Singapore Today
The Committee of Supply Budget debate in Parliament ended on Thursday with a record of 52 hours - the longest in five years.
MPs filed a total of 520 cuts that lasted 3,120 minutes during the eight-day debate, Channel News Asia reported.
House Leader Grace Fu said the record reflects the 'breadth and gravity of the issues we face today," noting that the debates were "vigorous."
House Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin said the differences of opinions help MPS to refine and clarify issues that need to be addressed.
He added that difficult and unpopular choices sometimes need to be made, mentioning his observation that MPs had more points of convergence and agreement during the debate.
"Argue, fight by all means, but within limits and in a responsible manner. But I am thankful that despite it all, we do have a unity of thought and conviction as to where we should go and how we should position ourselves as a nation," Tan said.
WP MP Lim refuses to apologise for comment on GST hike: Fu has expressed disappointment on Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim after she refused to retract and apologise for her comments alleging that the government had backtracked on the time of the goods and services tax (GST) hike.
Lim said on Thursday that her suspicion may have been wrong but does not mean that it had no basis.
"I did not accuse the Government of being untruthful as alleged, and neither had I intended to accuse the Government of dishonesty," Lim said, adding that the People's Action Party MPs had "overactive imaginations and oversensitivity."
A KVH SatNews service.
SANTIAGO - Eleven Asia-Pacific nations, including Singapore, on Thursday are to sign a slimmed-down trade pact to lower tariffs just as US President Donald Trump seeks to raise them after withdrawing from the deal last year.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which would have represented 40% of the global economy and nearly one-quarter of its trade, was left for dead after Trump pulled out to pursue his "America First" agenda before the TPP could take effect.
But the re-vamped deal, now known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), is still a significant achievement that sends a message of openness, its supporters said ahead of the signing ceremony in Santiago, Chile.
The pact will include Singapore, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru and Vietnam, representing together 13.5% of global gross domestic product.
The deal will be finalised in the same week that Trump has risked a global trade war over his decision to introduce tariffs on imported steel and aluminium. (AFP)
A KVH SatNews service.
Singapore Exchange (SGX) and New Zealand's Exchange (NZX) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand co-operation in Asia-Pacific markets, according to a press release on Wednesday.
In line with the MoU, NZX and SGX will promote market development initiatives across a range of areas, including the promotion of derivatives products, dual and secondary listings, exchange traded funds and investor participation.
The stock exchanges will also share relevant information as required and partner on green finance and sustainability initiatives, Xinhua reported.
SGX Chairman Kwa Chong Seng said they were pleased to work with NZX on areas of opportunities spanning both their securities and derivatives markets.
NZX Chairman James Miller said "as part of NZX's refreshed strategy we made a strategic decision to shift our focus away from the regional stock exchange model, instead focusing on creating strong partnerships with global exchanges who are committed to generating opportunities for investors and issuers in their respective markets."
A KVH SatNews service.
A "sudden turn" by the American warship USS John S McCain led to a collision with a tanker last year off Singapore that left 10 sailors dead, a report by the transport ministry said on Thursday.
The ministry, releasing the results of its investigation into the incident, said a "series of missteps" by the destroyer's crew and insufficient action by those of the tanker, the Alnic MC, contributed to the accident.
The vessels smashed into each other in the pre-dawn hours of August 21, 2017 in the busy shipping lanes around the Strait of Malacca. There were no casualties among the tanker's crew.
The commander of the John S McCain is facing charges including negligent homicide and dereliction of duty, the US Navy said in January, after its own investigation into the incident found "multiple failures" by the ship's crew.
The transport ministry clarified in its 35-page report that it did not blame any organisation or individual for the fatal crash, but found the warship made an abrupt turn after a transfer of controls caused confusion among the crew.
"The collision... happened because of a sudden turn to port (left) by JSM (John S McCain), which caused it to head into the path of the (tanker)," the report said. (AFP)
A KVH SatNews service.
MANILA - The Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday said economic ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its free trade partners are eager to fulfill the ASEAN Leaders' Instruction in 2017 to conclude the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez represented the country during its fourth intersessional ministerial meeting, held alongside the 24th ASEAN Economic Ministers Retreat and the 16th ASEAN Economic Ministers-European Union Trade Commissioner Consultations in Singapore from February 28 to March 3.
The RCEP Intersessional Ministerial Meeting held on March 3, noted the progress made since the Preparatory RCEP Ministerial Meeting for the 1st RCEP Summit on November 12, 2017 in Manila, the Philippine News Agency reported.
"The ministers reaffirmed their resolve to meet the Leaders' instruction to intensify efforts in 2018 towards its conclusion and welcomed progress made in the discussion on the tariff modality and its parametres," DFA said in a statement.
On services, the ministers had instructed negotiators to continue resolving outstanding issues and improving offers across all modes of supply, while working together to address specific sensitivities faced by the 16 RCEP participating countries.
A KVH SatNews service.
News from around Laos & Myanmar over the past seven days. (In tomorrow's issue: Malaysia)
VIENTIANE - The Lao government has continued to pursue a policy of encouraging more women to play a role in the country's leadership, and vowed to increase the number of women in leading positions in state departments, said local daily Vientiane Times on Wednesday.
Laos has set a target to increase the proportion of women holding leadership positions in central-level state organisations to 30% by 2020, according to statistics provided last week by the Lao Women's Union.
The Lao government will also strive to increase the proportion of women holding leadership positions in provincial and district departments to 20% by 2020, Xinhua reported.
In the Lao People's Revolutionary Party's 11-member Politburo, - the country's top political body - Pany Yathotou is the only female member. Meanwhile, the 69-member Party Central Committee has only six female members.
Among the 68 ministers and equivalent positions in Laos, only five are women, according to statistics as of June 2017 provided by the Civil Servant Management Department. In addition, there were only 24 women among the 190 deputy ministers and equivalent positions.
A KVH SatNews service.
VIENTIANE - The agriculture, forestry and rural development of Laos will strive to expand at a sustainable level of 2.8% in 2018, accounting for 15.73% of GDP, state-run daily Vientiane Times reported on Wednesday.
To attain this target, the Lao government, especially the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, will continue to implement projects of national priority such as commercial production and food security.
Agriculture and forestry experts from around the country are currently meeting with government officials, provincial deputy governors and development partners here to review achievements in the sector, and to discuss plans for development in 2018.
To fulfill the ministry's four major plans concerning food security, commercial agriculture promotion, forestry and forest resource management and rural development for poverty reduction, more co-operation and assistance is needed to implement essential measures and policies, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Lien Thikeo told the meeting.
"This especially applies to trade promotion policy, electricity generation policy and loan interest rates," the daily quoted him as saying at the meeting.
With regard to food security, the Lao government has allocated rice, vegetables and oranges, along with pork, fish and beef, as the main products to be prioritised.
A KVH SatNews service.
WASHINGTON - The US Holocaust Memorial Museum said on Wednesday it was stripping Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi of a prestigious human rights award, accusing her of doing little to halt the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims.
Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her long campaign against the country's military dictatorship, was awarded the Holocaust Museum's Elie Wiesel award six years ago "for her courageous leadership and great personal sacrifice in resisting tyranny and advancing the freedom and dignity of the Burmese people."
But the museum said it was rescinding the award due to her inaction over what it called "mounting evidence of genocide" committed by the Myanmar military against civilians from the Rohingya minority in Rakhine state.
"As the military's attacks against the Rohingya unfolded in 2016 and 2017, we had hoped that you - as someone we and many others have celebrated for your commitment to human dignity and universal human rights - would have done something to condemn and stop the military's brutal campaign and to express solidarity with the targeted Rohingya population," the museum said in a letter to Suu Kyi.
Instead, it said, her political party, the National League for Democracy, has refused to co-operate with UN investigators and added to the anti-Rohingya rhetoric.
The party has also obstructed journalists trying to report on the mass murder and expulsion to Bangladesh of the Rohingya. (AFP)
A KVH SatNews service.
YANGON - Myanmar authorities have planned to open three elephant camps in Mandalay and Magway regions by April, before the fall of water festival, the official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Wednesday.
The three elephant camps include Pulin Kanthayar elephant camp housing seven elephants in Nyaung-U, War Nat elephant camp with six elephants in Pyin-Oo-Lwin, Mandalay region and Shwe Sattaw camp with six elephants in Magway region, respectively.
Meanwhile, Myanmar Timber Enterprise and Four Paws International (EPI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for establishing elephant camps and conservation of elephants with the use of EUR1.8 million (SGD2.4 million).
A KVH SatNews service.
MANILA - Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi urged women on Thursday to build peaceful democracies using their strength in politics, economics and social issues as the International Women's Day in Asia kicked off with marches, protests and demonstrations.
In a speech marking International Women's Day, she said: "A country's human rights values will be enhanced when women are granted their rights."
Thursday's celebration was the third year the annual event was celebrated under a civilian government in Myanmar, where the military that long ruled the country is still powerful.
Suu Kyi leads the political party that won by a landslide in 2015 elections but the constitution bars her from becoming the president.
Though Myanmar has a woman leading its civilian government, a profound gender gap remains in the country of 52 million people. (AP)
A KVH SatNews service.
BEIJING - China warned the United States on Thursday that everyone will be harmed if President Donald Trump launches a trade war, as official figures showed the Asian power maintained a robust trade surplus with the US.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi issued the stern message as the Trump administration geared up to formally introduce steel and aluminium tariffs as early as Thursday despite global concerns.
"Choosing a trade war is surely the wrong prescription, in the end you will only hurt others and yourself," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
"China will certainly make an appropriate and necessary response," Wang said at a press conference on the sidelines of the Communist Party's annual parliamentary session.
On Wednesday, at the World Trade Organisation, China led a group of 18 members urging Trump to scrap the planned tariffs, with its representative saying the levies would pose a systemic threat to the rules-based global trading system.
US imports from China of steel and aluminium make up a small proportion of its total imports from the world's second largest economy. (AFP)
A KVH SatNews service.
DAMASCUS - An aid convoy planned for Thursday to bring assistance to besieged civilians in Syria's rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta will not go through, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.
"The convoy for today is postponed, as the situation is evolving on the ground, which doesn't allow us to carry out the operation in such conditions," ICRC spokeswoman Ingy Sedky told AFP.
The joint convoy between the ICRC, United Nations and Syrian Arab Red Crescent was expected to deliver aid to Eastern Ghouta's main town of Douma on Thursday.
A reporter contributing to AFP saw the trucks on Thursday parked on the edges of Eastern Ghouta, at the government-controlled Wafideen checkpoint. (AFP)
A KVH SatNews service.
KABUL - The piano notes of Richard Clayderman's "Romeo and Juliet" accompanied Taliban gunmen as they rode gold mirrored elevators to the upper floors of a luxury Kabul hotel in search of guests to kill.
Stopping on nearly every floor of the Intercontinental Hotel, the heavily armed militants went from room to room, blasting away electronic door locks and shooting terrified guests during the hours-long attack on January 20.
At least 25 people, including 15 foreigners, were killed. Nearly seven weeks on, AFP was allowed to inspect the still badly damaged hilltop hotel overlooking the Afghan capital after it partially reopened its doors to the wary public. (AFP)
A KVH SatNews service.
PARIS - Higher levels of Vitamin D in the blood may be linked to a lower risk of developing certain cancers, a study in Japanese adults reported on Thursday.
"These findings support the hypothesis that Vitamin D has protective effects against cancers at many sites," researchers reported in a study published in The BMJ medical journal.
Vitamin D is made by the skin in response to sunlight. By maintaining calcium levels in the body, it helps keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy.
While the benefits of Vitamin D on bone health are well known, there is some evidence that it may protect against chronic diseases as well, including some cancers. (AFP)
A KVH SatNews service.
Min Max Condition
Singapore 23c 29c Cloudy
A KVH SatNews service.
SINGAPORE - Singapore stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI), up 0.86% or 29.75 points, to close at 3,480.44.
A total of 1.98 billion shares changed hands with a turnover of SGD1.13 billion. Gainers outnumbered losers by 279 to 138, Xinhua reported.
The STI index closed down 1.18% or 41.23 points to close at 3,450.69 Wednesday.
A KVH SatNews service.
BANGKOK - Benchmark US crude gained USD0.11 cents to USD61.26 (SGD80.64) per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It dropped USD1.45 (SGD1.91), or 2.3%, to USD61.15 (SGD80.50) a barrel on Wednesday after the Energy Department reported that US oil production rose last week.
Brent crude, used to price international oils, added USD0.8 to USD64.42 (SGD84.80) per barrel. It fell USD1.45, or 2.2%, to USD64.34 (SGD84.69) a barrel in London. (AP)
A KVH SatNews service.
(Thursday close)
Straits Times Index 3,480.44 (+29.75)
A KVH SatNews service.
USD 1 = SGD1.3240
EUR 1 = SGD1.6475
JPY 100 = SGD1.2536
GBP 1 = SGD1.8435
Source: DBS Singapore
A KVH SatNews service.
Tottenham 1 - Juventus 2 (agg 3-4): Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala scored twice inside three minutes as Juventus stunned Tottenham with a second-half fightback to reach the Champions League quarter-finals with a victory on Wednesday.
While Juventus collapsed in the first leg to draw 2-2, it was Tottenham's turn at Wembley Stadium to throw away a winning position and go out with a 4-3 aggregate loss.
When Son Heung-min capped a dominant first half for Tottenham with a goal, it should have been a platform to build on for a team without a domestic league title in 57 years against one that's won the last six Serie A titles.
But a pair of substitutions and a tactical shift - from 3-5-2 to 4-3-3 - by Massimiliano Allegri transformed the last-16 match.
And it was pair of Argentines that ended the hopes of compatriot Mauricio Pochettino, the Tottenham manager.
Higuain struck from close range in the 64th minute and then created the winner, holding off three Tottenham players before feeding Dybala to net his first Champions League goal of the season. (AP)
A KVH SatNews service.
LIVERPOOL - He was a lock-in at Liverpool, and a player that was integral to England's midfield at the start of its road to the 2018 World Cup.
Now, Adam Lallana might be wondering where he fits in at his Premier League club. And whether he will even make it to this year's tournament in Russia at all.
Amid an injury-ravaged season, the 29-year-old Lallana started his first game in two months in Liverpool's 0-0 draw with Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday. He played the full 90 minutes - for the first time all season - as Juergen Klopp carefully managed his resources with his team all but through to the quarter-finals after a 5-0 win in the first leg.
Lallana showed some neat touches and turns, which is his forte, and created one of the best chances of the night when his cut-back was skewed wide by James Milner early in the second half. Otherwise, he did not offer much threat on a flat evening at Anfield.
With Liverpool now into the last eight of the Champions League and in second place in the Premier League with nine games left, do not be surprised if this is the last time Lallana starts a match for his club this season.
"The time will come for him, 100 percent," Klopp said ahead of the Porto game, insisting the midfielder is still a key part of his plans. (AP)
A KVH SatNews service.
INDIAN WELLS, USA - Maria Sharapova's return to the BNP Paribas Open for the first time in three years ended in a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Naomi Osaka of Japan on Wednesday night.
Sharapova's ranking of No41 in the world forced her to play a first-round match in the tournament she has won twice. A failed doping test led to a 15-month ban for the five-time major winner.
She trailed 4-1 in the first set before holding serve at 4-all. But Osaka held to go up 5-4 and broke Sharapova on a double fault to close out the set.
Ranked No44 in the world, Osaka took a 4-2 lead in the second set. Sharapova broke to tie it 4-all before Osaka won the final two games to end the 1 1/2-hour match. (AP)
A KVH SatNews service.
MIAMI - Tiger Woods is drawing inspiration from fellow veteran Phil Mickelson's win in Mexico last weekend as he plots the latest stage of his comeback this week ahead of next month's Masters.
The 42-year-old former world number one will tee off in the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship on Thursday hoping to get more rounds under his belt heading into Augusta in three weeks' time.
Woods has endured mixed results since returning to the tour this season, finishing tied for 23rd at Torrey Pines in January before missing the cut at Riviera in Los Angeles last month.
He followed that up with a 12th-place finish at the Honda Classic and is playing the Valspar at Tampa, Florida this week in an attempt to hone his game before the Masters.
Woods missed all of 2016 and most of 2017 because of debilitating back trouble that culiminated in spinal fusion surgery last April.
He said the 47-year-old Mickelson's victory at the WGC Championship in Mexico on Sunday encouraged him to believe he could still add to his collection of 106 professional wins. (AFP)
A KVH SatNews service.
ROME - Chris Froome is nine seconds off the overall lead at the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race after BMC won Wednesday's opening team time-trial, Agence France-Presse reported.
Italian Damiano Caruso will wear the first race leader's blue jersey for the second year in a row as BMC beat Australian outfit Mitchelton-Scott by four seconds on the 21.5-kilometre course in Lido Di Camaiore.
Froome's under-fire Team Sky were third at nine seconds.
"Today G (Geraint Thomas) and Chris put in good performances, stages three and four are very important and they look asthough they are in good form," said Sky sports director Matteo Tosatto.
It's only the second time four-time Tour de France winner Froome has competed at the week-long Italian race after finishing second to Italian Vincenzo Nibali in 2013.
He is using it as preparation for May's Giro d'Italia, which this year will begin in Jerusalem. (AFP)
A KVH SatNews service.
Istiqlol 1-0 Ahal
Alay 3-6 Altyn AsyrGroup E
Abahani 0-1 New RadiantGroup G
Bali United 3-1 FLC Thanh Hoa
Yangon United 3-0 GlobalGroup I
April 25 1-0 Hwaebul
Benfica 3-2 Fu Jen UniversityUEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Tottenham 1-2 Juventus
(3-4)
Man. City 1-2 Basel
(5-2)BASKETBALL
Chong Son 113-95 Mono Vampire
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SINGAPORE - A water festival organised by the Singapore Sports Hub will be held to give families a fun-filled weekend as part of the Community Play Day.
Various water activities and facilities will be available to allow both kids and adults to enjoy during the school holidays. There will be water playground and lazy river, while some activities include water drumming, water bottle fitness workout and Tahiti dance fitness performance and workout.
Sports and Community Programming director Christine Lau said the event aims to encourage active and healthy lifestyle by doing sports, fitness workouts and other activities.
"People might know about the Kallang Basin next to the Sports Hub, where elite athletes like dragon-boaters train," she said. "But what they might not know is there's an exciting water adventure they can experience there. There are fantastic facilities for the family, like the Splash-N-Surf centre."
Water sports events will also be held during the event, including the Century Dragon Boat Race, Liberty Insurance 49th Singapore National Age Group Championships and beach volleyball which has gained popularity in recent years.
A KVH SatNews service.
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