Channel NewsAsia understands that both men had been involved in a prior dispute, and that no weapon was used in the incident.
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Man found dead at Yishun, 20-year-old suspect arrested
Pioneer Generation Ambassadors to extend outreach to all Singaporeans aged above 65
This means 90,000 more seniors who are not from the pioneer generation will be part of the programme, which aims to help them benefit from existing government schemes.
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Tennis: Serena Williams wins 7th Wimbledon, record-equalling 22nd major title
London – Serena Williams powered to her seventh Wimbledon crown as the world number one finally claimed a record-equalling 22nd major title with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Angelique Kerber in Saturday’s final.
Williams had been stuck on 21 Grand Slams since winning last year’s Wimbledon, but the American star ended that frustrating barren spell to retain the title and draw level with Steffi Graf’s Open era record.
Serena was pushed hard by Kerber in a high-quality clash lasting 81 minutes on Centre Court, but the German fourth seed eventually crumbled under a barrage of 39 winners and 13 aces from the defending champion.
“It’s a great feeling to be here. Angelique brings out great tennis in me,” said Serena.
“Number 22 is awesome. Centre Court feels like home.” Kerber said the American was a great champion.
“Serena you deserve it, you are a great champion and great person. We played a great match,” said Kerber.
“It’s an honour to play on Centre Court and a great feeling.” Having avenged her shock loss against Kerber in the Australian Open final in January, Williams was wreathed in smiles as she paraded the Venus Rosewater Dish around Centre Court after collecting a cheque for £2 million ($2.5 million, 2.3 million euros).
But the far more significant reward is the knowledge she has reestablished her supremacy at a time when doubters were beginning to question the 34-year-old’s hunger for more silverware after consecutive Slam final defeats this year.
In a testament to her remarkable longevity as the sport’s preeminent force, Serena is once again Wimbledon’s queen 14 years after her first success at the All England Club.
Equalling Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles will be Serena’s next goal.
The 71st singles title of Williams’ astonishing career also moved her within two of Martina Navratilova’s all-time record of nine Wimbledon triumphs.
Showing signs of cracking under the pressure of her bid for tennis immortality, Williams had cut a grumpy figure for much of the tournament, earning a fine for racquet smashing and threatening to sue Wimbledon officials if she was injured on a wet court.
But a serene focus came over Williams with the trophy in sight and she delivered a 48-minute masterclass against Elena Vesnina in the quickest semi-final in Wimbledon history.
With pop royalty Beyonce and Jay-Z among Serena’s entourage in the players’ box, Williams finally hit the right notes after so many recent disappointments.
In her ninth Wimbledon final and 28th at the majors, Williams had a golden opportunity to seize the initiative in Kerber’s first service game, but the German showed her mettle as she nervelessly saved three break points.
Given Williams’ pursuit of Graf’s historic landmark, it was a delicious twist that the 47-year-old had played a role in Kerber’s recent rise after advising her compatriot.
Showing she has heeded Graf’s words of wisdom, Kerber had sprinted to the final without dropping a set in her six matches and she matched Serena blow for blow in a tense first set.
Kerber, in her first Wimbledon final and second major title match, was moving Williams into awkward positions with her left-handed ground-strokes.
But Serena kept slugging away and the barrage eventually proved too much for the 28-year-old to resist.
A sequence of blistering ground-strokes rocked the German deep behind the baseline on set point, forcing a fatal error that Serena celebrated with a defiant shriek and a prolonged double-fist pump.
Kerber was still competing gamely in the second set, but when she finally earned a first break point in the seventh game, Williams got out of trouble with a pair of imperious aces.
The German’s look of resignation suggested the end was in sight and so it proved as Serena broke in the next game.
Serena’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou says she enjoys her major triumphs for little more than five minutes before switching her attention to the next target.
But judging by the joyous way Williams slumped flat on her back on Centre Court when Kerber miscued on match point, the sweet taste of this historic success might linger a little longer.
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Is it time to buy a car?
Is this the right time to buy a car? Before the Monetary Authority of Singapore decided to ease car loan curbs and before the sudden boom in the private-hire industry, the answer to that question would have been quite clear.
But now, it seems all bets are off, with COE prices looking like they will remain buoyant for several more months.
So, if you have been planning to buy a car, you might now have to put that on hold for the time being. Or do you?
First of all, your buying decision should not be governed by COE prices alone. Sure, COE is a substantial portion of the car price, but if you look at the lifetime ownership cost of a car, the COE component becomes far less significant.
Even at $70,000, a certificate of entitlement would translate to about 30 per cent of the cost of a Toyota Corolla Altis over its lifetime.
That is based on current HDB parking charges, which would total up to $10,800 over 10 years, fuel cost of $40,000, an optimistic repair and maintenance bill of $10,000 over 10 years, and ERP expenditure of $4,800.
You are likely to incur higher charges than those cited above (parking elsewhere is not factored in, for instance), but even at those rates, you will tally up operating expenses of $84,100 – more than the $70,000 COE.
Now, the COE is currently hovering at around $50,000 – down from a high of $90,000 just more than three years ago. The current price of a Corolla starts from about $118,000. Which means the COE portion today works out to be 25 per cent of the total ownership cost of the car.
Not really worth the angst, is it?
So, when people ask me whether they should buy a car now, I always shrug and say: “It depends.”
Because it really depends – on a whole host of factors which vary from one individual to the next.
Read also: Best value-for-money cars in 2016
What is your financial situation now and in the foreseeable future? How geared are you? Do you really need a car? Can you do better things with the money?
On that last question, it is interesting to note that you will have at least $500,000 more in your retirement fund if you did not drive.
That is based on just three 1.6-litre Japanese cars a person owns in his working life. Based on prevailing prices, the total outlay for those three cars – including operating expenses – would come up to no less than $600,000.
Now, if you took public transport, a family of four making four trips a day would spend about $60,000 over 10 years, or $180,000 over 30 years. Again, for simplicity’s sake, we do not factor in inflation or the value of time (moving around on public transport takes about three times longer than driving).
So, if you subtract the cost of public transport from the cost of motoring over 30 years, you will get $420,000.
Now, if you had to put aside the extra money in an investment with the most dismal returns (insurance, for instance), you would easily have $500,000 more for your retirement.
Of course, it is hard to assign a monetary value to the freedom, privacy and comfort of having a car. It is like saying you would save a bundle if you lived in a three-room HDB flat instead of that shoebox condominium.
What if you already have a car and are wondering whether it is better to trade it in for a new model now? The guiding principle should always be whether the prevailing COE premium is higher or lower than the one you paid for your current car.
If it is higher, you are better off sticking to your current car. If it is lower, you can consider trading in.
Read also: No nonsense explanation of why cars in Singapore are so expensive
Do not be swayed by the salesman’s favourite pitch, which is “if you wait, your current car will be worth even less”.
That is a fool’s argument. Because if you gave up your “low COE” car for one with with a higher COE, you would have given up enjoying a more economical asset for an inflated one.
But people are irrational. They see a shiny new car and they make all kinds of excuses to buy it. Just like those who rushed in when the MAS eased its car loan rules in May.
They have helped push up COE prices by close to $8,000 in just one month. So, a VW Golf 1.2 cost $99,800 before the MAS change, and $107,300 as at July 7.
Before the change, a buyer had to make a downpayment of $39,920. On Thursday, the downpayment was $32,190. Hardly a significant drop.
Previously, the Golf 1.2 buyer would have incurred $67,365 in instalment charges over five years (based on 2.5 per cent interest rate).
Now, the same buyer will incur $88,254 in instalment charges over seven years (the new allowable maximum tenure).
In total, buyers like him who rushed in end up paying $13,159 more – enough for a week-long holiday to the United States for four people. That does not make much economic sense.
Then again, the smell of fresh leather and the glimmer of fresh enamel do not always gel with economics.
So, is it the right time to buy a car now? It depends. Are you the sort driven by your head or your heart?
This article was first published on July 9, 2016.
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MAS urges banks to assess security measures after Standard Chartered robbery
SINGAPORE – The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Saturday (July 9) urged banks to learn from the recent robbery at Holland Village and to assess whether their security measures need to be enhanced.
In a statement following Thursday’s heist at a Standard Chartered Bank branch – during which a teller handed over $30,000 to a robber – the MAS said it expects banks to perform thorough security threat assessments and to have adequate measures in place to address these threats.
“These measures could include CCTV surveillance, alarm systems, panic buttons and security personnel. MAS’ guidelines are not prescriptive,” said an MAS spokesman on Saturday.
Bank robbery at Holland Village Standard Chartered Bank
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On Thursday, a Caucasian man walked into the Standard Chartered bank branch, slipped the teller a piece of paper with his demands and walked out with $30,000 in cash.
The suspect is still at large.
The branch, which did not have a security guard present when the brazen robbery took place, has since stationed one there.
A Stanchart spokesman also said that it has in-branch security measures such as closed-circuit TV cameras and staff who are well trained to respond to such situations.
The teller who handed over the $30,000 also did the right thing, by acting “in the best interests of our customers and our colleagues”, the Stanchart spokesman added.
This article was first published on July 9, 2016.
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Gloomy Pakistan bids farewell to national hero
Karachi – A gloomy Pakistan on Saturday bade farewell to its national hero Abdul Sattar Edhi, the founder of the country’s largest welfare organisation who died Friday in Karachi aged 92.
Edhi, whose death was confirmed by his son Faisal, was revered for setting up maternity wards, morgues, orphanages, shelters and homes for the elderly, picking up where limited government-run services fell short.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced a state funeral and day of national mourning in honour of the man who owned just two sets of clothes, but whose work uplifting the nation’s destitute and orphans cemented his place in the hearts of Pakistan’s masses.
Edhi, known as a ‘servant of humanity’ and who also ran the world’s largest private ambulance network, was suffering from severe kidney problems according to his son.
Among those to attend the funeral was President Mamnoon Hussain, military chief General Raheel Sharif, governor of Sindh province Ishrat ul Ibad Khan, the chief ministers of Sindh and Punjab provinces and many other national politicians, notables and servicemen.
Edhi’s coffin, wrapped in the green national flag and covered with pink rose-petals, was carried on a military jeep into the national stadium in Karachi where there was a guard of honour as thousands paid tribute. Security officials said that a 21 gun salute was also offered.
Military Chief Raheel Sharif and Edhi’s son Faisal saluted the coffin as it was carried by soldiers.
But thousands of ordinary people who planned to attend the funeral were stopped several kilometres away from the ceremony for security reasons.
More than 3,000 security and traffic police officers were deployed as the coffin was taken for burial to Edhi Village near Karachi’s main National Highway, which Edhi himself had selected as a place for his grave 25 years ago.
Born to a family of Muslim traders in Gujarat in British India, Edhi arrived in Pakistan after its bloody creation in 1947.
The state’s failure to help his struggling family care for his mother – paralysed and suffering from mental health issues – was his painful and decisive turning point towards philanthropy.
In the sticky streets in the heart of Karachi, Edhi, full of idealism and hope, opened his first medical clinic in 1951.
Abandoned children and the elderly, battered women, the disabled, drug addicts; Edhi’s foundation now houses some 5,700 people in 17 shelters across the country.
The most prominent symbols of the foundation – its 1,500 ambulances – are deployed with unusual efficiency to the scene of extremist attacks that tear through Pakistan with devastating regularity.
The foundation’s adoption service sees unwanted children – many of them girls – left in cradles placed in front of every centre, where they can be safely cared for.
Edhi has been nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize, and appears on the list again this year – put there by Malala Yousafzai, Pakistan’s teenage Nobel laureate.
Frail and weak in his later years, he appointed his son Faisal as managing trustee in early 2016.
Edhi leaves behind his wife Bilquis and six children.
He gave until the very end, his son told AFP, seeking to donate all his body organs after death – though doctors said that due to his age he could only donate his corneas.
Children would run after him, to hold his hand and for small talk whenever he would visit the Edhi village.
He would refrain from taking showers to save water.
“We have to conserve water for our future generations and that is why I don’t misuse this precious gift of nature,” he told AFP in an earlier conversation.
During his last days and as his condition worsened, he refused offers to get medical treatment from abroad.
The last time Pakistan held a state funeral was for military dictator General Zia ul-Haq in 1988.
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Football: France want to make 'history' after team strife, says captain Lloris
Paris – France want to write football “history” by winning the Euro 2016 final at home six years after a damaging player revolt and as the country recovers from the Paris attacks, captain Hugo Lloris said Saturday.
With Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal also riding a wave of national fervour ahead of Sunday’s final at the Stade France, the home team are suddenly national heroes after several years of scandal and disappointment.
Lloris told of the enormous effort made to lift the French team out of “crisis” and into contention for a potential title and also the impact of the November 13 attacks which left 130 dead.
“We have come through a crisis in French football,” the Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper told a press conference.
“We have climbed back up the slope, we have done it step by step.
“But building a great team takes a lot of time. With the Germans and the Spanish, success was not created overnight. You cannot buy experience.
“Tomorrow we have the chance to go into French football history, it is a unique time in a player’s career,” said Lloris.
France won the World Cup on home territory in 1998, when coach Didier Deschamps captained the side. Deschamps was called upon to recreate the side in 2012 after the national team hit rock bottom with a player strike at the 2010 World Cup.
The suspension of star striker Karim Benzema this year over his link to an attempted sextape blackmail added to the troubles.
Defender Bacary Sagna said the 2010 revolt over a dispute between striker Nicolas Anelka and then-coach Raymond Domenech “was clearly a mistake” that had scarred the national side.
“We took French football to an all-time low, we showed a very bad image. It has taken a lot of effort, a lot of work to improve our reputation. Six years on, we are getting closer,” said Sagna.
Lloris told how France’s run to the final had given the country “an escape” after the trauma of the November 13 attacks, which included suicide bombers trying to get into the national stadium as France played Germany.
“Of course we’ve had some very difficult times this year, both with those tragic events, but also with events that have gone on off the field,” he said.
“The French people really needed to escape via this competition, and sport has this strength: to unite people.” France, with tournament leading scorer Antoine Griezmann, start the game as favourites.
They have never lost to Portugal in the finals of a major tournament. But they have acknowledged the threat posed by three-time world player of the year Ronaldo.
Veteran defender Pepe trained normally on Saturday with the team after missing the 2-0 semi-final win over Wales on Wednesday.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos has been hailed for the way he has created a united team to support Ronaldo.
Veterans such as Pepe and Ricardo Quaresma have all played key roles as Portugal came throught the group stage and quarter-finals without winning a match in 90 minutes of regulation time.
Teenager Renato Sanches has emerged as a new threat to opposing teams.
When asked about the groundswell of support for the French team, midfielder Joao Mario said: “They can believe that but 100 percent of the Portuguese people believe in a Portugal win.
He added: “We believe in ourselves, we have always believed. The coach has given us this confidence, this spirit.” A Portugal win would help banish the heartache of losing the 2004 Euro final at home to Greece. Photos of Ronaldo crying after the game have become enduring images.
The star striker declared this week that he wants to be “crying with joy” on Sunday.
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India's Modi pays homage to Gandhi in South Africa
Durban, South Africa – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday followed in Mahatma Gandhi’s footsteps in South Africa, where the liberation hero forged his famed policy of non-violent civil disobedience.
Modi is on the second leg of a five-day African trip which began in Mozambique and will also take him to Tanzania and Kenya – an itinerary designed to underline India’s growing engagement with the continent.
After talks with President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria on Friday, Modi travelled to the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, home to most of South Africa’s 1.3 million people of Indian origin – the largest diaspora population in Africa.
Modi took a short, symbolic train ride to the provincial capital, Pietermaritzburg, where Gandhi was ejected at the station in 1893 after refusing to leave the first class compartment because of his race.
Then a 24-year-old lawyer who had recently arrived in South Africa, Gandhi spent the night in the station and the insult was seen as formative in his fight against racial oppression during two decades in South Africa and later in British-ruled India.
“It was in South Africa that Mahatma Gandhi conceptualised his politics,” Modi told a thousands-strong diaspora gathering at a stadium in Johannesburg on Friday evening.
“This is the birthplace of Satyagraha (the policy of non-violent struggle).” After the train trip, Modi travelled to the coastal city of Durban, the heart of the Indian community, where he visited the Phoenix settlement founded by Gandhi in 1904 as a community based on self-reliance.
Modi’s African visit is seen as part of India’s attempt to build ties with African nations as it vies for a greater share of the continent’s natural resources.
Across Africa, India’s economic footprint is dwarfed by that of its regional rival China, whose trade with the continent topped $200 billion last year.
In a speech to business leaders in Pretoria, Modi said that Indians “always believe in nurturing and nourishing and not in exploiting” its partners.
Diplomatic relations have recently been strained by alleged racism, with African ambassadors claiming after the murder of a Congolese teacher in New Delhi that Africans in India live in a “pervading climate of fear”.
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Development works for Round Island Route start end-2016
The 60km-long Coastal Adventure Corridor is the first of three corridors for the RIR, and will connect 45km of existing park connectors.
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Singaporeans to face tougher screenings when entering Indonesia
Singaporean and Malaysian travellers will soon face stricter screening processes at airports while trying to enter Indonesia.
The action is being taken to combat the smuggling of drugs into the country which mostly involved citizens from Indonesia’s two closest neighbours, Malaysian national news agency Bernama reported.
Mr Budi Karya Sumadi, managing director of PT Angkasa Pura II, the company handling Indonesia’s airports, said that the issue of drugs being brought into Indonesia by citizens of Singapore and Malaysia had been raised in discussions with the country’s Transport Ministry.
According to Bernama, he said: “The ministry agreed that more random checks be done on Malaysians and Singaporeans coming into Indonesia.”
Mr Budi added that the new measures would include having plainclothed enforcement officers haul up suspicious visitors for checks and inspections.
Indonesia is known for its tough anti-drug laws. In 2015, it defied international pressure when it executed eight drug convicts, including two Australians.
In April this year, the country’s Attorney General, H.M. Prasetyo said that Indonesia would resume executions of drug traffickers this year. “We will not stop. We will step up the war on drugs,” he said.
Recently, a Singaporean citizen, Mohammmad Noh Bin Abdul Salam was arrested at Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali for bringing 10 ecstasy (MDMA) pills onto the island.
Hundreds mourn Australian executed in Indonesia
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