Today's Singapore News

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

-So many surcharges, so few passengers: He works 13-hour shifts - and earns just $6 an hour. That's less than the going rate of some telemarketeers, who can earn up to $10 an hour. This is today's harsh reality for taxi drivers like Mr CH Ng, 42, what with the falling demand for cabs since last September.
-Female teacher had sex with boy: In the first case of its kind in Singapore, a teacher who is a mother of two young children pleaded guilty to having sex with an underage boy.
-Five-day work week = poor work-life balance?: Is it time to take Singaporeans out of the comfort zone? In a controversial speech in Parliament last Wednesday, Nominated MP Loo Choon Yong said the move by the public and private sectors in 2004 to have a five-day work week could have eroded the Singaporean work ethic.
-Temasek, the Now Slightly Less Singaporean Singapore SWF: One potential benefit for Singaporean sovereign-wealth fund Temasek Holdings by hiring former BHP Billiton chief Charles “Chip” Goodyear as its new CEO: the move could be a way for the roughly $134 billion fund to tamp down criticism that sovereign-wealth funds are too closely tied to their governments.
-No to human cloning: Singapore is standing firm on its ban on human cloning. Declaring that it is illegal, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, however, said on Tuesday that science is evolving and the law must try to keep place.
-Litterbugs in Singapore face harsher penalties: Facing a record number of litterers in a city which is regarded as one of the cleanest worldwide, the Singapore government is to implement heavier fines for smokers dropping cigarette butts or car drivers leaving parking coupons on the street.
-Singapore fights recession with upbeat acronyms: Not content with a $13.7 billion financial stimulus package, Singapore has unveiled a raft of economic recovery schemes with titles so perky they are almost "comical".
-Look out for contact lenses sold online: Eye doctors and opticians are reporting a spike in eye infections among youngsters who have bought coloured contact lenses from online sellers.
-Higher Medisave withdrawal limits for surgery: Singaporeans can soon draw on bigger amounts from their Medisave accounts to pay for hospital surgeries.
-Singapore detained 366 without trial in last five years: Singapore authorities detained 366 people without trial under its criminal law in the past five years. However, 272 detainees were released in the same period from 2004 to 2008.