Oil prices dropped in Asian trading on Monday after no major disruptions to production were reported around the weekend presidential election in Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer. An overseas monitor, however, said the electoral process failed to meet international standards.
Singapore police said they arrested two Africans with 20,6kg of cannabis — the largest drugs haul in several years in the country where those caught trafficking over 500g face a mandatory death penalty. ”If convicted, both will face the death penalty,” an official from Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau said on Wednesday.
Experts marking World Health Day in Singapore on Monday called for greater cooperation and worldwide collaboration in the face of international threats to health security. ”All nations are at risk,” said Dr Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), during a panel debate.
When 17-year-old Garyl Tan Jia Luo piggybacked on his neighbour’s unsecured wireless internet network to chat online, he could not have imagined that in doing so he would make Asian legal history. Information technology experts say Tan was the first in Singapore, and possibly Asia, to be sentenced in court for ”wireless mooching”.
China’s Liang Wenon-Chg parred the 18th hole to beat Malaysia’s Iain Steel on the first hole of a sudden-death play-off to win the joint-sanctioned Singapore Masters on Sunday. The 28-year-old Liang’s maiden victory outside China ensured he became the second Chinese player to win on the European Tour, emulating Zhang Lian-wei, who captured the same event in 2003.
South Africa’s Anton Haig says winning the Johnnie Walker Classic last weekend has been a life-changing experience and he is now ready to step up and take his place among the elite. The top names of the game have been lining up to rave about the 20-year-old and he said he wants to make it back-to-back victories at the Singapore Masters this week.
Darren Clarke has tipped giant South African Anton Haig as a future Major winner while fellow Ryder Cup stars Lee Westwood and David Howell see him as a top 10 player. All three have been watching Haig’s progress and were not surprised when the 20-year-old finally broke through with victory at the Johnnie Walker Classic last week.
The Asian Tour is set to massively expand with corporate interest higher than ever as golf becomes ”cool” thanks to Tiger Woods, executive chairperson Kyi Hla Han says. Kyi, who has been running the tour since chief executive Louis Martin left to work with Ernie Els five months ago, predicted it was on the verge of exploding.
No image available
/ 26 January 2007
Singapore hanged two African men on Friday for drug smuggling after the city-state’s prime minister rejected international clemency pleas, saying its tough stance was necessary to protect Singapore’s interests. The south-east Asian island-state of 4,4-million has the highest per capita execution rate in the world and has hanged more than 420 people since 1991.
No image available
/ 25 January 2007
A 21-year-old Nigerian man was spending his last day of life on Thursday without the comfort of a single relative or friend ahead of his execution in a Singapore prison. Despite a clemency plea by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, there was no word from the government of any change in the death sentence.
No image available
/ 24 January 2007
Activists outraged by the impending hanging of a 21-year-old Nigerian man for drug trafficking planned a hunger strike in protest against the execution, they said on Wednesday. Chee Siok Chin and lawyer M Ravi, both Singaporeans, said their demonstration will start at 7am on Thursday at the city-state’s Speakers’ Corner.
No image available
/ 27 December 2006
Telecommunications around Asia were severely disrupted on Wednesday after earthquakes off Taiwan damaged undersea cables, slowing internet services and hindering financial transactions, particularly in the currency market. Banks and businesses across the region reported problems with communications, with some telephone lines cut and internet access slowing to a crawl.
No image available
/ 21 November 2006
A retired Italian banker who was a victim of a Nigerian scam is suing a wholesaler in Singapore for the return of ,1-million, news reports said on Tuesday. The Nigerians were said to have conned Vincenzo Comboni, an Italian citizen, into depositing the money into the company’s account.
No image available
/ 8 November 2006
Oral and anal sex in private between consenting heterosexual adults would be legalised under Singapore’s first major penal code amendments in 22 years, the government said on Wednesday. Singapore said it had conducted a comprehensive review of sexual offences in the penal code, which was enacted in 1871.
No image available
/ 12 October 2006
Kerzner International’s bid for a Singapore casino licence will proceed despite the death in a helicopter crash of the firm’s chief executive officer, the company said on Thursday. ”The company is fully committed to continuing its bid for the integrated resort in Sentosa,” Kerzner said in a statement after the death of Butch Kerzner (42).
No image available
/ 17 September 2006
International Monetary Fund policymakers on Sunday backed the most sweeping overhaul of the institution for six decades to give fast-growing China, South Korea, Mexico and Turkey more influence. The plan to overhaul the 61-year-old IMF, whose balance of power still largely reflects the economic landscape at the end of World War II, was given the green light by the IMF’s International Monetary and Financial Committee.
No image available
/ 15 September 2006
The chief of the World Bank took a hard line on corruption on Friday while his counterpart at the International Monetary Fund said policy-makers need to be ready to adapt to a more difficult economic environment in the coming year as delegates gathered for the sister institutions’ annual meetings.
No image available
/ 11 September 2006
Australia’s Adam Scott believes the narrow fairways and deep rough at the Sentosa Golf Club’s par-71 Serapong Course helped him maintain focus on his way to a successful Singapore Open title defence on Sunday. The world number six birdied the 18th to defeat South Africa’s Ernie Els in a three-hole playoff and register a first victory since his triumph here 12 months ago.
No image available
/ 9 September 2006
South Africa’s Ernie Els moved into a one-shot lead early in the Singapore Open third round before play was suspended due to the threat of lightning on Saturday. Els was even par for his round and six under for the tournament, just ahead of two Australians, defending champion Adam Scott and overnight co-leader Scott Strange.
No image available
/ 8 September 2006
Ernie Els took advantage of cooler morning conditions to fire a second round six-under 65 and grab a share of the lead at the Singapore Open on Friday. The South African mixed five birdies with an eagle and a bogey to stand on six-under par 136 for the tournament, a total matched in the afternoon by overnight co-leader Scott Strange of Australia.
No image available
/ 7 September 2006
Defending champion Adam Scott and three-time Major winner Ernie Els arrived in Asia for this week’s Singapore Open with big reputations and both will be happy to have negotiated the first round firmly in contention. Els recovered from two over after three holes to post an even-par 71 on the testing Serapong Course hosting the -million tournament.
No image available
/ 6 September 2006
Ryder Cup wildcard pick Lee Westwood refused to be drawn into the row over his controversial selection for the European team on Wednesday, following Thomas Bjorn’s furious reaction to being left out. Captain Ian Woosnam’s decision sparked a torrent of abuse from an angry Bjorn, who was ranked 13th on the Ryder Cup list while Westwood was 21st.
No image available
/ 6 September 2006
Some golfers are content to stay on familiar turf and play the USPGA or European Tours, but not Ernie Els and Michael Campbell. They are among a breed of golfer, that also includes people like Tiger Woods and Colin Montgomerie, who travel the world, showcasing their skills not just in the United States and Europe but in Asia and elsewhere.
No image available
/ 5 September 2006
Ernie Els headlines a strong line-up at the -million Singapore Open this week with the three-time Major winner looking to chalk up his first victory in nine months. As well as Els, world number five Adam Scott returns to defend his title, along with last year’s runner-up Lee Westwood, Japan’s number one Shingo Katayama and Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Jeev Milkha Singh of India.
Customs controls in free-trade zones worldwide must be tightened as smugglers are exploiting the easier movement of goods to shift counterfeit items, a conference on combating intellectual piracy was told on Monday. Smuggling of fake goods through these zones is a growing problem because of the mushrooming of free trade enclaves, said Richard Heath, the global anti-counterfeiting counsel at consumer goods giant Unilever.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) cartel scolded consuming nations on Tuesday for forcing it to spend billions on spare crude production capacity while sending confusing policy signals on future demand. Opec has an estimated 100 exploration and production projects with investment in the region of -billion to meet rising demand.
Young Asian readers seeking the thrill of ghouls and haunted houses no longer turn only to Western favorites to satisfy their itch. Asia’s answer to the record-selling British boy wizard Harry Potter is the Mr Midnight series of books. The appeal, says author Jim Aitchison, is the books’ ability to address an Asian child’s values and sensibilities.
The classroom erupted in delighted cheers at the teacher’s vigorous thrusts into a toilet bowl. The plunger-wielding ”professor” from Japan, Atsuhiro Katsumata, was in Singapore to help the city-state’s toilet cleaners brush up their skills. Singapore, it seems, has yet to take its seat among the ranks of those with the most sparkling urinals.
Oil prices fell on Wednesday on signs Iran was responding positively to a package of incentives by world powers hoping to curb its nuclear programme. But uncertainty over the outlook will keep a floor under oil prices. The mood on energy markets has seesawed from day to day with each diplomatic development between Iran, the United Nations and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
A radical plan to restructure international football, prepared for top European clubs, envisages the World Cup being held every two years, the Financial Times reported on Monday. The proposal, called ”Grand Slam World”, is part of a presentation commissioned by the G-14 grouping of European clubs — a collection of the 18 richest sides in Europe — by Hypercube, a Dutch consultancy.
![]()
Asia is buzzing with World Cup fever and nowhere more than in pubs and clubs, which are poised for a bonanza from hordes of football fans watching the games, drink in hand, on big screen TVs. The excitement has not escaped staid Singapore, where nightlife venues in the tiny island-state are extending opening hours and ramping up promotions.
Betting on major sporting events is always going to happen, but in chunks of Asia it is illegal and police across the region are cracking down ahead of the World Cup. Asians enjoy a flutter and tens of millions of dollars is expected to be wagered over the month-long football festival on everything from who will win to who scores the first goal.