SINGAPORE : Singapore's Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan was in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday to attend the state funeral of former Gerakan president, Lim Keng Yaik.
Dr Balakrishnan conveyed condolences on behalf of the Singapore Government.
He was accompanied by Singapore's High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur Ong Keng Yong.
Dr Lim, who served as Malaysia's Energy, Water and Communications Minister from 2004 until 2008, died on Saturday.
He was 73.
- CNA/ms
Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal told media here that Punjab would be the first state in the country to have a dedicated force for night policing. He said the force would be given rest during the day time.
The party has already disowned the three leaders accused of assaulting Assistant Inspector General (AIG) SS Mand at a nightclub in Ludhiana on Monday. Referring to the assault, Badal said that no one, including Akali Dal leaders, was above the law.
Badal said there would be a separate Superintendent of Police (SP) for each district for night policing.
The need for a separate cadre for night policing was felt as it was getting ignored due to rotational shift of the existing force, he said.
Police will patrol on highways and streets to check the activities of anti-social elements.
The deputy chief minister also said that women were being recruited in the Punjab Police to curb incidents of crime against women.
Severe Christmas day weather tore across the deep South, spinning off 34 possible tornadoes and killing at least three people in its path, while extreme weather is forecast throughout today for parts of the East Coast.
The storm first pounded Texas, then touched down in Louisiana and blasted through homes in Mississippi. In Mobile, Ala., a wide funnel cloud was barreled across the city as lightning flashed inside like giant Christmas ornaments.
Bill Bunting with the National Weather Service's Severe Storms Prediction Center said that the damage may not yet be done.
"Conditions don't look quite as volatile over a large area as we saw on Christmas day but there will be a risk of tornadoes, some of them could be rather strong, across eastern portions of North Carolina and the northeastern part of South Carolina," he said.
Across the Gulf region, from Texas to Florida, over 280,000 customers are still without power, with 100,000 without power in Little Rock, Ark. alone.
The punishing winds mangled Mobile's graceful ante-bellum homes, and today, dazed residents are picking through debris while rescue crews search for people trapped in the rubble.
"We've got a lot of damage, we've got people hurt," one Mobile resident told ABC News. "We've had homes that are 90 percent destroyed."
Melinda Martinez/The Daily Town Talk/AP Photo
In the Houston area a tree fell onto a pickup truck, killing the driver, ABC affiliate WTRK reported. In Louisiana, a 53-year-old man died when a tree fell on his house, and a 28-year-old woman was killed in a crash on a snowy highway near Fairview, Okla., according to the Associated Press.
At least eight states issued blizzard warnings Tuesday, as the storms made highways dangerously slick heading into one of the busiest travel days of the year.
Tuesday's extreme weather caused an 8-foot deep sinkhole in Vicksburg, Miss. Alma Jackson told ABC News that a concrete tank that was in her backyard fell into the sinkhole.
"It's really very disturbing," she said. "Because it's on Christmas day, and then to see this big hole in the ground and not have any explanation, and not be able to cover it. And the rain is pouring down."
Teresa Mason told ABC News that she and her boyfriend panicked when they saw the tornado heading toward them in Stone County, in southern Mississippi, but she says they were actually saved when a tree fell onto the truck.
"[We] got in the truck and made it out there to the road. And that's when the tornado was over us. And it started jerking us and spinning us, "she said."This tree got us in the truck and kept us from being sucked up into the tornado."
The last time a number of tornadoes hit the Gulf Coast area around Christmas Day was in 2009, when 22 tornadoes struck on Christmas Eve morning, National Weather Service spokesman Chris Vaccaro told ABC News in an email.
The deadliest Christmastime tornado outbreak on record was Dec. 24 to 26, 1982, when 29 tornadoes in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi killed three people and injured 32.
The last killer tornado around Christmas, Vaccaro said, was a Christmas Eve EF4 in Tennessee in 1988, which killed one person and injured seven. EF4 tornadoes can produce winds up to 200 mph.
ABC News' Matt Gutman, Max Golembo and ABC News Radio contributed to this report.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel voiced doubt on Tuesday about the accuracy of Syrian activists' reports that chemical weapons had been used against rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad.
"We have seen reports from the opposition. It is not the first time. The opposition has an interest in drawing in international military intervention," Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Army Radio.
"As things stand now, we do not have any confirmation or proof that (chemical weapons) have already been used, but we are definitely following events with concern," he said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights gathered activist accounts on Sunday of what they said was a poison gas attack in the city of Homs. The reports are difficult to verify, as the government restricts media access in Syria.
The Observatory, a British-based group with a network of activists across Syria, said those accounts spoke of six rebel fighters who died after inhaling smoke on the front line of Homs's urban battleground. It said it could not confirm that poison gas had been used and called for an investigation.
Syria has said it would never use chemical weapons against its citizens.
Asked about images purported to show patients being treated for possible gas poisoning, Yaalon said: "I'm not sure that what we're seeing in the photos is the result of the use of chemical weapons.
"It could be other things," he said, without elaborating.
On Sunday, senior Israeli defense official Amos Gilad said Syria's chemical weapons were still secure despite the fact that Assad had lost control of parts of the country.
As Syria's southern neighbor, Israel has been concerned about chemical weapons falling into the hands of Islamist militants or Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, cautioning it could intervene to stop such developments.
(Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
SINGAPORE: More parents are sending their children for extra-curricular activities during the school holidays.
Parents say this allows the kids to spend time in a fun and meaningful way.
Singing along to a "pizza song", these children pick up pizza-making skills from a restaurant chef.
The lyrics have been modified to help them remember the steps.
Some parents also joined in the sessions to bond with their children.
The chef says enrolment goes up by some 30 per cent during the school holidays.
And this year, he conducted five more classes to cater to the demand.
Those who prefer more active options enlisted into sports camps.
One training camp by the Singapore Table Tennis Association teaches children the basics of the game.
Through special exercises, the children - aged between seven and 10 - build up their stamina and increase their flexibility.
There are 20 to 30 children in each session.
- CNA/de
Jagat Singh, son of Gayatri Devi and Sawai Man Singh, held 99 per cent shares in firms including Jai Mahal Hotels Pvt Ltd and later died leaving behind a will that his mother would be the owner of all his properties.
Gayatri Devi, who died on 29 July 2009, left a will saying all her properties, including the shares in the firms, would be inherited by her grand children Devraj and Lalitya Kumari.
The transfer of shares in favour of Gayatri Devi's grand children was opposed by other heirs of late Maharaja Sawai Man Singh. They were his (Sawai Man Singh) other sons, Prithviraj Singh, Jai Singh and his maternal grand daughter Urvashi Devi.
Justice Indermeet Kaur, deciding the dispute between members of Rajasthan's royal family, set aside an order of the Company Law Board (CLB) which had refused to direct rectification in share registers of Jai Mahal Hotels Pvt Ltd, Rambagh Place Hotels Pvt Ltd, SMS Investment Corporation Pvt Ltd and Sawai Madhopur Lodge Pvt Ltd.
Earlier, the grand children of Gayatri Devi had moved the CLB for rectification that the shares pertaining to their father and grand mother be transferred to them.
"The CLB returning a finding apposite has committed an illegality which is liable to be set aside. It is accordingly set aside. The order dated March 16, 2011 is set aside; the member register of the companies be rectified in the name of the petitioner group and petitioners i.e. Devraj and Lalitya Kumari be substituted in lieu of Jagat Singh," the court said.
The royal family has key income-generating properties such as Rambagh Place Hotel and Jai Mahal Hotel.
CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.
Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including drug use and easy access to guns can increase the likelihood of violence, experts say.
But warning signs "only become crystal clear in the aftermath, said James Alan Fox, a Northeastern University criminology professor who has studied and written about mass killings.
"They're yellow flags. They only become red flags once the blood is spilled," he said.
Whether 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who used his mother's guns to kill her and then 20 children and six adults at their Connecticut school, made any hints about his plans isn't publicly known.
Fox said that sometimes, in the days, weeks or months preceding their crimes, mass murderers voice threats, or hints, either verbally or in writing, things like "'don't come to school tomorrow,'" or "'they're going to be sorry for mistreating me.'" Some prepare by target practicing, and plan their clothing "as well as their arsenal." (Police said Lanza went to shooting ranges with his mother in the past but not in the last six months.)
Although words might indicate a grudge, they don't necessarily mean violence will follow. And, of course, most who threaten never act, Fox said.
Even so, experts say threats of violence from troubled teens and young adults should be taken seriously and parents should attempt to get them a mental health evaluation and treatment if needed.
"In general, the police are unlikely to be able to do anything unless and until a crime has been committed," said Dr. Paul Appelbaum, a Columbia University professor of psychiatry, medicine and law. "Calling the police to confront a troubled teen has often led to tragedy."
The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry says violent behavior should not be dismissed as "just a phase they're going through."
In a guidelines for families, the academy lists several risk factors for violence, including:
—Previous violent or aggressive behavior
—Being a victim of physical or sexual abuse
—Guns in the home
—Use of drugs or alcohol
—Brain damage from a head injury
Those with several of these risk factors should be evaluated by a mental health expert if they also show certain behaviors, including intense anger, frequent temper outbursts, extreme irritability or impulsiveness, the academy says. They may be more likely than others to become violent, although that doesn't mean they're at risk for the kind of violence that happened in Newtown, Conn.
Lanza, the Connecticut shooter, was socially withdrawn and awkward, and has been said to have had Asperger's disorder, a mild form of autism that has no clear connection with violence.
Autism experts and advocacy groups have complained that Asperger's is being unfairly blamed for the shootings, and say people with the disorder are much more likely to be victims of bullying and violence by others.
According to a research review published this year in Annals of General Psychiatry, most people with Asperger's who commit violent crimes have serious, often undiagnosed mental problems. That includes bipolar disorder, depression and personality disorders. It's not publicly known if Lanza had any of these, which in severe cases can include delusions and other psychotic symptoms.
Young adulthood is when psychotic illnesses typically emerge, and Appelbaum said there are several signs that a troubled teen or young adult might be heading in that direction: isolating themselves from friends and peers, spending long periods alone in their rooms, plummeting grades if they're still in school and expressing disturbing thoughts or fears that others are trying to hurt them.
Appelbaum said the most agonizing calls he gets are from parents whose children are descending into severe mental illness but who deny they are sick and refuse to go for treatment.
And in the case of adults, forcing them into treatment is difficult and dependent on laws that vary by state.
All states have laws that allow some form of court-ordered treatment, typically in a hospital for people considered a danger to themselves or others. Connecticut is among a handful with no option for court-ordered treatment in a less restrictive community setting, said Kristina Ragosta, an attorney with the Treatment Advocacy Center, a national group that advocates better access to mental health treatment.
Lanza's medical records haven't been publicly disclosed and authorities haven't said if it is known what type of treatment his family may have sought for him. Lanza killed himself at the school.
Jennifer Hoff of Mission Viejo, Calif. has a 19-year-old bipolar son who has had hallucinations, delusions and violent behavior for years. When he was younger and threatened to harm himself, she'd call 911 and leave the door unlocked for paramedics, who'd take him to a hospital for inpatient mental care.
Now that he's an adult, she said he has refused medication, left home, and authorities have indicated he can't be forced into treatment unless he harms himself — or commits a violent crime and is imprisoned. Hoff thinks prison is where he's headed — he's in jail, charged in an unarmed bank robbery.
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Online:
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry: http://www.aacap.org
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AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner
As residents prepared to observe Christmas less than two weeks after a gunman killed 20 children and six educators at an elementary school, people sharing in the town's mourning brought offerings of cards, handmade snowflakes and sympathy.
Tiny empty Christmas stockings with the victims' names on them hung from trees in the neighborhood where the children were shot. On Christmas Eve, residents said they would light luminaries outside their homes in memory of the victims.
"We know that they'll feel loved. They'll feel that somebody actually cares," said Treyvon Smalls, a 15-year-old from a few towns away who arrived at town hall with hundreds of cards and paper snowflakes collected from around the state.
At the Trinity Episcopal Church, less than 2 miles from the school, an overflow crowd of several hundred people attended Christmas Eve services. They were greeted by the sounds of a children's choir echoing throughout a sanctuary hall that had its walls decorated with green wreaths adorned with red bows.
The church program said flowers were donated in honor of Sandy Hook shooting victims, identified by name or as the "school angels" and "Sandy Hook families."
Julio Cortez, File/AP Photo
The service, which generally took on a celebratory tone, made only a few vague references to the shooting. Pastor Kathie Adams-Shepherd led the congregation in praying "that the joy and consolation of the wonderful counselor might enliven all who are touched by illness, danger, or grief, especially all those families affected by the shootings in Sandy Hook."
Police say the gunman, Adam Lanza, killed his mother in her bed before his Dec. 14 rampage and committed suicide as he heard officers arriving. Authorities have yet to give a theory about his motive.
While the grief is still fresh, some residents are urging political activism in the wake of the tragedy. A grassroots group called Newtown United has been meeting at the library to talk about issues ranging from gun control, to increasing mental health services to the types of memorials that could be erected for the victims. Some clergy members have said they also intend to push for change.
"We seek not to be the town of tragedy," said Rabbi Shaul Praver of Congregation Adath Israel. "But, we seek to be the town where all the great changes started."
Since the shooting, messages similar to the ones delivered Monday have arrived from around the world. People have donated toys, books, money and more. A United Way fund, one of many, has collected $3 million. People have given nearly $500,000 to a memorial scholarship fund at the University of Connecticut. On Christmas Day, police from other towns have agreed to work so Newtown officers can have the time off.
At Washington's National Cathedral, the 20 children who were killed also were remembered. Angels made of paper doilies were used to adorn the altar in the children's chapel. They'll be displayed there through Jan. 6.
In the center of Newtown's Sandy Hook section Monday, a steady stream of residents and out-of-towners snapped pictures, lit candles and dropped off children's gifts at an expansive memorial filled with stuffed animals, poems, flowers, posters and cards.
"All the families who lost those little kids, Christmas will never be the same," said Philippe Poncet, a Newtown resident originally from France. "Everybody across the world is trying to share the tragedy with our community here."
KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan woman wearing a police uniform shot dead on Monday a civilian contractor working for Western forces in the police chief's compound in Kabul, NATO said.
The incident is likely to raise troubling questions about the direction of an unpopular war.
It appeared to be the first time that a woman member of Afghanistan's security forces carried out such an attack.
There were conflicting reports about the victim.
A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said a U.S. police adviser was killed by an Afghan policewoman. Then ISAF said in a statement only that it was a "contracted civilian employee" who was killed.
Mohammad Zahir, head of the police criminal investigation department, described the incident as an "insider attack" in which Afghan forces turn their weapons on Western troops they are supposed to be working with. He initially said the victim was a U.S. soldier.
After more than 10 years of war, militants are capable of striking Western targets in the heart of the capital, and foreign forces worry that Afghan police and military forces they are supposed to work with can suddenly turn on them.
The policewoman approached her victim as he was walking in the heavily guarded police chief's compound in a bustling area of Kabul. She then drew a pistol and shot him once, a senior police official told Reuters.
The police complex is close to the Interior Ministry where in February, two American officers were shot dead at close range at a time anger gripped the country over the burning of copies of the Muslim holy book at a NATO base.
"She is now under interrogation. She is crying and saying 'what have I done'," said the official, of the police officer who worked in a section of the Interior Ministry responsible for gender awareness issues.
TIPS FOR TROOPS
The insider incidents, also known as green-on-blue attacks, have undermined trust between coalition and Afghan forces who are under mounting pressure to contain the Taliban insurgency before most NATO combat troops withdraw by the end of 2014.
Security responsibilities in a country plagued by conflict for decades will be handed to Afghan security forces.
Many Afghans fear a civil war like one dominated by warlords after the withdrawal of Soviet occupying forces in 1989 could erupt again, or the Taliban will make another push to seize power if they reject a nascent peace process.
At least 52 members of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force have been killed this year by Afghans wearing police or army uniforms.
Insider attacks now account for one in every five combat deaths suffered by NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, and 16 percent of all U.S. combat casualties, according to 2012 data.
Hoping to stop the increase in the attacks, Afghan Defense Ministry officials have given their troops tips in foreign culture.
They are told not to be offended by a hearty pat on the back or an American soldier asking after your wife's health.
NATO attributes only about a quarter of the attacks to the Taliban, saying the rest are caused by personal grievances and misunderstandings. Last year, there were 35 deaths in such attacks.
Afghan forces are vulnerable to "insider attacks" of their own. In Jawzjan province in the north, a police commander shot and killed five comrades overnight, the Interior Ministry said.
Last year, he defected from the Taliban, said the ministry.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the commander had rejoined the Taliban. That could not be confirmed.
(Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Robert Birsel)
NEW DELHI: Visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin signed deals to sell 71 military helicopters and kits to build 42 fighter jets to India on Monday as he sought to firm up ties with a traditional ally.
The contract for Mi-17 helicopters was first signed in 2010 and India has now increased the order from 59 to 71, the ministry of external affairs said in its list of deals agreed by Putin and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
India, which is one of the world's largest arms importers as it works to upgrade its military, depends on Russian-made military equipment that accounts for 70 per cent of its arms supplies.
"Russia is a key partner in our efforts to modernise our armed forces and enhance our defence preparedness," Singh said after holding talks with Putin and signing ten deals ranging from science and technology to education.
"A number of joint design, development and production projects are underway in high-technology areas. We expressed satisfaction that these projects are progressing well," Singh said.
Also among the deals were the delivery of parts for 42 Su-30MKI fighter planes for assembly in India. The original agreement for the jets was signed last year.
The value of the two deals was not known but Russian news agencies said they were worth about US$2.9 billion.
Russia once had a virtual monopoly over India's arms market, but New Delhi has been shopping around in recent years and Putin's visit is seen in Moscow as a chance to regain lost ground.
Moscow has been worried recently by New Delhi's increasing preference for Western suppliers, especially after Boeing was chosen last month over Russia's Mil plant for a major helicopter contract.
India has been unhappy about delays to deliveries of some naval equipment, notably the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, which is being refurbished for the Indian Navy in Russia.
Russia was originally to deliver the upgraded vessel in August 2008, but the date has now been pushed back to the end of 2013 while the price has more than doubled to US$2.3 billion.
After the meeting on Monday, Putin said the dialogue was "substantial and constructive".
"We agreed to deepen ties in the areas of military and defence sectors," he said.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth fund, and the State Bank of India agreed to jointly invest up to US$2 billion to promote trade and economic cooperation projects.
The leaders also discussed the construction of India's largest nuclear power plant, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
First conceived in 1988, the Russian-built Kudankulam plant was expected to start operations in 2011. But protesters surrounded the compound after an earthquake and tsunami hit Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant in March 2011.
Singh said negotiations for the construction of Units 3 and 4 at Kudankulam had made good progress.
Bilateral trade has been growing steadily and is expected to reach around US$10 billion in 2012, up from US$7.5 billion in 2009, according to official figures.
"Our trade turnover has overcome the consequences of global crisis, and in 2012 we expect to reach record numbers, over US$10 billion. Our next goal is to reach US$20 billion already by 2015," Putin had said before the one-day visit.
Agreements in the pharmaceutical, chemical and cultural sectors were also signed on Monday.
The venue of the talks was switched to Singh's official residence due to violent protests in central New Delhi following the gang-rape of a student that has caused widespread public outrage.
- AFP/xq
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