Singapore  - The Singapore tourism industry hit some records in 2008 even though visitor numbers fell and tourism spending fell short of targets.

The city-state welcomed 10.1 million visitors last year, 1.6 per cent fewer than in 2007 and below the 10.8 million target set for 2008, media reports said Wednesday.

According to the Singapore Tourism Board, the decline in visitor arrivals reflected the impact of the global economic slowdown on consumer sentiment and discretionary spending.

Singapore  - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has assured Singaporeans that his government would help the needy tackle the economic crisis, media reports said Monday.

"We will make sure that everyone who needs help will get help, and everyone who makes the effort to help himself and his family, we will make sure he is all right," Lee said Sunday night at a Chinese New Year dinner in his ward in Ang Mo Kio.

Singapore - A Filipino woman was sentenced to four years in prison for trying to defraud a bank of 100 million Singapore dollars (66.21 million US dollars) with a fake certificate of deposit that was originally in the name of former Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos' son.

Singapore - Singapore's manufacturing sector is expecting a weak first half of this year due to the rapid decline in global economic conditions, the city state's Economic Development Board (EDB) said Friday.

The weak business sentiment is broad-based, affecting all clusters in the manufacturing sector.

The power ministry revealed that the utilization of biomass resources could soon be increased for the generation of electricity.

According to ministry, in India, the electricity generated from renewable sources presently stands at about 13,200 MW out of the total electricity production of 147,400 MW.

Of this, the usage of biomass resources for generating electricity is just 650 MW as opposed to a potential of 16,000 MW.

Singapore  - Singapore's Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) has seized 44.2 kilograms of heroin last year, up from 17.2 kilograms seized in 2007, the Straits Times reported Friday.

A shipment of 11 kilograms of the higher-grade Heroin number 4, bound for the European market, was seized in June, said the daily, adding that the specific drug was not common in Singapore and it was the biggest seizure of its kind in the last 10 years.

The CNB also busted 25 drug trafficking syndicates in 41 operations in 2008. It said most of the heroin came from poppy yields in Thailand and Myanmar.