International Child Abduction Bill passed

CHILDREN taken out of Singapore without the permission of the parent who has custody will receive global help to return home safely.

This follows Parliament agreeing yesterday to ratify the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

The move makes Singapore one of 83 states to agree to track down and return a child who has been forcefully brought past its borders.

This will ensure that estranged spouses will have their custody disputes decided by the courts in the rightful country, rather than becoming embroiled in protracted and expensive cross-border lawsuits.

Swap deal can help Singapore become yuan centre

THE Sino-Singapore currency swap agreement can help establish the Republic as a renminbi centre for the region, said Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) deputy chairman Lim Hng Kiang yesterday.

'Currently, the Chinese are keen to internationalise the renminbi (yuan), and the main vehicle for doing so is through Hong Kong. By having this swap line, we are encouraging them to also provide the facility through Singapore.

'We can expect the Chinese to do so bilaterally with other South-east Asian countries, but to the extent that Singapore is the financial hub for South-east Asia, and the trade and investment facilitator for many of the deals and many of the operations arising in South-east Asia, then of course Singapore can aspire to be a renminbi centre for South-east Asia.'

Mr Lim, who is also Trade and Industry Minister, was responding to a question in Parliament from Nominated MP Teo Siong Seng.

MAS inked the $30 billion currency swap agreement with the People's Bank of China (PBOC) on July 24.

The agreement will allow MAS to borrow up to 150 billion yuan of the Chinese currency from the PBOC, in exchange for the equivalent in Singapore dollars.

The swap line is intended to promote bilateral trade and direct investment between the two countries. It will also facilitate the internationalisation of the yuan.

S'pore emerges as most liveable Asian city in new Global Liveable Cities Index

Singapore has emerged as the most liveable Asian city in a new index. It was ranked third worldwide coming in behind Geneva and Zurich in the Global Liveable Cities Index.

Published by Singapore's Centre for Liveable Cities, the index looked at 64 cities including 36 from Asia.

When it comes to liveability, Singapore has been ranked up there with some of Europe's best cities.

In individual rankings, it came in first for domestic security and stability and third for good governance and leadership.

And it ranked 5th for economic vibrancy and quality of life.

Prestigious award for Southern Ridges Trail

In the citation, the jury - made up of real estate professionals, planners and architects - was especially impressed by how a rare recreational space was created in a densely populated city-state and how it has 'moved the concept of green links and neighbourhood parks to a new level'.

The URA will go on to compete at the global awards later this year.

Besides the Southern Ridges, condominium Newton Suites by the UOL Group was also selected as one of the winners from 35 entries.

The 118-unit eco-friendly tower has features like sun shading, rooftop plants, cross-ventilation and a green wall spanning the height of the building.

The URA is not new to the ULI Awards, having won the global award in 2006 for its conservation programme and the Asia-Pacific award in 2008 for its master planning of the Bras Basah and Bugis area.

Both Henderson Waves and Alexandra Arch have won architectural and engineering awards here and overseas.

Since its opening in May 2008, the Southern Ridges has drawn an additional 50,000 visitors a month.

S'pore property market 'third most transparent in Asia-Pacific'

SINGAPORE is ranked the third most transparent property market in Asia-Pacific, according to a key industry index.

The league table places Singapore at 16th worldwide, two spots ahead of Hong Kong but behind regional rivals Australia, ranked first, and New Zealand at fourth.

More transparent market conditions allow for quicker investment deals between one foreign investor and another, it said.

The index, which was started in 1999 and is updated every two years, covers all property sectors, though the bulk comprises commercial real estate.

It assessed 81 markets under five categories - performance measurement, market fundamentals, listed vehicles, legal and regulatory environment and the transaction process.

Jones Lang LaSalle's South-east Asia research head, Dr Chua Yang Liang, said the index showed that Singapore's strength lies in its regulatory and legal environment.

'The transparency of our regulatory framework supported the influx of US$4.7 billion (S$6.4 billion), which is more than half of the total dollar value investments, into the commercial asset market during the peak in 2007,' he said.

Scientists here crack bile duct cancer puzzle

SCIENTISTS here have discovered a genetic clue that could prevent the growth and spread of bile duct cancer.

Led by Professor Teh Bin Tean, the team from the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) and the Van Andel Research Institute (Vari) in the United States found the level of the enzyme MAPK13 (p38delta mitogen-activated protein kinase) is higher in cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) than in other forms of liver cancer or in normal tissue.

It was also found that MAPK13 plays a role in allowing the tumour cells to move and invade normal organ tissues.

The discovery means the enzyme could complement the current biomarkers used to diagnose bile duct cancer.

'This is significant as it is now possible to deactivate the gene through treatment to slow down the cancerous growth,' Prof Teh, who is also the director of the NCCS-Vari team, told The Straits Times.

Bile duct cancer is particularly prevalent in South-east Asia, but cases of the disease are rising in the US, Britain and Australia.

The cancer strikes about 3,000 new patients each year here - the same number as in the US.

It is most commonly found in patients in their 60s and 70s, and the outcome of the disease is generally poor, with a five-year survival rate of less than 5 per cent.

The current treatment of the disease is surgery to remove the bile duct or the bile duct and part of the liver, but with most patients, the cancer is too advanced when diagnosed to operate.

'Understanding the genetics of bile duct cancer means a focused drug targeting it could be developed to improve the long-term survival rate of patients,' said Prof Teh, whose laboratory published its findings in the International Journal Of Cancer last month.

Singapore, HK least red tape in Asia: survey

Regional financial centres Singapore and Hong Kong have the most efficient bureaucracies, according to the survey of expatriate business executives by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) on Wednesday.

Government bureaucracies in some Asian countries have become "power centres" in their own right, allowing them to effectively resist efforts toward reforms by politicians and appointed officials, the Hong Kong-based firm said.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's failure to carry out reforms contributed to the resignation last month of respected finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who accepted a senior position at the World Bank, PERC said.

"Despite President Susilo's strong election mandate, he lacks the power to really shake up Indonesia's bureaucracy," the consultancy said.

Singapore was ranked has having the most efficient bureaucracy, with a score of 2.53, followed by Hong Kong with 3.49.

PERC said 1,373 middle and senior expatriate executives took part in the survey carried out earlier this year.

Singapore was also number one and Hong Kong was in third place globally in the World Bank's latest survey on the ease of doing business, which covered 183 economies.

Source: Channel NewsAsia

The Singapore success story

SINGAPORE is the best place in the world for a child to be born.

It has the lowest mortality rate - 2.5 per 1,000 births - for children under five years old in the world, according to the study published in the medical journal The Lancet. The study compared the mortality rates of children under five in 187 countries.

Figures for other developed countries like Britain and the United States stand at 5.3 and 6.7, respectively.

These figures stand in stark contrast to countries like Laos (68.3), China (15.4) and India (62.6).

Singapore has come a long way from 1960, when 34.9 babies in every 1,000 died before they were a year old. Singapore's success in sharply reducing the mortality rate in recent decades can be attributed to many factors.

A big plus has been the ability of the country to meet the basic needs of its population, which include good housing, clean water, proper sanitation services and other public health-care needs.

'Improved prenatal care, safe delivery practices and medical advancement are some of the immediate factors,' said Assistant Professor of Sociology Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan from the School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University.

Clinical Associate Professor Ong Hian Tat, a senior consultant at the University Children's Medical Institute, National University Hospital, mentioned breast-feeding and childhood screening programmes as factors in lowering the child mortality rate.

'Emphasis on the beneficial effects of breast-feeding has led to better nutrition provided for all the babies and infants.

'Nationwide childhood screening programmes have also allowed us to detect some of the childhood diseases early, resulting in better treatment outcomes,' he said.

Prof Bussarawan added that a decline in infant mortality rates was a good indicator of Singapore's socioeconomic development, access to health care and women's socioeconomic status.

And the focus on the less well-off has also paid off.

'Singapore is doing better than some other developed countries because we have our focus of giving optimal medical care to the less advantaged section of our population and we have quality and accessible subsidised perinatal and paediatric care,' said Associate Professor Tan Kok Hian.

He is the head of perinatal audit and epidemiology at KK Women's and Children's Hospital.

JANICE TAI (Straits Times)

Singapore No. 1 in Competitiveness

SINGAPORE has jumped ahead of Hong Kong and the United States to snatch the top spot in a closely watched global ranking of economic competitiveness.

The Republic edged ahead of its rivals to assume pole position for the first time in what the compiler of the annual rankings, Swiss business school IMD, is calling a photo finish.

The gap between the three in this latest assessment of the world's economies - which places Hong Kong second and the US third - is less than 1 per cent.

This year's rankings are an upset to what has become the traditional pecking order and mark the first time since 1994 that the US has failed to trounce the competition.

For most of the 1990s and early 2000s Singapore has ranked second, but in recent years it has alternated with Hong Kong for second and third place.

IMD said Singapore and Hong Kong 'displayed great resilience through the crisis... and are now taking full advantage of strong expansion in the surrounding Asian region'. It was particularly impressed with Singapore's 13 per cent growth in the first quarter of this year.

While 'it's a tango between Hong Kong and Singapore at the top' of the rankings, Singapore's ability to utilise its competitive advantages and improve on its weaknesses was what gave it the edge over Hong Kong this year, according to Ms Suzanne Rosselet-McCauley, deputy director of the IMD World Competitiveness Centre.

NYP's ice cream licks the big guns at awards

The NYP team's 'green tea laced with aloe vera' recipe beat industry names from Slovenia and the United States to emerge tops in the best new ice cream category at the inaugural IDF Dairy Innovation Awards in Austria, trumping major players such as Dreyer's Grand and Haagen-Dazs.

The awards, which celebrate innovation in the global dairy industry, is an initiative by the International Dairy Federation - which currently accounts for more than 80 per cent of the world's milk production - and the FoodBev Media's Dairy Innovation magazine.

This year's competition attracted more than 170 entries from 29 countries in 12 categories, including best new cheese and best new dairy drink.

NYP's winning ice cream flavour was developed by four students and two lecturers from the Food Science Programme of the polytechnic's School of Chemical and Life Sciences (SCL).

One team member, student Laura Lim, 20, who will graduate from NYP later this month, said: 'I hope we are successful as we put in six months of hard work to come up with the product. We are confident that it will be popular in the mass market.'

The others in the team are students Chye Shan Shan, 20, Chow Yina, 22, and Gan Shi Wei, 20, and another lecturer Richard Khaw, 39.

Singapore named No.2 Ultimate Sports City

Singapore has been named the number two Ultimate Sports City at the biennial Sport Accord Convention in Dubai.

The top spot went to Melbourne for the third successive time since the inception of the award in 2006 by London-based Sport Business Group, the world's leading supplier of information, media and business-to-business marketing services to the global sports industry.

This was the first time Singapore made the shortlist of 25 cities considered for the prestigious award.

Last month, Rachael Church-Sanders, author of the Ultimate Sports City report, told MediaCorp that cities are awarded a value according to the events they host annually, have hosted or will host between 2006 and 2014.

Singapore has hosted high-profile sports events in the last six years, beginning with the 117th International Olympic Committee Session in 2005.

It also staged the first Formula 1 night race in 2008, the first Asian Youth Games last year, and will welcome an estimated 3,600 athletes aged 14 to 18 from 205 National Olympic Committees for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in August.

The Republic has also hosted the World Cup short course swimming series, and the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon has witnessed record entries.

The Republic also beat out Melbourne for the right to host the World Netball Championships in July 2011.

Singapore banking system among Top 4 in world

SINGAPORE'S banking system has emerged from the global financial crisis as one of the Top 4 in the world along with Canada, Australia and Hong Kong, according to ratings agency Moody's.

Moody's Investors Service rated the banking sector in these four jurisdictions as having a 'stable' outlook with an averaged bank rating of B, one notch below the highest rating A.

Singapore banks have been more resilient than many global banks throughout the crisis, with limited damage to their asset quality, adequate earnings, and very liquid and well-capitalised balance sheets.

SMRT sweeps 3 awards at International Metro Awards 2010

SMRT did Singapore proud, sweeping three awards at the International Metro Awards 2010 in London - "Best Metro Asia Pacific" and "Most Energy Efficient Metro" accolades for the second consecutive year, and "Most Innovative Use of Technology" award for the first time.

Big Help from Singapore

US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Dr Kurt Campbell: "No country punches as far above its weight in global politics as Singapore. And we've received enormous good advice and support for American commitment to the region. For Singapore, we would like that to continue in the next several years."

Singapore is tops for training of senior Chinese officials

Minister of the Central Organisation Department of China's Communist Party, Mr Li Yuanchao said in his address that Singapore is the top choice when it comes to selecting a place to train top Chinese government officials, at the inaugural opening ceremony of the Master in Public Administration and Management (MPAM) programme.

The joint programme is an effort by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the NUS Business School.

Singapore No. 2 in World Infocomm Ranking

The Global Information Technology Report, published by the World Economic Forum and leading business school Insead, ranked 133 economies and examined how they used information and communications technologies in businesses and in government, the infrastructure, and the actual usage of such technologies by everyone.

The report took into account 68 indicators such as the use of ICT by individuals, businesses and the government; accessibility of digital content; Internet access in schools and the success of the government's campaign to promote ICT.

Sweden tops the charts, with Singapore coming in second - two places higher than the last ranking in 2008-09. Denmark is third.

The only top other Asian territory in the Top 10 is Hong Kong, ranked eighth.

Where the Republic came out tops: success in promoting technology, laws relating to ICT, and the Government's procurement of advanced technological products, among others.

Singapore first SE Asia country to have own locally built satellite in space

The X-Sat, a micro-satellite about the size of a refrigerator, will be launched in June or July from India's Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh.

With the launch of the 120 kg satellite, Singapore is believed to be the first Southeast Asian country that will have its own locally built satellite in space.

Changi Airport reclaims No. 1 Spot

Changi Airport beat last year's winner, South Korea's Incheon International, which slipped to the second place in the Skytrax survey.

The skytrax survey ranked about 190 airports worldwide based on a poll of 9.8 million passengers from over 100 countries. Respondents were asked to assess the airports on aspects such as check-in, arrivals and transfers, duty-free shopping, leisure amenities and security processing.

Besides the overall prize, Changi also bagged the title of Best Airport Asia and best airport for leisure amenities.

Skytrax chairman Edward Plaisted said Changi triumphed because it was "almost a destination of its own right", among other factors.

Singapore team develops mobile ECG machine

A team of Singaporean researchers in the private sector has developed a portable and affordable electrocardiograph (ECG) machine.

The machine - known as the CP50 - is the first of New York-based medical diagnostic equipment maker Welch Allyn's products to be designed and developed in Singapore since it started operations here six years ago.

It was first launched in the United States in February 2010.

The CP50 is mobile and can be battery operated, which allows doctors to take it to patients' homes.

Singapore students bag top literature awards

Meridian Junior College student Nicole Kang, 19, was pipped to the 2009 Angus Ross Prize by Hwa Chong Institution's Lin Ruizi, but beat thousands of students worldwide to clinch the runner-up award.

The Angus Ross Prize is given out every year to the best-performing non-British candidate in the GCE A-Level English Literature examination.

Since Cambridge began awarding the prize in 1987, Singaporeans have clinched it almost every year, with students from Raffles Junior College dominating the winners in the last decade.

Singapore ranked 4th in financial centres survey

Singapore is closing the gap on London and New York as a leading financial centre, according to a new ranking. Third in place is Hong Kong.

The six-monthly index is compiled by the Z/Yen Group think-tank and published by the City of London. It combines a survey of financial professionals with factors such as tax rates, airport satisfaction, office occupancy costs and stock exchange capitalisation.

Among the top cities, Singapore was perceived to be riding out the financial crisis with more resilience than the others.

Singapore invited to be UN group member

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has formed a high-level advisory group on an important aspect - how mitigation measures on climate change will be financed.

Singapore has been invited to be a group member and will be represented by Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Second Finance Minister Lim Hwee Hua.

Singapore Second-best place for expats to raise kids

Some 56 per cent of expat parents said their children are more socially integrated here than they were in their home countries, according to the world's largest survey of expats, Expat Explorer.

Not only did 71 per cent say their kids adapted "really well" to the education system here (compared to the global average of 49 per cent), 65 per cent said their children found it easy to make new friends (global average 50 per cent).

Expat kids fit in easiest in Australia. In contrast, expat kids in the United Kingdom and United States struggled the hardest to make friends and integrate.

These were the findings of the second annual survey issued by HSBC Bank International, which polled over 3,100 expats from more than 50 countries.

Overall, Singapore was ranked next best, behind Australia, for expats to raise a family. Nine in 10 expat parents living here felt they had moved to a safer, more childcare-friendly place for their youngsters.

Three in four said education standards were better than in their home country (global average 56 per cent), while 70 per cent felt childcare had improved since moving here (global average 50 per cent).

But the Republic was also rated one of the most expensive place to raise a child - 60 per cent said they now spend more on childcare.

As for providing an environment to raise healthy kids, expat children in Singapore ate the least junk food, according to the survey. But over a third tended to spend less time outdoors and playing sports after moving here.

Overall, the UK was indicated as the worst country for childcare and education.

S'pore to sign HCCAICA pact

According to Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan on Wednesday, the ministry is working to accede to the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (HCCAICA), and is expected to join some 80 signatories by the end of this year.

The pact facilitates the safe return of children wrongly removed from their home countries. Courts in countries which have signed the treaty are obligated to return an abducted child to his home country.

ITE gets thumbs-up from Australian government officials and students

Students at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) should count their blessings for having some of the best teachers, curricula, training methods and facilities in the world.

That was the conclusion of visiting staff and students from Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) institutions, the equivalent of ITE in Australia.

"A number of senior Australian government delegations visited ITE College East and were especially impressed by the dedication of the trainers, the use of modern teaching tools and the effective curriculum," said Mr Suhaimy Hassan, director (education) of the Australian Education International (AEI) in Singapore.

The AEI is the international arm of the Australian government's Department of Edeucation, Employment and Workplace Relations.

NTU team maps Malaria parasite's behaviour

The secrets of the most deadly malaria parasite, Plasmodium facliparum, have been unravelled by scientists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), raising hopes that stagnation in drug development for the disease can end.

The team at NTU has mapped the behaviour of the 5,300 genes of the parasite. Previously, only half the genes were understood. The discovery was reported in January 2010's edition of the journal Nature Biotechnology.

Changi Airport second again in World Ranking

For the second year running, Changi has emerged as number two in a ranking of airports worldwide.

The annual Airport Service Quality ranking is done by Airports Council International (ACI), a global trade representative of airports, with 575 members operating in nearly 180 countries.

Among other indicators, travellers were asked to rank the airports based on waiting time at check-in, ease of finding their way through the airport, ground transportation to and from the airport, thoroughness of security inspection, cleanliness of washrooms as well as waiting time at security inspection, and passport and visa inspection.

Changi was third in 2006.

Source: The Straits Times (Feb 17, 2010)

Singaporean wins US maths award

A Raffles Institution (Junior College) alumna has become the first Singaporean to clinch a major American award given to female undergraduates who excel in mathematics.

She is Ms Charmaine Sia, 23, just months away from graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a double degree in mathematics and physics.

The annual award, given by the non-profit Association for Women in Mathematics since 1990, aims to encourage women to study and pursue careers in the mathematical sciences.

New trials give hope to liver cancer patients

Singapore's drawing power for clinical trials give hope to several hundred liver cancer patients in the region, with the launch of three clinical trials this year.

EADS to conduct research in Singapore

Singapore's aerospace research capabilities climbed up a notch on 4/2/10 when European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS) committed to work with three Singapore institutions on "green" aircraft solutions.

EADS, parent company of aircraft manufacturer Airbus, is working with A*Star's Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences on converting algae oil to kerosene for use as jet fuel.

It also signed a research agreement with Nanyang Technological University, where it is involved in developing an energy efficient radio system.

The National University of Singapore and EADS already have two projects in mind. One of these looks at solar powered aircraft, while the other is on improving the aerodynamic qualities of aircraft.

Singapore 1 of top 10 nations registering inventions overseas

The number of patents registered in Singapore by local companies, individuals and institutions has grown steadily from 572 in 2005, to 729 in 2007 and 827 last year.

Overseas too, Singapore punches above its weight.

It is one of the top 10 countries registering inventions overseas, according to a study by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development.

Singapore ranks 10th on the list. The only other Asian territory is Taiwan, in third spot.

The top filers are the national Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) and technology companies like Creative Technologies, though there are also individuals as well as universities and polytechnics.

Nanyang Polytechnic is the only polytechnic which has consistently been among the top 10 patent applicants in the last 10 years.

Singapore is most open economy

Singapore leads the world as the most globally connected economy, after edging out regional rival Hong Kong, according to an inaugural study.

The key factor that drove the Republic to the top of the list compiled by Ernst & Young and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) was the far-reaching tentacles of trade.

The Globalisation Index 2009 said the "movement of goods and services" in Singapore relative to total output outshone all comers.

With total trade volume of more than 300 per cent of output - since many goods are simply turned around at Singapore ports - the Republic attained a score of 9.59, the highest of all 60 economies. Hong Kong registered 8.66.

This criterion measures the volume of a country's trade as a percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP) - a measure of economic output - and other factors such as trade openness, and any trade barriers, as rated by EIU analysts.

The world's 60 largest economies studied were ranked using five criteria - openness to trade, capital movements, exchange of technology and ideas, labour movements, and cultural integration.

Four Singapore think-tanks among Asia's top 30

The S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) has been ranked third-best among more than 1,000 Asian think-tanks in a study conducted last year by the University of Pennsylvania.

Three other Singapore think-tanks also snagged top 30 positions in a ranking of 40 leading Asian think-tanks.

They are the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (seventh), Singapore Institute of International Affairs (15th), and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (29th).

The Global "Go-To Think Tanks" ranking was the fourth since 2006 by the University of Pennsylvania's Think Tank and Civil Societies Programme. It aims to identify top think-tanks through surveys with over 300 scholars, policy-makers and think-tank experts.

The criteria includes academic reputation, success in generating innovative policy ideas, and access to elites in the areas of policymaking, media and academia.

Foreigners team up with Singaporeans to help in Haiti

What started out as a modest relief team composed of seven Singaporeans has grown into an international medical mission of sorts, as they have teamed up with volunteers from Taiwan, Indonesia, Canada and the United States.

Since the first team arrived in Haiti on Jan 18, CityCare volunteers have been running a makeshift clinic at a church in Carrefour, near the capital Port-Au-Prince.

They have since treated more than 700 injured Haitians.

Singapore to host global tax forum

A major tax summit involving representatives from more than 90 countries will be held here later this year.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes monitors and evaluates the international standard on how tax information is shared across borders.

This will be the Global Forum's first meeting after it became a stand-alone body last year.

Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said: "Singapore is pleased to host the Global Forum at an important time - as it puts in place an objective peer review process aimed at monitoring the implementation of the internationally agreed standard for exchange of information. Singapore has been working actively with others to institute this process."

Nanyang Business School ranked 27th in the world

Nanyang Business School (NBS) has largely held its ground in the Financial Times' ranking of the top 100 full-time global Master of Business Administration (MBA) programmes in the world.

The list is based on three criteria: career progression of alumni, international and gender diversity, and how well ideas are generated in the course.

NBS leapt to 15th position, up from 71st, in terms of career progression. This measures the seniority of alumni and the size of companies they work for, compared to their standing before their MBA.

It also excelled in terms of international mobility - whether alumni are employed in different countries today compared to before - of its graduates, ranking 13th for this criterion.

The FT survey spelt out the dollar gains to MBA holders. On average, NBS MBA alumni saw a 109% increase in their salary post-MBA, raking in US$110,567 (S$155,048).

Scientists find flower power

Scientists have found a long-sought-after gene which controls when plants flower. The discovery, reported in Molecular Cell journal, could lead to a greater yield of crops such as rice and to faster-growing flowers such as orchids.

PhD student Wang Yu, who was at the National University of Singapore (NUS) but is currently at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star), started out studying how a similar gene in humans affects cancer and Alzheimer's.

Singapore is the world's second largest exporter of orchids, which can take anything from three to five years to bloom. But through the discovery of this gene, Prof Yu, 38, has managed to speed up the process.

And NUS Assistant Professor Liou Yih-Cherng, who was in charge of the original work on the gene in mammals, said: "Knowing how this gene functions in plants helps us understand it better in humans and could lead to drug development for diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's."

The Straits Times (Jan 16, 2010)

New study links gene markers to heart disease

A Singaporean-led team of scientists from Cambridge University has achieved a breakthrough in linking a set of DNA markets found in humans to a person's increased propensity for heart disease.

By comparing tissues from a set of patients with healthy and disease-stricken hearts, the team led by Singaporean Roger Foo found that a specific region of the human DNA in people with sick hearts contained certain "marks", whereas the healthy hearts did not.

The finding could potentially lead to new ways of treating heart disease, as well as identify its links to factors such as diet and the environment, said Dr Foo.

The findings were published in the journal PLoS ONE this week.

The Straits Times (Jan 16, 2010)

Braces that are almost invisible

A local start-up, BioMers, developed translucent braces and retainers in late 2008.

Nanotechnology was used to create a polymer composite wire that works as well as metal wires currently used in braces. Its latest products come coloured, as these are more popular with teens around the world.

Some local dentists are already carrying the products, which are only slightly more expensive than current aesthetic braces.

Singapore-made wireless camera memory card

A made-in-Singapore product will allow photographers to transfer their images and videos wirelessly.

The FluCard, announced by Trek 2000 - the local company which patented the now-ubiquitous ThumbDrive portable USB flash drive a decade ago - is a storage card with built-in Wi-Fi connection.

The FluCard, developed by Trek's engineers over six years at a cost of US$6million, will go on a sale in Singapore within the next couple of months.

Already the FluCard has attracted the attention of Japanese tech giant Toshiba Corporation.

The Straits Times (Jan 21 2010)

Singapore to lead anti-piracy flotilla off Somalia

Singapore will lead an international flotilla of ships to watch over the pirate-infested waters off Somalia.

Rear-Admiral Bernard Miranda and 28 other Singapore navy, air force and army servicemen will lead the Combined Task Force 151 in the Gulf of Aden and its surrounding waters until March, commanding six vessels from various countries.

They will coordinate counter-piracy operations with naval forces from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

Six other navy personnel from Australia, France, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and South Korea make up the rest of the 35-man command team.

This is the first time a Singaporean is leading a multinational peace support mission since 2002, when a Singaporean army general headed a United Nations peace support mission in Timor Leste.

The Straits Times (Jan 21 2010)

Singapore to help boost eco-tourism in Johor

Singapore is lending Malaysia its expertise in developing green reserves for eco-tourism.

The tourism agencies of both countries have started a joint feasibility study to look into how an attraction like Singapore's Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in Kranji can be replicated across the Causeway.

The joint feasibility study, expected to be completed in 2010, is the first such venture into the tourism sector.

The first mention of the collaboration between Singapore and Malaysia in this area came from Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan in 2009, when he gave an update on Singapore's involvement in Iskandar Malaysia, a project to develop southern Johor's economic corridor.

Singaporean is top debater in global contest

24-year-old Singaporean Li Shengwu graduated five months ago as the top economics student at Oxford University. He was crowned Best Speaker at the just-concluded World Universities Debating Championships in Turkey.

Mr Li, a master's student in economics at Oxford, took the top individual honour at the event - known colloquially as the "Worlds" and regarded as the most prestigious debating tournament in the world.

He is the third Singaporean to receive the award, cementing Singapore's status as a debate powerhouse. Since 1981, when the competition began, all Asian winners have been Singaporean.

Country-wise, Singapore is ranked fourth in terms of Best Speaker winners, behind Australia, Canada and England.

That is very good for a country of five million, the competition's unofficial historian, Mr Colm Flynn, noted.

The first Singaporean Best Speaker winner was Ms Chitra Jenardhanan in 1995. Representing Nanyang Technological University, she was also the first woman and the first Asian to take the trophy.

In 2003, Dr Tan Wu Meng, representing Cambridge University, won it.

Singapore leading development of Index on Cities' Biodiversity

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan arrived in Brazil on 3 January 2010 for the second Curitiba Meeting on Cities and Biodiversity which begins on Wednesday.

Mr Mah will speak on the development of the Singapore Index on Cities' Biodiversity, and encourage cities to participate in its testing and refinement.

Singapore is leading the development of the index - the first that will enable cities to monitor their biodiversity conservation efforts.