IT WAS only his second taekwondo competition and 17-year-old Vincent Tan was fighting an opponent two belt levels above him.

Barely a minute into the sparring match last Sunday, his slighter-built opponent, who had a brown belt, gave Tan a kick in the neck which ruptured a main blood vessel to his brain.

L'AQUILA (Italy) - A LASTING worldwide economic recovery 'is still a ways off', President Barack Obama declared on Friday, but he also said at the conclusion of a global summit that a disastrous economic collapse apparently has been averted.

Speaking at the end of the Group of Eight summit of major economic powers, Mr Obama said world leaders had taken significant measures to address economic, environmental and global security issues.

FOR some Eunos HDB residents, getting a lift that stops on every floor has been more of a nightmare than a dream come true.

They say that new lift shafts built on the outside of their blocks have robbed their flats of privacy and ventilation and blocked their views, as well as some light.

FIVE hours early was not early enough for one man anxious to be first to own the iPhone 3G at its launch here last year. Despite his efforts he ended up second in line.

Disappointed, medical test subject recruiter Jackson Low turned up at 9am on Friday - almost 12 hours before sales of the speedier iPhone 3GS began to make sure he would be there ahead of the thousands of other eager iFans.