Universal Studios Singapore Opens 18/03/2010

SINGAPORE: The world's fourth Universal Studios welcomed its first visitors on Thursday with a lavish ceremony aimed at attracting luck, and repeat business, to the Singapore theme park which hopes to avoid the fate of loss-making Hong Kong Disneyland.

Doors were flung open to the public at precisely 08:28 a.m. after 18 Chinese lions blazed through the entrance at 08:08 a.m. The number 8 is considered by many in mostly ethnic Chinese Singapore as auspicious.

Actresses dressed up like Marilyn Monroe and Betty Boop paraded with the lion-dancing troupe along Hollywood Boulevard, one of the seven themed zones in the 20-hectare park that aims to attract 4.5 million visitors in its first year.

"We have ambitions that this would be the No. 1 destination in Asia and also Europe as far as theme parks are concerned," Genting Group chairman Lim Kok Thay told reporters after the opening ceremony.

Asked if Universal Studios Singapore could lose its novelty quickly and suffer losses like Hong Kong's Disneyland, Lim said: "Definitely not, we are different from Disney."

He adding the park would bring in more rides over the next three years to keep the experience "fresh" for visitors.

Since opening to fanfare in 2005, Disney's first magic kingdom in China struggled to attract the expected flood of visitors from mainland China, and has been criticized as being too small to attract repeat visitors.

In 2008, it made a net loss of $170 million and is now undergoing an expansion aimed at bolstering its competitiveness with a rival Disneyland scheduled to open in Shanghai in the next five or six years.

The 24 attractions at Universal Studios include the world's tallest dueling rollercoaster -- where two rollercoasters shoot off at the same time and loop around each other -- plus a 4-D cinema and rides based on Hollywood films such as "Madagascar" and "Jurassic Park."

"It is surprisingly nice," said Vijay, an Indian Singaporean visiting with his two kids, and wearing a Florida Universal Studios t-shirt. "The environment, the crowd and the merchandise is on par with Florida."

"In the Singapore context, this service is very good. There are always common complaints in Singapore about lousy, rock bottom service, but these people make a difference," said Vijay, who declined to give his full name.

The park is part of the $4.4 billion Resorts World at Sentosa, owned by a unit of Malaysia's Genting Group, which also has a casino and six hotels, and plans to lure 60 percent visitors from Southeast Asia, China and India.

The Singapore government expects visitor arrivals to the city-state to rise by as much as 30 percent to 12.5 million this year, helped by an economic recovery in Asia and the lure of two new multi-billion dollar casino resorts.

Singapore Universal Studio Opens

In SingaporeScene, Yahoo! SEA checks out the wild rides at the theme park ahead of its grand opening on 18th March 2010 @ 8.30am.

Andainya.....

Andainya ingin MEMBERI,
berilah ngan keikhlasan hati;
tanpa mengharapkan balasan,

Andainya sudi MENERIMA,
terimalah dgn kesyukuran jiwa;
dan jgn lupa pada setiap kebajikan.

"Mission Impossible" star Peter Graves Dies

LOS ANGELES: Actor Peter Graves, who starred in the 1960s TV show "Mission: Impossible" and the "Airplane!" movies, died in Los Angeles on Sunday. He was 83.

Graves' spokesman said the actor died of an apparent heart attack at his house in the coastal suburb of Pacific Palisades. He had returned home after attending a family brunch to celebrate his upcoming birthday on Thursday.

The younger brother of "Gunsmoke" actor Jim Arness, Graves gained widespread recognition in 1967, when he took the role as leader of the "Impossible Missions Force" on popular TV spy drama "Mission: Impossible."

He portrayed Jim Phelps, who would receive his team's next mission instructions on a tape that would self-destruct in a puff of smoke. Graves stayed on the U.S. series until it was canceled in 1973, then later reprised the role in a TV revival from 1988-1990.

Graves is perhaps better known to modern audiences for his deadpan comedic role in 1980 spoof "Airplane!" in which he played the not-so-subtle pedophile pilot of a seemingly doomed jet.

The actor often told a story that he initially wanted to turn down the role, but was talked into it after being convinced by the filmmakers that his dry, deadpan delivery was exactly what was needed to make the spoof work.

Graves appeared in about 130 films and television shows.

In recent years, he hosted U.S. cable TV series, including the A&E Network's long-running historical series, "Biography."

Born Peter Aurness on March 18, 1926, in Minneapolis, Graves worked at a local radio station as a teenager and later attended the University of Minnesota, where he majored in drama.

He made his film debut in the 1951 crime drama "Rogue River," and two years later won acclaim portraying a German spy placed among allied prisoners of war in "Stalag 17."

In one of his early TV credits, Graves portrayed Jim Newton on the 1950s-era Saturday morning kids' show "Fury," about a horse and the boy who loved him.

Graves won a Golden Globe Award in 1971 for his work in "Mission: Impossible," and he and "Biography" won a Emmy Award for outstanding informational series in 1997.

He is survived by his wife, Joan, and three daughters.

Singaporeans Eyeing New Zealand

SINGAPORE: It is often said Singaporeans are in demand by other countries. And if figures from a pilot project by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) are anything to go by, Singaporeans are just as interested.

INZ’s pilot project, launched on January 15, seeks to attract specifically working Singaporean holidaymakers and students. Nearly 80 per cent of the 5,687 registrants by last week are Singaporeans.

According to a spokesperson, INZ does not have information on Singaporeans going to New Zealand "as a direct result of this pilot", but the numbers will be evaluated over the next few months.

She said Singapore was chosen because of "long—standing and friendly" relations between the two countries, as well as "close political and economic ties".

Research found Singaporeans a "good demographic match" for the campaign, say, in terms of language and education levels, she added. Singaporeans also have a "strong tradition of studying overseas".

Sociologist Tan Ern Ser said INZ "may be attempting to attract Singaporeans to try living and working in New Zealand first, before considering a more long—term arrangement".

He noted that targeting holidaymakers allows for "more flexibility" and contributes to the economy. "Local New Zealanders may see skilled migrants as a threat to their jobs," he added.

Two weeks ago, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng told Parliament that New Zealand and Australia are targeting Singaporeans "because we are honest and hardworking".

Professor Tan feels that countries could be attracted to the "Singaporean brand" because Singaporeans are thought of as "diligent", "efficient", "well—trained" and have a good command of English.

However, while skill shortages continue to exist within segments of the Australian labour market, Australia’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship in Canberra said it is "not looking to Singapore in particular for recruits".

"Australia is open to skilled migrants but is now operating a more tightly targeted programme," it said. Recent changes to the skilled migration programme include giving processing priority to employer and state sponsored migrants.

Between 2008 and 2009, 2,703 of Australia’s 171,318 immigrants were Singaporeans.

According to the British High Commission Singapore, the United Kingdom also has no programmes aimed at attracting specifically Singaporeans.

The High Commission, however, noted a "relatively small but significant" Singaporean community in the UK.

This includes fashion designer Ashley Isham and pianist Melvyn Tan.

Last year, 3,525 Singaporean students set off to study Higher Education courses in the UK. The "vast majority" return to Singapore, said the High Commission.

Management trainee Geline Lim, 21, is one who intends to pursue her postgraduate studies in New Zealand.

She said it is "less stressful" there, and there is "more freedom and time" to pursue things outside of study. Her parents have already migrated there because of the "more laid—back lifestyle, better air, scenery and government welfare schemes", she added.

Illegal Subletting Action Taken By HDB

SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has taken action against 56 flat owners for illegal sub—letting between January 2008 and December last year.

Most were fined between S$1,000 and S$21,000.

One owner had his flat repossessed for blatantly flouting HDB’s sub—letting rules.

Giving details of the case, HDB said it first received feedback on the unauthorised sub—letting of a unit in Block 336 Bukit Batok Street 32 on November 11 last year.

The flat was bought by Poh Boon Kay, who is a registered real estate agent. His wife was listed as an occupier.

He purchased the four—room flat from the open market in June 2007 without any loan.

HDB said the couple are also owners of five private properties. Its investigations found that the flat was sublet without its prior approval to three couples.

Mr Poh and his family did not live in the flat.

He was informed on November 25 to take immediate steps to evict the unauthorised sub—tenants, failing which HDB would take compulsory acquisition action.

However, the subtenants continued to occupy the flat. A notice to compulsorily acquire the flat was then served on December 23.

Mr Poh informed HDB on the same day that the sub—tenants had signed an undertaking to vacate the flat by the end of December.

A day later, the couple appealed. He claimed that the sub—tenant needed time to work out his finances before buying over the flat from Mr Poh.

He had therefore decided to rent out the flat to the sub—tenants in the interim.

On January 5, when the couple was interviewed by HDB, they claimed they did not know that they needed to seek the board’s prior approval before subletting the flat.

They also claimed that they were not aware of the policy for flat owners to fulfil the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) of three years before they were eligible to sublet the whole flat.

HDB’s further investigations have shown that Mr Poh is also related to two other cases of unauthorised subletting at Bukit Batok and Telok Blangah.

With these further instances of unauthorised subletting related to Mr Poh, his claims that he is "unaware" of HDB rules cannot be substantiated.

HDB said as he has blatantly flouted HDB’s rules, there are no grounds for leniency and legal action has been taken to compulsorily acquire the flat.

HDB will also be taking legal action to compulsorily acquire the other two flats.

HDB would like to emphasise the severity of unauthorised subletting. HDB flats are meant for owner occupation. Flat owners who wish to sublet their whole flat must obtain approval from HDB and fulfil the MOP.

The current MOP for the subletting of flats is as follows:

*Flats bought directly from HDB — 5 years

*Resale flats purchased with CPF Housing Grant — 5 years

*Resale flats purchased without CPF Housing Grant — 3 years

Arm Race Threatens SEA

STOCKHOLM: Developing countries have embarked on a dangerous "arms race" with huge sums ploughed into combat aircraft in unstable parts of the world in the past five years, a top defence think-tank has said.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in an annual report to appear Monday that global arms sales had soared 22 percent in the period from 2005 to 2009 compared to 2000 to 2004.

Imports of combat aircraft accounted for 27 percent of the volume in the last five years.

"Orders and deliveries of these potentially destabilising weapon systems have led to arms race concerns in the following regions of tension: the Middle East, North Africa, South America, South Asia and South East Asia," it said.

According to the expert in charge of the report, Paul Holtom, resource-rich countries were setting the trend by using their earnings to build out their combat aircraft fleets.

"Neighbouring rivals have reacted to these acquisitions with orders of their own. One can question whether this is an appropriate allocation of resources in regions with high levels of poverty," he added.

In the case of South America, the institute found arms imports "were 150 percent higher during the last five years compared to the beginning of the millennium.

"We see evidence of competitive behaviour in arms acquisitions in South America," said SIPRI Latin America expert Mark Bromley.

"This clearly shows we need improved transparency and confidence-building measures to reduce tension in the region."

Brazil is currently looking to buy 36 combat aircraft with the French-made Rafale, Sweden's Gripen and the US F/A-18 in the running for the contract.

South East Asia also saw a dramatic increase between 2005 and 2009 with Malaysia ramping up its arms imports by 722 percent, Singapore 146 percent and Indonesia 84 percent.

The increase in arms imports to Singapore made the island country the first member of ASEAN to make SIPRI's list of top 10 biggest arms importers since the end of the Vietnam war, giving the nation seventh place overall.

"The current wave of South East Asian acquisitions could destabilise the region, jeopardising decades of peace," said SIPRI Asia expert Siemon Wezeman.

Vietnam has also been busy building up its military capabilities, ordering submarines and long-range combat aircraft in 2009.

Like Singapore, Algeria made it into the list of top ten biggest arms importers for the first time with the ninth place.

The United States kept its position as the world's biggest arms exporter, accounting for 30 percent of global volume. The Asia Pacific region took in 39 percent of US arms exports followed by the Middle East with 36 percent.

Combat aircraft made up 40 percent of Russian exports of conventional weapons and 39 percent of US deliveries.

The report is available on the Internet site: www.sipri.org/databases/armstransfers.

Thousands Say Goodbye To Dead Whale

HANOI, Vietnam: Thousands of Vietnamese fishermen are giving a royal send-off to a 15-ton dead whale, gathering at a southern Vietnamese village to pay homage at a funeral for the creature they call "Your Excellency."

Nearly 10,000 people have converged in Bac Lieu province to bid farewell to the 52 foot (16-meter) whale since he was dragged ashore Monday, said coast guard official Do Tien Ha.

They burned incense in his honor and planned to build a temple at the site of his burial, which was scheduled for Tuesday. Nearly 3,000 people will attend the whale's last rites, to be held at the mouth of the Cai Cung River.

In Vietnam's fishing culture, whales are considered sacred. They are referred to by the title "ngai," the same honorific used for kings, emperors and other esteemed leaders.

"Whenever whales arrive, dead or alive, local fishermen believe they bring luck and safety," Ha said by phone from Bac Lieu.

The dead whale was spotted 26 miles (42 kilometers) off the coast Sunday, and several dozen fishermen on 10 boats spent a day hauling it ashore, he said.

Japanese Bug To Wage War On Weeds

LONDON: A Japanese insect is to be introduced on a trial basis in Britain to tackle a damaging super-weed, the government announced Tuesday.

The Japanese knotweed was originally used as an ornamental plant in gardens across Britain but has rapidly spread, costing over 150 million ($225 million, 165 million euros) a year to control.

Agricultural and environmental research organisation CABI claim the psyllid bug from Japan -- or "jumping plant lice" -- is a successful and natural way of controlling the weed.

"We have every reason to believe that this knotweed specialist can help limit impacts of this harmful invasive weed safely and sustainably," said Dick Shaw, lead researcher of the project.

The non-native bug will be released to a small number of sites across England this spring -- the locations are being kept secret to prevent the trials being disrupted -- and monitored to check progress.

Huw Irranca-Davies, a minister at the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), said: "This project is not only ground-breaking, it offers real hope that we can redress the balance.

"These tiny insects, which naturally prey on Japanese knotweed, will help free local authorities and industry from the huge cost of treating and killing this devastating plant."

The plant can grow up to a metre a month, causing damage to anything in its path such as buildings, roads and pavements.

CABI says it is sure the psyllid will only target the Japanese knotweed and a few other similar non-native species, after testing it on 90 different British plant species over seven years.

Critics say this is not guaranteed and the bug could target other species once released. CABI says it has contingency plans in place just in case.

"There are isolated sites in the south of the country .. so that we can monitor very closely and have a contingency plan in place, and then it'll be a wider scale release if it passes that test," Shaw told BBC radio.

Tougher Penalties For Hygiene Offences

SINGAPORE: From April, stall holders will face tougher penalties if they are caught flouting food hygiene rules.

And for the first time, the demerit points system will also apply to main operators of canteens, coffeeshops and food courts.

Last year’s food poisoning outbreak at the Indian rojak stall at Geylang Serai sparked concerns over the hygiene at food centres.

But figures by the National Environment Agency show that such incidents are rare with an average of four cases for every 1,000 food outlets since 2006.

There are about 32,600 licensed food establishments in Singapore including 5,750 cooked food stalls at hawker centres.

Still, authorities are coming down hard on stallholders who don’t keep clean.

Currently, stallholders face a composition fine of S$100 for offences ranging from not using a plastic bag to throw away rubbish to preparing food on the floor.

But from April, fines will go up to S$200 for a minor offence and up to S$400 for a serious one.

And the buck doesn’t stop there.

From the end of this year, operators of coffee shops, food courts and canteens will also come under the demerit points system.

Offences include not keeping the toilets clean.

And repeat offenders may be forced to shut down for three days to clean up their premises.

This applies to those who chalk up 24 demerit points within 12 months.

The penalties are intended to keep operators on their toes. But in the end, it may be the customer who ends up paying.

Thomas Foo, chairman, Kheng Keow Coffee Merchants, Restaurants and Bar—Owners Association, said: "If we get a fine of S$300, you can imagine how many cups of coffee we have to sell to earn it back. So all these costs will go back to the consumer. This is a fact."

NEA will increase the number of hygiene inspectors, from 63 to 104.

Dr Yaacob added: "The additional manpower will enable us to carry out more frequent inspections which together with efforts by licensees and food handlers will help ensure good hygiene standards are observed at foodstalls and foodshops."

Since January, school canteens have been required to hire a Food Hygiene Officer.

And in future, all canteens, food courts and coffeeshops will also have to do the same.

2 Town Councils To Up S&C Charges

SINGAPORE: With electricity prices and maintenance costs going up, at least two town councils, Aljunied and Jurong, will raise their Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) next month.

The hike will impact flats, shops, offices and market and hawker stalls.

For Singaporean households in Housing Board flats, the hike per month will range between 50 Singapore cents for a one—room flat and S$4.50 for a five—room flat.

While the other 12 People’s Action Party (PAP) and two Opposition town councils have not indicated on their websites that they will raise S&CC, could the announcements by Aljunied and Jurong herald an inevitable trend as costs rise and economic conditions pick up?

The 14 PAP town councils had raised S&CC across the board in 2004 — seven years after the last revision.

Coming up to the six—year mark now, town councils like Jurong have seen power tariffs shoot up by 38.4 per cent since October 2004.

This impacts the town council "greatly", Jurong Town Council said, as utility bills account for 30 per cent of overall operating cost. "Electricity consumption is also forecast to increase with the installation of more lifts, linkways and amenities within the town," it added.

On the frequently—asked—questions section of its website, the town council dismissed any suggestion that the S&CC hike was linked to any investments in failed Lehman—linked structured products.

In the first place, it did not invest in any of the troubled financial products; and its "investments have been generating returns of 2.57 per cent per annum over the last five years", Jurong Town Council said.

Meanwhile, with the growing number of lifts, and lifts making more stops in a block, maintenance costs have also rocketed. In Aljunied, for example, the monthly servicing costs have doubled from S$300 to S$624 where a lift makes nine more stops. And where there were just 884 lifts to maintain in 2005, there will be 1,109 by this month’s end, and a projected 1,270 by 2014.

Also expected to rise: The cost of keeping estates clean. "The demands on the cleaning and refuse removal contractors have changed, and so too their service costs," Aljunied Town Council general manager Jeffrey Chua said.

"Because they have to meet specific performance targets, they have to pay higher wages for better trained workers." The cleaning contract rate of about S$5.98 per equivalent dwelling unit each month has gone up to about S$6.25.

For households facing problems with S&CC payments, both town councils assured them financial help was available and urged them to approach their Members of Parliament.

Residents MediaCorp spoke to want more clarity. "Neighbours complain the estate is still dirty. With the increase, I hope for more transparency on the targets achieved," Aljunied resident Reynold Seah said.

Jurong resident JF Yeo said: "Any fee increase so soon after a recession cannot be good news. The town council should at least show us that our money will be put to good use."

Meanwhile, Jalan Besar Town Council chairperson Denise Phua and Bishan—Toa Payoh Town Council chairman Zainudin Nordin both said they had no plans for now to increase conservancy charges.

Ms Phua noted that estates varied in terms of age and programmes, which could account for differences in upkeep costs.

Christians Flee After Nigeria Massacre

JOS, Nigeria: Christian villagers in Nigeria fled their homes following threats of new attacks in the aftermath of a massacre, despite the presence Tuesday of troops designed to restore calm to the region.

As mass burials for some of the 500 victims of an orgy of violence took place near the city of Jos, condemnation poured in from world leaders and Acting President Goodluck Jonathan sacked his chief security advisor.

But observers warned that the government must tackle deep-rooted poverty in order to combat the underlying causes of the ethnic tensions which have seen thousands killed in the region in recent years.

While troops patrolled the three villages where members of the mainly Muslim Fulani ethnic group embarked on their killing spree, residents of neighbouring villages said they had already received new threats.

With a six-month-old baby strapped to her back, Patricia Silas, 30, and her two neighbours turned her heels on her village of Tin-Tin, saying she would not hang around to become another statistic.

"We are fleeing our village because we are afraid we might be the next target of attack by these Fulani," she told AFP.

"They have been making phone calls warning they are going to attack. We take these threats seriously, we don't want to be caught off-guard," she added.

Silas said the threats came from Fulanis previously settled in the village but who left after violence in January in which at least 326 people died.

"They are saying they want to avenge their loss," said Silas.

Officials said more than 500 people from the mainly Christian Berom ethnic group were hacked to death with machetes, axes and daggers in three villages of Dogo Nahawa, Ratsat and Zot on Sunday morning.

Survivors say the authorities did nothing to prevent the butchery which came at a time when a curfew first imposed after January's bloodshed was meant to be in place. Related article: Survivors' pain as victims buried

Thousands have been killed in recent years in strife in and around Jos, which is on the dividing line between the mainly Muslim north and Christian dominated south.

UN chief Ban Ki-Moon was among those calling for calm while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also urged "all parties to exercise restraint".

However as relatives of the dead attended funerals, talk of revenge hung heavily in the air.

As a group of men huddled in small groups at Dogo Nahawa, one was overheard saying "we will take revenge".

Raymond Gboum, a Christian clergy organising rescue operations in affected areas told AFP tension was mounting in the villages.

"The Beroms in the area are really aggrieved and now it's like they are on the attack," he told AFP.

The UN's human rights chief, Navi Pillay, said she was appalled by the massacre but said the government had to tackle festering poverty.

"Better security is clearly vital," Pillay said, "but it would be a mistake to paint this purely as sectarian or ethnic violence, and to treat it solely as a security issue.

"What is most needed is a concerted effort to tackle the underlying causes of the repeated outbreaks of ethnic and religious violence which Nigeria has witnessed in recent years, namely discrimination, poverty and disputes over land," she added.

Nigeria's main opposition Action Congress (AC) accused the federal government of "hypocrisy in its reaction" to the latest unrest.

"Concrete action to stop the cycle of impunity, rather than crocodile tears, will end the violence," it said.

The AC said perpetrators of violence in recent years in Jos and its environs have not been brought to justice.

The weekend violence was just the latest between rival ethnic and religious groups.

Locals said Sunday's attacks were the result of a feud which had been first ignited by a theft of cattle and then fuelled by deadly reprisals.

Rights activists also said the slaughter appeared to be revenge for the January attacks, in which mainly Muslims were killed.

How To Decline Facebook Friends

NEW YORK: A colleague I just met at work has invited me to be their friend on Facebook. I don't want to offend them, but nor do I want to share my candid photos and lousy Scrabble scores with someone I hardly know.

Can I ignore their invite?

"Can I be your friend?" might work as an ice-breaker among small children, but it's not a question you hear often between adults, at least not outside of Las Vegas.

Friendship, it is generally understood, is a relationship that evolves through shared interests, common experiences and a primeval need to share your neighbor's power tools.

Yet for many people, Facebook permits a return to the simplicity of the schoolyard.

Rather than inviting someone to be our Facebook friend only after we've become friends in the real world, many of us are using Facebook as a short-cut around all that time-consuming relationship building.

Why bother asking someone you've just met questions about their family, interests and ability to run a farm or aquarium, when you can simply send them a friend request and read the answers in your Facebook news feed? And so we think little of receiving friend requests after we meet someone for the first time at, say, a dinner party.

If you like the person, perhaps because they brought an excellent bottle of wine to the party, then you can accept the request in the hope of further opportunities to sample the contents of their cellar.

If you didn't get to taste the wine because they accidentally spilled the bottle over your brand new party dress, then etiquette experts would probably agree that you can decline the friend request, send them a dry-cleaning bill and humiliate them in a derisory posting to your real Facebook friends.

In the workplace, however, the dynamic is very different. The consequences of offending someone by ignoring their friend request are greater with a colleague you see every day than with a careless dining companion you may never meet again.

So why are people you work with increasingly offering to share their Facebook output?

Joan Morris DiMicco, an IBM researcher who studies social software in the workplace, said it's partly because some people just don't anticipate the ramifications of sharing their personal life with colleagues.

But it's also a function of the Facebook interface, which recommends other people for you to friend.

"Once you've connected to one person you work with you get recommendations to connect to others that you work with," she said.

Of course, many people don't have a problem with being Facebook friends with colleagues, especially those they know well. But for those who would rather keep their work and private lives separate, there are options other than ignoring an unwanted friend request.

One is to accept the invitation and then use Facebook's privacy settings to limit the flow of information between you and your new "friend." To do this, you can create a "colleagues" list from the Friends menu and then add to it your new friend. Then navigate to the privacy settings and use the "Profile Information" section to control what information people on the "colleagues" list can see.

An alternative, says workplace etiquette expert Barbara Pachter, is to suggest to the colleague that you connect instead on LinkedIn, a social network for professional relationships.

"You can just go ahead and ask them to join you on LinkedIn and hope they forget they sent you a Facebook friend request," said Pachter, the author of New Rules @ Work.

"Or you can say, Thanks for asking me. I'm keeping Facebook for my family and friends. I'm asking you to join me on my professional network instead.'"

Pachter said that whatever you do, it's important not to offend your colleague -- and that's not just because politeness is good etiquette.

"The person you offend might end up being your boss next year," she said.

Got a question about the etiquette of email, social networks and other workplace technologies? Send them to richard.baum@reuters.com or via Twitter to @rbaum.

Killer Wave Hitting Cruise Ship

The Maltese-flagged Greek Cypriot-owned Mv Louis Majesty cruise liner docked at Barcelona's harbour on March 4. Terrified passengers told Thursday how three giant rogue waves smashed through the front windows of the Mv Louis Majesty, killing two people and causing mass panic on the liner.




A general view of the "Louis Majesty" cruise ship at Barcelona's harbour March 4, 2010


People work near broken windows of the "Louis Majesty" cruise ship, at Barcelona's harbour March 4, 2010. Two people have been killed and seven injured by a large wave which struck a cruise ship in the Mediterranean Sea near Spain, coast guard officials said on Wednesday. A coastguard spokesman added that the Maltese-registered "Louis Majesty" was heading for Genoa when it ran into rough seas off the northeast Spanish coast.

A woman stands onboard the "Louis Majesty" cruise ship at Barcelona's harbour March 4, 2010. Two people have been killed and seven injured by a large wave which struck a cruise ship in the Mediterranean Sea near Spain, coast guard officials said on Wednesday. A coastguard spokesman added that the Maltese-registered "Louis Majesty" was heading for Genoa when it ran into rough seas off the northeast Spanish coast

Mediterranean: Killer 8-metre high waves caught on video. A dramatic video of deadly 8-metre high waves smashing into a cruise liner has been released. Killing 2 people.
http://sg.video.yahoo.com/watch/7090579
News Break Thru...

http://sg.video.yahoo.com/watch/7089151/18453526
Video taken by Passenger on board

Waves Hits Cruise Ship And Kills 2 People 3/3/10

Wild Deer Hits Car On Highway

SINGAPORE: A wild deer was injured along an expressway after it dashed onto oncoming traffic and hit a car Wednesday morning.

Police said they received a call at about 5.30am, saying that an injured deer was lying along the Seletar Expressway, near Mandai Zoo.

Eyewitnesses told MediaCorp that the deer was so big that it blocked an entire lane, causing a traffic jam.

A caller to the MediaCorp Hotline, Teo Ah Chong, said he stopped his car when he saw the deer on the expressway.

Mr Teo said the deer appeared to be "panicking" and ran into his car.

The Wildlife Reserves Singapore was alerted and it picked up the animal.

It told MediaCorp that the deer was badly injured and had to be put to sleep.

It had a deep gash on its hip and was bleeding from the nose.

Its antlers were also broken.

The Wildlife Reserves Singapore said the deer was a wild animal, aged between three and four.

Quake Rocks Taiwan

TAIPEI: A STRONG 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit eastern Taiwan on Saturday, the US Geological Survey said, the biggest tremor to strike the island so far this year.

The epicentre of the quake, which occurred at 9.02pm (1302 GMT) was 25 kilometres (15 miles) south-east of the eastern city of Hualien, according to the USGS.

Buildings were shaking for about 20 seconds as far away as the capital Taipei in the northern part of the island. The quake was at a depth of 44.6 kilometres (27.7 miles), according to the USGS.

In the city of Hualien a number of minor incidents were reported in the minutes after the quake. 'There were gas leaks and minor fires and people trapped in elevators,' an official at the Hualien fire department told AFP by telephone.

The fire department also said three people had sought medical help after feeling unwell due to the leakage of an unidentified substance.

Local TV reported that a high-speed railway linking Taipei to the southern city of Kaohsiung had been suspended as a safety precaution. There were also TV reports of interruptions in the power supply in a northern district of Taipei.

Singapore Sticks To Ban On Chewing Gum

SINGAPORE: Singapore on Thursday stuck to its 18-year ban on the import and sale of chewing gum, which has become an international symbol of the city-state's image as a strict society.

"The government stands by its decision to ban chewing gum," Maliki Osman, parliamentary secretary at the Ministry of National Development, told parliament.

"Chewing gum has not been a significant problem since that ban took effect. There have been concerns that lifting the ban on chewing gum could result in chewing gum litter and undermine ongoing efforts to curb littering," he said.

Osman said as the reason for the imposition of the ban is still valid, "the government's position is that the ban shall remain."

He was responding to a question in parliament from a fellow member of the ruling People's Action Party who asked when the ban would be lifted, arguing it had been used by Singapore's detractors to criticise its tough governance laws.

Singapore, known worldwide for its squeaky clean image, banned the import and sale of chewing gum in 1992 in a bid to eradicate the problem of people sticking the gum on chairs, tables, lifts and other public areas.

One of the key reasons for the ban had been the disruption of services on Singapore's subway train system because of chewing gum being stuck on the doors and causing delays.

Singapore partially lifted the ban in 2004 by allowing the sale of chewing gum for therapeutic purposes after the conclusion of a US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.

Chile Quake Moved Earth's Axis

WASHINGTON: The powerful earthquake that shook Chile on Saturday probably shifted the Earth's axis and made days slightly shorter, a NASA scientist said.

Richard Gross, a research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, calculated that the planet's axis would have shifted by eight centimeters (three inches) during the 8.8 magnitude quake, NASA said in a statement.

Earth days are 24 hours long because that's the amount of time it takes the planet to make one full rotation on its axis, so shifting the axis would affect rotation.

If, indeed, the planet's axis did shift by eight centimeters during the Chilean quake, days would have shortened by 1.26 microseconds, Gross calculated.

A microsecond is one-millionth of a second, so no need to adjust watches just yet.

The Chilean quake shifted the Earth's axis by even more than the 9.1-magnitude temblor off Indonesia that set off the deadly tsunami in Asia in 2004, Gross worked out.

That's partly because the faultline responsible for the earthquake in Chile "dips into Earth at a slightly steeper angle than does the fault responsible for the 2004 Sumatran earthquake" and is more effective at moving Earth's mass vertically and shifting the planet's axis.

The 2004 quake in Asia caused the Earth to move by around seven centimeters and chopped an estimated 6.8 microseconds off the length of a day, NASA said.

APPLE Sues HTC

WASHINGTON: Apple announced Tuesday that it had filed a lawsuit against HTC, maker of the Nexus One smartphone from Google, accusing the Taiwan company of infringing on 20 iPhone patents.

"We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it," Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said in a statement.

"We've decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours," Jobs said.

Apple accused HTC of infringing on 20 Apple patents related to the "user interface, underlying architecture and hardware" of the iPhone.

The company, based in Cupertino, California, said the lawsuit was filed in a US District Court in the state of Delaware and with the US International Trade Commission.

Apple has sold more than 40 million iPhones since introducing the smartphone in 2007.

HTC makes handsets for a number of leading companies and is the manufacturer of the Nexus One unveiled by Apple rival Google in January.

Apple is currently being sued by Nokia for patent infringement and has countersued the Finnish mobile phone giant .

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Happiness Helps Ward Off Cardiac Disease

PARIS: People with a sunny outlook on life are less likely to develop heart disease than those who are less happy or outright glum, according to a study published on Thursday.

Its authors say it is the first investigation to give objective data to support the belief that high morale also helps a strong heart.

Publishing in the European Heart Journal, the Canadian team followed 1,739 men and women over 10 years who were enrolled in a health-monitoring project in Nova Scotia.

At the start of the study, trained nurses gave an assessment of the participants' risk of heart and disease.

Using both self-reporting and clinical assessment, the observers rated symptoms of depression, hostility and anxiety as well as "positive" counterparts -- joy, happiness, enthusiasm and contentment -- on a five-point scale.

Taking age, sex and cardiovascular risk factors into account, the researchers found that over the 10 years, "increased positive affect" lessened the risk of heart disease by 22 percent for each point on the scale.

"Participants with no positive affect were at a 22-percent higher risk of ischaemic heart disease (heart attack or angina) than those with a little positive affect, who were themselves at 22 percent higher risk than those with moderate positive affect," explained Karina Davidson, director of the Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health, New York.

She added: "We also found that if someone who was usually positive had some depressive symptoms at the time of the survey, this did not affect their overall lower risk of heart disease."

The investigators offer up several theories to explain the phenomenon.

One is that people with "positive affect" may have longer periods of rest and relaxation and recover more quickly from stress.

They caution, though, that clinical trials are needed to explore the heart-happiness link before doctors can issue any recommendations on how to prevent cardiac disease by enhancing positive emotions.