CHINESE President Xi Jinping and United States President Barack Obama are set to hold their first-ever retreat next month in California, in an effort to build personal ties.
Top of The News
MOORE (Oklahoma) - A monstrous tornado more than 3km wide roared through an Oklahoma City suburb flattening neighbourhoods with winds up to 320kmh, destroying at least one school, and burying dozens beneath the devastation.
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama told Myanmar's President during a long-awaited White House visit that he appreciates the leader's efforts to lead the country on its long, and sometimes difficult path to democracy and assured him of the United States' support.
IN HIS landmark visit to the United States, Myanmar President Thein Sein made all the right noises: He called for an end to inter- communal violence and a national identity that would include people from all faiths. He talked about sharing power and resources to bring about peace with the armed Kachin ethnic minority.
Singapore
SCOUTING for the best table in a restaurant is now just a click of a mouse away. Similarly, car enthusiasts can check out the latest models at a Porsche showroom and shoppers can browse through knick-knacks at Beach Road's Army Market in the comfort of their home.
THE relationship between City Harvest Church (CHC) and an external company, Xtron Productions, is an extremely close one, prosecutors sought to establish on the fourth day of the embezzlement trial involving six church leaders.
CITY Harvest Church had two guarantees to cover any potential losses from its Crossover Project, it emerged in court yesterday.
Asia
FOR many outspoken critics on China's massively popular Weibo microblogging platform, having their accounts shut mysteriously, mostly at the orders of the authorities, does not necessarily mean the end of their cyber life.
CHINESE Premier Li Keqiang is pushing for stronger economic ties with India, saying that aligning the markets of Asia's fastest-growing economies will benefit both countries and "inject new dynamism in the world economy".
MUMBAI - China's Premier paid respects to the family of an Indian doctor who died treating Chinese troops more than 70 years ago, becoming a rare symbol of friendship between the two nations.
World
WASHINGTON - High-technology systems for tracking the movements of immigrants and other foreigners when leaving the United States would be installed at major American airports under a plan approved by a congressional panel.
NEW YORK - They call themselves Catholic Whistleblowers, a newly formed cadre of priests and nuns who say the Roman Catholic Church is still protecting sexual predators.
WASHINGTON - By the last few months of this year, the US State Department plans to send dozens of additional diplomatic security agents to high-threat embassies, install millions of dollars of advanced fire-survival gear and surveillance cameras in those diplomatic posts, and improve training for employees headed to the riskiest missions.
Money
EVEN as the exchange rate policy remains Singapore's most potent tool against inflation, the Government is relying more on special policy tools to nip bubbles in the bud before they form.
SINGAPORE real estate investment trusts (Reits) are among the hottest assets in town to own.
PROPERTY trusts across the Asia-Pacific have performed impressively in recent months, led by a surge in the value of Japanese real estate investment trusts (Reits).
Life!
The Fast & Furious story began in 2001 as an exercise in trash-movie excess. Its relatively modest US$38-million budget was not spent on stars or special effects, but on fast cars, a hip-hop soundtrack and a contingent of female extras in unfeasibly small items of clothing.
The studios at Longcross in Surrey, England, are throbbing with activity.
The cast and crew of the Fast & Furious franchise have hit the United Kingdom to shoot the sixth instalment of their US$1.5-billion (S$1.9-billion) action series and they are planning a closing sequence that actor Dwayne Johnson, for one, believes will challenge any action sequence yet committed to film.
The story: Following the events of the last film, the team is now scattered across the globe, unable to return to the United States because they are wanted criminals. In Russia, a convoy is attacked and a vital piece of military technology is stolen.
Insight
THE rubbish that disappears down the chute. The way the void decks and streets are cleaned.
Of all the issues on the ground that Mr Png Eng Huat encounters as a vice-chairman of Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council, two are particularly intractable.
THE Town Council Act has only one provision for transition when MPs change: Where an area within a town is transferred to another town, the Minister for National Development may specify that the town council of the first town continue to maintain and manage the area for up to 90 days.
Opinion
ON MAY 3, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard released a new defence policy based on the fervent hope that China's rise makes no real difference to Australia's strategic situation.
CHINA's bid to facilitate the Israel-Palestine negotiations is being regarded in some quarters as a quixotic quest, as even the United States has found itself exhausted after fruitless mediation over half a century.
PROSECUTORIAL discretion and the publication of prosecutorial guidelines have been in the limelight these last few months, both in news stories and in commentaries, online and in print.
Forum Letters
MR PAUL Chan Poh Hoi was rightly concerned about rising inequality as well as the vulnerability of white-collar workers to the forces of globalisation and technology ("Rising inequality may not lift all boats"; last Thursday).
I AGREE with Miss Annabel Tanya Leo Arthur ("Why even more will turn to online dating"; Forum Online, Monday).
WE WISH to put in perspective our feedback to the Singapore Medical Council ("Medical council urged to be 'more transparent'"; last Friday).
Sports
IT HAS been a while since he last coached a match where the result was secondary.
ON Monday night, national footballers Hariss Harun and Safuwan Baharudin met a man who could make a massive difference in their careers.
LESS than five years ago, Monsef Zerka was scoring against the likes of Feyenoord and CSKA Moscow in the Uefa Europa League.
