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This story was printed from channelnewsasia.com Title : Singapore confirms three more H1N1 flu cases By : Date : 28 May 2009 2101 hrs (SST) URL : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin.../432416/1/.html SINGAPORE: Singapore has confirmed three more cases of Influenza A (H1N1). This brings the number of infected persons in the country to four.

http://www.sgcarmart.com/news/article.php?AID=4894 The Trans-Eurokars Group, owned by Mr Karsono Kwee, will take over the Mazda franchise in Singapore Trans-Eurokars will start running the Mazda franchise as early as Nov 1 or latest, by Dec 1. The Group will operate out of Mazda's current showroom at 315 Alexandra Road, next to Ikea, until October next year to fulfil a lease requirement. The showroom will then move to 23 Leng Kee Road, where the Opel showroom is located, before a dedicated Mazda facility is built, the paper added. Mr Kwee told the paper that a flagship Mazda building will be built at No. 5 Leng Kee Road. Currrently location also houses the Trans-Eurokar office and the Saab showroon. The businessman admitted that it is not easy selling Japanese cars in the current climate that is dominated by premium German brands. But Mr Kwee expressed hope that Mazda has a long-term future, what with new models coming here next year. These include the CX-5 crossover in 2012's first quarter, the Mazda5 and the CX9. The Mazda franchise has been held by the Phng family for 55 years. Troubles started when a shrinking supply of COEs and strong competition reduced it sales. Mr Kwee revealed that they aim to sell 800 to 1,000 Mazdas a year. The Group runs five other car franchises here namely Porsche, Mini, Rolls-Royce, Saab and Opel.

Former NTUC Income chief Tan Kin Lian has thrown his name into the hat for the post of President of Singapore. In a short message on his blog on Tuesday, Tan said, "I have now decided to contest the Presidential Election (if I am given the Certificate of Eligibility)." He will issue a full statement later on Tuesday. Tan first announced his interest in contesting the Presidential polls, due by 31 Aug, last Friday after his friend collected the Certificate of Eligibility forms on his behalf. He was then undecided then as his wife, fearing a "possible smear campaign" had initial reservations about his participation. He also mentioned the fact that he also came from a humble background, and as such, was not sure he could fit the "ceremonial and diplomatic role of the Presidency." However, in his blog post entitled "Safeguarding the reserves" on Tuesday, Tan appeared more determined and said he had taken note of two main concerns that Singaporeans shared via Internet postings regarding the post of President. One was whether their money in the Central Provident Fund is safe, and whether the government is able to make payouts at the withdrawal dates. The other was whether Singapore has enough reserves to protect its economic security in the challenging global financial environment. He noted these concerns were worsened by the decline in trust in the government in recent years and a lack of transparency on the reserves. To improve transparency and assure people, Tan suggested the Elected President's office produce an annual report on Singapore's reserves, with the financial assets of relevant organisations stated at its book values and market value. "It is important to avoid focus on the market value as it is highly volatile and is not appropriate for long term investments," he noted. Tan Kian Lian confirms his bid on his blog. (Screencap) The annual report should show the obligation of the government and include people's balance held in the Central Provident Fund as well as the bonds and guarantees issued by the government. Physical assets such as military hardware and infrastructure may be excluded from the annual report so long as there are adequate measures to ensure these items can be properly accounted for, said Tan, citing the need to preserve national secrets and the practical difficulty in listing the items. "Some people may worry that it will be quite a challenge to produce this annual report. This is not the case, as it is what multi-national corporations have to do now," he said. "I believe that the publication of this annual report would improve transparency and give the assurance to the people of their financial security. The reserves held by the Singapore Government are among the highest in the world on a per-capita basis. There is really no need for the people to be concerned," he added. Tan also said, he would prefer Singapore's two sovereign wealth funds (Government of Singapore Investment Corporation and Temasek Holdings) to adopt a "conservative approach", by avoiding speculation on market timing and asset selection, when investing assets. Stanley Yang, a fan of Yahoo! Singapore's Facebook page welcomed Mr Tan's decision to run for President. He wrote, "Men-on-street, NTUC, middle ground, opposition supporters, PAP supporters, sandwiched class all can relate well with TKL. This is excellent news." Mr Tan joins Dr Tan Cheng Bock, a former PAP member and Ayer Rajah MP, in officially confirming his bid to run as a candidate for President of Singapore. An independent panel will decide if the duo meet the strict criteria required to become an official Presidential candidate. Among the criteria is candidates must have served for at least three years in a senior leadership role in government or chief of a company with a paid-up capital of at least S$100 million http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporesc...-041303754.html If George Yeo decides to run as well as the others, we may have an election coming out way soon. TKL don't look like a yes-man, will the same tactics used in GE be used against him?

Hi, I am thinking of writing an email to CPF board as they rejected by application to HPS for some minor health conditions I had. whose email address should I cc to so my email does not end up being deleted? Grateful for your valuable feedbacks.

Martin Whitmarsh has confirmed that a failed wheel rim caused Lewis Hamilton to crash on the penultimate lap of last weekend's Spanish grand prix. Shortly after the Briton's sudden tyre deflation, the McLaren team boss speculated that "debris" rather than an actual tyre problem probably caused the accident. Bridgestone's initial analysis was similar, but it did not stop some pundits from hinting that Hamilton's aggressive driving style might have been a contributing factor. But the damaged parts were returned to Woking for analysis on Monday, and Whitmarsh confirmed on Tuesday that a wheel rim failure looks the likely cause. "The rim failure is being investigated," he told reporters during a teleconference. "It could be debris related, it could be an issue of deflection, or it could be a lack of tightness in the wheel nut, which allowed some flexing. "What we know is the rim failed, probably human error somewhere in the process caused it, and that led to a deflation and the accident," Whitmarsh added. Source: GMM

On Wednesday in Monaco, Mercedes confirmed that it has concluded a sponsorship deal with Deutsche Post. We reported in March that the German logistics giant, who through its subsidiary DHL is already an official partner of the world championship itself, is in talks about backing the Brackley based team. It was rumoured that the deal could be ready to debut in Spain last weekend, but in fact the logos will be added to the livery and front wing of the grey W01 car in Monaco. "The team has been very successful in attracting new partners over the past months and Deutsche Post is a very welcome addition," said team chief executive Nick Fry. Source: GMM

Damon Hill will be the fourth steward at this weekend's Monaco grand prix. We reported last month that, amid FIA president Jean Todt's new initiative to have well-known and experienced former drivers sitting alongside the three regular stewards at each race in 2010, Hill would preside at prestigious Monaco. The 1996 world champion never won at Monaco, but his father Graham Hill won the blue-ribant event no fewer than five times in the 60s, earning the nickname 'Mr Monaco'. Hill, 49 and currently president of the Silverstone-owning British Racing Drivers' Club, said earlier this year that his past squabbles with Michael Schumacher would not impede his ability to act impartially as a steward. "The people have to make decisions based on the analysis of right and wrong, irrespective of who those people might be," he said. "I think I'm sufficiently distanced from it." Source: GMM

Toyota engineers have confirmed the serious safety-related issue with one of their company's vehicles. Following a published account in Consumer Reports listing the 2010 Lexus GX 460 as a "do not buy" due to rollover risk, employees at Toyota successfully replicated the test conducted by the magazine.

CNA reported "Malaysia confirms first H1N1 flu case, says top health official Ismail Merican."

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