THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT !!!

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Iran threatens Olympic boycott over logo design

Mon Feb 28 03:51PM

Iran has threatened to boycott the London 2012 Olympics unless organisers agree to change the design of the logo.

The Iranian government has lodged a formal protest with the International Olympic Committee over the four-year-old logo, claiming that it must be changed since it spells out the word 'Zion'.

And the Middle Eastern nation has warned that it will order its athletes to stay at home next summer unless the logo is replaced and its creators asked to explain themselves.

"As internet documents have proved, using the word Zion in the logo of the 2012 Olympic Games is a disgracing action and against the Olympics' valuable mottos," the Iranian government wrote in a letter to the IOC, which was released via the state-backed Iranian Students Agency.

"There is no doubt that negligence of the issue from your side may affect the presence of some countries in the Games, especially Iran which abides by commitment to the values and principles."

It's not the first time that the logo has been at the centre of an unusual complaint: it has been heavily criticised ever since first being unveiled in 2007, and has been compared to everything from a swastika to a stylised image of two people making love.

But this is the first time that the design of the logo has prompted a threat to stay away from the sporting showcase.

An IOC official confirmed that the letter had been received, but insisted that the logo "represents the figure 2012, nothing else" while a London 2012 spokesman told The Guardian that "we are surprised that this complaint has been made now".

Iran won two medals at the 2008 Olympics in China with its sole gold coming courtesy of Hadi Saei in the men's 80kg Taekwondo.

It fared better in recent Games before Beijing, claiming six in Athens in 2004 (two golds) and four in Sydney in 2000 (three golds).

[kueytoc]

GREED ???

Did Top $$$urgeon double charge her Patient?

By Alicia Wong – March 1st, 2011

When doctors submitted their bills to top surgeon Susan Lim for treatment of one of her wealthy patients, she allegedly inflated the fee by as much as 500 times.

Senior Counsel Alvin Yeo alleged on Monday that Dr Lim had effectively double charged her late patient, Pengiran Anak Hajah Damit, younger sister of the Queen of Brunei and cousin of the Sultan, according to media reports.

Monday was Day 4 of Dr Lim’s fight in the High Court against the Singapore Medical Council (SMC). She had gone to court to quash the SMC’s bid to hold a second disciplinary hearing against her for overcharging her patient. The first committee stepped down on accusations of pre-judging the case.

Pengiran Damit, who had breast cancer, was Dr Lim’s patient from 2001 until her death in 2007. Last month, the news broke that Dr Lim charged her $26 million for the period January to July 2007, but later slashed the fee to just over $3 million.

Figures revealed on Monday show that from 2004 to 2007, the five doctors billed Dr Lim a total of just over $104,000 for their services, but when she billed her patient, she charged a total of $1.52 million for those services. She also charged another $18.85 million for her services.

For instance, Dr Whang Hwee Yong’s bill of $400 for treatment from Jun 1 to Jun 3 in 2004 was increased to $211,000 when Dr Lim billed the patient. Dr Lim then charged an extra $305,800 under her own name.

Mr Yeo said, “So it’s misleading to paint the picture that it’s not a mark-up, because she’s billing millions for her own work.”

The five doctors reportedly felt Dr Lim had not marked up the fees, as the invoices merely took into account her services.

Dr Lim’s lawyer, Senior Counsel Lee Eng Beng, who presented the doctors’ affidavits, said the sworn statements debunked the SMC’s accusations of overcharging, and that it was not reasonable or rational for the SMC to continue with the case against her.

His main argument is that Dr Lim, who apparently went to extraordinary lengths to cater to the patient, had a fee agreement with her patient, but Mr Yeo said the issue was whether Dr Lim abused the patient’s trust.

Arguing that the court should allow the SMC’s disciplinary committee to try the case Mr Yeo said, “We need to ask whether it is to unreasonable for this case to be referred to a disciplinary committee for inquiry?”

“If Dr Lim is innocent, she would be acquitted by the disciplinary committee and come out of this smelling of roses. Instead she comes to court to subvert the process,” he said.

The hearing continues today.

More on the case:

The Ministry of Health has accused Dr Susan Lim of overcharging Pengiran Damit, with a medical bill totalling some $26 million.

The bill allegedly included the cost of setting up a well-equipped medical unit in Brunei for the patient and having at least one specialist stationed in the Sultanate during the last six weeks of the patient’s treatment. The bill was later discounted to just over $3 million.

The SMC initially appointed a three-doctor disciplinary committee to hear the case against Dr Lim last year, but the committee stepped down after being accused by Dr Lim’s lawyers of pre-judging the case.

Dr Lim is now fighting the SMC’s decision to appoint a second disciplinary committee in the High Court.

A former patient of Dr Lim’s clinic, Susan Lim Surgery, described the clinic as “posh with lots of articles about Dr Lim”. But it is not “over the top”, Ms June Ng told Yahoo! Singapore. She visited the clinic in 2009 to consult a doctor, who was not Dr Lim.

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Athens top City for online Flirting-Dating Website

Reuters - Tuesday, March 1

LONDON - The home of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle is the "most flirtatious city" of the modern world, a new study showed on Monday.

Athens topped a "World Flirtation League," which ranked cities by the number of online flirtations initiated per month by the average user in each on online social networking site Badoo.com .

Moscow came second, while Rome placed 8th and Madrid 31st, Paris 38th, London 57th, Berlin 79th, and New York 89th in the study of nearly 200 cities across the world in which Badoo analyzed 12 million flirtatious contacts made during a month, with 108 million users chatting and flirting in 180 countries.

The Lonely Planet Encounter Guide to Athens author Victoria Kyriakopoulous said the results are hardly surprising as the Greek capital is a seductive city, with a hedonistic lifestyle.

"Athenians love to party and they love to talk," she said. "Flirting and sexual banter are not just a means to an end but part of social interaction."

She said the internet is just a new means to the age-old dance of attraction and love.

"Old people flirt, married people flirt, now young people are simply using technology to do what Athenians have always done."

The average Badoo user in Athens initiated 25.7 online flirtations per month -- over twice as many as in Rio .

Tunis, birthplace of the "Jasmine Revolution," is among three Arab cities .

Plato said "Love is a serious mental disease." The great man never shared his views on online flirting but he knew something at least about offline flirting, said Simon Hardy, British academic and author of "The Greeks, Eroticism and Ourselves."

He said ancient Athenians may have honed the art of flirtation at drinking parties known as symposia, drinking parties where men flirted with dancing girls among other entertainment.

"It is probably fair to say that the Athenians perfected the art of flirtation in ancient times, especially at the time of symposia described by Plato."

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Sexy Liu Yifei in 'A Chinese Ghost Story'

By Rheus Wai Soh See for Cinema Online Monday February 28, 2011 12:56 am PST

25 Feb: A reupdate of the 1987 classic "A Chinese Ghost Story" starring Joey Wong and Leslie Cheung will feature Krystal Liu Yifei for a temperamental new character Nie Xiaoqian, which was previously not depicted.

Film director Wilson Yip ("Ip Man") was at the Beijing launch a few days ago with the Love In Disguise (2010) and also The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) actress, along with Kara Hui, Lin Peng, Gong Xinliang and Wang Danyi Li.

Visuals from the movie reveal plenty of bare back from Liu Yifei. On the night itself, she appeared in a low-cut golden dress to compliment her figure.

Gong Xinliang wore a low-cut pink dress as if rivalling Liu Yifei for cleavage. Actress Kara Hui was wearing shiny, silver dress. "Dragon Lady" Lin Peng also appeared on stage wearing a flesh-coloured dress.

In contrast to past adaptations, this version will be told from the perspective of Taoist priest Yan Chi Xia. Yan, who has always been a supporting character in the series, is now played by Louis Koo with lots of ###### hair and Van Helsing gear.

He has a complicated relationship with Liu Yifei's character Nie Xiaoqian. Yu Shaoqun rounds out the cast as her love interest Ning Caichen.

The movie is slated for release in April 2011.

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Maybe also change GIRLFRIEND ???

Hamilton to start F1 season under New Management

Reuters - 1 hour 35 minutes ago

By Alan Baldwin

LONDON - McLaren's Lewis Hamilton plans to start the Formula One season under new management after a year-long search for the right person to take care of his business affairs.

"Nothing has been signed or fully firmed up," said the 2008 world champion after giving Reuters a breathtaking blast around a wet southern English airfield circuit in a fiery orange McLaren MP4-12C sports car.

"But I'm really hopeful in the next week or so we should hopefully have an announcement... definitely before Australia," he added.

"It's a big decision to sign with someone for a period of time, but I'm confident with what I'm going to do, so you'll find out very soon."

The season starts with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 27.

Hamilton has been without a manager since he and his father Anthony decided this time last year to end their business relationship.

That partnership had been one of the closest in the sport, with Hamilton senior guiding his son through the various junior series since Lewis started out in karting at the age of eight.

The 26-year-old driver told Reuters last October that the move to distance himself professionally from his father had been difficult for the whole family but was not one that he regretted.

Anthony Hamilton is likely to be more of a presence in the F1 paddock again this year since he now manages British rookie Paul di Resta, who will be making his race debut with Force India in Melbourne.

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David Beckham shows off new tattoo on Facebook

Posted By Yahoo Lifestyle, Tuesday, 1 March 2011 11:46 GMT

David Beckham has revealed a heavenly new tattoo – an image of himself depicted as Jesus.

The 35-year-old heartthrob has stretched his football messiah status even further by deifying himself in ink, surrounded by three cherubs that represent his own sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz.

Beckham unveiled the three-month-old art on Facebook on Saturday with a video message explaining the meaning behind the image above his left nipple.

"Obviously, the cherubs are boys, so my thought behind it is that at some point, my boys are going to need to look after me, and that's what they're doing in the picture. Everything has a meaning," he said in the recording.

"I don't plan on having a tattoo. It's just sometimes I wake up and I think, you know, I've got an idea of an image I would like on me.

"Some people love tattoos, some people don't. It's just something that I have always found can kind of express how I'm feeling, or the thoughts that I have or memories."

It took 12 hours and two sittings for Hollywood tattoo artist Mark Mahoney to complete the design.

David first posted a picture of his new tattoo back in December of last year as it was being worked on by Mahoney, who has inked a long list of Hollywood names including Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp.

“It was an 8-hour session which lasted until about 3 o’clock in the morning. I then went back a few weeks later and we did another 4 hours. It really is amazing,” said Beckham.

Beckham already has a myriad of religion-inspired tattoos which include a six-inch tattoo of Victoria as a bare-breasted angel surrounded by stars, an angel across his back in the shape of a cross and “Pray for me” inscribed on his right wrist.

He also has the names of the couple’s three boys on his body.

Beckham's wife Victoria is pregnant with the couple's fourth child.

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Wanna TRY ???

Breast milk ice cream seized amid health and safety complaints

Afp - Tuesday, 1 March 2011 17:16 GMT

Officials have seized supplies of breast milk from a London-based ice cream shop amid health and safety concerns.

Health officials in London have put a deep freeze on supplies of breast milk ice cream after receiving health and safety complaints from two men.

Ice cream salon The Icecreamists in Covent Garden garnered headlines around the world last week after debuting their "Baby Gaga," a vanilla and lemon-scented dessert churned with human breast milk. The ice cream sold out within hours of its launch on February 25 and more batches were in the midst of being prepared.

Local health officials at Westminster City Council said the investigation began after receiving two safety complaints from the public. According to The Icecreamists' Twitter feed, the complainants were two men.

"Ironic, eh?" they tweeted.

Owners said the milk, donated by mothers who responded to online ads, was screened in line with blood donor requirements.

"All milk rig screened at clinic. If bad for ice cream, bad for babies -- Close London's Milk Banks!" they tweeted in defense.

Viruses like HIV and hepatitis can be transmitted through breast milk. The product is now being tested to see if it's fit for human consumption. The ice creamery touted the dessert as an organic and all-natural product and was being sold for £14 or (16 euros). The dessert was served in a martini glass with a bottle of breast milk cocktail on the side.

It's not the first time restaurateurs have caused a stir by using human breast milk as a major ingredient in their food. Chef Daniel Angerer of Klee Brasserie in New York also used his wife's milk to make cheese for his restaurant. The cheese appeared on a canapé with figs and Hungarian pepper.

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Lady Gaga: I didn't enjoy SEX

By Cover Media Wednesday March 2, 2011 12:15 am PST

Lady Gaga says she didn't enjoy having SEX until she was in a monogamous relationship.

The eccentric pop star has confessed she found lovemaking unpleasant but is now satisfied with her boyfriend Luc Carl. She originally dated Luc when she 19 and the pair rekindled their relationship in June last year. Gaga says she only began to like having sex a few years ago when she had fallen in love and was feeling confident about herself.

"I never actually enjoyed sex until two years ago. It was a proper monogamous relationship in which I felt free enough to trust and I had enough self love," she revealed in an interview with Grazia. "Sex is the ultimate expression of vulnerability and for me it was important to know that it was a proper relationship so it was sex as a source of love and nothing else."

The 24-year-old singer is currently promoting her MAC Viva Glam lipstick, which is raising money for HIV and AIDS charities. Gaga has been campaigning about the importance of safe sex and insists it is something she always practices. She has also discussed the first time she had sex, admitting she wasn't ready for it.

"I didn't lose my VIRGINity until I was 17. But I have to say even then I wasn't ready and it was an absolutely terrible experience. It wasn't good at all ," she added. "I have never not had safe sex, I have always asked a guy to be tested and to use protection, which was always my rule. Otherwise you're playing Russian Roulette. "

Gaga went on to talk about her stunt at the recent Grammy Awards, where she arrived on the red carpet inside a giant egg. She claims she spent several days in the vessel before her performance of new single Born This Way, but is refusing to give any further details away in case her followers try and replicate her idea and endanger their health.

"Three days, honestly. I stayed in the vessel for three days. I can't talk about it. I don't want my fans to think about copying, let's just say it was important as part of my rebirth to stay in there for three days," she explained. 'I have an idea or an idea comes and I just go with it, like my vessel at the Grammys. That was so perfect, the whole idea of my next album and single, Born This Way and then the vessel... or the egg as everyone kept calling it."

The star also revealed her battle with Lupus and her hectic work schedule has left her feeling exhausted and she often sleeps for hours to recover.

©Cover Media

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By Ion Danker – March 3rd, 2011

The Korea Herald/Asia News Network

Seoul — Photoshop works digital wonders, and one piece of striking evidence is illustrated in the unaltered photos of a Chinese girl who created an Asia-wide buzz with her picture-perfect image.

The newly revealed photos suggest that the widely circulated pictures showing her doll-like image with impeccable lines might have been highly edited and embellished.

The girl, named Wang Jiayun, emerged as an online celebrity overnight in Korea and elsewhere when the apparently beautified photos hit the Web communities.

Online users were particularly drawn to her almost “unreal” beauty, prompting a debate over whether the picture-perfect girl is a human or a doll.

Wang’s unrealistically large eyes, pale face, perfectly structured nose and extremely slim figure resemble a human-sized doll.

According to online news reports, Wang is a 17-year-old high school student in Shenzhen, China.

Many netizens who praised Wang’s Barbie doll appearance seemed disappointed in her due to the artificial photo editing.

Amid growing controversy, Wang has shut down her personal blog.

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Mystery solved in death of legendary Japanese Dog

By MARI YAMAGUCHI - Associated Press | AP – Wed, Mar 2, 2011 7:33 PM SGT

Scientists have settled a decades-old mystery by naming a cause of death for Japan's most famous dog, Hachiko, whose legendary loyalty was immortalized in a Hollywood movie starring Richard Gere.

They say Hachiko died of cancer and worms, not because he swallowed a chicken skewer that ruptured his stomach — as legend had had it.

Hachiko was considered such a model of devotion that his organs were preserved when he died in 1935.

For years, Hachiko used to wait at Shibuya train station for its master, a professor at the University of Tokyo. Even after the professor died, the dog went to the station to wait for his master every afternoon for a decade until he finally died.

Tokyo residents were so moved that they built a statue of Hachiko at the station, which remains a popular rendezvous spot for Japanese today. He was also the hero of Japanese children's books.

The dog's story turned into a 2009 Hollywood film, "Hachi: A Dog's Story," starring Richard Gere — a remake of a 1987 Japanese movie.

Rumors had it that Hachiko died after wolfing down a skewer of grilled chicken — Japanese barbecue called yakitori — that ruptured his stomach.

But University of Tokyo veterinarians examining his innards said Wednesday that they found Hachiko had terminal cancer and also a filaria infection — worms.

Four yakitori sticks remained in Hachiko's stomach, but they did not damage his stomach or cause death, said Kazuyuki Uchida, one of veterinarians.

"Hachiko certainly had yakitori given by a street vendor at Shibuya," he said. "But the sticks were unrelated to his death, and the rumor is groundless."

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Poly Student admits to being a PIMP

By Kai Fong – March 4th, 2011

While his peers waited tables to earn some extra cash, 18-year-old Wong Jiong Yang held a relatively different part-time job. He would prowl the streets of Geylang at night, not looking out for women but for men.

The Nanyang Polytechnic student was a pimp looking for customers for three Thai prostitutes under him. He would get a cut of the money they charged their customers for sex.

But his part-time stint came to an abrupt end when his ‘co-workers’ told on him to the police after they were arrested on the morning of Jan 24 by a police officer attached to the Criminal Investigation Department.

Yesterday, Wong pleaded guilty to two counts of living off the earnings of two prostitutes and one count of managing a place of assignation, reported the local media.

The Women’s Charter established “a place of assignation” as any place where communication is established with a female –- directly or through an intermediary –- for any immoral purpose.

Another charge of living on the earnings of a third prostitute will be taken into consideration when Wong is sentenced on April 4. The district judge has called for a probation report so that the court can access his suitability for probation.

Wong, who was accompanied by a middle-aged man, did not have a lawyer.

It was heard that the women – aged between 23 and 27 – took an express coach from Hatyai in southern Thailand to Singapore to work as prostitutes. Their agent, who was unknown, arranged lodging, where they would wait for “business calls”.

Last December, Wong met a person known only as Zen at an online chatroom and accepted Zen’s offer to become a pimp. Zen would call Wong to tell him which lorong in Geylang had potential customers.

Wong would pocket 10 per cent of every $50 that the women charged each customer. At the end of each workday, Zen would send someone on a motorbike to collect the earnings.

Zen remains mysteriously anonymous to both Wong and the women. The former had no means of contacting Zen as Zen would initiate contact using a private mobile phone number. The number plate of the motorbike was also not provided as a different bike was used each time.

For each charge of living on the earnings of a prostitute, Wong can be jailed five years and fined $10, 000.

For managing a piece of assignation, he can be fined $3,000 and jailed three years.

The youth is currently out on bail.

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WORLD WAR III coming !!!

Obama ups pressure, Libya rebels rule out talks

AFP - 2 hours 18 minutes ago

BREGA, Libya (AFP) – US President Barack Obama said all options were on the table for driving Libya's Moamer Kadhafi out of power as rebels angrily ruled out talking to a dictator with "blood" on his hands.

Despite grave reservations expressed by the US military command, Obama said a no-fly zone was among the "full range" of options as he demanded that Kadhafi "step down from power and leave".

Forces still loyal to the veteran strongman, who has ruled the oil-rich North African state for 41 years, have been bombing rebel-held positions in Libya's east and thousands of people are desperate to flee the country.

The latest air raids around the vital oil installation of Brega were designed to scare the rebels off rather than inflict serious damage, Kadhafi's son Seif Al-Islam told Britain's Sky News.

"This is the oil and gas hub of Libya," he said, vowing the regime would do all in its power to recapture the port.

"All of us, we eat, we live because of Brega. Without Brega six million people have no future because we export all of our oil from there."

Rebels managed to beat off a dawn attack on Brega on Wednesday in the first real military battle since the Libyan uprising began on February 15. Related article:Kadhafi counts on planes, militias to survive

The patchwork Libyan opposition now controls swathes of eastern and western Libya including the city of Benghazi and some oil installations. Kadhafi remains firmly in control of the capital Tripoli.

More than 100,000 people have left Libya to escape the violence, which has killed at least 1,000, according to conservative UN estimates.

The International Criminal Court's prosecutor said in The Hague that Kadhafi and key aides would face investigation over alleged crimes against humanity.

"We have identified some individuals with de facto or formal authority, who have authority over the security forces," Luis Moreno-Ocampo told journalists.

"They are Moamer Kadhafi, his inner circle, including some of his sons."

Kadhafi's ally President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela joined the diplomatic offensive, proposing an international mediation mission to pull Libya from what Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said was the "verge of civil war".

The Chavez proposal got short shrift from the West, and Libyan rebels in their eastern fiefdom argued that Kadhafi was free to flee to Venezuela if he chose.

"We have a very clear statement. It's too late. Too much blood has been spilt," Mustafa Gheriani, a spokesman for the opposition's self-declared national council in Benghazi, told AFP.

The rebels would "never negotiate with anybody on the blood of our people", he said.

"The only way we can negotiate with Chavez is if Kadhafi goes to Venezuela (for good). Then we'll ask him to have Kadhafi back in Libya to be prosecuted by our justice."

Obama told a White House news conference that Kadhafi's "appalling violence" on his own people showed that he had lost all legitimacy. Analysis:In Kadhafi, web finds a tragi-comic anti-hero

"Going forward, we will continue to send a clear message: The violence must stop. Moamar Kadhafi has lost legitimacy to lead and he must leave," he said.

Obama said he did not want to be "hamstrung" in his options and confirmed that a no-fly zone was under consideration. Britain and France back the idea, but there are divisions internationally and even within Washington.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and top US military officials warned Wednesday that imposing no-fly zone would be a major military undertaking, and would necessarily require air strikes to take out Libya's air defences.

"Let's just call a spade a spade," Gates told US lawmakers, decrying "loose talk" about a no-fly zone.

A major European operation is under way to airlift from Tunisia thousands of people who have fled the bloodshed in Libya, and Obama also offered US planes to repatriate Egyptian refugees.

Egyptians ferried from Tunisia to Cairo on a French-chartered plane said they had been singled out for ill-treatment in Libya, with Kadhafi accusing them of selling hallucinogenic drugs and stirring up the revolution.

Mustafa Abdulrahim, a 40-year-old stonemason, said Egyptians were "beaten, tortured and imprisoned at the Tripoli international airport" as they tried to leave the country.

Libyan National Oil Corporation head Shukri Ghanem told AFP that normal production -- estimated at 1.6 million barrels per day -- had been "halved" because foreign workers including key technicians had fled the nation.

The Libya disruption has been a factor in driving up world oil prices of late, along with unrest against authoritarian regimes across the Arab world.

In Sunni-controlled Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, cyber activists called for a "Day of Anger" on Friday in the country's eastern Shiite-majority region, following the arrest of a Shiite cleric.

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SIGH !...the Deadly Evils of GAMBLING !!!

:innocent: Man killed Children and committed Suicide

By Faris March 3rd, 2011

Depressed by his failing marriage and consumed with jealousy, a man decided to kill his children, set their home on fire and plunge to his death.

At a joint inquiry into their deaths on Wednesday, state coroner Victor Yeo said that 39-year-old Mr Ng Chee Kiang had smothered his two young children with a pillow before setting fire to their flat in Ang Mo Kio.

On the fateful night of Nov 7, 2009, it was said that Ng had probably smothered his five-year-old son, Xavier Ng Wei Yi, first.

He then went on to hold a pillow over the face of his three-year-old daughter, Cheryl Ng Shi Hui, when the family maid walked in on him. The maid did not suspect that her employer would harm his own children and left the room.

The state coroner also said that Ngs death was caused by cranio-cerebral and lung injuries from his fall from the 12th storey of his block. He died in a hospital about three hours later.

Mr Yeo added that Ng could have planned to carry out his acts as early as Nov 4, when he started staying home instead of going to work. He said that Ng was depressed by his failing marriage and his wifes request for a divorce.

How the Tragedy started

The tragic tale began in 2003 after Ngs wife, Madam Ong Lay Choo discovered that her husband was knee-deep in debt from gambling on football, horse racing, Toto and 4D. In November that year, he was made a bankrupt.

More cracks surfaced in the marriage when Ng found out in March 2009 that his wife had other men in her life. Over the next eight months, he became so consumed by jealousy that they would quarrel whenever she went out with her friends for dinner.

When Mdm Ong, now 29, a sales executive, wanted a divorce, Ng feared that she would remarry and their two young children would be treated as second-hand in another family.

Hidden Secrets

It was made known that Ng had kept personal problems to himself, including the debts he owed. When he died, he was still an undischarged bankrupt.

He would not inform his wife how he spent his money or where he was. Instead, he would drink frequently with his friends and return home late.

It is understood that by November 2009, the couple had become so estranged that quarrels about her meeting her friend had become common.

During one dispute, he went up to their sleeping children and said he would kill them if their mother failed to return home by 6 pm. A week before the tragedy, Mdm Ong asked for a divorce as she was mentally stressed over their relationship and could not take it anymore.

Ng initially agreed, but later changed his mind. On Nov 1, around the time his wife asked for a divorce, he wrote a letter addressed to his family and friends.

The letter, written in red ink, revealed his depression over his family problems and how no one could help him. Mr Yeo said it was clear from the letter that Ng was harbouring the thought that Mdm Ong had other boyfriends and would remarry after their divorce.

Ng had written that his wife could go to her boyfriends. He wrote that he had no choice but to choose this route - taking his own life and those of his children - as he did not want them to become second-hand in another family.

He ended the letter by asking the police to investigate three mobile phone numbers, claiming that their owners had killed his family.

Two of the numbers were traced to Mdm Ongs ex-boyfriend and a foodstall helper whom she had befriended in the earlier months. The third number was a pre-paid card registered under a foreigner.

On Nov 6, Ng wrote on the same letter in black ink against the three phone numbers, stating again they were the one who killed his family. He then posted the letter to his best friend. The next day, Ng ended his life and those of his children.

The investigating officer, Staff Sergeant Adel Yusnin Norman, told the court that the police had classified the case as murder-suicide. He was the only witness to take the stand.

Neither did Mdm Ong nor any of Ngs family members turned up during the hearing.

Feeling troubled or depressed ???

Here are the numbers you can call:

» Samaritans of Singapore (SOS): 1800-221-4444

» Family Service Centre: 1800-838-0100

» Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019

» Care Corner Mandarin Counselling Centre: 1800-353-5800

» Touchline (Touch Youth Service): 1800-377-2252

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'I was forced to sleep with 31 men' - Jang Ja Yeon

By Ben Tan Monday March 7, 2011 10:36 pm PST

Police may reopen case into Korean actress' suicide.

The Korean police are determining if they should reopen investigations into the case of actress Jang Ja-yeon's suicide, after broadcaster SBS made her posthumous letters public on Sunday.

In over 50 letters, Jang alleged that she was made to offer sexual favours to prominent figures within the industry, as well as to heads and officials of private and media enterprises.

The rookie actress, who was 30 when she hanged herself in March 2009, accused her agent of forcing her to have sex with 31 people over 100 times.

The agent, known only as Kim, was arrested in July that year and served a one-year jail term last year. The other 31 men were under investigation as well, though they were all acquitted.

The case caused a sensational scandal in Korea over who was on ‘Jang's list', as financial regulators launched their own investigations into an industry known for ‘enslaving' their up and coming stars.

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MM Lee ‘stands corrected’ on Malay-Muslim integration

By Alicia Wong – March 8th, 2011

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said on Monday he “stands corrected” on how well-integrated Malay-Muslims are in Singapore.

He referred to comments he made in the book, Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going. In it, Mr Lee said Muslims are “distinct and separate”, drawing a flurry of reaction from the Muslim community.

In a statement issued on Monday night to the mainstream media, he said: “I made this one comment on the Muslims integrating with other communities probably two or three years ago. Ministers and MPs, both Malay and non-Malay, have since told me that Singapore Malays have indeed made special efforts to integrate with other communities, especially since 9/11, and that my call is out of date.”

“I stand corrected. I hope that this trend will continue in the future,” said Mr Lee.

The book is based on 32 hours of interviews Mr Lee gave to seven journalists from The Straits Times (ST). It was launched on Jan 21.

Mr Lee was quoted as saying, “Muslims socially do not cause any trouble, but they are distinct and separate.” When asked how they could integrate, he said, “Be less strict on Islamic observances, and say: ‘Okay, I’ll eat with you.’”

He also said: “I think we were progressing very nicely until the surge of Islam came, and if you asked me for my observations, the other communities have easier integration — friends, inter-marriages and so on – than Muslims.”

Various Muslim groups expressed unhappiness over Mr Lee’s comments. Some wanted him to apologise for the unfounded remarks, others wanted the government to clarify if it shared his views.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong later said his views on Muslims’ integration in Singapore differed from the Minister Mentors’. “Muslims are a valued and respected community, who have done a good deal to strengthen our harmony and social cohesion,” said the Prime Minister.

The Minister Mentor’s statement was met with a positive reaction.

MP Halimah Yacob, who spoke on racial cohesion in Singapore in Parliament on Monday, told ST, “This will go a long way towards assuaging the feelings of the community. … MM’s earlier comments caused a lot of unhappiness because many felt it was not a description of the reality.”

She added, the statement show’s Mr Lee’s “humility”.

Chairman of the Association of Muslim Professionals Nizam Ismail also welcomed the news. He said the “retraction” was a “necessary” move. ”The issue of integration is an important one especially for a young, heterogeneous and cosmopolitan nation-state. Integration still remains a work in progress,” he said.

“The Malay-Muslim community remains committed to integration and hopes that all stakeholders, including other communities and especially the State, will take part in this process of rebuilding mutual trust and bonds which may have been frayed,” he added.

[kueytoc]

Spider-Man comic sells for $1.1 mln

AFP - 28 minutes ago

NEW YORK (AFP) - – The inaugural 1962 comic book to feature Spider-Man netted a superhero-sized $1.1 million, the US online auctioneers said.

The copy of the Marvel comic book, in excellent condition, sold through ComicConnect.com with a cover that shows the spidery avenger -- in his other life known as the meek Peter Parker -- swinging from a high building with a man under his right arm.

Five decades ago, the comic went for just 12 cents.

The big sale has been bested only by the $1.5 million price reached for Superman's 1938 debut comic book last year. The 1930s to 1950s are seen as comics' golden age and surviving copies are keenly collected.

"The late 1950s and early 1960s are considered the Silver Age for comic books," said ComicConnect.com founder Stephen Fishler in a statement.

"People have often wondered how much this near-perfect condition book would sell for, and today we found out," Fishler said.

[kueytoc]

Woman pleads guilty to Obscene Acts

By Faris Mokhtar | SingaporeScene – 2 hours 59 minutes ago

A 22-year-old woman pleaded guilty on Wednesday to two counts of committing a sexual act on an underage girl, in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in Singapore.

The court heard that the woman first committed the act on the girl in November 2008 at a staircase landing of a multi-storey carpark.

She later performed a similar act on the girl in a room at Siloso Beach Resort in Sentosa in 2009. The woman, who is a student, cannot be named to protect the girl's identity.

In both cases, the acts were performed on the then-13-year-old girl with her consent. The girl's mother soon learnt about her daughter's relationship with the woman and alerted the authorities.

Deputy Public Prosecutor S Sellakumaran said the girl's classmate first introduced the youngster to the woman in November 2007.

They became good friends after meeting each other face-to-face at the girl's birthday party later that month. Two months later, they entered into a homosexual relationship, added DPP Sellakumaran

Soon after this, the woman would pick her up from school whenever the girl's mother was unable to do so.

Defence Counsel Paul Tan urged the court to put his client on probation. He said the woman was 19 years old when she first became the girl's partner and the two of them were very close to each other.

However, District Judge Low Wee Ping said the fact that the girl consented to the act may not be relevant. He stressed that the offence involved a young girl who is protected by the law.

Judge Low has called for a pre-sentence probation report and the woman will be back in court on April 18. If convicted of the offence, for each charge, she could be jailed up to two years, fined a maximum of 5,000 dollars or both.

[kueytoc]

M'sian Teen tricked into marrying GrandPa Tapper

By News Desk in Kuala Lumpur/The Star | ANN – Tue, Mar 15, 2011 12:00 PM SGT

Kuala Lumpur (The Star/ANN) - A Malaysian teenager's dream of marrying a good-looking young man was shattered when her groom was not the 30-year-old bank officer she had fantasised about, but a 63-year-old rubber tapper, reported Malaysian newspaper Harian Metro.

The 18-year-old girl, who works at a supermarket in Kulim, said she got to know the elderly man last October after he purportedly dialled her number by mistake.

The calls became more frequent and the man went to the extent of topping up the girl's phone credit and putting money into her younger sister's bank account for shopping and other needs.

The teenager, who only gave her name as Lis, said the man claimed he was a 30-year-old bank officer and still single.

"After several weeks we agreed to get married in Thailand," said Lis.

It was then she found out that the groom was not the one she imagined to be, but a grandfather who had been married four times before with children aged seven months to 30 years!

Lis said she declined to have the marriage consummated and asked to be separated after four days.

On returning to Kulim, she lodged reports against the man at the police station and the religious department

[kueytoc]

Abortions give rise to Asia's 'Lost Boy' Generation

On Tuesday 15 March 2011, 1:35 SGT

Abortions of female fetuses have led to a massive surplus of young unmarried men in India and China, raising fears of an outcast group that could threaten the social fabric, a study said Monday.

The trend took root in the 1980s when ultrasound technologies made it easier for families to detect fetal sex early and to abort if it was not what the parents desired, said the analysis in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Sons have traditionally been preferred over daughters in many parts of China, India and South Korea due to social, cultural and financial motivations. Sex-selective abortion is outlawed but can be difficult to enforce.

The phenomenon was first spotted in South Korea in the early 1990s, when the sex ratio at birth (SRB) -- typically 105 male births to every 100 female births -- rose to 125 in some cities.

Similar rises in male births were seen in China, "complicated by the one-child policy, which has undoubtedly contributed to the steady increase in the reported SRB from 106 in 1979, to 111 in 1990, 117 in 2001 and 121 in 2005," said the study.

India has seen "sex ratios as high as 125 in Punjab, Delhi and Gujarat in the north but normal sex ratios of 105 in the southern and eastern states of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh," it added.

In parts of China where a second child is allowed, after a daughter is the first born, the SRB for the second is 143, suggesting that many choose to abort a second girl fetus in favor of trying again for a boy.

Estimates of China's actual population difference in 2005 pointed to 1.1 million excess males, with men under 20 exceeding the number of females by around 32 million, said the study led by Therese Hesketh, University College London Centre for International Health and Development.

"These men will be unable to marry, in societies where marriage is regarded as virtually universal, and where social status and acceptance depend, in large part, on being married and creating a new family," said the authors.

Referred to in China as "guang gun," meaning "bare branches," these men are presumed to be unable to bear fruit by coupling and raising a family.

"In China and parts of India the sheer numbers of unmated men are a further cause for concern," said the study.

"Because they may lack a stake in the existing social order, it is feared that they will become bound together in an outcast culture, turning to antisocial behavior and organized crime, thereby threatening societal stability and security."

Other concerns include the possibility that the surge of unmarried men will boost the sex industry, which has already expanded in India and China over the past 10 years.

However, "the part played by a high sex ratio in this expansion is impossible to isolate; there is no evidence that numbers of sex workers are greater in areas with high sex ratios," said the study.

Ninety-four percent of unmarried people aged 28-49 in China are male, and 97 percent of them have not completed high school, it said.

"Despite the grim outlook for the generation of males entering their reproductive years over the next two decades, there are encouraging signs," said the study.

A crackdown on sex-selective abortion in South Korea has resulted in a more normalized male-to-female birth rate in recent years, and China and India are both down from their peak SRBs due in part to public awareness campaigns and relaxed one-child policies.

But it will likely be several more decades before the sex ratios return to normal, the authors said.

The article was co-authored by Zhu Wei Xing of Zhejiang Normal University in China.

[kueytoc]

French court bans Condoms from CONDOM

10 hours 46 mins ago

A French court has banned a company set up by a descendant of King Louis XIV from selling luxury condoms described as from the southwestern town of Condom, the town's lawyer said on Wednesday.

The court in the nearby city of Bordeaux banned "the continued sale of condoms under the brand 'The Original Condom from Condom, France,'" said Caroline Lampre, lawyer for the picturesque town of 7,500.

"It is clear that the use of the name, the image and the renown of the town of Condom, without its knowledge, for entirely commercial ends (is) manifestly illicit," said the judge's ruling, seen by AFP.

French royal descendant Charles-Emmanuel de Bourbon Parme and count Gil de Bizemont have been selling their "luxury eco-friendly" prophylactics mainly in the United States since 2009.

The company is headquartered in the medieval town although the contraceptives themselves are manufactured in rubber-rich Malaysia.

Condoms sell on the company's website for $2 (around 1.50 euros) a piece, although the site says they are not available in Condom itself or anywhere else in France.

The site says the two aristocrats "decided to introduce a new kind of 'sophisticated' condom that holds a 'je ne sais quoi'."

"Condoms protect everyone from disease, ours protect from tackiness," Bizemont says on the site.

The town brought the case after Condom Mayor Bernard Gallado learned about the condoms from media reports.

The river Baise (French slang for SEX) runs through the popular tourist town which feared the opening of a condom boutique in Condom itself.

Condom is now going to bring a case to get The Original Condom brand banned, lawyer Lampre said.

[kueytoc]

When SNORING means more than just Noise

By TTSH – March 8th, 2011

By Dr. Chong Yaw Khian

You notice your partner snores heavily soon after falling asleep and the sound gets louder throughout the night. Occasionally, he might even startle you awake with a loud snort or gasp, as if there is a difficulty in breathing.

In the day, your partner might also complain that he’s feeling tired and sleepy. You may also notice your partner is more irritable and forgetful. After a period of time, you too, feel tired and frustrated from being woken up from your partner’s snoring. The effect in the long run can, nonetheless, be detrimental to your relationship not forgetting the health of your partner.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

Chances are your partner is suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). This is a condition in which pauses in breathing (apnea) occur during sleep because the airway has become narrowed or blocked. This can result in a reduction in blood oxygen saturation.

In healthy individuals, the airway remains open during sleep to let air pass through.

However, people with OSA have a narrower airway and when the muscles in their upper throat relax during sleep, the airway collapses and hence breathing can pause. Other factors that could compromise the airway include large tonsils and adenoids in children, large neck or collar size (17 inches or more in men and 16 inches or more in women) and large tongue or certain shapes of the palate or airway which can cause the airway to collapse easily.

Not aware

Most people with OSA are not aware they have such a condition. Often, family members witness these periods of apnea. People with OSA suffer from restless sleep. They wake up with a sense of un-refreshing sleep and can feel tired throughout the day. This is also called Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS). Other symptoms an OSA patient can experience include — falling asleep while working, reading, or watching TV; feeling irritable, grumpy or impatient; morning headaches; being forgetful and increased urination at night. Because of EDS, people with sleep apnea have also increased risk of motor accidents on the road and industrial accidents.

Untreated sleep apnea may lead to or worsen cardiovascular diseases such as heart arrhythmias, heart failure, high blood pressure, sexual dysfunction and stroke. The good news is that there is help for OSA sufferers. The treatment goal is to keep the throat airway open so that breathing will not stop during sleep.

Treatment

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is now regarded as the first-line treatment for obstructive sleep apnea in most people. It is a system of delivering positive pressure to the airway thereby keeping them open throughout the sleep. CPAP is delivered by a machine with a tight-fitting facemask. However, many patients cannot tolerate CPAP therapy. Good follow-up and support from a sleep center can often help overcome any problems in using CPAP. Surgery is another option to treat OSA. This is an alternative solution to patient who are unable to tolerate CPAP. Numerous surgical options are available and the appropriate surgery depends on the patient’s profile as well as the severity of the OSA. Patients are also recommended to adopt certain lifestyle changes such as weight control and avoiding alcohol/sedatives during bedtime. Avoiding sleeping on the back may also relieve symptoms of sleep apnea in some people.

Individuals who snore habitually should see their doctor, as the doctor can help them find solutions to this noisy problem. In the long run, they will be healthier and the entire family will thank them for the peace and quiet they get throughout the night.

The writer is a Consultant at Department of Othorhinolaryngology at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

[kueytoc]

The Street where Homes cost £6.4m

If you want to buy a home on Victoria Road, it will cost you an absolute fortune!

John Fitzsimons, 14:53, Wednesday 16 March 2011

When I bought my home, I was very much in the bargain basement area of the market. As a first-time buyer, with only a journalist's salary, the options were not exactly plentiful. I had to make sure my money went a long way.

Yet I retain a weird fascination with the other end of the housing market, where the great and the good spend a not-so-small fortune on a home.

And according to a new survey, the cost of buying in these mega-expensive streets is on the rise.

Living next door to Dustin Hoffman

This year's survey of the most expensive streets in England and Wales from Mouseprice.co.uk has found that Victoria Road in Kensington, London, is officially the dearest place to nab a home, with an average house price of a whopping £6.42 million.

And interestingly this represents a pretty significant jump in the value of homes on the road in the past 12 months. In the last survey, Victoria Road was in 10th position, with an average value of a little over £5 million. So how on Earth has the street jumped to the top of the tree, and by £1.42 million in value?

It's all down to the methodology Mouseprice uses, a big part of which comes down to data on prices paid most recently for properties on each street, taken from the Land Registry. And last year one property on Victoria Road was sold for an incredible price of more than £11 million.

The street clearly has its charms Dustin Hoffman lives there and its proximity to the Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Palace and Hyde Park all help its attractiveness. But don't bet against it topping the table again next year an eight-bedroom property is currently for sale on the street with Knight Frank, and with an asking price of an eye-watering £13 million!

The domination of Kensington

Here are the top 20 most expensive streets in England and Wales.

Street name Postcode Average value

Victoria Road W8 £6,426,000

Ingram Avenue NW11 £6,419,400

Chester Square SW1W £6,312,400

Egerton Crescent SW3 £5,971,200

Carlyle Square SW3 £5,746,000

Mulberry Walk SW3 £5,741,900

Winnington Road N2 £5,730,100

Manresa Road SW3 £5,728,400

Eldon Road W8 £5, 701,000

Essex Villas W8 £5, 689,400

Gilston Road SW10 £5,682,500

Campden Hill Square W8 £5,676,500

Eden Close NW3 £5,593,600

Elm Walk NW3 £5,582,900

Alexander Square SW3 £5,481,500

Upper Phillimore Gardens W8 £5,405,900

Highbury Road SW19 £5,315,400

Douro Place W8 £5,206,700

Phillimore Gardens W8 £4,897, 000

Chelsea Park Gardens SW3 £4,892,000

Ingram Avenue retains second spot, and has now been there for the last three surveys. Its average value has also risen by the best part of £400,000 since last year. There is currently a property on the market on Ingram Avenue with a guide price of just shy of £6 million. The street is very close to Hampstead Heath and Primrose Hill.

Chester Square, in third place, finished top last year. Its fall can be partly attributed to 'bargain' sales in the past 12 months of £3.5 million and £3.8 million. However, the street clearly has some appeal back in December, a property on the street sold for £10 million! Residents of Chester Square have included Margaret Thatcher, Roman Abramovich and Mary Shelley.

Of the top 20 streets, 14 of them are found within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, up from 12 last year. Barnet is the second most popular borough, with four streets making the list.

The regions

Of course, there's nothing that shocking about Kensington being one of the most expensive places to live. Let's take a look at how the various regions of England and Wales have performed compared to last year.

Region Average of top 10 streets Last year's figure Change

London £5,946,580 £5,545,900 7.2%

South East £3,578,060 £3,368,060 6.2%

East £1,953,040 £1,768,880 10.4%

North West £1,629,240 £1,674,130 -2.7%

South West £1,506,490 £1,347,080 11.8%

West Midlands £1,154,390 £1,058,040 9.1%

Yorkshire & the Humber £1,011,290 £1,003,170 0.8%

East Midlands £917,570 £856,050 7.2%

North East £866,490 £820,200 5.6%

Wales £648,410 £676,320 -4.1%

Just two regions have seen the average price of their high-end property fall in the last year, while Yorkshire & Humber has seen marginal movement. For the rest of England and Wales, the most expensive properties have enjoyed a buoyant 12 months. Clearly, while the majority of the UK housing market saw a fairly mediocre 2010, the top end had a far better time of things.

This is likely because the factors that have held back most of the property market - poor accessibility to mortgages, fears over job stability, immobile housing chains - are not so significant at the very top of the market.

The secret ingredients

So what makes these addresses so special? Why are people willing to shell out such frankly ridiculous sums for them? I've gone through some of the top streets from each region to put together the list below of features that make them stand out from the bog-standard streets.

Astons Road, the most expensive street in the East region, is nicknamed 'Millionaire's Row for Indians', such is its popularity among the Indian community. So try to spot an area that is particularly enticing for a certain section of the populace!

What have the Romans ever done for us? The Ridgeway is the East Midlands' most expensive street, and has been for the last five years. It's built on what used to be a Roman villa, and includes four listed buildings.

Commuting matters. The most expensive streets all tend to enjoy excellent access links to major motorways and cities.

Celebrity is expensive. Victoria Road boasts one of the great actors of the past 30 years, and Virginia Waters, an area which dominates the South East's top 10, has featured in the Harry Potter films.

If you can find a home within walking distance of the first tee, it can only help the top streets in Wales, the West Midlands, the South East, London and Yorkshire & the Humber are all found within short distances of quality golf clubs.

[kueytoc]

Get more SLEEP, Singapore

By Alicia Wong | What’s buzzing? – Thu, Mar 17, 2011 7:33 PM SGT

When you surf the web into the wee hours of the night or constantly burn the midnight oil to rush your work, you could be putting yourself at a greater risk of developing medical conditions such as heart disease or diabetes.

This is because prolonged sleep deprivation, which means less than four or five hours of sleep each night for years, puts the body in a stressful condition, explained Dr Lim Li Ling, Medical Director of the Singapore Neurology & Sleep and president of the Singapore Sleep Society.

Noting Singapore's fast-paced environment, Dr Lim said, "The biggest problem in sleep in Singapore is one of voluntary sleep deprivation."

"Most people like to sleep but they don't feel it's as important as working on a project or being on the Internet," she said. "My sense is that over all, awareness (on the importance of good sleep) is not very high."

The Singapore Sleep Society surveyed nearly 400 junior college students and found that 97 per cent feel drowsy during class and three in 10 drink caffeinated beverages to stay awake during the day.

The recently published Philips Index for Health and Well-being report, a research conducted across 23 countries including Singapore, found that 35 per cent of people feel they are not getting enough sleep, impacting their physical and mental health.

For World Sleep Day on Friday, the Singapore Sleep Society and Philips, in partnership with the World Association of Sleep Medicine, are separately running campaigns to encourage people to sleep more and raise awareness on sleep disorders.

Common sleep disorders in Singapore are insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), where a person stops breathing multiple times while asleep because the upper airways are blocked and it is hard for air to enter the lungs.

Doctors estimate 10 to 30 per cent of the population here have insomnia, while up to 25 per cent of the population here have OSA. Global studies show 4 per cent of middle aged men and 2 per cent of women have OSA.

The figures vary as there are no recent local studies on sleep disorders because of funding and manpower issues, doctors said.

But while the numbers differ, doctors do agree that more people could be suffering from OSA as obesity rates rise. Weight has a direct effect on OSA as the additional fat around the neck could make the airway narrower and obstruct breathing.

Signs of OSA include snoring, waking up in the middle of the night breathless and feeling tired in the day.

Dr Lee Yeow Hian, a consultant in respiratory medicine in Tan Tock Seng Hospital said the "vast majority" of people with OSA go undiagnosed as they are either not aware of the condition, or they are not aware of their symptoms are they are asleep.

Yet in the long term, people with OSA are at a higher risk of getting cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack and diabetes.

Said Dr Ong Thun How, the director of the Singapore General Hospital's sleep disorders unit, people with OSA have a 47 per cent more chance of getting and dying from a heart attack.

She said, OSA can be treated via surgery for some or through the use of a mask that blows air into the throat and lungs to prevent the airway from being blocked.

Patients suffering from insomnia should also be screened for underlying causes such as medical disorders or psychiatric conditions such as depression and anxiety, she said.

When SNORING means more than just Noise

By TTSH – March 8th, 2011

By Dr. Chong Yaw Khian

You notice your partner snores heavily soon after falling asleep and the sound gets louder throughout the night. Occasionally, he might even startle you awake with a loud snort or gasp, as if there is a difficulty in breathing.

In the day, your partner might also complain that he’s feeling tired and sleepy. You may also notice your partner is more irritable and forgetful. After a period of time, you too, feel tired and frustrated from being woken up from your partner’s snoring. The effect in the long run can, nonetheless, be detrimental to your relationship not forgetting the health of your partner.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

Chances are your partner is suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). This is a condition in which pauses in breathing (apnea) occur during sleep because the airway has become narrowed or blocked. This can result in a reduction in blood oxygen saturation.

In healthy individuals, the airway remains open during sleep to let air pass through.

However, people with OSA have a narrower airway and when the muscles in their upper throat relax during sleep, the airway collapses and hence breathing can pause. Other factors that could compromise the airway include large tonsils and adenoids in children, large neck or collar size (17 inches or more in men and 16 inches or more in women) and large tongue or certain shapes of the palate or airway which can cause the airway to collapse easily.

Not aware

Most people with OSA are not aware they have such a condition. Often, family members witness these periods of apnea. People with OSA suffer from restless sleep. They wake up with a sense of un-refreshing sleep and can feel tired throughout the day. This is also called Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS). Other symptoms an OSA patient can experience include — falling asleep while working, reading, or watching TV; feeling irritable, grumpy or impatient; morning headaches; being forgetful and increased urination at night. Because of EDS, people with sleep apnea have also increased risk of motor accidents on the road and industrial accidents.

Untreated sleep apnea may lead to or worsen cardiovascular diseases such as heart arrhythmias, heart failure, high blood pressure, sexual dysfunction and stroke. The good news is that there is help for OSA sufferers. The treatment goal is to keep the throat airway open so that breathing will not stop during sleep.

Treatment

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is now regarded as the first-line treatment for obstructive sleep apnea in most people. It is a system of delivering positive pressure to the airway thereby keeping them open throughout the sleep. CPAP is delivered by a machine with a tight-fitting facemask. However, many patients cannot tolerate CPAP therapy. Good follow-up and support from a sleep center can often help overcome any problems in using CPAP. Surgery is another option to treat OSA. This is an alternative solution to patient who are unable to tolerate CPAP. Numerous surgical options are available and the appropriate surgery depends on the patient’s profile as well as the severity of the OSA. Patients are also recommended to adopt certain lifestyle changes such as weight control and avoiding alcohol/sedatives during bedtime. Avoiding sleeping on the back may also relieve symptoms of sleep apnea in some people.

Individuals who snore habitually should see their doctor, as the doctor can help them find solutions to this noisy problem. In the long run, they will be healthier and the entire family will thank them for the peace and quiet they get throughout the night.

The writer is a Consultant at Department of Othorhinolaryngology at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

[kueytoc]

Police Car hits TAXI but doesn’t Stop: Driver

By Faris Mokhtar | SingaporeScene – Fri, Mar 18, 2011 12:03 PM SGT

A taxi driver has lodged a complaint against a police officer who bumped into his taxi and failed to stop after the incident.

Ng Wen Sheng, 44, the taxi driver who made the complaint, said that the incident happened on 27 Jan at about 8am on the Airport Boulevard towards Terminal 1.

Both his taxi and the police car were driving in the same direction when the front of the police car swiped the rear of his taxi. This left the cab, a silver Kia Magentis, with scratches on the bumper and the right side of its bodywork, he claimed.

The cabby said that the police car went left before disappearing into a side road. He wanted to follow it but had to take his passengers to the departure hall as they were running late.

At that time, Ng was on the way to the airport to drop off his two passengers who were due to catch a flight to Europe. Both he and his passengers were unhurt in the minor accident.

"I was shocked that the police car didn't stop. It didn't seem like it was in a rush to go to a crime scene," he told The Straits Times.

Last week, the police told him that action was being started against the driver of the police car for careless driving, failing to stop after an accident and failing to render assistance. ST understands that the driver was a staff sergeant who was alone at the time and on official duty.

His account was corroborated by one of the passengers, a 26-year-old account design manager, who was in the taxi with her mother.

Ng went to the Airport Police headquarters after his passengers got out. He wanted the particulars of the driver and photographs of the police car so he could submit an insurance claim.

"In response to media queries, police confirm that a police report was lodged by the officer who was involved in the accident with the taxi on the same day upon her return to base," said a police spokesman.

"Another officer had also contacted the taxi driver to assess the damage and cost of repair. Police investigations into the case are still ongoing."

It is not known whether the officer's duties have changed pending the outcome of the investigation.

Ng, who recently gave up driving a cab to take a job as a construction site supervisor, said, "What if it was a more serious accident, yet the other party didn't stop to check if anyone was hurt?"

Former policeman P.T. Roger, 57, said that although officers often have to attend to emergency calls, they should still stop when an accident happens, however minor it looks.

"They should stop to check if anyone is injured and exchange particulars. They can always call back for reinforcements if they were on the way to respond to an emergency," he said.

[kueytoc]

SWEE MAK-MAK !!!

Transsexual wows in Thai Talent Contest

By Liyana Low | Whats buzzing? Fri, Mar 18, 2011 11:02 AM SGT

She is pretty, she sings well, and she stunned everyone on Thailand's Got Talent when she started singing in a man's voice.

Bell Nuntita, 27, is a transsexual contestant who wowed the judges and the audience when halfway through her audition piece, she changed her feminine singing voice to a very masculine bass.

Her appearance in the show is not unusual in a country where it is accepted for men to undergo sex change to become a woman when he feels out of place in his body.

"Katoeys (the Thai name for men who undergo sex change) are common in Thailand, so no one really criticizes her or makes a big deal out of it," said Thai student Bay Wallapa.

She added, "But even though I'm used to seeing katoeys in Thailand, I was still so shocked when she suddenly switched voices. She's very good."

Her Youtube clip without English subtitles alone has garnered half a million views; the one with subtitles also has another half a million.

Famous celebrity blogger Perez Hilton was so amazed at her talent, calling her "truly a wonderous talent to behold."

When her friend posted the link on Facebook, Singaporean Shahida Hassim commented, "I keep watching this over and over again. She is so pretty. Her voice is beautiful. His voice is so manly."

Said Anjali Ragu, Singaporean student currently on exchange in a Thai university, "It was creepy and cool at the same time, I couldn't even tell that she was transsexual."