Singapore - Passenger volume at Singapore's Changi Airport increased by 2.7 per cent year-on-year to 37.7 million despite the global economic slowdown towards the second half of 2008, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said Wednesday.

However, the economic impact was felt in the cargo sector, with airfreight movements dipping 2 per cent to 1.86 million tons last year.

Singapore - The Singapore Flyer, the city-state's giant observation wheel, was restarted at Monday mid-morning after obtaining a Public Entertainment Licence late Sunday night.

The authorities have approved a certification report submitted by internationally technical service provider TÜV SÜD, which conducted days of rigorous testing of the huge wheel's newly installed backup system, a statement from the Singapore Flyer said.

An independent secondary drive system has been installed at the Flyer, Singapore's latest tourist attraction.

Singapore  - The Singapore government on Friday announced an 11-billion-Singapore-dollar (7.3-billion-US-dollar) plan of financial schemes aimed at stimulating lending to a broader range of enterprises during the current economic downturn.

About 142,000 companies, or 99.7 per cent of all enterprises based in Singapore, would be eligible for the schemes, which would be effective for one year from February
1, the Trade and Industry Ministry said.

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Singapore - A 14-year prison sentence was upheld against a 37-year-old Singaporean with an urge to sniff and suck the armpits of women he molested, a newspaper reported Friday.

Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong called Mohammed Ismail Arifin a "big risk to society - not only to the adults but also the young girls" and upheld the prison term imposed in June by a district court on 10 charges, the Straits Times said.

But Chan reduced Mohammed Ismail's caning sentence to 12 strokes from 18 because, Chan said, he did no real violence to his victims.

Singapore - Singapore Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam Thursday presented a 20.5-billion-Singapore-dollar (13.74-billion-US-dollar) budget for financial year 2009, focusing on preserving jobs and supporting businesses in the city state.

He said the budget, which he referred to as a resilience package, would help Singapore through the exceptionally difficult year ahead, but would not help it get out of the economic recession.

However, the budget, for fiscal year April 1, 2009-March 31, 2010, would help avert an even sharper downturn and the more lasting damage to the economy, the minister told parliament.