H1N1 deaths up 700 in a week

The number of swine flu deaths jumped by 700 in a week, reaching more than 5,700 worldwide since the virus was first uncovered in April. The biggest rise was recorded in the Americas region, where 4,175 deaths have now been reported to the WHO, up 636 from data published last week. Fatal cases in Europe also climbed to at least 281, while those in Asia-Pacific rose to 1,070.

3 TVs stolen at West Coast Rd

3 television sets on a delivery truck were stolen on Wednesday at an open-air carpark near Block 504 West Coast Road. The driver had parked the vehicle at around 10.20am that day and realised later at another deliery location that the TV sets, worth $3700, were missing from the lorry. The padlock used to secure the lorry's side door was also found to be missing.

Zoo cleaner's death suicide

Zoo cleaner Nordin Montong, 32, deliberately got himself mauled to death by two white tigers on Nov 13 last year. The night earlier, he had told his cousin, who was then also working here, that he intended to go back to Sarawak the very next day as he missed his parents. Witnesses were however certain that he did not try to defend or save himself when the tigers attacked him.

Prata man whips up poem

Govindarajan Elangovan, 36, whips up pratas and curries at his food stall. Sundays though are for poetry. That is when his stall in Bukit Batok Crescent is closed and he can write. It is hard going, but the father of two's perseverance has paid off. He won second prize for Tamil poetry at the Singapore Press Holdings-National Arts Council Golden Point Award competition.

4th typhoon hits Philippines

A powerful typhoon crashed into the Philippine capital on Saturday with pounding rain and strong winds, causing a massive power outage, downing trees and bringing fresh floods to areas still partially submerged from a recent deadly storm. Rescue teams were dispatched to the flooded communities but were having difficulty moving in light trucks. Strong winds toppled trees and power poles, slowing traffic on some highways, radio stations reported.

Charged with theft from taxis

A store manager was charged in a district court on Friday with two counts of theft and attempted theft from parked taxis at multi-storey carparks. Lam Kam Wah, 46, believed to be involved in a series of similar cases, allegedly tried to steal items from a taxi at the multi-storey carpark at Block 687 Woodlands Drive 75 at 1.17am on Wednesday.

Child trafficking ring busted

Police in north China have busted a ring of baby traffickers suspected of pocketing up to 400,000 yuan (S$80,800) through the sale of 52 children. Police arrested 42 suspected ring members who allegedly trafficked 19 boys and 33 girls in northern Hebei and Shanxi provinces as well as eastern Shandong and the capital Beijing.

Pakistan suicide bomb kills 7

A suicide bomber struck a checkpoint near a military complex reportedly linked to Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme on Friday, killing seven people. The attack took place near the Kamra, around 50km from the capital, Islamabad. The attacker was riding a bicycle and detonated his explosives at a checkpoint on a road.

Blasts kill 8 in Pakistan

Bombers targeted an air force base and an upmarket restaurant hours apart in Pakistan on Friday, unleashing fresh bloodshed in a 19-day wave of attacks that has left nearly 200 people dead. Militants again brought the fight to the military's front door when a bomber blew himself up during morning rush hour in the town of Kamra. Eight people were killed.

Pet groomer hit dog, jailed

Pet groomer Sun Hu was jailed two weeks for using a clipper to hit a dog last month. The three-year-old Maltese terrier died of head injuries while still on the grooming table. Sun, 24, had been working for a year at the Strawberry Pet Shop in Corporation Road in Jurong.On Sept 13, Mr Deva Rajan Kamalasanan, 47, brought his pet, Junior, to the shop for grooming. About 30 minutes later, he received a phone call telling him that his pet had died.

Fireworks store blaze kills 30

At least 30 people were killed and 10 others injured when a blaze swept through a warehouse containing firecrackers on the eve of the Diwali festival on Friday in New Delhi. Police said 30 badly charred bodies had been pulled out of the warehouse, which was a wholesale point for firecrackers and operations were continuing.

Damaged schools made new

Tangalle Primary was one of three upgraded and refurbished schools in the island's southern province that was inaugurated by visiting Foreign Minister George Yeo yesterday. All three had been severely damaged in the Dec 26 tsunami which took a massive toll across Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka.

2 more earthquakes

Indonesia was rocked by two earthquakes yesterday, less than a day after a top United Nations official said governments in Asia's most catastrophe-prone areas should set aside one-tenth of their development funds to limit the risk of disaster. The world spent US$12 billion (S$16.7 billion) on humanitarian responses to disasters last year.

S'pore ships hit by pirates

Pirates have attacked 20 Singapore-registered ships passing through waters off Somalia since March last year. The latest of these is the hijacking of a container ship, with 21 crew on board, including two Singapore permanent residents, was heading to the Kenyan port of Mombasa when it was overrun by the bandits at about 10am Singapore time.

Man poured urine, jailed

A man who poured urine over the head of a 30-year-old man whom he had also cheated was jailed a day and fined $10,000 on Thursday. Chan Ming Yuan, 24, was also fined another $800 for wearing a navy captain uniform at the Bedok police division when he was not from the Republic of Singapore Navy.

Floods kill over 100 in south india

Floods following heavy rains have killed at least 102 people in the past 72 hours. Most of the victims were either washed away in the river or died when their home collapsed. Army troops sent in food packets and medical aid in areas affected by the floodwaters.

Sri Lanka van blast

1 killed and 12 hurt in the explosion in the north-western Sri Lanka. Most victims are students while they were boarding the van. The driver, as well as some parents who were dropping off their children were also hurt. The cause is unclear whether it is caused by explosive or accidental ignition of a gas tank inside the van.

Thousands likely dead

Indonesia said the expected the death toll from a massive earthquake to climb into the thousands, as rescue workers dug with their bare hands to reach those trapped under rubble. The first flights landed with food, medicine and body bags began arriving in the devastated region on Sumatra island. The 7.6-magnitude quake caused buildings to crumble and fires to rage in Padang city, home to nearly a million people on the coast of Sumatra.