Singapore - S

Singapore  - Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Monday that he reshuffled his cabinet last week as part of a long process of self-renewal for the island state's political system.

Lee told reporters that Singapore has yet to fully assemble the core of its new generation of leaders and it was a critical now to identify, gather and prepare more people to take the reins of power in the city-state to assure Singapore's long-term future, according to a Channel News Asia report,

Singapore - Abdur Rouf Abdul Mannan is furious with his boss. The 26-year-old Bangladeshi earns 16 Singapore dollars, or about 11 US dollars, a day as a worker at a Singapore shipyard.

"My boss promised he'll give me 18 dollars after I finished training," Abdur Rouf said. "I passed training, but the boss didn't live up to his promise."

As the global economic downturn hits the city-state hard, conditions for about 750,000 migrant workers in Singapore, who already draw low pay, have become harsher.

Singapore  - Singapore is considering a health insurance increase for foreign workers following the recent hospitalization of some workers whose medical bills had more than doubled the coverage, it was reported Monday.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said he was considering increasing the foreign workers' insurance coverage, citing a case of a Filipino maid whose medical expenses rose to 20,000 Singapore dollars, or four times the maximum.

Singapore - Singapore port operator PSA International Ltd on Friday reported a 7.3-per-cent increase in 2008 container volume from the year before.

It said it handled 63.2 million TEUs, or 20-foot equivalent units, a capacity equal to a standard 20-foot-by-8-foot (6-metre-by-2.4-metre) shipping container.

But it said its strong growth up to July was rapidly eroded by the collapse in demand on major trade lanes in the final quarter of the year.

Singapore - A Malaysian mother and daughter pleaded guilty Friday to maid abuse in Singapore as their trial was under way, a newspaper reported.

Housewife Loke Phooi Ling, 38, was charged with 32 counts and Teng Chen Lian, 67, with six counts of abusing their 23-year-old Indonesian maid from March to July 2007. They pleaded guilty after nine days of testimony in their trial in Singapore District Court, the Straits Times said.