Singapore

Date: February 1st, 2005 |

The crime rate in Singapore is low compared to most American cities, but there have been recent incidents involving small informal gangs of young men who gather on street corners in Little India and Boat Quay and Newton Circus Food Center. They often drink heavily and look for trouble in bars and nightclubs, finding victims [read more]

Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore

Date: June 29th, 2004 |

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Annual dry season fires set to clear agricultural land in Sumatra belched a smoky haze over the region, delaying flights in Sumatra and causing dense pollution in Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Penang and alerts in Singapore. Such fires are illegal but occur every year because enforcement is lax. Hazy conditions can persist for months if [read more]

Singapore

Date: March 23rd, 2004 |

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Plainclothes “land marshals” will soon be patrolling the Singapore subway network in an effort to thwart terrorist attacks similar to the Madrid train bombings. Singapore already has air marshals aboard some Singapore Airlines flights to Thailand and Australia, and feels it is a prime target for a terrorist attack because of its staunch support of [read more]

Singapore

Date: February 11th, 2004 |

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Cleanliness is important in Singapore, especially since last year’s SARS epidemic and Asia’s current bird flu crisis have focused on health risks in the region. Now the government is campaigning to clean up bus station toilets, viewing them as one of the nation’s last holdouts of unacceptable hygiene. A recent survey showed that public toilets [read more]

Singapore

Date: January 8th, 2002 |

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American establishments and the U.S. Embassy were the reputed targets of attacks that were thwarted when Singapore police broke up a terrorist network linked to al Qaeda recently. Singapore’s close links to the U.S. have raised concerns that it could be the site of attacks, and the U.S. naval presence has been recognized as an [read more]

Singapore

Date: August 31st, 2004 |

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Medical tourism, the practice of traveling to foreign lands for surgery where the cost is dramatically cheaper than in the U.S., is growing in popularity and Thailand has been one of the world leaders in the field. Singapore wants to lure more of the business, and the Raffles Hospital dropped its prices to match the [read more]

Singapore

Date: April 21st, 2004 |

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In a move to tighten security for its 1 million foreign nationals, Singapore will deploy more police reserves to protect commercial buildings and expatriate haunts. Places that are popular with the foreign community, such as Boat Quay, Mohamed Sultan Road and the Newton Hawker Centre, will receive additional poli [read more]

Singapore

Date: March 16th, 2004 |

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Since 1992, chewing gum in Singapore has been a crime, but the law is being eased slightly to accommodate a free-trade agreement with the U.S. “Therapeutic” gum is now acceptable, allowing nicotine gum aimed at helping smokers wean themselves off tobacco to be imported from the U.S. The gum will be available only in pharmacies [read more]

Singapore

Date: July 23rd, 2002 |

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Singapore has also been struggling with an increase in crime, although the city-state remains one of the world’s safest places. Petty crime increased 10 percent during the first six months of the year, with robberies up 63 percent. The increase is being blamed on the tough economic climate and the redeployment of police to guard [read more]

Singapore

Date: October 23rd, 2001 |

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Security has been tightened in this already tightly regulated city-state in response to the international war on terrorism, and it may be increased further for election day Nov. 3. The military may guard polling stations if deemed necessary. Already the army is patrolling Changi Airport and other key areas, and during a recent World Trade [read more]