8 Saturday 17 October 2009 ●
THE NEW PAPER
SINGULAR CHANNEL FOR SINGLES
New name and format
for former SDU-SDS
T
HE Government match-
maker has a new name:
The Social Development
Network or SDN.
It was previously known as the
SDU-SDS, which was formed in
January when the Social Develop-
ment Unit for graduates and the
Social Development Service for
non-graduates merged to widen
the pool of singles for its mem-
bers.
Minister of State for Communi-
ty Development Youth and
Sports Yu-Foo Yee Shoon made
the announcement yesterday at a dating industry
event at the Orchard Hotel.
The SDN will do away with its membership
structure and position itself as a one-stop referral
point for all singles.
This means there will be no fee for joining the
Singapore exports rise by
3 per cent from August
SINGAPORE’S exports continued
to rise, but remain lower than a
year ago.
Between August and Septem-
ber, non-oil domestic exports in-
creased by 3 per cent in a tentative
recovery that has been better than economists had
expected.
This was due largely to higher demand for elec-
tronics products, International Enterprise (IE) Singa-
pore said yesterday.
But export figures for the year up till September
have declined by 7.2 per cent. This was the same
year-on-year drop as in August, which some observ-
ers take as a sign that the export recovery is stalling.
SGX and SPH launch new
integrated financial portal
A NEW financial portal for retail
investors will provide integrated
content from the Singapore Ex-
change (SGX) and Singapore Press
Holdings (SPH) in the second half
of 2010, said a joint statement by
the two companies yesterday.
Users will get SGX’s live market data, company
announcements, research reports and regulatory
news as well as SPH’s breaking news on companies
and stock markets.
There will also be an Investor Relations (IR)
section, which provides corporate information on
over 200 SGX-listed companies, maintained by
SPH-owned ShareInvestor.com (SI).
CALVIN AND HOBBES BILL WATTERSON
Local
SDN’s network, which gives ac-
cess to, among other things, its
News
web portal, magazine, and infor-
mation on events planned by
SDN and its partners.
Mrs Yu-Foo said: “Over time,
the SDN will become, to all sin-
watch
gles, an established and natural
channel to enlarge their social
circles and obtain information.
“Singles should regard SDN as
ST FILE PICTURE a facilitator and friend, accompa-
nying them on their journey to
find their potential partners, and
pointing them to relevant resources at various stag-
es of this journey.”
Last year, the total number of marriages regis-
tered in Singapore was about 24,600, up from about
22,000 marriages just five years ago. It was also the
highest number recorded since 2000.
SSC members acquitted
of defamation charges
NINE members of the Singapore
Swimming Club were acquitted of
criminal defamation charges after
the Attorney-General intervened in
a rare move for such cases.
The court heard that the Public
Prosecutor had decided to discontinue the prosecu-
tion.
There were three sets of private prosecution:
■ Mr Richard Phua, former general manager of
the club, against Mr Tan Wee Tin, the treasurer.
■ Lawyer Robin Tan, 53, a former vice-president
of the club, against Mr Balwant Singh, 58.
■ Mr Robin Tan against eight others over a
complaint to the Law Society.
Chinese writer awarded
Cultural Medallion
CHINESE writer Tham Yew Chin,
whose pen name is You Jin, was
awarded the Cultural Medallion,
last night.
She held down a full-time job
and managed to publish 140 books
over 30 years.
Her books, which have sold more than a million
copies, are mostly about her encounters with peo-
ple that she meets in her life locally and overseas.
Madam Tham, 59, was a Chinese-language teach-
er at Pioneer Junior College until June this year. She
was also a librarian at the National Library and a
journalist at the now-defunct Nanyang Siang Pau, a
Chinese language daily, in the late 1970s.
PICTURE: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
HOSE-DOWN: This contestant had
SINGAPORE to eat 5 pieces of marshmallow with a
WEATHER pair of chopsticks before gulping
■ Cloudy down a jug of stout mixed with raw
■ High 31˚ egg through a hose. He was taking
■ Low 24˚ part in an event held by food and
beverage chain S-11.