MONACO - BRAWN GP's Jenson Button won the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, capturing his fifth victory in six races to extend his Formula One championship lead.

Button finished 7.6 seconds ahead of teammate Rubens Barrichello at the famed street circuit race for his fourth start-to-finish victory of the season.

Button leads with 51 points. Barrichello has 35 and Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull, who crashed out after 16 laps, is third with 23 points.

CHANGES to Singapore's political system are in the works and on Sunday, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong spelt out three principles that will guide these amendments.

One, they must be fair to all political parties; two, they should result in a strong, effective government after an election; and three, they must ensure diverse views are represented in Parliament.

A CHINESE national drowned in the sea off Changi Beach on Sunday afternoon in the third drowning incident here within a week.

Mr Lin Zhong, a 20-year-old who worked in a furnishings factory, was said to be in chest-deep water just off the shore with three colleagues when he went under.

THE Ministry of Education will spend $67.5 million dollars this year (2009) for all students to get access to quality education during the worsening recession.

The money will go to topping up the the Edusave accounts all Singaporean students by $80, Edusave grants to schools by $20 per student and increasing the value of Edusave awards by between $30 and $150, said Education minister Ng Eng Hen during a visit to the Nanyang Division in Hong Kah GRC yesterday.