Singapore ups ante for casino firms with new rules, bigger fines

Fireworks explode over Marina Bay in front of the Marina Bay Sands casino and resort during a pyrotechnic show to welcome the new year in SingaporeSINGAPORE (Reuters) – In any casino, the odds favor the house. Using its house edge, Singapore is seeking to maximize economic profits and minimize social costs with tighter rules and tougher fines for two casino operators, along with new steps to curb problem gambling. The wealthy and regimented city-state has enjoyed a windfall of tourism, jobs and revenue since Las Vegas Sands Corp and Genting Singapore Plc opened casino complexes in 2010, in part by linking their licenses to how well they develop attractions that are not related to gambling. …

In India, questions over decision to treat rape victim overseas

Women carrying placards enter Raj Ghat to attend a prayer ceremony for a rape victim after a rally protesting for justice and security for women, in New DelhiNEW DELHI (Reuters) – The decision to fly the victim of a gang rape that outraged India for treatment in Singapore made little medical sense as the woman was so severely injured that her death was all but inevitable, doctors say. The government, on the back foot after furious street protests and stinging criticism of authorities over the December 16 rape in the capital, New Delhi, has struggled to defend its decision to send the 23-year-old physiotherapy student overseas. She died 48 hours later. …

Tiny Singapore risks economic gloom without big baby boom

File photo shows babies lying in cots at a maternity ward in SingaporeSINGAPORE (Reuters) – History suggests Singapore will enjoy a welcome baby boom in this Year of the Dragon, the most auspicious for births in the Chinese zodiac. But after 25 years of state-sponsored matchmaking and fertility-boosting campaigns, the government's attempts to arrest a sliding birth rate are falling flat, with potentially profound consequences for the wealthy Asian city-state. The calls to conception are now urgent and constant to citizens whose fertility ranks last among 222 nations in the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook. …

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