2005, Qn3

It is not only shopping that brings vistors to Singapore. Describe some other tourist attractions and say why you thinkg vistors enjoy them.

Everyone knows that Singapore is a shopping paradise. However, besides being a shopping haven, Singapore is also well known for tourist attraction sites, a multi racial society, and an array of food that Singapore offers.

People's tastebuds will be actively excercised when they taste food for around the world. Singapore, having an assortment of different delicacies, is no less than capable of doing so. All the different kinds of multi racial food can be found in a place called a "coffeshop", some famous ones being "Chomp Chomp", "Newton Circus" and "Lau Pa Sat". They are places with delectable food at budget prices. Tourists enjoy having their meals there as they get to experience local cuisine without bursting a hole in their pockets. Some of the well known specialties are fingerfood such as the "dim sum", a different version of pasta the "laksa"which is noodles served in a bowl of spicy soup, "nasi lemak" which means coconut rice, and more. With such affordable food, and the more expensive ones found in upper-class areas, what is not to like about food in Singapore? Moreover, tourists will be able to have a taste of life in Singapore via the food they consume as every different meal tells a story.

For leisure and places of interest, we have the popular Sentosa,

Great tits cope well with warming

Researchers found that great tits are laying eggs earlier in the spring than they used to, keeping step with the earlier emergence of caterpillars. Writing in the journal Science, they point out that the same birds in the Netherlands have not managed to adjust. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) commented that other species are likely to fare much worse than great tits as temperatures rise. The chicks hatch and are fully grown within two weeks, so they need something that's really abundant - that's why they synchonise their breeding so hatching co-incides with the emergence of the caterpillars."

Personal Views:
Besides just being adorable, it also have a good sense of time and temperature. This creature is able to mangage it's time well compared to other birds. As they say early birds catches the worm, I say bird with good time management and a tiny thermometer in the brain catches the caterpillars. With plenty of food it is no wonder the Tits would not mind managing some time for their offspring.

Chin Kee Teck - Male circumcision 'cuts' HIV risk

A reserch shows that circumcision can reduce the infection rate of HIV in heterosexual men by 50% as a research on two african trial shows. The trial was too stunning that the the US National Institutes of Health found it too corrupt that they had to stop the trial earlier. Althought, it was a great break through i could no replace the standard method of HIV prevention such as the condom.

The trial in Kenya found a 53% reduction in new HIV infections in heterosexual men who were circumcised while the Ugandan study reported a drop of 48%. Results last year from a study in 3,280 heterosexual men in South Africa, which was also stopped early, showed a 60% drop in the incidence of new infections in men who had been circumcised.

The reasons why circumcision may save u from HIV is because some of the cell on the foreskin might be possible target of the infection and also after circumcision the skin under the foreskin is less sensitive and would not bleed so it is less prone to infections.


Personal Views:
Circumcision, the removal of unwanted skin on the penis. I found this study very prominent as HIV is a very deadly virus and as more ways of prevention from the infection are discovered, it means lesser chance of catching it. Althought lesser chance of getting infected is a good thing but it is still not a full protection from it, I think that prevention should be all about ourself. An example is knowing the preson's health condition before sex or do not go around having sex with random people not knowing what kind of disease they have.

Chin Kee Teck - 'Gus' crowned world's ugliest dog

At a dog fair in California, a three-legged, one eyed, cancer-afflicted dog named Gus has been crowned the World's Ugliest Dog.

Gus is a Chinese Crested dog, beat other dogs to take the title at the Sonoma-Marin Fair. Gus' owner, Jeanenne Teed, from Florida, said she would spend the $1,600 prize money on treatment for Gus's skin cancer.

The competition has been going on for 20 years and is one of the fair's top attractions. Marketing director of the fair, Vicki DeArmon, said that in the past years, winners had been dogs that had been abandoned or neglected before they were adopted by dog-lovers. She added that although the dogs look hard to care for, the new owners were definitely taking good care of them.

Gus was rescued from a bad home, with one of his legs amputated as a result of his skin tumour. His loss of one eye is due to a fight with a tomcat.


Personal Views:

This shows that despite dogs being abandoned worldwide, there are people who are willing to take care of them, even if they are not as good-looking as other dogs. I feel that such contests will show the world that all dogs have the right to live and win. Also, everyone will be able to see the kind of 'ugly' dogs from these contests, and know that a lot of them are subjected to abuse and were mistreaten by their previous owners.

Being an attraction to the fair itself proves that majority of people do have a heart for abused animals. For those who go with the intention of simply mocking the dogs, they will be able to see the ugly dogs' owners willing to sacrifice their time and take care of such dogs and this will allow them to change their views.

Chin Kee Teck - Girl in Romania denied abortion despite rape allegation

In Romania, a medical ethics panel refused to grant an abortion to an 11-year-old who had allegedly been raped by her uncle.

This is because according to the penal code, after the 14th week of pregnancy, termination is only allowed if the mother's life is endangered or if the foetus suffers from malformation. Having examined the girl, the panel says that the pregnancy is proceeding naturally and that termination is not an option.

The girl's parents discovered the pregnancy during a medical check-up two weeks ago aftr she complained of stomach pains. Police are looking for the uncle, who is said to have fled.

The reason that the pregnancy stemmed from rape was not taken into account by the panel is due to two reasons, one being the rape has not been proven and the other being the penal code not allowing any exceptions.

Doctors searched a reason to abort the pregnancy, but found none.


Personal Views:

I feel that the uncle of the girl is extremely unreasonable and also, that the law in Romania has loopholes. Women should have the right to choose what they want and also, in this case, how is it possible that an 11-year-old would get pregnant, especially when she merely complained of having a stomachache?

With such a law, there might be a lot of young women getting pregnant from rape and they will be unable to raise their children. If more of such rape cases happen and the male escapes scout free and there is no evidence of rape, it would mean chaos. Although the medical panel might mean well by enforcing the rule of not allowing abortions unless the mother's life is in danger or the foetus is suffering from malformation to reduce the killing of unborn babies, they might be actually be causing more problems instead.