Singapore - Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew managed to deliver a speech Saturday night while hospitalized for an abnormal heart rhythm.

Lee, who turns 85 on Tuesday, addressed 200 participants attending the Global UBS Philanthropy Forum via video link from Singapore General Hospital.

He apologized to the audience of social entrepreneurs and civil society representatives for not being with them.

Singapore - Lee Kuan Yew, the architect of modern Singapore and the country's founding father, underwent successful treatment for an abnormal heart rhythm, it was reported Saturday.

The 84-year-old minister mentor, under treatment at Singapore General Hospital, is expected to resume his normal duties soon, said Channel NewsAsia.

Approaching his 85th birthday on Tuesday, Lee is credited with transforming Singapore from a colonial backwater into a financial powerhouse.

While serving as the country's first prime minister for 31 years, critics said his methods were authoritarian. He currently holds an advisory position in the cabinet of Lee Hsien Loong, the senior Lee's 56-year-old son.

Singapore - Six short films documenting political activities in Singapore have been approved by Singapore censors, the first since the easing of an outright ban last month, media reports said on Saturday.

The films produced by Ho Choon Hiong, 33, focus on street demonstrations, protests and fasting.

"It is an encouraging sign," The Straights Times quoted Ho as saying of the Board of Film Censors (BFC) nod.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said last month that the ban could be relaxed. He said during the National Day Rally address that factual footage, documentaries and recordings of live events would be okayed.

Singapore - A father who hurled his 7-year-old son against a wall, ceiling and wardrobe escaped a jail sentence by a Singapore judge, who said he has made progress in controlling his outbursts since the incident, news reports said on Saturday.

The 43-year-old marketing executive, whose name was withheld to protect the identities of his children, was fined 1,000 Singapore dollars (699 US dollars) instead.

Community Court Judge May Mesenas heard how the man slapped the boy and tossed him and his 6-year-old brother around a room on September 15, 2006, The Straits Times said.

The older boy suffered bruises on his forehead, arm, legs neck and back.

A teacher noticed bruises on the victim's brother.

Singapore - Thai Beverage and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings will be dropped from the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) starting September 22, the Singapore Exchange said on Friday.

Extremely low trading volumes were cited for Thai Beverage and plunging market capitalization for Yangzijiang.

They are to be replaced by plantation firm Golden Agri-Resources and Jardine Matheson Holdings, which owns properties across Asia.

The changes follow a six-month review of the index.

Singapore - Singapore's attorney-general is suing the Asia edition of the Wall Street Journal, the publisher and two editors, alleging that two editorials and a letter "impugn the impartiality, integrity and independence" of the city-state's judiciary.

A statement posted on the attorney-general's website on Thursday said that the office was seeking contempt proceedings against Dow Jones Publishing Co (Asia) Inc, which owns and publishes the Asian Wall Street Journal.