COMMENT

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The policy to develop two casinos in Singapore, just like the one to allow a massive influx of immigrants, could possibly be held up as another "failed" policy by the ruling government.

When I say failed, I mean this from a citizen-centric point of view. Certainly, the casinos have not let down the 10th Parliament government which passed the law as the casinos have generated a staggering amount of revenue thus far - profits reaped by ensuing parliaments.

Holding its own against the global slumping economy, casino operators Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa could certainly have qualified for a reality TV show called 'Asia's Next Top Money Machine', if there were one.

Last year, Marina Bay Sands posted a gross gaming revenue of S$3.72 billion — almost 50 per cent of the total gaming win for the entire Las Vegas Strip over the same twelve-month period which ended on November 30, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Resorts World Sentosa's gaming revenue amounted to

High Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices are likely to deter Singaporeans from buying new cars. (Photo: AF …

Singaporeans said surging Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices are likely to deter them from buying new cars and instead turn to the second-hand car market for vehicles to purchase

The recent tender conducted on Wednesday saw COE prices increase between S$2,000 and S$4,000 across all categories except motorcycles.

"Is the government trying to stop us from driving cars? The COE difference is too much. It's equal to a secondhand car," said account executive Tan Poh Ling. "Rich people will still buy cars because it's a luxury to them, so the money doesn't really matter. But middle class people like us will be affected."

The 40-year-old added that as the COE price increase might lead to higher demand for secondhand cars, prices in that market might rise.

Other motorists feel resigned to the situation. Retail shop director Lim Saw Eng feels that Singaporeans would continue to buy new cars despite high COE prices.

Said the 49-year-old, "Singaporeans get seasoned very fast, so they'll

The SDP unveils its second annual Shadow Budget entitled Securing Our Future which tackles “real problems deeply …

The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) questioned on Wednesday the government's ability to plan the future for Singaporeans following the release of the budget for the incoming fiscal year.

Leaders of the opposition party said features of the budget pandered to populist sentiments that arose from the general election last year, when the ruling People's Action Party garnered the lowest share of votes ever.

At a press conference Wednesday, SDP treasurer Vincent Wijeysingha and SDP secretary-general Chee Soon Juan presented the party's second annual "shadow budget" as a suggested alternative to the government's spending plan.

When asked to cite examples of what they said was government's "irresponsible financial planning", Chee cited the participation of government-linked corporations and multinational corporations "suffocating the SMEs" as one.

Arguing that budgets should lay down fundamentals for the future, Wijeysingha, also the principal author of Shadow Budget 2012: Securing Our

Minister of State for Finance and Transport Josephine Teo and REACH chairman Amy Khor respond to questions posed …

Members of the public couldn't help but ask after the government announced it would spend $1.1 billion to add hundreds of buses to run along Singapore's streets.

Responding to several questions about this at a REACH dialogue on this year's budget on Wednesday evening, Minister of State for Finance and Transport Josephine Teo explained that the government's aim was to improve service in public transport, which suffered a big blow in December when a series of train disruptions affected hundreds of thousands of commuters.

In additional to the planned purchase of 800 more buses by the government and local transport firms, she said a rail extension or a new rail line would also be introduced each year leading up to 2016.

Teo noted concerns that operation costs will increase for public transport firms SBS Transit and SMRT given the need to pay for more fuel, more drivers and even more space at interchanges, but that government's purchase of 550 of the buses will help alleviate the burden of

This is the largest and most diverse local animal protection event to be held in Singapore (Yahoo! photos/Clarence …

Singaporeans are invited to voice their concerns about animal welfare issues and offer suggestions on amendments to legislation on the matter at the largest animal protection event to be held in Singapore this Saturday.

More than 600 participants are expected to attend, including Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law K Shanmugam.

"I welcome this event, and support it.  How a society treats animals, which cannot take care of themselves, says much about the nature of the society.  The increasing support we are getting for animal welfare events is heartening," said Shanmugam, who is also a Member of Parliament (MP) for Nee Soon group representation constituency.

Louis Ng, executive director of animal welfare group ACRES, one of the main organisers of the event, said, "There has been significant progress in the animal protection movement in Singapore over the past year. Through this event, we hope that more people will become aware of the need to protect animals and most

Sun has since apologised for the remarks he made about Singaporeans (Screengrab from Weibo)

Singaporeans are up in arms over a foreign scholar's derogatory comment that "there are more dogs than humans in Singapore".

The Ministry of Education (MOE) scholar in question, Sun Xu from China, was referring to his unpleasant experience with Singaporeans as he brushed against them.

A rough translation of his Chinese blog post read: "It's so annoying to have gangster Singapore uncles stare at you when you bump into them. There are more dogs than humans here in Singapore."

His comment has outraged Singaporeans, who questioned MOE policies. Some have even called for Sun's scholarship to be revoked.

Singaporeans like Nanyang Technological University student Choy Chan Yuan feel that Sun's comment was "unjustified, rude and ignorant".

Said the 24-year-old, "Why is our government paying him [Sun] to study here? How did he pass the selection process?"

He added that the government should "reconsider their policies" when awarding scholarships to foreign students.

Sun is currently studying at

Reposted from Yahoo! Sports UK/ EuroSport

After what is now being dubbed as 'The Bavarian Brawl' following Dereck Chisora's points defeat to WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, we look at six of the worst instances of high-profile fights spilling out of the ring.

Dereck Chisora and David Haye, 2012

Despite the spotlight initially being on the Klitschko/Chisora title fight, Saturday's woeful scenes in fact occurred between Chisora and British heavyweight rival David Haye, who believed he was on the verge of ending his hiatus from the squared circle to meet Vitali in a high-profile title showdown.

And after Klitschko sealed a unanimous decision over the controversial Chisora, Haye, who had been providing live commentary for BoxNation, took it upon himself to attend the post-card press conference in the upper echelons of the Olympiahalle in Munich, where his heckling led to a pull-apart with 'Del Boy.'

Read about what happened by clicking here.

Warning: Video contains bad language

Many DBS customers are riled after the bank deactivated their ATM and debit cards without prior notice, leaving …

UPDATE (8:30pm, 21 Feb to correct typo in second paragraph that was not in original message from DBS)

Many DBS customers are riled after the bank deactivated their ATM and debit cards without prior notice, leaving many shocked and stranded without cash.

Affected customers Yahoo! Singapore interviewed said that they received an SMS informing them of the deactivation of their card, which read: "We are mailing a new ATM card to you. For added security, your card ending XXXX is deactivated. For urgent replacement, pls visit any DBS/POSB branch."

Some said the sudden deactivation was a big inconvenience as they were stuck without means of obtaining cash for a while.

Said a DBS customer Seah Wei Jie, "I was frustrated, because I could not get money asap on the stop unless we went to a DBS bank branch."

The 28-year-old added that although customers were informed that they could withdraw cash from any DBS or POSB branch, they could only do that during operating hours during the weekdays.

"But