TOP OF THE NEWS

Taleban assault on Parliament

TALEBAN militants launched an attack on Afghanistan's Parliament yesterday as lawmakers convened to consider a new defence minister. All attackers were gunned down, but their brazen assault has exposed the country's security loopholes.

Push for more NS flexibility

THE Singapore National Olympic Council is keen to give a leg-up to top athletes regarding national service. Its president Tan Chuan-Jin has called for a closer working relationship with the relevant authorities.

WORLD

Chance to mend ties

WHILE few expect the strategic and economic dialogue between the United States and China to yield any concrete results today, it is widely believed that the meeting is an opportunity for the two powers to mend their strained ties.

Aid from private farming

NORTH Korea's budding private farming could help the communist country that abhors capitalism lessen the impact of a severe drought, observers said.

More farmers can grow and trade their own food, decreasing the risk of widespread starvation.

Heat kills 200 in Pakistan

SCORCHING temperatures as high as 45 deg C have gripped southern Pakistan, claiming nearly 200 lives and prompting a state of emergency in Sindh province. The situation was compounded by routine power cuts that have crippled the country's water supply system.

Youth going bankrupt

NEARLY 25,000 of Malaysia's Gen Y, or people under the age of 35, have gone broke in the last five years, as a result of their inability to settle various types of loans.

Officials have sounded the alarm, calling for a financial education programme to help the young workforce.

OPINION

Hong Kong after the vote

Great passions were aroused by the Hong Kong vote on political reforms. As always, however, there is a need to balance economic vitality, political stability and receptivity to popular sentiment if the Chinese global city is to continue to thrive.

High hopes for SGX

HOPES are high that incoming SGX chief Loh Boon Chye will fix the local bourse's ills. Top on industry watchers' wish lists: bring back the lunch-hour break; put securities, not derivatives, core to the exchange; and bring back the the IPO market. But the challenges faced by the bourse are regional and structural in nature as well, driven by a rising China market that makes investors go for Shanghai and Hong Kong over SGX, says Grace Leong.

SINGAPORE

Row over noise, smells

A ROW of 18 restaurants say they are struggling to meet demands to improve their kitchen ventilation systems. Residents around the eateries in Cheong Chin Nam Road, Bukit Timah, have complained about the noise and smell they produce and the authorities have asked owners to propose improvements.

Financial help is key

PROPERTY experts say financial support - such as higher resale grants - is the best way to help people who want to buy a resale Housing Board flat near their parents. National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said last week that the Government is studying whether such buyers can get more help.

Bus driver jailed

A BUS driver who knocked down a nurse pleaded guilty to causing her death by failing to keep a proper lookout for pedestrians. Muhammad Firdaus Norahim, 30, was jailed for two months and banned from driving for five years yesterday.

MONEY

On an expansion path

SURBANA Jurong announced two new acquisitions of an undisclosed size yesterday, as the newly merged entity of Surbana International Consultants and Jurong International Holdings aims to become one of the global big boys in infrastructural and urban development consultancy.

Shahdan for first team?

HTAVING scored the final goal in the LionsXII's 3-1 win over ATM last Saturday in just his second substitute appearance since returning from injury, Shahdan Sulaiman is eager for more in tonight's return leg in the Malaysian Super League.

But more importantly, the midfielder wants to cement a starting spot.

LIFE!

Asian art auction

FIRST- and second-generation Singapore artists had a strong showing at 33 Auction's spring sale of Asian and South-east Asian works. Out of more than 140 lots that the regional fine arts auction house put under the hammer at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on Sunday afternoon, the work that fetched the highest price was Sorting The Day's Catch, a rare oil painting by pioneer Singapore artist Chen Wen Hsi.

Jurassic World wins

PIXAR over the weekend released brainy animated film Inside Out to exultant reviews and an enormous US$91.1 million (S$121.5 million) in North American ticket sales. But Jurassic World nonetheless won the box-office derby, ending Pixar's two-decade run of continuous No. 1 releases. Jurassic World took in US$102 million at North American cinemas over the weekend, and worldwide it has now taken in US$981.3 million.