Several international flights to and from the resort island of Bali were cancelled or diverted Thursday to avoid dangerous ash spewing from an Indonesian volcano, officials said.

Ash from rumbling Mount Bromo, a popular attraction in East Java province, had spread to the island popular with foreign tourists and surfers.

Transport ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said that the ash from Bromo has reached 18,000 feet (5,500 metres) in the southeast direction and has affected some parts of Bali.

As a safety precaution, the Bali transport Ministry had sent out an advisory to airlines to warn them about the ash situation so air crew can avoid the affected areas.

Indonesian aviation authorities were monitoring the situation but there were no plans to temporarily close the airport yet, he added.


Australian airlines Jetstar and Virgin Blue were forced to divert Bali-bound flights from Perth, Sydney and Brisbane following the warning.

A Bali-bound Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong was also diverted due to the volcanic ash.

Several other international flights due to leave Bali Thursday had been cancelled, she added.

Singapore Airlines cancelled two flights to and from the island and said more flights would be delayed on Thursday and Friday.

Domestic flights to and from the island were not affected, airport manager Heru Legowo said.

Mount Bromo began rumbling in November and the government had raised the eruption threat warning to the maximum red alert before lowering it last month.

Indonesia's most active volcano, Mount Merapi in central Java, has killed more than 350 people in a series of violent eruptions which started in late October.

Unlike Merapi, the countryside around Bromo is not densely populated as it lies within the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park, a huge caldera containing several volcanoes.

In my opinion the Indonesian government should start making immediate evacuations so that more lives can be saved and to prevent previous fatal scenarios from happening again.

Police in Spain seized 162 kilos (356 pounds) of cocaine hidden inside plastic bananas that had been concealed in a 20-tonne shipment of real fruit from Ecuador, the interior ministry said Thursday.

The imitations with the drugs, which were very similar to real bananas, were hidden amongst a shipment of real fruit," it said in a statement.

The cocaine was wrapped in clear plastic sheets inside the fake green bananas, pictures released by police showed.

Four people were arrested in the operation surrounding the shipment which arrived at the Mediterranean port of Algeciras from Guayaquil, the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador.

Police believe one of the four arrested is the leader of the ring who was responsible for maintaining contacts with the Colombian drug cartels that supplied the narcotics.

"These contacts led him to travel to the interior of the Colombian jungle to personally supervise the shipment of the cocaine and inspect its quality," the statement said.

Three arrests were made in Madrid and the fourth was carried out in Benalmadena on Spain's southern coast.

The operation was linked to the arrests at the start of 2010 of cocaine traffickers based in Benalmadena, Torremolinos, Fuengirola and Marbella on the Costa del Sol.

Spain's proximity to Morocco, a key source of hashish, and its close ties with its former colonies in Latin America, a major cocaine-producing region, have made it a major gateway into Europe for drug traffickers.

Last year dozens of packets of cocaine that were hidden in boxes of bananas found their way to supermarkets across Madrid.

Police were alerted after a shelf-stacker at a supermarket in the Spanish capital found a brick of neatly wrapped cocaine under a bunch of the fruit.

In my opinion, criminals these days are becoming more and more creative . They always manage to find new ways to hide their illegal items such as in fruits, toys and even in some cases in their own undergarments. But, no matter how discrete they may be, the law will always be above these criminals. At the end of the day, good will always reign over evil and justice will always be prevailed.

Labels: French Press Agency 8/1/2011

Singapore football is in for a major overhaul, after all the national players were dropped from the team following a year of dismal performances.

In the last 12 months, the national team, better known as the Lions, failed to qualify for the last 16 of the Asian Cup and did not advance beyond the group stage of the recent Suzuki Cup.

In an interview on Thursday morning, the president of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), Zainudin Nordin, said the state of football in Singapore is disappointing.

"We have analysed the reports on what happened in 2010 and realise that for the good of football, I think, we have a major revamp of the national team. What is going to happen is that we are going to have a new slate of players, that means players that will be totally taken from ground zero.

"That means all the (existing) players will be dropped and the national coach and the technical team will do a (new) selection based on merit. From all the assessments, we believe this is the best thing to do, for the good of the future of Singapore football."

Mr Zainudin also called for patience from fans.

"We must also be able to accept that for such a development to happen, it will take time. And this is the thing we need to understand because developments and strategies that need to be done with the young players will require time and opportunities for them to develop."

The decision to disband the national team, however, does not come as a shock to some.

Former Singapore international, S Sasikumar, said: "No real surprise. I believe there was a decision that needed to be made. For next year we have the Olympic qualifiers and the SEA Games, which basically involve the under-23 team. Hopefully, we can keep this team until 2012 and call them the national team."

Sasikumar added that introducing fresh young talent could be part of the solution.

"The Youth Olympic Games was a perfect example, where we saw a great mix of players. If we can achieve that and hopefully use that team as a base, I think the future does look good," he said.

Football fans Channel NewsAsia spoke to also had their views.

"(There are) still some good players in there, like Daniel Bennett, Shi Jiayi and Mustafic Fahrudin. So I think they should get a second chance at going into another Cup to actually try and win it," said a football fan.

"Young players should....not be going for competition until they are really prepared for it," said a second fan.

So, could bringing in more foreign talent be the answer?

Sasikumar said: "If you bring on a (foreign) player, give him a passport, he needs to make a difference. I mean, seriously make a difference. If we look at the (foreign) players now, they are (only) 10%, 15%, 20% better than local players. The local players will eventually make it to that position. I'm talking about players that are at least 50% to 60% better than what we have. Then the impact will be there."

In my opinion, FAS's decision to disband and drop the entire national squad is harsh and irrational. The current team has been playing alongside one another for many years now. And to drop the entire squad, would mean that they will have to repeat the team bonding process between the new players. And this would definitely take up a lot of time and a lot of misunderstandings may occur. Therefore ,it would cause a delay in the improvement and development of the squad itself.The players should be given a chance to reflect about their poor performances and also time to further improve themselves. If they still insist on dropping the national players, they should also drop the entire coaching squad as i believe that they are responsible for the poor results too. As the saying goes, All for one, One for all.

Labels: 4/1/2011

Money makes the world go round,no money ,no honey. Have you ever heard of these familiar phrases before?? In my opinion it is indeed true to a certain degree.There are a lot of positive things that we can do with money be it for enjoyment, education or even setting up a business. However, money also brings about negative factors especially in cases where loan sharks are involved.

On the 29/10/2010, a total of 11 people which included six men and five women aged between 18-66 had been arrested in an island-wide operation against loansharking activities. The suspects had allegedly opened bank accounts and gave their Automated Teller Machine(ATM)cards and Personal Identification Number(PIN)to syndicates. Three of the suspects are also said to be runners who had harassed clients and made bank transfers. Two of the suspects will be charged in court on the 1st of December under the Moneylenders Act while the rest are still currently undergoing investigations.

Under the Moneylenders Act 2010, a person is presumed to have assisted in the carrying on of the business of an unlicensed moneylender when a bank account or ATM card of any person is used to facilitate the carrying on of the business of moneylending by an unlicensed moneylender. First time offenders may be fined between $30,000 and $300,000, jailed for a term not exceeding four years and given a maximum six strokes of the cane.


In my opinion, being involved in loansharking activities such as borrowing or even being a runner will only get us into trouble with the authorities. If there is a will, there is away.If we are willing to work our hearts off,there can always be other better alternatives for us to earn money legally. Therefore, loansharks should never ever be an option for us during difficult times. Deal with a shark, and it may just give you the most painful bite you will ever feel.

Labels: Channel Newsasia (30/10/2010)

More children, more financial security in the future. Do you believe in this phrase?? Does having more children ensure that we will be living comfortably during our golden years? Well , some people in China actually do and that was why their government had implemented the "One Child Policy" rule to control the ever-growing population of China. However, how absurd would it be to implement this strategy on dogs???

In the Shanghai province of China, a new draft dog law has been made whereby each household is only allowed to have one canine due to Shanghai's immense population and limited space problems. And when their pets reproduce, the pups would only be eligible to be given to no-dog households or to government approved adoption agencies before they reach three months. The law has also called for the annual licence fee to be cut down to 300 yuan from the usual 1000-2000 yuan. This had been done as high fees normally discourage people from registering and vaccinating dogs.

The estimated number of dogs in Shanghai itself is at an estimated 800,000 , and only a quarter of them are actually registered.

In my opinion , this policy is really ridiculous as the real problem of over-population of dogs is not just about how many canines each family owns but its how these dogs are being nurtured and being taken care of responsibly. Most of the 800,000 dogs in China happen to be stray dogs or dogs that had been left by their irresponsible owners to fend for themselves on the streets.The Government should instead have campaigns or organise events to educate the public on the responsibilities of owning pets and maybe should have a policy whereby owners guilty of leaving their pets on the streets would be imposed a fine. Even animals should have their own basic rights and should not be subject to acts of cruelty and ignorance. Think about it, does the problem truly lie with the dogs or is it just the cruel and irresponsible nature of human beings? The Answer?? You Decide.

Labels: French Press Agency (11/11/2010)

Maldives , an island well known for it's stunning beaches and also beautiful landscapes is a perfect destination for couples for a romantic getaway. To have a wedding there would also definitely be a special and meaningful occasion. However, imagine having a wedding whereby the priest reads out offensive sexual and religious slurs or profanities instead of the proper wedding vows? That would definitely be outrageously offending and unethical.

This explicit incident had occured recently when a swiss couple had decided to have the renewal of their wedding vows at the Villu Reef Hotel in the Maldives. A video dated 30/10/2010 taken of the couple's wedding ceremony shows how the couple was apparently being ridiculed as "infidels" and even "swines" by the priest that was speaking in Dhivehi language.The clueless couple eve continued to bow their heads in prayer despite everything that was happening at that moment in time.

Authorities have since been conducting investigations and are treating this case as a very serious matter, as it involves religious and moral issues. The Maldivian president and ambassador had also expressed their apologies to the couple who had requested for their anonymity saying that what had happened was truly "unforgivable". The foreign minister of Maldives will also be writing a letter to their counterparts in Europe to offer their intense regret. Two members of the hotel staff that were involved in this matter have already been apprehended by the authorities and are currently detained.

In my opinion, this incident would be really bad for the tourism industry of the country. People may start to think twice about coming to the Maldives due to social and religious concerns. I am thankful that I live in Singapore,in a country where there is peace and harmony between different races and religion. However, we should not take this peace for granted and should continue to strive for better social cohesion in the country.

On Feb 29 2008, Asia's most wanted fugitive, Mas Selamat bin Kastari had escaped from the Whitley Detention Centre. Immediately after that happened, authorities released a warrant of arrest for him and it started a massive manhunt in Singapore.This incident created headlines in the papers and news around the region as now one of Asia's most dangerous terrorist was on the run. However, little did people know that he was actually seeking refuge somewhere in the heartlands of tampines on the very same night.

Before hiding at his brother Asmom's flat in Tampines, he had also tried to hide at different places such as forested areas. Asmom, his wife Aisah and daughter Nur Aini were jailed between three and 18 months for giving aid to the the terrorist after his escape. His niece, Nur Aini was sentenced to 18 months in jail, his brother, Asmom was given 12 months while his sister-in-law Aisah, three months’ jail. They were arrested and charged last Wednesday, on November 10. They were given sentences based on the fact that they had provided him with shelter, basic necessities and also helped destroy his clothes that was from WRDC.

What was shocking is that On 1 Mar 2008, before Mas Selamat left for Malaysia, Nur Aini applied make-up on Mas Selamat and secured a tudung (headscarf) over his head so that he could disguise himself as a woman to prevent him from being captured. She also handed to him a map of Singapore that showed part of Malaysia.

Asmom also gave him S$100 and RM100 for his escape from Singapore to Malaysia and also gave Mas Selamat some traditional medicine which the latter kept in his backpack while Aisah gave him an EZ-link card and hair-net which he wore as part of his disguise, and some paracetamol.

The family only admitted to being involved in this months after the arrest of Mas Selamat in Malaysia.


I am really very disappointed with the action of Mr Asmom's family as what they did was definitely jeopardizing our National security. To help a terrorist such as Mas Selamat is like indirectly supporting the cause of terrorism. They should have alerted the authorities immediately when after Selamat came to their house. However, we also cannot fully blame them for their actions. Blood is always thicker than water. When it comes to family, people would do and sacrifice anything for their loved ones. Therefore the question of National integrity always comes into play.

What would you do if a loved one that happens to be a wanted fugitive comes knocking on your doorstep?