Singapore  - A contractor received a one-year jail term in what is believed to be the first sentencing under laws Singapore introduced in February that toughened penalties for having sex with underage prostitutes, news reports said Tuesday.

Tan Chye Hin, 55, pleaded guilty to having sex with a 16-year-old sex worker but is appealing Monday's sentence by a district court.

A second man is awaiting sentencing for having sex with the same prostitute, also in August and also for 100 Singapore dollars (68 US dollars).

Accountant Rodney Sim Hang Nge, 61, is to be sentenced January 7 for having sex twice with the girl from China.

Singapore/Hamburg  - Singapore Airlines has implemented a new charge for economy class passengers who want to book a seat beside an emergency exit.

Passengers will now have to pay a minimum of 50 dollars for an advance, online seat-booking on each stretch of the route.

The decision means a flight on the airline's Frankfurt-Singapore-Sydney route can cost an additional 100 dollars.

So far, passengers could check-in online and book an emergency exit seat free of charge.

Singapore - Singapore welcomed Monday the launch of direct air, sea and po

Singapore - Singapore shares were up 2 per cent Monday on hopes for a US governm

Singapore  - Singapore's retail sales in October 2008 fell 6.8 per cent from September, the Statistics Department said Monday.

On a year-on-year basis, retail sales declined by 3.6 per cent over a year ago. The volume of retail sales fell by 8.5 per cent after removing price effect, the department said.

The biggest drop was in October motor vehicles sales which fell 20 per cent compared to September.

Retailers of telecommunications equipment and computers reported month-to-month lower turnover of 17.5 per cent.

Singapore  - The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said Friday it was extending and expanding its Air Hub Development Fund (AHDF) to help airlines and airport service providers affected by the global economic downturn.

The AHDF, scheduled to expire December 31, 2008, would be extended by a year with an expanded budget of 130 million Singapore dollars (87.37 million US dollars) compared to the current 100 million dollars.

The CAAS said it would be introducing enhanced benefits, such as increasing the landing fee rebate by 10 per cent to 25 per cent under the extended fund for the benefit of the airlines using Singapore's Changi and Selatar airports.