SINGAPORE: Singapore's Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin said the government is not ruling out having anti-discrimination labour laws. At a conference on fair employment practices on Monday, he said legislation is a possible way to address prejudices. Mr Tan acknowledged calls for Singapore to outlaw labour discrimination, but noted that legislation itself is not the "silver bullet".

SINGAPORE: A truck that "thinks its a bird" -- Changi Airport's weapon of choice for scattering winged wildlife off its premises. A loudhailer, which emits birds' distress calls, is mounted above the truck -- helping chase away stray wildlife. Singapore's air hub is finding innovative ways to keep stray animals from crashing into planes.

SINGAPORE: The Health Ministry is looking at building about seven elderly care facility centres islandwide by early next year. This was announced by Health Minister Gan Kim Yong who launched the St Hilda's Community Services Centre on Friday morning. This is in line with the Healthcare 2020 Masterplan where some 100 aged care facilities ranging from nursing homes to senior activity centres will be built by 2016.

SINGAPORE: The Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore has urged his countrymen working in Singapore to reflect on their situation before acting “illegally”, after 21 Malaysians were arrested on Saturday for protesting at the Merlion Park. The arrests came after nine Malaysians were warned for actively participating in an illegal gathering at the Merlion Park last Wednesday, and the police reiterated that foreigners have to abide by Singapore laws while working or living here.

SINGAPORE: Singapore police have labelled a recent Financial Times report on American engineer Dr Shane Todd as "inaccurate", "mischievous" and "calculated to interfere with the administration of justice in Singapore". The article, dated May 10 and titled "Singapore inquiry prepares to open into Shane Todd's death", reported that the police gave Dr Todd's parents different versions of how he died.

SINGAPORE: The Port of Singapore once again clinched the 'Best Seaport in Asia' award at the Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards (AFSCA), retaining its crown as Asia's port of choice. The award was presented to Singapore for an unprecedented 25th time at the 27th AFSCA, which was held in Beijing on Thursday. Mr Chan Keng Nee, Deputy Director for Vessel Traffic Management at the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), received the award on behalf of the Port of Singapore.

SINGAPORE: Singapore on Wednesday won the right to host the showpiece WTA Championships from 2014 in a record five-year deal which looks set to give a huge boost to tennis in Asia. Singapore beat rival bids from China's Tianjin and Monterrey in Mexico for the season finale, which next year will boast a purse of $6.5 million, its largest ever.

SINGAPORE: Singapore is the safest place to be born and the best place to be a mother in Asia, beating competitors Japan, South Korea and Malaysia -- according to children's aid agency Save the Children. Singapore has the lowest first-day mortality rate in Asia, making it the safest place in the region to be born.

SINGAPORE: Singapore's transport ministry said the architectural and engineering consultancy study for the Rapid Transit System (RTS) linking Johor and Singapore is currently on-going, and its first phase is nearing completion. The Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) for Iskandar Malaysia (IM) will then decide on the option for the RTS Link to be further studied as part of the second phase of the study.

SINGAPORE: Human resource experts say most Singaporeans can expect a three to four per cent pay rise this year, in line with inflation estimates. HR experts say Singaporeans earning under S$4,000 a month can be optimistic, with a recently-announced government subsidy that pays for 40 per cent their wage increases this year.

A 32-year-old Singaporean man has been arrested for vandalising a national monument. At about 7.17am on Wednesday morning, a member of public had reported to the police that the Cenotaph war memorial at the Esplanade Park was found sprayed with graffiti.

SINGAPORE: National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan has said the government loses "hundreds of millions" of dollars when constructing public flats. He made the point on Thursday night at a dialogue session on housing issues. This comes amid calls from some quarters for land costs to be taken out from the pricing of public flats to make them more affordable. Mr Khaw also hinted at several other changes to come, such as subsidies for executive condominiums.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong who will be joining workers and unionists at their May Day celebrations in Singapore says his message will focus on working together "to make things better". Speaking to the Singapore media in Brunei, Mr Lee explained that Singapore is in a new phase of growth and the country has been talking about qualitative upgrading.

SINGAPORE: Singapore is a step closer to complete islandwide coverage for high speed 4G mobile network. Telco SingTel has joined rival M1 in providing 95 per cent coverage at street-level for its 4G network. Operator StarHub said complete street-level coverage on its 4G network is expected at year-end.

SINGAPORE: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said that he had a good retreat with visiting Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Speaking to the Singapore media after the meeting on Monday, Mr Lee said both sides reviewed their bilateral and economic cooperation.

SINGAPORE: Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said on Saturday Singapore needs to be careful not to bend to external influences indiscriminately. Speaking at the National Community Engagement Programme Dialogue on Saturday, Mr Teo cautioned against absorbing teachings or practices which may not be appropriate for Singapore.

SINGAPORE: In a world first, a local scientist and his team have developed a chip which can detect up to 70,000 different viruses and bacteria in one shot. Currently, typical diagnostics test for less than 50 different viruses. The idea to develop a device which can detect all viruses came about because of the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) 10 years ago.

WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said Singapore remains open for business even as it makes a challenging transition from rapid expansion to a period of slower growth as its economy matures. He also said Singapore will help companies to succeed. Mr Lee was speaking to some 300 business leaders at a dinner hosted by US Chamber of Commerce and US-ASEAN Business Council in Washington DC.

SINGAPORE: The River Safari opened to the public for the first time on Wednesday. Not all its attractions are open yet, but visitors were undeterred, making themselves among the first to visit Singapore's newest wildlife park. The soft opening saw school children, tourists, and families among the first to enter the park.

NEW DELHI: India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been ordered to probe the alleged murder of two Indian fishermen by two Italian marines, an official said Monday, in a case that has strained diplomatic ties. The decision to transfer handling of the case comes after the Supreme Court ruled in January that the Kerala government did not have jurisdiction to investigate the shootings, which occurred in waters off the southern coastal state.

Mr Hagel "made clear the United States and the Department of Defense remain committed to the rebalance towards the Asia-Pacific region," Pentagon spokesman George Little said after the meeting.

SINGAPORE: The government has said that the next phase of tourism growth would have to come from increasing the yield through visitor spending instead of just visitor numbers. Second Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran added that tourism arrivals cannot continue to grow indefinitely due to land and manpower constraints.