Festival ends successfully

The Media Development Authority (MDA) - host of the 2007 Asia Media Festival - has clinched a landmark collaboration with an international agency and sealed several regional projects, ending the two-week event on a high note. At the opening ceremony of Festival last month, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, Dr Lee Boon Yang, had announced a collaboration between MDA and international talent agency, William Morris Agency (WMA).

The aim - to internationalise local capabilities and nurture the next generation of Singapore executives and talents to learn from industry veterans, and facilitate exchanges between Singapore and the Hollywood creative community. (story)

Student tops N-level exams

Selwyn Sim, 16, may be in the Normal (Technical) stream but he worked on assessment books for those in the Express stream. The Pasir Ris Secondary student topped the N-level exams with an aggregate of three points - the best ever results in the 10-year history of the Normal (Technical) stream. The N-level results were released on Tuesday afternoon.

Selwyn Sim scored grades 1 for all his subjects except Chinese, which he scored a grade 4. (story)

High taxi fares blamed for low turnout

Higher taxi fares are keeping some commuters away this festive season. ComfortDelgro, largest taxi operator here with 15,000 taxis, saw a 10 per cent drop in all call bookings on Monday, the first day of the increased fares.

SMRT, the second largest operator with 3,000 taxis, also received 200 fewer calls during Monday’s morning peak hours from 7am to 9am.

A spokesman, however, said that bookings went back to normal for the rest of the day. SMRT’s fall in bookings comes despite them not raising fares till Friday.

One commuter who decided to stay off cabs on Tuesday was Ms Shianna Tan, 28, shipping officer. She normally takes a taxi from her home in Aljunied to her workplace in Changi Industrial Park to work by 8.30am. (story)

Temasek appeals Indonesia’s ruling

Temasek Holdings has filed an appeal against a ruling by Indonesia’s competition watchdog that said the investment company broke anti-trust laws. Temasek’s managing director of corporate affairs, Ms Myrna Thomas, said in a statement: ‘The case against Temasek is baseless and totally without merit. We’re filing an appeal to demonstrate that there is no basis for the decision and to ensure that Temasek’s legal rights under the laws of Indonesia are respected at all times.’

The appeal was filed with the District Court of Central Jakarta on Tuesday with a ruling expected within 30 days.

Last month, Indonesia’s Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) ruled that Temasek had violated anti-monopoly laws and ordered it to sell its shares in one of the two top Indonesian mobile telcos. (story)