LOL ! The anatomy of a backpacker

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Marina Bay bridges open

The poser buzzing in many Singaporeans' minds was answered by Mr Mah Bow Tan yesterday when he opened the two landmark bridges across Marina Bay and revealed their names.

The Helix, at 280m long, was chosen for the spiral-shaped pedestrian bridge while the Bayfront Bridge, spanning 303m, was picked for the parallel bridge for vehicles.

About 2,000 people turned up at Marina Bay last night to witness the event. They were treated to a two-minute display of fireworks from the two bridges while taking in the panoramic view of the new downtown.

The crowd was also entertained by drummers and stilt walkers positioned on The Helix.

Mr Mah, the National Development Minister, declared the bridges open at about 8pm.

Vehicles can start using the Bayfront Bridge from 3pm today. The Youth Olympic Park, Singapore's first art park at the entrance of the bridges, was also opened yesterday.

So pretty in white...

Bush - Inflatable (LIVE)

THE KOOKS to play Ibiza Rocks

We are pleased to announce that THE KOOKS will be playing at this year's Ibiza Rocks.

The band will play at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel on 10th August. They have also been confirmed for the Mallorca Rocks Hotel opening party on 6th June.

Tickets for both events are now on sale at http://www.ibizarocks.com/

http://www.THEKOOKS.com

Blood Falls

This five-story, blood-red waterfall pours very slowly out of the Taylor Glacier in Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys. When geologists first discovered the frozen waterfall in 1911, they thought the red color came from algae, but its true nature turned out to be much more spectacular.

Roughly two thousand years ago, the Taylor Glacier sealed beneath it a small body of water which contained an ancient community of microbes. Trapped below a thick layer of ice, they have remained there ever since, isolated inside a natural time capsule. Evolving independently of the rest of the living world, these microbes exist in a world with no light or free oxygen and little heat, and are essentially the definition of "primordial ooze." The trapped lake has very high salinity and is rich in iron, which gives the waterfall its red color. A fissure in the glacier allows the subglacial lake to flow out, forming the falls without contaminating the ecosystem within.

The existence of the Blood Falls ecosystem shows that life is indeed possible in the most extreme of conditions. It does not at all show, however, if Life could perhaps exist on other planets with similar environments and similar bodies of frozen water - notably Mars and Jupiter's moon Europa. But regardless of extraterrestrial life, the earth's Blood Falls are a wonder to behold both visually, and scientifically.

Casinos exempted from smoking ban in public spaces

SINGAPORE: Smoking is banned in most enclosed places in Singapore, but it is a different story for the two casinos at Resorts World Singapore (RWS) and the soon to be opened Marina Bay Sands.

A casino patron recently wrote to MediaCorp's English daily TODAY, saying she was surprised to see a designated smoking area at the RWS casino.

She asked if there are any "double standards".

The decision to exclude casinos from the smoking ban came in 2008 after a year-long discussion between the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the two Integrated Resorts (IRs).

NEA said "it is a common practice for casinos in many countries to put in place house rules to designate smoking and non-smoking areas".

However, NEA also added that smoking is allowed within casino premises only if smokers "comply with the house rules set out by premise owners".

Following feedback from patrons, RWS said it is looking at better ways to keep out the smoke drift.

In the United States, imposing a non-smoking ban in casinos has generated public debate due to the high spending of patrons, many of whom are smokers.

When Alantic City imposed a ban on smoking in all its 11 casinos, several gaming halls reportedly saw a fall in their revenues.

Singapore, Hong Kong jump to top 5 on luxury home price-rise list

SINGAPORE: Hong Kong and Singapore jumped from the bottom five to the top five of an annual list measuring the rise in luxury home prices.

This was according to the latest figures from property consultants Knight Frank International for 2009.

The firm said that this reflects the attraction of prime residential property, where demand tends to improve as prices dip.

Overall, luxury home prices in the Asia Pacific region rose about 17 per cent on average last year.

In contrast, luxury home prices globally fell 5.5 per cent.

For 2009, the global list was led by Shanghai, where luxury home prices rose 52 per cent.

This was followed by Beijing at 47 per cent and Hong Kong at 40.5 per cent.

Singapore was tied for fourth place with Johannesburg, where luxury prices increased 17 per cent.

Non-Asian cities that made it to the top ten were Rio De Janerio (10 per cent), London (6.1 per cent) and Washington (5.7 per cent).

At the bottom of the global list - at number 56 - was Dubai, which saw luxury home prices plummet by 45 per cent.

- CNA/yb

Changi is World's best again

CHANGI Airport has bounced back from the third spot to become the World's Best Airport in an annual survey of travellers worldwide.

In the last Skytrax World Airport survey, Changi came in third. The last time it took top spot was in 2006.

Apart from being named Airport of the Year 2010, Changi Airport also picked up the titles for Best Leisure Amenities and Best Airport in Asia, said a statement from the Changi Airport Group on Wednesday.

The group's chief executive Lee Seow Hiang attributed Changi's success to 'the affirmation, encouragement and feedback' received from its stakeholders, 'including the millions of passengers and visitors' it serves every year. 'This has motivated us to continue to improve and innovate,' he added.

Changi Airport also picked up two other awards in the last three months, including its eighth Top Airport Worldwide by Wanderlust and its fifth Best Airport in Asia Pacific by DestinAsian.

Since its opening in 1981, Changi Airport has won more than 340 airport awards.