SINGAPORE has urged Indonesia to take action to address the hotspot situation in Sumatra that is responsible for cloaking parts of South-east Asia in a foggy haze, resulting in Singapore's Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hitting a four-year-high.
Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, contacted his Indonesian counterpart, Dr Gusti Muhammad Hatta, State Minister for the Environment, on Thursday to express his concern that the haze situation would deteriorate if Indonesia does not take immediate and enhanced measures to curb the hotspot problem in Sumatra.
He also urged Indonesia to allocate the necessary resources, as well as implement timely and effective measures.
Dr Yaacob also reiterated Singapore's offer to reinforce Indonesia's efforts to combat the haze situation. This includes helping to put out the fires in Sumatra. LINK
YANGON - MILITARY-RULED Myanmar unveiled a new national flag on Thursday, just two weeks before an election that the government calls a major step in a transition to democracy but critics say is a sham.
The 2008 constitution pushed through by the military called for fresh national symbols, including a new flag whose colors of yellow, green and red would stand for solidarity, peace and tranquility, and courage and decisiveness. Still, the abrupt release of the new flag came as surprise. LINK
The Annual Fire Walking Festival will be held from Sunday, 24 October 2010 at 10 pm to Monday, 25 October 2010 at 12.00 pm . About 3,700 devotees will participate in the procession from the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple at Serangoon Road to the Sri Mariamman Temple at South Bridge Road . To facilitate the event, the following roads will be affected:
Roads / Lanes | Date / Time | |
1. | Mohamed Ali Lane | Sunday, 24 October 2010 from 6 pm to 12 noon , Monday, 25 October 2010 |
2. | Extreme right lane of - | Sunday, 24 October 2010 from 8 pm to 6 am, Monday, 25 October 2010 |
3. | Extreme right lane of South Bridge Road (between North Bridge Road and Upper Pickering Street | Sunday, 24 October 2010 from 8 pm to 8 am, Monday, 25 October 2010 |
4. | Extreme right lane of South Bridge Road (between Upper Pickering Street and Temple Street | Sunday, 24 October 2010 from 8 pm to 10 am, Monday, 25 October 2010 |
5. | Temple Street | Sunday, 24 October 2010 from 8 pm to 12 noon , Monday, 25 October 2010 |
In addition, Mosque Street will be converted to a two-way road to allow access to and exit from New Bridge Road from 8 pm on Sunday, 24 October 2010 till Monday, 25 October, 2010 , 10 am.
Motorists are advised to avoid the affected areas, including all peripheral roads leading to the areas. Auxiliary Police officers will be deployed at all affected road junctions to regulate traffic and assist motorists.
Parking restrictions along the peripheral roads will be strictly enforced. Vehicles found parking and causing obstruction will be towed away.
Members of the public may contact the organiser at 6223 4064 for further enquiries. LINK
SYDNEY - A SIX-YEAR-OLD Muslim girl in Australia has been suspended from using her school bus for 'bullying' after reacting angrily to being teased about her hijab, or headscarf, a report said.
look ma, no pants!
The Northern Territory News said the girl retaliated by pulling down the trousers of her tormentor, aged seven, after he repeatedly told her to take off her traditional headscarf.
The girl, whose father is an Iranian immigrant, has been banned from the bus for 10 days, meaning she will be unable to make the 60km round-trip to her school in the northern Outback region. LINK
ORCHARD Road will be raised in a $26 million plan to prevent a repeat of the June 16 flash floods following intense rainfall.
PUB, the national water agency, will raise a 1.4 km stretch from Orange Grove Road to Cairnhill Road by an average 30cm.
The work will begin in mid-November and will be completed by the middle of next year. It will be carried out between midnight and 5am to cause minimum disruption, said officials on Thursday. LINK
TOKYO - TOYOTA on Thursday announced a safety recall of more than 1.5 million vehicles worldwide to fix a brake fluid leak that it warned can gradually diminish braking performance, a spokesman said.
The world's largest auto maker, which was battered by a global safety crisis earlier this year, said it would voluntarily recall 740,000 cars in the United States and 600,000 in Japan to fix the problem.
It was also recalling 50,000 autos in Europe, 60,000 in China, 30,000 in Australia and 50,000 in other Asian nations, said a Toyota spokesman in Japan.
The move is to repair a flaw in which 'a small amount of the brake fluid could slowly leak from the brake master cylinder", which would lead the brake warning lamp to illuminate, Toyota said. LINK
A charge sheet issued against him seen by AFP said Kamari had remained in Singapore for an extra 169 days after his three-month social visit pass expired on March 15, 2010.
He had entered Singapore on Dec 15 last year to accompany his wife, who had come to the city-state seeking medical treatment for her pregnancy.
Mr Ravi appealed for a commutation of the American's potential sentence to a fine, citing the case of a relative of Kamari's wife who was fined S$500 for exceeding his visa by 194 days.
But in a written response to Mr Ravi, the Attorney General's Chambers rejected the appeal 'after having carefully considered your representations'.
Jileen Ng Sin Geok pleaded guilty on Thursday in a district court to hurting a public servant and was jailed two weeks.
Gareth Bale's stunning second-half hat-trick spared 10-man Tottenham's blushes but failed to prevent them slumping to their first Champions League defeat at Inter Milan.
Gareth Bale finds the bottom corner again to complete his dramatic hat-trick in Italy.
Spurs looked set to be humiliated when holders Inter raced to a 3-0 lead inside 14 minutes. Javier Zanetti netted first, finishing a neat move, before Heurelho Gomes was sent off for felling Jonathan Biabiany. Samuel Eto'o converted the penalty before Dejan Stankovic added a third.
Eto'o grabbed another on 35 minutes, squeezing his shot under substitute goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini, and that is the way it stayed before Bale's incredible treble. His opening two goals were almost identical, as he beat Zanetti and finished coolly, but after he notched his third, Spurs ran out of time to claim an unlikely leveller.
FC Twente and Werder Bremen remain winless in the same group after sharing the spoils in a keenly contested encounter.
Theo Janssen opened the scoring for the hosts after 75 minutes but substitute Marko Arnautovic popped up with the equaliser for Bremen just five minutes later. The stalemate leaves both sides on two points after picking up two draws and a defeat from each of their opening three games.
Manchester United put the Wayne Rooney issue to one side to record a crucial 1-0 victory over Bursaspor at Old Trafford.
Their performance was nothing special once Nani had netted the sixth-minute goal that earned three points. Neither did it do much to dispel Rooney's claim his club now lack ambition, a few late chants of "We want the Glazers out'' showed there was some resonance with amongst the Old Trafford faithful. But after a traumatic view days, in which United's world has been turned upside down by their star striker, the result was all-important.
Maurice Edu had the dubious honour of scoring for both clubs as Rangers were held to a 1-1 draw by Valencia in the Champions League.
The Ibrox side would probably have settled for a point ahead of this meeting with the Spanish League high-fliers before the United States international handed them a first half lead. But a dream night turned into a nightmare for Edu when he inadvertently headed into his own net just a minute into the second half.
Lionel Messi struck two hugely contrasting goals as Barcelona climbed to the top of Group D after squeezing past FC Copenhagen at the Nou Camp.
Messi broke the deadlock with a thunderous effort in the 19th minute to cap a fine opening from Barca, but the hosts struggled to finish off their in-form opponents and survived a number of second-half scares before the Argentinian ace tapped home from close range in stoppage time to secure the points.
There were no goals in a drab encounter between Panathinaikos and Rubin Kazan in Athens.
Panathinaikos claimed their first point in the tournament and Rubin Kazan doubled their total after drawing with Barcelona, but neither will have much cause to remember the 90 minutes.
Lyon made it three wins from three Champions League Group B matches with a comfortable 2-0 victory at home to 10-man Benfica.
Goals in either half from Jimmy Briand and Lisandro Lopez were enough to see off the Portuguese, for whom Nicolas Gaitan was dismissed before half-time. The win strengthens the French outfit's grip on top spot in the group with Schalke three points behind them in second.
Raul grabbed a brace to set Schalke en route to a 3-1 victory as they dominated Hapoel Tel Aviv.
A further strike from Jose Manuel Jurado ensured Schalke go second in Group B, although there was still time for Itay Shechter to grab a late consolation for the visitors. LINK
DETROIT - CHRYSLER Group LLC is recalling 26,397 vehicles, saying a malfunction with the power steering pressure hose may cause steering fluid to leak over a hot engine and cause a fire.
The affected vehicles include the 2011 Dodge Ram, the 2010 Chrysler Sebring, Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Dodge Avenger, Dodge Challenger and Dodge Journey, according to a letter dated Oct 18 posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website. LINK
WASHINGTON - VOLVO Cars of America is recalling almost 10,000 vehicles to fix front air bag systems that may not deploy in a crash.
Volvo says the recall affects certain S80 sedans and XC70 crossover vehicles from the 2010-2011 model year and model year 2010 V70 wagons.
The recall is expected to begin in late October. LINK
