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GENTING CALENDARS

20 OCTOBER 2010 20 10 2010

13 OCTOBER 2010 [SWITCHED TO 20 OCT 2010]

10 OCTOBER 2010 {SUNDAY} 10 10 10

1 OCTOBER 2010 [SWITCHED WINDOW DRESSING for 30 SEP 2010]

30 SEPTEMBER 2010 [WINDOW UNDRESSED]

13 SEPTEMBER 2010

13 AUGUST 2010

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A million protest pensions plan as fuel shortages bite

PARIS (AFP) - – Strikes threatening to paralyse France's economy looked set to rumble on into Wednesday after a million people took to the street for their right to retire at 60 and fuel shortages began to bite.

Clashes erupted between youths and riot police in several towns Tuesday and shops in the city of Lyon were looted as workers and students came out in force around the country to protest President Nicolas Sarkozy's unpopular reform.

Sarkozy refused to back down however and leading unions in some sectors including airports called for stoppages to continue on Wednesday, while oil refineries remained blocked, hit by a week of strikes.

The DGAC aviation authority said a quarter of flights from Orly, Paris's second-biggest airport, would be cancelled on Wednesday morning but did not detail further disruption at the main hub, Charles de Gaulle.

Facts: France's biggest demos

Around one in three flights at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and regional airports were cancelled on Tuesday, while one in three filling stations ran out of fuel, the government said.

The latest day of protests, the sixth since September, drew around 1.1 million people onto the streets, police said, slightly fewer than the 1.23 million on the last comparable day, October 12.

The CGT, France's biggest union, told AFP it estimated overall turnout at 3.5 million, equal to its estimate for October 12. Unions' estimates have habitually been several times higher than those of police.

With more than 200 protests on Tuesday, all 12 French oil refineries shut down by strikes and truckers blocking roads, Sarkozy instructed the cabinet to draw up a plan to stop France grinding to a standstill.

Environment and Transport Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said that "a little under 4,000 petrol stations are awaiting deliveries." There are around 12,500 filling stations in France.

French fuel and heating federation FF3C said the "extremely worrying" situation "should definitely be called a shortage", while the International Energy Agency said France has "sufficient stocks" to deal with the situation.

Authorities in Normandy requisitioned 12 petrol stations for use by rescue and emergency services, while Prime Minister Francois Fillon said a third of departments or local administrations were experiencing fuel shortages.

Fillon chaired a meeting with several ministers and oil industry officials on how to deal with the crisis and ministers later held talks with Sarkozy.

Fillon's office said the government would ensure access to fuel depots, many of which are blocked by strikers, and that distributors would pool their fuel and trucks to help needy stations.

The interior minister promised tough action as clashes erupted anew outside a secondary school in Nanterre, near Paris, where youths burned a car and threw rocks at riot police for the second day in a row.

Police fired tear gas and arrested nine youth protestors in Lyon who had overturned cars and set one alight. At least five shops were later looted, police said.

Nine people were arrested Tuesday in Paris, police said.

The ministry said that 1,158 troublemakers had been arrested at demonstrations since the start of the week, 163 of them on Tuesday morning.

The powerful CGT union's transport section called for their strike action to be renewed on Wednesday, encompassing airport staff, air traffic controllers, public transport workers and employees of national railways operator SNCF.

Unions want to force Sarkozy to abandon a bill to raise the minimum retirement age to 62, which is in the final days of its journey through a parliament in which the right-wing leader enjoys a comfortable majority.

Most French back the current protests, with a poll published Monday in the popular Le Parisien daily showing that 71 percent of those asked expressed either support or sympathy for the movement.

A poll published Tuesday showed that Sarkozy's approval rating dropped this month to its lowest in three years at 30 percent, two percentage points less than when the main pension protests started in September.

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A million protest pensions plan as fuel shortages bite

PARIS (AFP) - – Strikes threatening to paralyse France's economy looked set to rumble on into Wednesday after a million people took to the street for their right to retire at 60 and fuel shortages began to bite.

Clashes erupted between youths and riot police in several towns Tuesday and shops in the city of Lyon were looted as workers and students came out in force around the country to protest President Nicolas Sarkozy's unpopular reform.

Sarkozy refused to back down however and leading unions in some sectors including airports called for stoppages to continue on Wednesday, while oil refineries remained blocked, hit by a week of strikes.

The DGAC aviation authority said a quarter of flights from Orly, Paris's second-biggest airport, would be cancelled on Wednesday morning but did not detail further disruption at the main hub, Charles de Gaulle.

Facts: France's biggest demos

Around one in three flights at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and regional airports were cancelled on Tuesday, while one in three filling stations ran out of fuel, the government said.

The latest day of protests, the sixth since September, drew around 1.1 million people onto the streets, police said, slightly fewer than the 1.23 million on the last comparable day, October 12.

The CGT, France's biggest union, told AFP it estimated overall turnout at 3.5 million, equal to its estimate for October 12. Unions' estimates have habitually been several times higher than those of police.

With more than 200 protests on Tuesday, all 12 French oil refineries shut down by strikes and truckers blocking roads, Sarkozy instructed the cabinet to draw up a plan to stop France grinding to a standstill.

Environment and Transport Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said that "a little under 4,000 petrol stations are awaiting deliveries." There are around 12,500 filling stations in France.

French fuel and heating federation FF3C said the "extremely worrying" situation "should definitely be called a shortage", while the International Energy Agency said France has "sufficient stocks" to deal with the situation.

Authorities in Normandy requisitioned 12 petrol stations for use by rescue and emergency services, while Prime Minister Francois Fillon said a third of departments or local administrations were experiencing fuel shortages.

Fillon chaired a meeting with several ministers and oil industry officials on how to deal with the crisis and ministers later held talks with Sarkozy.

Fillon's office said the government would ensure access to fuel depots, many of which are blocked by strikers, and that distributors would pool their fuel and trucks to help needy stations.

The interior minister promised tough action as clashes erupted anew outside a secondary school in Nanterre, near Paris, where youths burned a car and threw rocks at riot police for the second day in a row.

Police fired tear gas and arrested nine youth protestors in Lyon who had overturned cars and set one alight. At least five shops were later looted, police said.

Nine people were arrested Tuesday in Paris, police said.

The ministry said that 1,158 troublemakers had been arrested at demonstrations since the start of the week, 163 of them on Tuesday morning.

The powerful CGT union's transport section called for their strike action to be renewed on Wednesday, encompassing airport staff, air traffic controllers, public transport workers and employees of national railways operator SNCF.

Unions want to force Sarkozy to abandon a bill to raise the minimum retirement age to 62, which is in the final days of its journey through a parliament in which the right-wing leader enjoys a comfortable majority.

Most French back the current protests, with a poll published Monday in the popular Le Parisien daily showing that 71 percent of those asked expressed either support or sympathy for the movement.

A poll published Tuesday showed that Sarkozy's approval rating dropped this month to its lowest in three years at 30 percent, two percentage points less than when the main pension protests started in September.

x 0

A million protest pensions plan as fuel shortages bite

PARIS (AFP) - – Strikes threatening to paralyse France's economy looked set to rumble on into Wednesday after a million people took to the street for their right to retire at 60 and fuel shortages began to bite.

Clashes erupted between youths and riot police in several towns Tuesday and shops in the city of Lyon were looted as workers and students came out in force around the country to protest President Nicolas Sarkozy's unpopular reform.

Sarkozy refused to back down however and leading unions in some sectors including airports called for stoppages to continue on Wednesday, while oil refineries remained blocked, hit by a week of strikes.

The DGAC aviation authority said a quarter of flights from Orly, Paris's second-biggest airport, would be cancelled on Wednesday morning but did not detail further disruption at the main hub, Charles de Gaulle.

Facts: France's biggest demos

Around one in three flights at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and regional airports were cancelled on Tuesday, while one in three filling stations ran out of fuel, the government said.

The latest day of protests, the sixth since September, drew around 1.1 million people onto the streets, police said, slightly fewer than the 1.23 million on the last comparable day, October 12.

The CGT, France's biggest union, told AFP it estimated overall turnout at 3.5 million, equal to its estimate for October 12. Unions' estimates have habitually been several times higher than those of police.

With more than 200 protests on Tuesday, all 12 French oil refineries shut down by strikes and truckers blocking roads, Sarkozy instructed the cabinet to draw up a plan to stop France grinding to a standstill.

Environment and Transport Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said that "a little under 4,000 petrol stations are awaiting deliveries." There are around 12,500 filling stations in France.

French fuel and heating federation FF3C said the "extremely worrying" situation "should definitely be called a shortage", while the International Energy Agency said France has "sufficient stocks" to deal with the situation.

Authorities in Normandy requisitioned 12 petrol stations for use by rescue and emergency services, while Prime Minister Francois Fillon said a third of departments or local administrations were experiencing fuel shortages.

Fillon chaired a meeting with several ministers and oil industry officials on how to deal with the crisis and ministers later held talks with Sarkozy.

Fillon's office said the government would ensure access to fuel depots, many of which are blocked by strikers, and that distributors would pool their fuel and trucks to help needy stations.

The interior minister promised tough action as clashes erupted anew outside a secondary school in Nanterre, near Paris, where youths burned a car and threw rocks at riot police for the second day in a row.

Police fired tear gas and arrested nine youth protestors in Lyon who had overturned cars and set one alight. At least five shops were later looted, police said.

Nine people were arrested Tuesday in Paris, police said.

The ministry said that 1,158 troublemakers had been arrested at demonstrations since the start of the week, 163 of them on Tuesday morning.

The powerful CGT union's transport section called for their strike action to be renewed on Wednesday, encompassing airport staff, air traffic controllers, public transport workers and employees of national railways operator SNCF.

Unions want to force Sarkozy to abandon a bill to raise the minimum retirement age to 62, which is in the final days of its journey through a parliament in which the right-wing leader enjoys a comfortable majority.

Most French back the current protests, with a poll published Monday in the popular Le Parisien daily showing that 71 percent of those asked expressed either support or sympathy for the movement.

A poll published Tuesday showed that Sarkozy's approval rating dropped this month to its lowest in three years at 30 percent, two percentage points less than when the main pension protests started in September.

x 0

A million protest pensions plan as fuel shortages bite

PARIS (AFP) - – Strikes threatening to paralyse France's economy looked set to rumble on into Wednesday after a million people took to the street for their right to retire at 60 and fuel shortages began to bite.

Clashes erupted between youths and riot police in several towns Tuesday and shops in the city of Lyon were looted as workers and students came out in force around the country to protest President Nicolas Sarkozy's unpopular reform.

Sarkozy refused to back down however and leading unions in some sectors including airports called for stoppages to continue on Wednesday, while oil refineries remained blocked, hit by a week of strikes.

The DGAC aviation authority said a quarter of flights from Orly, Paris's second-biggest airport, would be cancelled on Wednesday morning but did not detail further disruption at the main hub, Charles de Gaulle.

Facts: France's biggest demos

Around one in three flights at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and regional airports were cancelled on Tuesday, while one in three filling stations ran out of fuel, the government said.

The latest day of protests, the sixth since September, drew around 1.1 million people onto the streets, police said, slightly fewer than the 1.23 million on the last comparable day, October 12.

The CGT, France's biggest union, told AFP it estimated overall turnout at 3.5 million, equal to its estimate for October 12. Unions' estimates have habitually been several times higher than those of police.

With more than 200 protests on Tuesday, all 12 French oil refineries shut down by strikes and truckers blocking roads, Sarkozy instructed the cabinet to draw up a plan to stop France grinding to a standstill.

Environment and Transport Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said that "a little under 4,000 petrol stations are awaiting deliveries." There are around 12,500 filling stations in France.

French fuel and heating federation FF3C said the "extremely worrying" situation "should definitely be called a shortage", while the International Energy Agency said France has "sufficient stocks" to deal with the situation.

Authorities in Normandy requisitioned 12 petrol stations for use by rescue and emergency services, while Prime Minister Francois Fillon said a third of departments or local administrations were experiencing fuel shortages.

Fillon chaired a meeting with several ministers and oil industry officials on how to deal with the crisis and ministers later held talks with Sarkozy.

Fillon's office said the government would ensure access to fuel depots, many of which are blocked by strikers, and that distributors would pool their fuel and trucks to help needy stations.

The interior minister promised tough action as clashes erupted anew outside a secondary school in Nanterre, near Paris, where youths burned a car and threw rocks at riot police for the second day in a row.

Police fired tear gas and arrested nine youth protestors in Lyon who had overturned cars and set one alight. At least five shops were later looted, police said.

Nine people were arrested Tuesday in Paris, police said.

The ministry said that 1,158 troublemakers had been arrested at demonstrations since the start of the week, 163 of them on Tuesday morning.

The powerful CGT union's transport section called for their strike action to be renewed on Wednesday, encompassing airport staff, air traffic controllers, public transport workers and employees of national railways operator SNCF.

Unions want to force Sarkozy to abandon a bill to raise the minimum retirement age to 62, which is in the final days of its journey through a parliament in which the right-wing leader enjoys a comfortable majority.

Most French back the current protests, with a poll published Monday in the popular Le Parisien daily showing that 71 percent of those asked expressed either support or sympathy for the movement.

A poll published Tuesday showed that Sarkozy's approval rating dropped this month to its lowest in three years at 30 percent, two percentage points less than when the main pension protests started in September.

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GENTING HK is under CONFINEMENT ORDER

12:29:58	--	--	10000	0.450	S	--	--
12:28:36	(50,000) 2,114,000	0.445	--	--	--	--	--
12:27:00	(-2,000) 2,064,000	0.445	--	--	--	--	--
12:27:00	--	--	2000	0.445	B	--

11:26:32

0.445

4,000,000

Bought From Seller

10:50:37

0.440

2,304,000

Bought From Seller

09:02:46	0.435	1,000,000	Sold To Buyer
09:00:25	0.435	25,000	Sold To Buyer
08:59:03	0.440	170,000	Bought From Seller

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Wednesday: 20 OCTOBER 2010 mId-nOOn

e Genting HK US$ (S21)
Day Hi	0.450	Last	0.450	Vol	24,125,000
Day Lo	0.435	$Chng	+0.010

Price	Trades	Volume	Sold to Buyer	Mid	Bought from Seller
0.435	104	6,053,000	5,151,000	0	902,000
0.440	41	5,437,000	2,214,000	0	3,223,000
0.445	93	9,143,000	2,945,000	0	6,198,000
0.446	1	35,000	0	35,000	0
0.450	58	3,447,000	0	0	3,447,000
TOTAL	297	24,115,000	10,310,000	35,000	13,770,000

Time	Price	Trade Size	Bid-Ask
--	--	--	--



12:27:00	0.445	2,000	Sold To Buyer
12:25:53	0.445	10,000	Sold To Buyer
12:25:33	0.445	15,000	Sold To Buyer
12:25:20	0.445	10,000	Sold To Buyer
12:25:18	0.445	100,000	Sold To Buyer
12:25:10	0.445	10,000	Sold To Buyer
12:25:07	0.445	20,000	Sold To Buyer
12:25:05	0.445	50,000	Sold To Buyer
12:24:51	0.445	15,000	Sold To Buyer
12:24:33	0.445	15,000	Sold To Buyer
12:24:12	0.445	5,000	Sold To Buyer
12:23:57	0.445	10,000	Sold To Buyer
12:23:15	0.445	20,000	Sold To Buyer
12:21:49	0.445	250,000	Sold To Buyer
12:21:44	0.446	35,000	X
12:21:41	0.450	20,000	Bought From Seller
12:21:03	0.445	30,000	Sold To Buyer
12:20:21	0.445	200,000	Sold To Buyer
12:20:05	0.445	50,000	Sold To Buyer
12:19:20	0.445	5,000	Sold To Buyer

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SOME parents are apparently very unhappy over the fact that some pupils were given a seeming advantage in the recent English paper of the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).

A Straits Times article published three years ago was adapted for use as the comprehension cloze passage — a report which a few schools and tuition centres had recently used in their English language revision exercises.Little Red Dot, My Paper, The Straits Times or Today.

While I do not know the exact questions that came out in the paper, I am pretty sure they could not have been exactly the same as those set by the schools and tuition centres.

So, as I see it, the pupils who had used the passage for revision only had the advantage of knowing that the genre they were being tested in was that of a newspaper report.

It is unlikely that any of them would have memorised the exact text of the article.

I have been the head of the English department at both primary and secondary level for more than 20 years in the course of my teaching career. It has always been my practice to get my students to read newspapers from as early as Primary 3, be it

I got my students to keep a folder of newspaper cuttings and from this stockpile of reports set them exercises ranging from vocabulary tests to comprehension. Of course, I used the reports for cloze passages, too. I’m sure many teachers are doing the same, rather than relying on just worksheets and workbooks.

I see this episode as a challenge to teachers, tutors and parents, in particular, to move away from the “worksheets and assessment books” mentality and cultivate in children the more rewarding pursuit of reading the news.

[MOE has nO better sOUrces for Examination QuestIOns ? ? ? ?]

The schools and tuition centres which happened to use the article in question as a cloze passage should be applauded for their initiative.

It is never too late to get students interested in reading the news and it always pays to do so. One word of advice, though:

— do not force them to do so, but instead get them started by reading the bits they are interested in, before discussing the reports with them. There’s no better way to teach life lessons and social skills to our youth than through newspapers.

pharoah88 ( Date: 20-Oct-2010 13:26) Posted:

I’d like to teach the world to read
Reading a newspaper is the best way to hone one’s English, says this teacher
Teachers, tutors and parents should move away from the ‘worksheets and assessment books’ mentality, to cultivate in children the more rewarding pursuit of reading the news.

Letter from Lee Hong Leong

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SOME parents are apparently very unhappy over the fact that some pupils were given a seeming advantage in the recent English paper of the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).

A