong actor told the AP on Friday that his latest film Chinese Zodiac will be his last action movie.

Chan, launching the film in Cannes with co-stars Kwone Sang Woo, Yao Xingtong and Liao Fan, said that people never believe him when he says he is going to retire.

'They say 'no, you're still young, you can still do it,' but I have to stop one day.' The 58-year-old says he is bowing out with Chinese Zodiac because it's one of the 'most important' films in his career.

SOURCE:
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Lifestyle/Story/STIStory_800683.html
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Pregnant woman robbed and assualted

A pregnant woman was not only robbed in her own house, she was also forced to lick the urine of one of the robbers, reported Harian Metro.

M. Yugeswari, who is nine months pregnant, said the three robbers who broke into her house in Sungai Siput, also kicked her in the stomach.

The 22-year-old was alone in her house when three men broke in through the back door.

One of them wore a mask and held me back as the other two searched my house for valuables, she said, adding that she vomited after smelling the body odour of the men.

One of them took some raw eggs from the refrigerator and forced me to eat it, Yugeswari said.

Another suspect then started urinating on the floor and forced her to lick it.

Yugeswari said the robbers made off with RM5,000 cash and RM10,000 worth of jewellery.

Sungai Siput OCPD Supt Azman Salim confirmed that police have received a report on the matter.

SOURCE:
http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Crime/Story/A1Story20120519-346878.html
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Ferrari catches fire at SPC petrol station

Amid the attention on Ferraris this week, one burst into flames at a petrol kiosk on Thursday night.

The car was slightly burnt and had to be towed away from the Havelock Road kiosk, while the pump station was damaged and had to be shut down for three hours.

The driver of the Ferrari, described as plump and in his 30s, escaped unscathed as he managed to put out the small flames on his pants quickly with a nearby fire extinguisher. 

SOURCE:
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_800641.html
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Police arrest 28-year-old Brit with bags of dead babies

Thai police arrested a British citizen on Friday after the bodies of six babies thought to have been used in a black magic ritual were found stuffed into travel bags in a Bangkok hotel room.


Chow Hok Kuen, 28, a British citizen born in Hong Kong of Taiwanese parents, was arrested in Bangkok's Chinatown and was being held for possession of human remains, police said.

Authorities believe he was trying to smuggle the corpses to Taiwan.

"The bodies are of children between the ages of two and seven months. Some were found covered in gold leaf," Wiwat Kumchumnan, sub-division chief of the police's Children and Women Protection unit, told Reuters.

It was not clear where the bodies came from.

Kuen was staying at a hotel in Khao San Road, Bangkok's backpacker area, but the bodies were found in a separate hotel.

Police had received a tip-off that infant corpses were being offered to wealthy clients through a website advertising black magic services.

The corpses were bought from a Taiwanese national for 200,000 baht (S$8,122) and could have been sold for six times that amount in Taiwan, police said.

Black magic rituals are still practised in Thailand, where street-side fortune tellers offer ceremonies to reverse bad luck.

Kuen faces one year in prison and a 2,000 baht fine if he is found guilty.

SOURCE:
http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Asia/Story/A1Story20120518-346852.html
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FAS reveals squad for upcoming friendlies

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) has announced the Singapore National Team Squad, for the upcoming international friendlies against Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Singapore are scheduled to play Hong Kong on June 1, followed by a two-legged friendly against Malaysia on June 8 at the Jalan Besar Stadium, and in Kuala Lumpur four days later.

After releasing the squad, an FAS statement declared that the list of players represented a 'revitalisation of the Singapore national team, which is a continuous process', and that the inclusion of nine uncapped personnel - in addition to the more experienced squad members - created a 'judicious blend'.

Singapore: Poh Yi Feng, Joey Sim (both Balestier Khalsa FC), Shahfiq Ghani (Courts Young Lions), Qiu Li, Shi Jiayi (both Home United FC), Agu Casmir, Baihakki Khaizan, Hariss Harun Izwan Mahbud Shaiful Esah, Hyrulnizam Juma'at, Firdaus Kasman, Isa Halim, Khairul Amri, Sharil Ishak, Khairul Nizam, Raihan Rahman, Safuwan Baharudin, Shakir Hamzah, Sufian Anuar, Yasir Hanapi, Safirul Sulaiman, Shahdan Sulaiman (all Lions XII), Daniel Bennett (Singapore Armed Forces FC), Ahmed Fahmie, Mustafic Fahrudin (both Tampines Rovers FC), Delwinder Singh (Tanjong Pagar United FC).

SOURCE:
http://ht.ly/1jRgxM
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Molde's Ole Gunnar Solskjaer set for Villa talks

Former Manchester United old boy Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to hold talks with Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner about becoming the club's next manager.

Lerner's private jet yesterday [Thursday] flew into Solskjaer's home town of Kristiansund to collect the 39-year-old and fly him to Birmingham to begin negotiations.

Solskjaer is currently manager of Molde, a club where he spent two years prior to joining Manchester United in 1996 with whom he made 366 appearances, scoring 126 goals in 11 seasons.

After two and a half years in charge of United's reserve team after retiring from playing in 2008, Solskjaer led Molde to their first Norwegian league title in 100 years last October at the end of his debut campaign in charge.

Solskjaer is seen as the young, progressive manager required by Lerner after first failing with Gerard Houllier and then McLeish in the wake of Martin O'Neill's departure in August 2010.

Solskjaer, however, is just one year into a four-year contract, and can look forward to Champions League football next season.

Another consideration for the man who earned the nickname of 'the baby-faced assassin' during his United days is his family of wife Silje and three children and whether to uproot them given they have only just settled in Norway.

However, the lure of Barclays Premier League football and going head to head with old mentor in Sir Alex Ferguson, as well as reviving Villa's hopes following a woeful season, is likely to prove irresistible.

Former Aston Villa striker John Carew believes Solskjaer is an ideal candidate to lead the midlands club out of the doldrums.

Carew, who spent four years with Villa, scoring 52 goals in 133 appearances, said: "This would be a fantastic job for Ole Gunnar to have.

"Villa are among the six, seven biggest clubs in England. They have fantastic fans and a fantastic stadium.

"Solskjaer is a big name in England. On top of that, he has the mentality and respect from players he needs to suceed."

Speaking to Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet, Carew added: "Villa are also a club who, without doubt, love Norwegians and Scandinavians.

"I've received tweets from Villa fans today [Friday] who want Solskjaer as their new manager. I think Villa will work really well under his leadership.

"Everything suggests Solskjaer can have a great managerial career in England."

SOURCE:
http://ht.ly/1jRcgR
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WANTED: For snatch theft

Police are looking for the man shown in the picture to assist with investigations into a case of snatch theft committed between the link-way bridge of ‘Key Point’ and ‘The Concourse’ along Beach Road on 24 April 2012.

The man is believed to be in his late 30s to early 40s and of medium build. He was last seen in a light color short sleeve collar polo T-Shirt with a black color T-shirt underneath, 3/4 pants light color pants and a pair of black and red color sneakers.

Anyone with information is requested to call the Police Hotline at 1800-2550000. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

SOURCE:
https://www.facebook.com/singaporepoliceforce/posts/360564430669535
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Lion cub in South Africa bites Singaporean tourist in the face

A tourist from Singapore received 60 stitches after she was bitten in the face by a lion cub near Hoedspruit, according to a report on Tuesday.

The animal narrowly missed an artery in her neck, Beeld reported.

Madelein Querk, 28, and her husband had been touring the country for two weeks, and would have returned home on Sunday.

They were among a group of tourists who visited the Tshukudu game lodge near Hoedspruit, where members of the group posed for pictures with the cubs.

Querk was apparently posing with a one-year-old cub when it bit her, leaving her with four deep cuts of between four and eight cm on the left side of her face, and lacerations on her left arm and leg, where the lion clawed her. Querk's husband attempted to distract the lion by hitting it with his camera.

The injured woman was treated at the Nelspruit Mediclinic, and was scheduled to fly home on Thursday.

Tshukudu lodge manager Eric Gander said on Monday night that a decision would be taken about the lion cub's future after an investigation into the incident.

SOURCE:
http://www.thepost.co.za/cub-bites-tourist-in-the-face-1.1296650
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Limbless Frenchman swims from PNG to Indonesia

A Frenchman who lost his limbs in an electrical accident swam from Papua New Guinea to Indonesia in strong winds and currents on Thursday, finishing the first stretch in a mission to swim between five continents.

Mr Philippe Croizon, 43, who swam the English Channel in 2010, left Papua New Guinea's fishing village of Wutung in the early morning to begin what he has billed as the Oceania-Asia stretch of his challenge.

After swimming 20km over almost eight hours, he arrived at 1 pm local time (12pm Singapore time) in the village of Pasar Skow in Indonesia's Papua province, which shares a border with Papua New Guinea.

'It was very, very hard,' Mr Croizon told AFP trying to catch his breath on the grey and black beach lined with coconut trees in Pasar Skow.

SOURCE:
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_799881.html
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