Today's Singapore News

The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.

-Why change in attitude towards having kids?: Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong yesterday lamented the changed attitude that some Singaporeans now have towards having children, as he joined the growing chorus of leaders calling for more babies.
-Singapore police interested in facial recognition software: Last week, the Singapore Police Force called for a Request for Information (RFI) from companies on facial recognition software for the identification of “persons of interest from video streams”.
-35 HIV cases detected: Changi General Hospital (CGH) picked up 35 HIV-positive patients in the first half of this year through its voluntary patient screening programme.
-French climber to scale building in Singapore: French professional climber Alain Robert will scale a building in Singapore as part of The Straits Times' 163rd anniversary celebrations.
-Smuggled goods in Singapore dips 4% in first half: Smuggling of contraband items in Singapore dipped 4 percent in the first half of this year compare with the same period of last year.
-Singapore's fourth university to be located in Changi: Singapore's fourth public-funded university will open its doors in 2011, offering programmes in Engineering and Applied Science, Business and Information Technology, and Architecture and Design.
-Most expensive getai in Singapore: The most expensive getai will be staged this Thursday for this year's Hungry Ghost Festival. It will cost a cool $20,000 for just three hours of raucous entertainment.
-Why more and more women opt for abortions in Singapore: Work commitments, needing to take holidays and wishing to stay slim – these are among the reasons why Singaporean women opt to have abortions.
-GSS spending up: Despite retailers' worries that shoppers here would cut spending as rising costs bite, Singaporeans actually spent more at this year's Great Singapore Sale (GSS) compared to last year.
-S'pore gave them a chance to study abroad: Of the 101 students who received A*Star's National Science Scholarships and A*Star Graduate Scholarships this year, 22 hail from China, Malaysia and Vietnam.
-Why they hate Singapore: Singapore is small enough to be a suburb in Beijing, but it has something in common with the mammoth People's Republic. The little red dot and Red China are both countries the West loves to hate.
-Singapore growth slows: Singapore said Monday economic growth slowed to an annual rate of 2.1 percent in the second quarter and forecast a decline in key exports.