WHEN Ao Chengkai arrived in Singapore after moving here with his mother from Shanghai last year, he could not speak English in full sentences.

But with sheer hardwork, the secondary four student from Yio Chu Kang Secondary School now speaks English fluently and got a Grade 1 in this year's N-level exams.

ATHENS (Greece) - THOUSANDS of protesters demonstrated in Greece's main cities on Thursday against the police killing of a teenager, while a major labor union staged work stoppages to protest the shooting and the conservative government's economic policies.

In central Athens, fearful shop owners shuttered their store fronts as more than 7,000 students and other protesters marched peacefully, chanting slogans.

MALAYSIAN police were called in on Thursday to keep crowds in check at the new Johor checkpoint as chaos reigned.

Thousands of Malaysian bus commuters pushed, shoved and beat on bus doors, trying to get a seat on a bus travelling to Singapore. Police arrived at 8.30am to assist immigration officers and SBS Transit staff in herding the crowd into bus queues.

HONG Kong banks which sold Lehman-linked investment products will contribute up to HK$100 million (S$19 million) to help protect investors' interests in possible United States lawsuits.

The announcement by the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) on Wednesday follows the emergence of legal complexities flagged by lawyers involved in US bankruptcy proceedings over the collapsed Lehman Brothers.