Lianhe Zaobao English Selections (2012-05-16)

• Injured victim in hit-and-run case involving former Romanian Charge d'Affaires awarded $360,000
  Former Romanian Charge d'Affaires Silviu Ionescu was involved in an accident while in a car insured by NTUC Income. The High Court Assistant Registrar has ruled that the insurer will need to pay the injured victim compensation for the injuries and suffering sustained, loss of future earnings and medical bills, as well as loss of earnings prior to the trial. The victim's lawyer N. Srinivasan noted that NTUC Income had been very proactive in ensuring that the victim receives fair and reasonable compensation.

• New government construction projects to use 3D digital technology for blueprints starting from July
  Starting from July this year, all new construction projects under the government such as HDB blocks, hospitals and schools, will need to conform to a new building regulation requiring advanced 3D digital modelling for the construction blueprints. This is aimed at raising the overall productivity of the construction sector.

• Shanghai singles barred from buying second residential property
  Shanghai is continuing its macro-policies governing the real estate market. It recently passed regulations prohibiting singles from owning more than one residential property. Market observers say the symbolic nature of this policy outweighs the real impact.

• Teo Ser Luck to visit pandas in Sichuan
  Minister of State for Trade and Industry Teo Ser Luck will be in Changsha for the 7th Central China Investment and Trade Exposition starting tomorrow. He will be making a detour through Sichuan today on his way there to visit pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia, who will soon be transferred to Singapore.

• Market concerned that government will introduce cooling measures for "shoebox apartments"
  The roaring sales of new property units has drawn attention to the popularity of "shoebox apartments", which usually have a floor area of less than 50sqm. There is concern that recent developments may result in the introduction of market cooling measures by the government.

• Bilateral trade between Middle East and Asia soars over past decade
  Asia has become an important factor in the business strategy of the Gulf region, judging from the crowds of Chinese tourists shopping for luxury goods in Dubai and the desire by Asian countries for oil and petroleum products from the Middle East. Indeed, trade between the Middle East and Asia has soared four-fold over the past decade.

• Experts: Mobile banking will gradually replace bank branches
  Movenbank founder Brett King said at Next Bank Asia 2012 that banks who want to build relationships with their customers will not do so through their bank branches. He noted that mobile phones will soon become the "wallets" of consumers and people will be relying on them to make payments.

• Looking at the Hougang by-election from the new normal
  In this column by political observer Cai Yulin, he wonders if the Hougang by-election offers the opportunity to demonstrate the growing maturity of electoral politics in Singapore. Not only should the ruling party adopt a new mindset but the opposition party, which already has a presence in Parliament, should hold itself to higher standards.

• Economic globalisation and political localisation
  [Editorial] The Social Democrats (SPD) and its coalition ally the Green Party won a resounding victory at the expense of the Christian Democrats led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the elections of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia recently. The outcome of this election shows that European leaders are facing the challenge of increasing political localisation in the era of economic globalisation regardless of whether they are left-wing or right-wing. Their response to this challenge will not only determine the future of Europe but the world at large as well.

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