Singapore - Singapore Airlines (SIA), one of the world's leading carriers, posted a heavy slump in passenger numbers and a decline in cargo shipment Tuesday, as the aviation industry is further hit by the global economic downturn.

In February, SIA carried 1.18 million passengers, down 20.2 per cent from the same month last year, the airline said.

Singapore - Bayer Schering Pharma Asia-Pacific's sales grew 23 per cent to 910 million euros (1.3 billion US dollars) in 2008 despite the global economic downturn, the company's regional head, Chris Lee, said Tuesday in Singapore.

The growth rate, based on business numbers that excluded Japan, made the subsidiary of Germany-based Bayer Schering Pharma AG "one of the fastest-growing multinational pharmaceutical companies in Asia," Lee said.

Singapore  - Singapore's economy is expected to recover slightly in the final quarter of 2009, just after sliding even deeper into recession during the first three quarters of the year, a survey by the city-state's central bank showed Monday.

A poll of 20 economists and analysts by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in February showed they expect Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) to fall 8.5 percent in the first quarter 2009 compared to the same period a year ago.

Singapore - Container traffic in Singapore's port slumped 19.8 per cent in February compared with a year ago as the shipping industry is hit hard by the ongoing decline in worldwide trade.

The container traffic through the city-state's port reached 1.85 million 20-foot equivalent units in February, down from
2.31 million units in February last year, according to preliminary estimates published Saturday on the website of the Maritime and Port Authority Singapore.

Singapore - The Singapore government is taking an editor of The Wall Street Journal to court over three articles that it said showed contempt for the city-state's judiciary, a news report said Saturday.

A judge in the High Court granted an application by the attorney general to start proceedings against Melanie Kirkpatrick, a deputy editor with the New York-based business newspaper's editorial page, the Straits Times newspaper reported.

The three articles were published in June and July in the editorials and opinion section of The Wall Street Journal Asia.

Singapore - A Singapore court on Friday sentenced a former airforce sergeant to 20 months in jail for physically abusing his Indonesian maid, media reports said.

Tong Chew Wei, 31, was also ordered to pay the victim, Nana Widayanti, 6,480 Singapore dollars (4,200 US dollars), the online edition of Straits Times newspaper reported.

Tong was convicted on seven charges for abuse that took place between December 2006 and February 2007.