Orang Utan to have cataract operation

A team of veterinarians are due to perform the first ever cataract surgery on an orangutan living in Malaysia’s wildlife centre in the eastern state of Sarawak on Borneo island. A team of three vets - two from South Africa and one Malaysian - will be conducting the operation on both eyes of Aman, a 19-year-old male orangutan, the New Straits Times daily said. “It will be the world’s first cataract surgery on an orangutan.”
and it is going to be performed on home territory. It will be a big achievement,” said S Amilan, the local veterinarian who will be part of the operating team. Aman had been suffering from decreasing vision since 2000, when he first arrived at the wildlife centre. South African animal ophthalmologist Izak Venter, who will be heading the surgical team, said Aman’s vision would not be perfect following the procedure, but the animal would be able to move and identify objects. “This is not laser treatment. During the procedure, a small incision is made in the eye, then the lens is opened and the cloudy contents are removed by a probe,” Venter was quoted as saying by the report. Aman, who has two offspring, was first rescued from a market in Sarawak in 1989 and then kept as a pet for three months before he was surrendered to another rehabilitation centre. He has had two serious accidents at the centre. He bit an electric cable and had to have his tongue removed and in 2000, his left index finger was bitten off by another orangutan.

Tourists urged to work

Singapore is to allow young foreign holidaymakers to work in the city-state as part of efforts to attract skilled migrants. Singapore, which wants to raise its population from 4.5 million to 6.5 million, will allow undergraduates and graduates from seven countries - including France, Germany, Britain and the United States - and the region of Hong Kong to look for employment while on holiday in the country. The government hopes these students, aged between 17 and 30, will return to Singapore after an initial working holiday of up to six months.

Israel bank's base

Israel’s largest bank has picked Singapore as a base to serve both Israeli and international clients doing business in Asia. It is the first Far East branch for the Bank Hapoalim group, said chief executive Zvi Ziv.  Its Zurich-based private banking arm, BHI Switzerland, has also opened a Singapore branch to serve both Israeli and international clientsvdoing business in Asia.  Bank Hapoalim has a one-third share of the Israeli banking market, said Rami Lador, BHI Switzerland’s executive vice-president.

Mahathir in hospital

Malaysia’s former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has been admitted to a hospital after suffering breathing difficulties while in the northern resort island of Langkawi, reports said.  Last year, the 82-year old former premier suffered a heart attack and was admitted to hospital.  Mahathir stepped down as one of Asia’s longest serving PM leaders in October 2003.  However, he has remained vocal in politics, often slamming the government of his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi with a string of criticisms he says are aimed at improving the service of the country’s leaders.

Woman in hijack bid

An Indian woman was detained after she threatened to hijack a Malaysia Airlines flight during a domestic flight from Kuala Lumpur. The 35-year-old woman boarded the plane with two children, aged one and three. In the middle of the one-hour flight, which was headed for the northern Penang state, the woman went to the cockpit and demanded to be let in. The suspect threatened to “take over the plane” but was later convinced to return to her seat by aircrew.