Singapore President Nathan visits Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala

Singapore President Sellapan Rama Nathan, whose is of Indian descent, visited the Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala

On his arrival at the Renigunta Airport on Thursday, he was received by Singapore Consulate General, Mohammed Noor Bin Yusuf, District Collector V Seshadri, Superintendent of Police (Admin) Ammi Reddy and other officials.
Nathan was accompanied by his wife and close friends.

"I have been to India before, summer vacations. I had to pay our respects at this pilgrimage centre so ...and we have come again with the family and some very close friends to pray at the temple and receive blessings," he said.

The temple of Tirupati Balaji in south India is one of the most revered and sacred shrines in the country.

President Nathan launches Scouts Job Week at Istana

If scouts come knocking on your door in search of work, do your bit for charity and find something for them to do.

Get them to clean your flat, dust your office or feed the pets, and make a donation that will go to charity.

It's part of Job Week, which was officially launched at the Istana by President S.R. Nathan, who's also the Chief Scout of Singapore.

During Job Week, some 10,000 Scouts will fan out across the island, knock on the doors of offices and houses to find work.

The target is to raise about $600,000 - similar to the amount collected last year.

Prataman congratulates Johor Sultan

Singapore leaders have sent congratulatory messages to the Sultan of Johor on his ascension as Sultan.

In his letter to Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, President S R Nathan said he has full confidence that relations between Singapore and Johor, and that between their people, will continue to deepen and flourish under his guidance and leadership.

"My wife joins me in extending our warmest wishes to Your Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness Raja Zarith Sofiah, and for Johor Darul Ta’zim’s continued success and prosperity," President Nathan said.

In his letter, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he looks forward to working closely with the Sultan to strengthen the co—operation between Singapore and Johor, as well as deepen the personal ties between Singapore leaders and the Johor Palace.

"My warmest wishes for Your Royal Highness’ good health, and for Johor Darul Ta’zim’s continued success and prosperity," Mr Lee said.

Indian Housemate Charged Over Death of 3 year Old Boy

Luckily it is not another racial thing - Thank God! None the less, we are sad by his death.

An Indian man charged over the death of a 3-year-old boy in Melbourne will appear in court tomorrow, police said.

Gursewak Dhillon, 23, was charged with one count of manslaughter by criminal negligence in the death of Gurshan Singh Channa, according to a statement on the Victoria Police Web site.
Dhillon, who was refused bail, will appear before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court tomorrow, the statement said.

An autopsy last week failed to reveal the cause of Gurshan’s death, the Australian newspaper said.

The boy’s mother reported him missing on the afternoon of March 4; his body was found that evening.

3 year old Indian boy murdered in Oz

A missing Indian toddler has been found dead on the side of the road in Melbourne's north. The body hasn't yet been formally identified, but it matches the description of a missing three year old, who was visiting Australia from India with his family. Police aren't calling it murder yet but say they suspect the worst.

At a time when Australia has promised to do all that it can to stop attacks on Indian nationals, comes this news... All Hell may break lose...

Egyptian Pharaohs need Prataman

Egypt's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Dr Tarek Kamel and Minister of Investment Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin met Singapore leaders at the Istana on Thursday.
They jointly called on President S R Nathan, followed by a call on Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong on Thursday afternoon.

Mr Nathan noted the warm and longstanding ties between both countries, and hoped that relations would be deepened further.

Later in their meeting with Mr Goh, the ministers noted the progress in the negotiation of a joint economic cooperation agreement, and briefed him on steps to grow Egypt's economy.
In turn, Mr Goh said the two countries could learn from each other's developmental experience.
The ministers are in Singapore to attend a conference.

Transformational Budget - Too much Transformers?

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has said this year’s Budget may be seen as "unexciting" to some Singaporeans, but it is nonetheless strategically important because it is a "transformational" Budget.

He said the aim of the Budget was to bring the economy to a higher level.

Mr Goh was speaking at a dialogue at his Marine Parade constituency on Monday.

Addressing an audience of grassroots leaders and residents, he said for incomes to go up, productivity needs to follow suit, including that of foreign workers.

Mr Goh said the government decided against giving out too many goodies as no recession is expected this year.

Furthermore, households will continue to get benefits from last year’s policies.

Mr Goh said: "When I read comments that the Budget has got nothing for me as a person, rather than a few of the allowances and so on, they are wrong. This Budget is for you. It is about how we can increase our productivity as a whole — you as a worker, the company as a production institution, the management as the people—in—charge.

"If we can transform the economy through the measures introduced in the Budget, the income we have today can continue to increase."

The dialogue saw Mr Goh and his panel, comprising MPs Lim Biow Chuan and Dr Fatimah Lateef, addressing a range of issues including tax incentives and more relief for those supporting the elderly or disabled family members.

Mr Goh was also asked how confident the government was in achieving its stated aim of annual productivity growth of 2 to 3 percent.

"At this stage I can’t say with full confidence that we can achieve 3 percent growth per year, but it’s a target which we want to aim at. If we don’t achieve it, well it’s bad but let’s say we double it from 1 to 2 percent. That’s an improvement. It means your income goes up, but much less than what we hope would be the case," he said.

Mr Goh said one Budget statement cannot tackle all issues at one time, and this year’s plan deals with the long—term.

But many of the issues are on the government’s radar screen, and details of initiatives will be released in Parliament.