AGAINST the mournful strains of a bugle, a volley of three shots rang out at the Mandai Crematorium on Tuesday afternoon as family, friends and officers from the Singapore Armed Forces bade farewell to Second-Lieutenant Nicholas Chan Wei Kit in a full military funeral.

The 21-year-old officer - the only child of a homemaker and an engineer - died last Friday after an army Land Rover rolled backwards and hit him, pinning him under it.

TWO prisoners, defending themselves against allegations of torturing their former cellmate and forcing him to perform sexual acts, took turns to grill their 22-year-old victim from the dock on Tuesday.

The first, Iryan Abdul Karim, 21, holding a bundle of documents in his hands, continued his systematic questioning, which began on Monday afternoon, before challenging the victim's version of events.

HONG KONG - MICHAEL Jackson fans around the world said on Tuesday they would join in mourning the pop legend in solidarity with the thousands attending the official memorial in Los Angeles.

From Tokyo to Melbourne, fans braced for a late night to watch the event, where entertainers like Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Usher and Lionel Richie were due to pay tribute to Jackson, who died June 25.

SINGAPORE is now the 10th most expensive city in the world for expatriates, having climbed up three places from last year, according to a survey conducted by human resource and financial consultant Mercer.

The Republic knocked Milan out of 10th place in this year's Worldwide Cost of Living survey, securing a spot in the top 10 largely dominated by European and Asian cities.