A good friend of mine (I’ll call him Peter) once confided in me that he was having serious communication issues with his girlfriend (I’ll call her Anne).

Every day, Anne would complain to Peter about her life problems. And, boy, did Anne seem to have an endless list of problems.

Just because people have problems doesn’t automatically mean they want solutions

As a natural response, Peter began suggesting possible solutions—his list of solutions was as endless as Anne’s list of problems.

But to Peter’s shock, Anne didn't appreciate his advice. In fact, she told Peter that she felt like he wasn’t listening to her.

This was causing strain in their relationship.

After Peter had explained the situation to me, he asked for my input.

I recommended that he stop giving Anne solutions. The next time Anne shared her struggles with him, I encouraged him to listen actively and to simply—and sincerely—say, “I’m sorry that you’re going through this. I'm here for you.”

We want to feel understood before we’ll

COMMENT

Singapore has been no stranger to non-Singaporean protests; in recent years we have seen migrant workers participate in collective action in response to alleged unfair labour practices.

However, the latest case of non-citizens protesting in Singapore was not about abusive employers or withheld wages. Wednesday evening saw about 100 Malaysians in Singapore gathering at Merlion Park dressed in black to protest electoral irregularities in their recent elections.

The election returned Barisan Nasional to power despite it having lost the popular vote, and the Malaysians' protest coincided with a massive rally led by the opposition Pakatan Rakyat in Kelana Jaya in Kuala Lumpur.

The peaceful gathering was labelled an "illegal outdoor protest" by the Singapore police, and five Malaysians -- thought to be organisers -- were called in to assist with investigations. Nine were subsequently issued warnings.

Following this news, I asked people on Facebook and Twitter what they thought about

The tragic murder of a young beautiful Chinese wife has gripped China's netizens (Weibo screengrab)

The husband was young, rich, drove expensive cars and lived the high life. His wife was just 22, and the beautiful mother of his four-month old baby daughter.

The happily married couple seemed to live a perfect life – until young chinese wife Qi Kexin was found murdered in their home in Nanjing's Jianye District.

No arrest has been reported but according to Xian Dai Kuai Bao, a Nanjing newspaper run by national news agency Xinhua, local authorities suspect she was slashed to death by her drunk husband after a heated argument.

She had been attacked with a knife and sustained between 30 and 40 knife wounds on her body.

Her husband, 24-year-old Ji Xing Peng, had allegedly slashed Qi to death after an argument in which he accused her of infidelity and said that their daughter was not his.

Qi's horrific death has since attracted huge media and online attention in China, especially because her husband is from “second generation money”, a negative term used to describe a class of young rich who

Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed only in advanced stages. (Thinkstock photo)

Ovarian cancer, often referred to as a “silent killer” because of its lack of specific symptoms, is striking more women in Singapore, with its incidence doubling in the past 30 years.

The age-standardised rate of ovarian cancer in Singapore has increased from six per 100,000 women per year in 1975 to 12 per 100,000 women per year in 2005.

However, the treatment options for this deadly cancer have also increased. Now a new post-surgery method, known as targeted therapy, can be used in combination with conventional chemotherapy to block the growth of cancer cells.

“On average, more than 250 cases are diagnosed annually and there are about 90 deaths per year. The high mortality is attributed to the fact that ovarian cancer is usually diagnosed in advanced stages,” says Dr Timothy Lim Yong Kuei, Consultant and Head, Pre-invasive Disease and Screening Unit, Department of Gynaecological Oncology, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital sees about 100 to 150

Brazil might soon become the land of horrendous spear gun accidents and miraculous survivals.

For the second time in the past month, a Brazilian survived the pierce of a fishing spear, this time directly through her mouth, according to the Associated Press.

Elisangela Borborema Rosa's husband had been cleaning his spear gun on May 6 when the weapon fired, seemingly by accident, the story says.

[ Related: Fisherman hit with spear gun survives with minimal brain damage ]

The doctor who performed her emergency surgery told media the harpoon shot through the 28-year-old's mouth and spine, coming within a centimeter of killing her.

Comments on the story question why the spear gun was loaded during cleaning.

Police told the news wire that once Borborema Rosa fully recovers they will investigate the events that led to her injury. However, police said they don't suspect an attempted murder.

They should, however, suspect that family members of fisher-people in Brazil will start using duck and cover

[Updated 4:30 p.m. ET]

CLEVELAND, Ohio—A judge set bail at $8 million at a brief hearing Thursday for Ariel Castro, the Cleveland man accused of kidnapping and keeping three young women as captives for a decade. The lawyer prosecuting the case said he may seek the death penalty against Castro.

Cleveland Municipal Judge Lauren C. Moore set bail at $2 million per charge, an amount that indicated the judge wants to keep Castro in jail. He was ordered not to have any contact with the three women or their families.

Castro appeared in court Thursday morning along with his brothers, Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50. All three were handcuffed, but Onil and Pedro Castro were not charged. They appeared before the same judge this morning on outstanding misdemeanors and were released around noon.

The Cleveland Police Department announced it had handed over custody of Ariel Castro had to county authorities.

Castro, 52, is charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape. Police say the former school bus driver held Amanda Berry, 27, Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 32, at his west side Cleveland home. The women were reportedly restrained with ropes and chains. Court documents indicate Castro repeatedly raped the women throughout their captivity.

Timothy McGinty, a Cuyahoga County prosecutor leading the case, said he and his team are evaluating whether to pursue charges eligible for the death penalty, which he said should be reserved for the "worst examples" of human conduct.

"I fully intend to seek to charges on each and every act of sexual violence, rape, each day of kidnapping, every felonious assault, all these attempted murders, and each act of aggravated murder he committed by terminating pregnancies that the offender perpetuaged against the hostages during this decade-long ordeal," McGinty told reporters at a news conference Thursday afternoon.

Knight was taken on Aug. 22, 2002, Berry on April 21, 2003, and DeJesus on April 2, 2004.

Berry, who went missing a day before her 17th birthday after leaving her job at a nearby fast-food restaurant, broke free from Castro's home with her 6-year-old daughter, Jocelyn, on Monday. After she called police, DeJesus and Knight were able to escape, too.

Our blogger pays tribute to mothers for Mothers' Day. (Photo courtesy of Mr M)

Mr M, 47, was a former senior sales and marketing manager at an electronics MNC for nine years before he was retrenched in 2009. Married with a wife and twin teenage sons, he tried his hand at being a financial advisor for a year before deciding to become a taxi driver. He has been running his taxi service since 2011. He survived a heart-attack in late 2012 and now has four stents in his heart. His philosophy on life is now to live well, stay healthy and to share his real-life experiences. In his latest post on Taxi Talk, he shares his encounters with six mothers and their moving life stories.

Given my outgoing personality and personal motto “Driving is my business and communication is my hobby”, I proactively interact with all types of customers daily. In this week – the 5^th installment of Taxi Talk and in conjunction with Mothers' Day, I would like to pay tribute to an important person in our lives – mother.

1. Mdm Teoh

Mdm Teoh, aged 75 years old, is my regular. I nicknamed her

Our blogger pays tribute to mothers for Mothers' Day. (Photo courtesy of Mr M)

Mr M, 47, was a former senior sales and marketing manager at an electronics MNC for nine years before he was retrenched in 2009. Married with a wife and twin teenage sons, he tried his hand at being a financial advisor for a year before deciding to become a taxi driver. He has been running his taxi service since 2011. He survived a heart-attack in late 2012 and now has four stents in his heart. His philosophy on life is now to live well, stay healthy and to share his real-life experiences. In his latest post on Taxi Talk, he shares his encounters with six mothers and their moving life stories.

Given my outgoing personality and personal motto “Driving is my business and communication is my hobby”, I proactively interact with all types of customers daily. In this week – the 5^th installment of Taxi Talk and in conjunction with Mothers' Day, I would like to pay tribute to an important person in our lives – mother.

1. Mdm Teoh

Mdm Teoh, aged 75 years old, is my regular. I nicknamed