Bernd Stange named new coach of Soccer Singapore

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http://www.goal.com/en-sg/news/3883/features/2013/05/16/3981548/new-singapore-coach-bernd-stange-a-man-with-a-storied-past?ICID=HP_TS_5

Bernd Stange has been appointed as the new Singapore coach on Wednesday evening.

The 65-year-old might not be the big name many craved, but his decent track record with unfashionable teams should means he deserves the backing of the Singapore supporters for now.

Lions supporters also appear to have got themselves one of the most interesting coaches in international football to lead their national team.

There are those who are already aware that the German brings more than just his footballing credentials to the sunny island.

A cursory search on the Internet reveals that the former Belarus manager has been linked with the communist regime of the old East Germany’s official state security service, more commonly known as the Stasi.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, previously confidential Stasi documents revealed Stange’s role in the state: he was code-named "Kurt Wegner", and was tasked by the state with informing on his players. The then-Hertha Berlin and ex-East Germany manager stepped down after such allegations surfaced, but that didn’t stop him from going to take on controversial roles in his storied managerial career.

After he was fired as Oman coach in 2001, he took on the Iraq job in 2002 and guided them into the top 50 of the Fifa rankings, the 2004 Asian Cup quarter-finals and a fourth-place finish in the Athen Olympics in 2004.

For those achievements, he was subsequently presented with the Fifa Presidential Award from president Sepp Blatter for helping to rebuild Iraqi football.

Stange’s next notable role was at Cypriot top-flight side Apollon Limassol, whom he led to league glory in the 2005-06 season, in which they finished unbeaten having battled relegation only the year before. That was their first title in 12 years, and he also brought them the 2006 Cypriot Super Cup, which remains their only one to date.

Europe was his next port of call as he took over the reins at Belarus in July 2007, where he revamped the national team with a heavy emphasis on youth and building the team around former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder Alexander Hleb. Belarus eventually moved from 94th to 36th in the Fifa rankings.

Stange left after his Belarus contract was up at the end of their unsuccessful Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, and has now ended up in the hot seat of the reigning Southeast Asian champions.

He has made it clear that despite having worked in communist regimes, with dictators, capitalists and teams with limited budgets, he was always focused on his footballing tasks.

“I have coached so many teams in countries with different political systems... These are all different systems, but don’t forget that you have to put the ball in the net, and everywhere it is the same. My job is football and to try to win matches, which is the most important thing.”

Bernd Stange on Wikipedia

Remember the lousy excuse of a human being that refused to give way to an ambulance?

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http://ride.asiaone.com/news/general/story/driver-who-blocked-ambulance-fined-160-incurs-4-demerit-points

He got fined $160 and docked 4 demerit points.

The driver of a blue Honda caught on camera for refusing to give way to a private ambulance has been penalised by the Traffic Police.

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said in a written reply to Arthur Fong, MP for West Coast GRC, that the driver has fined $160 dollars, and incurred four demerit points to his driving record.

The driver of the Honda was captured on video refusing to give way to an ambulance, despite the ambulance's blaring siren and flashing red lights.

The video was taken on Mar 14, and uploaded to YouTube a day later. It then went viral on the Internet.

Singapore's rising cost of living sees pawnshops thrive

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http://news.insing.com/tabloid/singapore-cost-of-living-sees-pawnshops-thrive/id-d9743f00

Singapore's pawnshop industry has seen phenomenal growth at a time when rising prices and a slowing economy are putting pressure on the household budgets of middle- and lower-income families.

Loans surged to S$7.1 billion in 2012, up 43 per cent on-year, according to industry registry data.

Singapore has one of the highest concentrations of millionaires relative to its population, but the city-state's per capita income of more than S$65,000 in 2012 masks a sharp income gap between the richest and poorest.

SHORT-TERM LOANS

The three major pawnshop chains – which make up the bulk of the nearly 200 pawnshops across the island nation of 5.3 million people – have sought to take the shame out of using personal property as collateral for short-term loans.

"You look around you, this is probably one of the most expensive places in the world," said Derek Da Cunha, a local socio-political observer.

"Without the stigma (of borrowing), pawnshops have become more respectable and we have working professionals using it as a means to get short-term loans to cope with their expenses."

Families in the bottom 10 per cent of Singapore households had to weather a 1.2-per-cent dip in income adjusted for inflation last year, statistics department data showed.

Healthcare costs rose 3.9 per cent on-year in 2012 according to government data.

A consumer group said the average price of a bowl of noodles with fishballs, a staple dish, was 20 per cent higher in 2012 from a year ago at S$3.

Prices of basic food items such as rice, meat, vegetables and dairy products have also risen.

Some public-housing flats in choice areas now cost more than S$1 million, while car ownership also remains out of reach for many due to high taxes and a vehicle quota system.

A BETTER ALTERNATIVE?

People who pawn their goods have the items assessed by shop experts, and the loans the shops grant usually carry an interest rate of one per cent in the first month, then 1.5 per cent a month thereafter.

Items must be redeemed within six months or get forfeited, unless the borrower renegotiates a loan.

One borrower who declined to give her full name said pawning was a better alternative to seeking short-term loans from banks, which require paperwork and are not guaranteed to be approved quickly.

FIERCE COMPETITION

Valuemax and rivals Moneymax have thrived, both in fierce competition with the fast-growing Maxi-Cash, whose initial public offering in June last year raised S$16.8 million despite weak market conditions.

Grilled storefronts that used to be a mainstay in pawnshops have been replaced by outlets that boast uniformed staff members and resemble commercial bank branches.

But younger and more affluent customers, unperturbed by the stigma once associated with pawnshops, have also become an important clientele for an industry that has softened its image with endorsements from local celebrities.

Apart from gold, they also pawn diamonds, rare gems and antique watches.

CONCERN OVER GAMBLERS

Singapore's usually business-friendly authorities say they are closely watching the rapidly expanding industry, with some concerns that such accessible loans might help fuel gambling in the world's third-largest gaming market behind Macau and Las Vegas.

In April, the law ministry called for public feedback on a proposed amendment to laws governing pawnshops in order to strengthen governance of the industry.

Da Cunha does not believe the Government will impose any drastic measures.

"Pawnshops are already embedded in Singapore society. It is far better than the next alternative, which is for Singaporeans to seek loans from loansharks," he said.

Mother’s Day parade shooter arrested

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http://www.todayonline.com/world/americas/mothers-day-parade-shooter-arrested

New Orleans police has apprehended 19-year-old Akein Scott, who opened fire on marchers in a neighbourhood Mothers' Day parade.

The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) named Scott as the shooter on Monday after receiving “multiple identifications” of the teenager as the shooter.

Earlier that day, the police released photos and a video showing a crowd gathered for a boisterous parade and suddenly scattering in all directions, with some falling to the ground. They appear to be running from a man in a white T-shirt and dark pants who turns and runs out of the picture.

Motorists with in-car cameras MAY get insurance discount

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http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/car-camera-could-lower-motor-premiums-20130516

Motorists who install video-recording devices in their vehicles could get discounts on their motor insurance premiums.

This possible incentive is being studied by a working group formed by the Traffic Police and the General Insurance Association (GIA).

Both see the move as a way to encourage better behaviour on the road, Traffic Police Commander Cheang Keng Keong told The Straits Times this week.

Improving driver behaviour, he said, was key to lowering accident rates.

Under consideration:

Insurance premium discounts for installing in-vehicle camera
Shortening demerit-free period for motorists to get insurance rebates

Measures the Traffic Police plan to implement:

Make heavy vehicles found speeding undergo inspections more often
Beef up enforcement - more summonses issued, more officers to be put on patrol, more digital cameras to be installed

Oh deer! Deer smashes through bus windshield, goes berserk

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http://www.todayonline.com/world/quirky-world/oh-deer-deer-smashes-us-bus-windshield-takes-short-ride

A white-tailed deer crashed through the windshield of a public bus being driven Tuesday evening in Johnstown (Pennsylvania).

The deer hopped around frantically near the driver before jumping on empty seats and running in circles in the aisle before the driver stopped the bus and opened the door and let the deer get off.

The bus was carrying one passenger, who was seated in the back far from the deer. No injuries have been reported.

There’s no word on what happened to the deer.

Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) to open at year end

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http://news.xin.msn.com/en/singapore/location-of-some-erp-gantries-to-change-when-new-expressway-opens#scpshrtu

The Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) will be Singapore's 10th expressway and is five-kilometre long.

The Land Transport Authority says the MCE, when it is ready, will be the main route for motorists travelling between the ECP or the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) in the east, and the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) in the west.

The AYE spans 26.5 kilometres and runs from the western end of the ECP to Tuas in the west. It also connects to Malaysia via the Tuas Second Link.

By then, parts of the existing ECP within the city will be downgraded to an arterial road to serve the new Downtown in Marina.

To make sure traffic into the CBD remains in check given the changes, gantries on the ECP towards Changi will be adjusted.

The locations of some ERP (Electronic Road Pricing) gantries in the Central Business District (CBD) and on the East Coast Parkway (ECP) will be adjusted when the MCE opens at the end of this year.

The ERP rates and the operation hours however, will remain unchanged.

SBS Transit still making gains in light of ridership growth

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http://ride.asiaone.com/news/general/story/staff-costs-erode-sbs-transit-gains

Continued ridership growth allowed transport operator SBS Transit to post a 7 per cent rise in revenue to $204.8 million for the first quarter ended March 31.

Despite staff costs rising by 16.7 per cent (or $13.4 million) to $93.7 million as the group prepares to begin operating the new Downtown Line from the fourth quarter, they still scored a net profit of $2.8 million.

This increase just about offset the $13.5 million rise in revenue from more bus and train rides in the first three months.

Man left lying on road after bike collides with taxi at Pasir Ris

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http://ride.asiaone.com/news/general/story/man-left-lying-pasir-ris-road-after-bike-collides-taxi

A motorcyclist was left lying on the road after his bike collided with a taxi along Paris Ris Drive 1 yesterday afternoon at around 5pm.

A Stomp contributor had called the Civil Defence upon hearing a loud bang and seeing the accident site.

Here is an eye-witness' account from Stomp:

"I heard a loud bang outside my house along Pasir Ris Drive 1 at about 5pm. (Then) I saw this motorcyclist lying on the road. The biker had apparently hit the taxi's rear windscreen. Fragments of glass were on the road. I saw that the taxi was slightly slanted to the left lane."

COE surcharge considered for those with more than one car

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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/surcharge-for-second-car-owners-being-co/676816.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Those who wish to buy more than one car in Singapore may need to fork out more cash on top of their Certificate of Entitlement (COE) in future.

The government is considering imposing a surcharge for the second car onwards - owned by the same person.

The move aims to better spread car ownership more evenly, given the limited COE supply.

If implemented, the surcharge will not apply to existing multiple car owners.

The government will begin seeking views from the public and motor dealers on the possible changes next month.

The process will likely take about two to three months.

Singa resigns

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http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singa-resigns

For more than 30 years, he was the familiar face of kindness — appearing on posters, badges and television, accompanied by catchy jingles.

Yesterday, however, the once-affable Singa the Lion appeared to be calling it quits, announcing that he was resigning from his position as the Singapore Kindness Movement’s (SKM) mascot.

In a full-page advertisement yesterday, Singa penned an open letter to Singaporeans explaining his resignation, and implored — for what could be the last time — for a more gracious society.

“I am just too tired to continue facing an increasingly angry and disagreeable society”, he wrote. “It’s time for real people to step up and for the mascot to step aside.”