What's News: May 06, 2016

Lee, 19, is showing no sign of nerves ahead of One Championship's first women's title fight tonight.
Lee, 19, is showing no sign of nerves ahead of One Championship's first women's title fight tonight. PHOTO: ALICIA CHAN FOR THE STRAITS TIMES

TOP OF THE NEWS

White rice poses diabetes risk

Asians are more predisposed to diabetes than Caucasians. Starchy white rice can overload their bodies with blood sugar and heighten their risk of developing diabetes. In fact, white rice is even more potent than sweet soda drinks here in causing the disease.

TOP OF THE NEWS

SBS buses to get 'bionic eyes'

Bus drivers are to be given "bionic eyes" to help them keep a lookout for other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. SBS Transit plans to install an intelligent camera sensor called Mobileye in more than 3,000 buses by the end of 2018. It has awarded a $1.3 million contract to a local distributor.

PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

WORLD

Turkish PM stepping down

Mr Ahmet Davutoglu (above) yesterday said he was stepping down as leader of Turkey's ruling AK Party and therefore as Prime Minister, bowing to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's drive to create a powerful executive presidency. Simmering tensions between them reached a breaking point last week, after party officials stripped Mr Davutoglu of his power to choose provincial party leaders.

WORLD

Patrols in piracy hot spots

Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have agreed to launch coordinated patrols and set up crisis centres in their respective countries, to better respond to emergencies in piracy-prone areas in the Sulu and Sulawesi seas. A dedicated hotline will also be set up for faster information exchange.

OPINION

Battle for Bangladesh's soul

Local and global factors - including two warring women on opposite ends of the political spectrum - make Bangladesh susceptible to the lures of terrorist ideology, says Ravi Velloor in the Speaking of Asia column.

HOME

Former exec suing GrabTaxi

Former GrabTaxi chief technical officer Zhu Wei is suing the firm in an effort to secure around $2.3 million in shares he claims he is owed. Part of his compensation package did not correspond with his employment terms, he says.

HOME

Maid abuser jailed 2 months

Chua Siew Peng slapped her Filipino maid and locked her in her sister's Bukit Timah flat - causing her to "risk life and limb" to escape through a sixth-floor window. Yesterday, the jobless woman, 44, was sentenced to two months in jail for abusing Jonna Memeje Muegue, 27.

BUSINESS

Diamond exchange launched

The Singapore Diamond Investment Exchange, which is backed by investors including a Temasek Holdings unit, is being touted as the world's first commodity exchange in physically settled diamonds. Accredited investors can buy and sell diamonds at wholesale prices on the exchange's platform.

SPORT

On the cusp of making history

Hometown favourite Angela Lee could make history tonight as she takes on Japan's Mei Yamaguchi in One Championship's first women's title fight. Lee, whose first professional mixed martial arts fight was less than a year ago, said: "I'm born for this."

PHOTO: NETFLIX

New comic turn by Eric Bana

Australian actor Eric Bana (above, left) got his start as a comedian on television but found greater fame in action-hero roles in movies such as Black Hawk Down (2001). He is now giving one of his infrequent comedy performances in the Netflix original Special Correspondents, written and directed by British comic Ricky Gervais (above, right).

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 06, 2016, with the headline What's News: May 06, 2016 . Subscribe