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.