Malaysian hits States with album

The name Shayna Zaid may not sound familiar to Malaysians, but the 22-year-old heartthrob has made a breakthrough in New York after releasing her debut album, Beyond Borders.  The R&B/Soul genre album has made her name on par with other international female stars.  Shayna will be releasing her second album, which will be produced by The OZONE Production in New York, soon. 

Falun Gong protest

Six Singapore-based followers of the Falun Gong spiritual movement were in court facing charges of holding a protest without a permit in the city state.  The group, made up of ethnic Chinese women aged from 37 to 55 years, were charged in April last year.If convicted, they face a maximum fine of S$1,000(C$771).

Singapore deports fugitive

A fugitive Taiwanese businessman in Singapore would be deported to the United States because of problems with his travel documents. Wang You-theng, who fled Taiwan, arrived in Singapore recently from Los Angeles. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said Wang’s travel document was “not in order.”

Ming Pao takes over

Ming Pao Enterprise Corp, publisher of Chinese language Ming Pao Daily News, plans to take over Sin Chew Media Corp, Malaysia’s largest Chinese newspaper publisher, and Nanyang Press Holdings. The merger would create “a global Chinese language media group,” which will be one of the largest in the world.

Drug smuggler hanged

Singapore hanged a 21-year-old Nigerian man for drug smuggling, despite pleas from the Nigerian president, the United Nations and international human rights groups to spare his life. Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi was executed after being arrested at Singapore’s Changi Airport in November ‘04 for carrying 727 grams of heroin.