TOP OF THE NEWS

SMRT chief stepping down

Mr Desmond Kuek is stepping down as chief executive of SMRT, and he is expected to be succeeded by former chief of defence force Neo Kian Hong. Mr Neo, 54, is currently permanent secretary for defence development. He was previously permanent secretary in the Education Ministry, after 30 years in the military.

TOP OF THE NEWS

Charles Chong replies to letter

The chairman of the Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods, Mr Charles Chong, has responded to an open letter by more than 200 academics defending historian Thum Ping Tjin. He said that Dr Thum's written submission "is not an academic dissertation but a political piece", and he must expect to be questioned about the claims he put forth in it.

WORLD

Kids' apps breach privacy laws

Thousands of free, popular children's apps available on the Google Play Store could be violating United States child privacy laws, according to a new study. More than 1,000 apps collected identifying information from children using tracking software whose terms explicitly forbid their use for children's apps.

WORLD

Yacht seizure ruled invalid

An Indonesian court ruled yesterday that the seizure of a luxury yacht linked to an American probe into scandal-ridden state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad was invalid and without legal basis. On Feb 28, Indonesian police confiscated the 92myacht off resort island Bali as part of a joint operation with the FBI.

OPINION

China opening the door wider

China has made many promises in the past to open up its economy - but the latest round of pledges is more credible, says associate editor Vikram Khanna in this week's Economic Affairs.

HOME

Foreign workers set up library

Three workers from Bangladesh have set up a library of about 700 books at the Little India office of local non-profit group Transient Workers Count Too. The books, some bought by the three men, are in Bengali, English, Tagalog, Tamil, Chinese and more.

HOME

New species discovered

Researchers from Singapore and Indonesia on an expedition off the southern coast of West Java have discovered more than a dozen new species of crustaceans underwater. They include a peculiar spider crab which has not been seen for some 10 million years.

BUSINESS

Asia Gardens sold for $343m

Asia Gardens, located in Everton Road in the Spottiswoode enclave, has been sold en bloc for $343 million to a consortium comprising developer Sustained Land, builder-cum-developer Ho Lee Group, and an investment holding company fully owned by Mr Loi Pok Yen, logistics company CWT's group chief executive.

SPORTS

Call to save sporting heritage

An online petition calling on the Government to conserve the sporting heritage of the soon-to-be redeveloped Farrer Park fields has been put up. Created by a group that calls itself "Friends of Farrer Park", the petition calls for the authorities to "find ways to integrate this heritage with the future development". The petition, dated April 12, had garnered about 700 signatures by yesterday.