Today's Singapore News

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

-A catalyst for creativity: Events such as the Sars crisis and the terrorist threat may have prompted the Government to set up a system to anticipate and approach future “shocks”, but one analyst thinks this tool should not be limited to preparing for problem scenarios.
-SBS Transit, SMRT Buses fined: Singapore's public transport operators were fined for not meeting service standards in a biannual Public Transport Council (PTC) review.
-New Cancer Research Centre to study Asian cancers: Singapore launched a new cancer research center on Wednesday, aiming to take an integrated approach to studying cancers endemic to Asian populations.
-Singapore Math gains support: Children are learning addition and subtraction in a different way via a Singapore Math pilot program at Silver Hills Elementary School in West Valley City.
-Petrol prices come down again: Good news for Singapore motorists. Petrol prices have dropped by another five cents a litre for all grades.
-Living together in perfect harmony?: The recent saga over the housing of foreign workers in land-scarce Singapore has forced citizens to take stock of what it means to live in multicultural harmony.
-STTA works to ensure table tennis players are here to stay: By all accounts, the new management team at the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) work fast. Women’s team coach Liu Guodong rejected their offer of a fresh two-year contract late last week and, already, they have lined up six candidates as a possible replacement.
-Rich Indonesians to keep pouring cash into Singapore: Rich Indonesians are expected to keep stashing their cash offshore, with strict domestic financial regulations and a search for more secure returns likely to favor private banks in neighboring Singapore.
-Lawyer says investors could recoup some cash through class action suit: There is still a glimmer of hope for investors who have bought structured products linked to troubled Lehman Brothers.
-Surviving a downturn: How well will Singapore's businesses, and Singaporeans generally, cope with an extended economic slowdown? What needs to be done to ease their burden?
-Singapore banks stable: Singapore's Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam assured the public that the city state's banking system was not in trouble despite the current global financial crisis.
-Downturn unlikely to further dampen declining hiring: Recent events are not likely to affect declining hiring sentiments among companies here as they wait and see how the downturn pans out.