What's a husky doing in tropical Singapore?

THE article, 'Pet abuse case leads to family rift' (ST, March 6), begs the question, What is a Siberian Husky doing in Singapore?

Chewie has suffered more abuse than just the injury to its leg. It comes from a long ancestry of canines that natural selection has prepared for freezing temperatures and long runs in open spaces. Its coat is too thick for Singapore's tropical climate and its short, muscular legs will never get the workout they need to maintain health in the city's enclosed spaces.

To own a Siberian Husky in Singapore is to be disrespectful to the nature of this animal. Poor Chewie. It may not be against the law to keep it in a place like Singapore, but it sure is a crime.

Jennifer Eveland (Mrs)

TV times

SOCCER: Uefa Champions League last 16, 2nd leg: Manchester United v Lille (Live, Ch23 and TV3, tomorrow, 3.30am), Bayern Munich v Real Madrid (Live, Ch24, tomorrow, 3.30am), Arsenal v PSV Eindhoven (Delayed, Ch23, 6am).

Meyer, 50, dies on the pitch

HE DIED on the field he had lived to play on.

Former schoolboy international and passionate cricketer, Denis Meyer, died on Saturday after a heart attack as he was coaching a group of youngsters at the Ceylon Sports Club in Balestier Road.

He was 50.

Medics arrived 10 minutes after his collapse and rushed him to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, but he was pronounced dead on arrival.

His death comes as a shock to many as he had no history of heart problems. He had, in fact, just finished batting in a friendly game minutes before his collapse.

'My father was probably the fittest of those his age. Others are slowing down in life but he still played cricket regularly,' said his son, Glenn.

'He loved the game.'

Meyer played for the Australian and New Zealand Association in the cricket league for the past few years. He was one of the oldest active players around.

A Singapore Under-23 player in the 1970s, he started coaching in 1996, when he introduced the sport to his sons.

Cricket is a family affair for the Meyers, with 21-year-old Glenn now a national cricketer, and his 17-year-old brother, Shane, in the U-19 team.

Even Meyer's wife, Lorraine - a former school netballer - took up the sport under her husband's influence. She was his teammate in his last game on Saturday.

Said the Singapore Cricket Association's secretary, M.Neethiananthan: 'Denis and his family devoted much of their precious time to the game.

'He was a very dedicated player and coach.

'His sudden and untimely demise is a great loss to the sport, in particular the youth development.'

For Glenn, however, his father's manner of death lends some consolation.

'I could not have asked for a better ending for him.

'He was wearing his cricket outfit, and passed away on the field.

'He would have been happy.'

The wake will be held at 495C Tampines Street 43, #08-386. The cortege leaves tomorrow at 2.30pm for a funeral service at Church of the Holy Trinity.

HOE PEI SHAN

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Afghan opium output soars to record high

WASHINGTON - OPIUM production in Afghanistan surged to record levels last year, increasing the flow of heroin to Europe and the Middle East and undermining the fight against Islamist insurgents, the US reported on Thursday.

In its annual report on global narcotics, the State Department linked a 25 per cent jump in opium production in Afghanistan to the resurgence of the Taleban militia, which has reasserted control over swathes of the country from which it was ousted in 2001.

The congressionally mandated report revealed that despite four years of anti-narcotics assistance to the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, opium cultivation continues to rise in the country, with output growing from 4,475 tonnes in 2005 to 5,644 tonnes last year.

Last year's harvest was valued at US$3.1 billion (S$4.7 billion) - nearly a third of Afghanistan's total national product, including both legal and illegal activities, it said, citing United Nations statistics.

The report blamed the government's failure to curb opium output on the 'limited reach of Afghan law enforcement, endemic corruption and a weak judicial system'.

It also said there was 'strong evidence that narcotics trafficking is linked to the Taleban insurgency', which caught the United States government and its allies by surprise with its series of deadly attacks in 2005.

'These links between drug traffickers and anti-government forces threaten regional stability,' the report said.

Earlier this year, the US announced a massive US$10.6 billion in new aid to bolster the Karzai government, but all but US$2 billion will go to strengthen security forces and just a fraction of the rest will be used for anti-narcotics efforts.

The State Department report said the resurgence of Afghan opium production undermines 'the consolidation of democracy and security in Afghanistan' and could lead to a spike in heroin overdoses in Europe, Russia and the Middle East.

Among other major opium producers, the report acknowledged efforts by Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand - the so-called Golden Triangle countries - to curb poppy cultivation.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

SGX taking steps to prevent another glitch

THE Singapore Exchange (SGX) is taking steps to ensure there is no repeat of a glitch that clogged its computers during the sell-off panic that gripped the stock market on Wednesday.

A flood of orders triggered a massive log-jam in the SGX trading system. This led to the screen showing buyers wanting to pay more for shares than the sellers' asking prices.

The glitch occurred about an hour before market close, a traditionally busy time, especially on days when the market is in meltdown mode.

Although the SGX's trading engine was functioning normally in matching buy and sell orders, the order management system - Sesops - used by most brokerages was slow in coping with the deluge of orders.

And a related system which provides price feeds to SGX's website and data providers such as Bloomberg and Reuters also malfunctioned because of the congestion in orders.

This prevented The Straits Times and The Business Times from publishing Wednesday's closing share prices yesterday.

SGX's senior executive vice-president, Mr Gan Seow Ann, said yesterday that a combination of high volume and extreme price volatility in Wednesday's trading hit the system.

'It was different from what was experienced before,' he said.

The sell-off was a knee-jerk reaction to Wall Street's 416-point plunge.

This caused the Straits Times Index (STI) to fall by 192 points at one stage in its worst one-day drop in 20 years.

But it was the huge trading volume - 3.25 billion shares worth a record $4.03 billion - that strained the system.

'A lot of information was being pumped into the trading engines from the trading terminals,' said Mr Gan.

'Traders were putting in orders at prices way off market to bottom-fish and a few minutes later, when they were not done, they would pull them out and re-enter at another level.'

This led to a considerable slowdown in trading, with brokers having to wait longer for trade confirmation.

Bid and offer prices were also updated slowly and at different times resulting in anomalies when brokers look at the order queues.

By contrast, although higher daily volumes were traded during the boom period in late 1999, they were 'attained over a period when prices traded and volatilities were a lot more contained', added Mr Gan.

Despite the hiccups, he said there were so far 'no major incidents' involving settlements of trades.

Although information on trade settlements went out later than usual, 'brokers were all ready when the market opened this morning, knowing what their outstanding positions are', he said.

And there were also no grounds to halt trading on Wednesday.

Mr Gan said: 'We do have procedures for trading halts but those are for unique circumstances.

'The market was orderly. Brokers were able to see the top-line prices and the market was able to function. Under that kind of circumstance, it doesn't warrant a trading halt.'

But he said the SGX recognised the limitations of the existing technologies.

It is upgrading its entire trading infrastructure over the next two years and will also look into ways of ensuring the existing system copes better with high volatility.

'That is why we embarked on a technology upgrading programme - working with the brokerages to upgrade their terminals,' said Mr Gan.

But brokers are keeping their fingers crossed on the system that SGX will install to replace Sesops, which has been in use for 17 years.

An earlier replacement - SGXTrade - which was developed by an Indian software developer was so riddled with glitches that it was dumped early last year.

engyeow@sph.com.sg



DOUBLE WHAMMY

'In a nutshell, even though we experienced much higher volumes in the past, we didn't experience the kind of characteristics we saw yesterday - large volumes and extremely high volatilities that slowed down the flow of price information.'

MR GAN, OF THE SGX



WHAT HAPPENED

Large order flows jammed the Singapore Exchange computers on Wednesday when the Straits Times Index plunged 4 per cent. This created a host of problems including situations where buyers wanted to pay more for shares than sellers were asking. A related service - the provision of price feeds - to data providers such as Bloomberg and SGX's own website also malfunctioned because of the congestion. The result: There was no publication of Wednesday's closing share prices in The Straits Times and The Business Times yesterday.

Catch no ball

United States President George W. Bush looked startled, as the basketball he had dropped failed to bounce up.

It was a practical joke played by Shaquille O'Neal, the Miami Heat's star centre.

The National Basketball Association champions had been invited by the president to visit the White House on Tuesday.

President Bush lauded the Heat for succeeding the hard way in last year's NBA Finals. They had lost the first two games to the Dallas Mavericks before winning four straight to clinch the series.

He said: 'They had the stars, but it was the capacity to play together, to put the team ahead of themselves, that enabled them to be here at the White House.'

He called O'Neal one of the most well-known figures in the US.

Miami's other superstar, shooting guard Dwyane Wade, came with his left arm in a sling.

He had dislocated his shoulder last week, and is deciding whether to have season-ending surgery or enter a rehabilitation programme that could get him on the court in weeks.

Said Mr Bush: 'I know a lot of NBA fans, whether they like the Heat or not, are pulling for Dwyane to get back into action. We wish you a speedy recovery.'

The championship was the first in the Heat's 18-year history.

It came with contributions from some famous NBA players at the tail end of their careers, such as guard Gary Payton and centre Alonzo Mourning.

ASSOCIATED PRESS