Friday #sgroundup: Malaysia Airlines denies flying #MH17 over Ukraine air space to save on fuel

By Jeanette Tan | What's buzzing? – 

Here are the top trending stories of the day in case you might have missed them:

#MH17: Malaysia Airlines denies flying over Ukraine air space to save on fuel

Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai (L) speaks during a news conference at a hotel near Kuala Lumpur International …

Malaysian transport minister Liow Tiong Lai said on Friday at his first MH17 press conference that the flight path used by the Malaysia Airlines plane was used by many other airlines, followed an approved route and was not taken to save on fuel costs.

He also revealed an updated list of the nationalities of all but 20 passengers, whom have not been confirmed because their passports were not submitted to Amsterdam airport as they were in transit.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/-mh17--malaysia-airlines-flight-mh17-crash---live-report-161739674.html

Ministry of Transport expresses 'concern' over planned Malaysia levy on Singapore vehicles

New cars are seen at a manufacturer's open air car park in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2014. Malaysia's …

Singapore's Ministry of Transport has expressed concern over Malaysia's decision to levy an entry fee on Singapore-registered vehicles entering Johor, which came about two weeks after Singapore's own announcement to hike its vehicle entry permit fees for foreign cars.

Earlier this month, Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced it would be hiking vehicle entry fees for foreign-registered cars from $20 to $35 per day, and quadrupling goods vehicle fees from $10 to $40 per month come August, in order to balance the costs that locally-registered vehicle owners bear for vehicles in Singapore.

On Thursday, Malaysia's government okayed the implementation of its own vehicle entry permit system for Singapore-registered vehicles entering Johor by the end of this year, with deputy transport minister Aziz Kaprawi saying it was due to the "high volume of Singapore-registered cars commuting to and from Malaysia".

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/foreign-registered-vehicles-will-have-to-pay-more-to-enter-singapore-032558889.html

Place banned children's books in adult section, don't pulp: Yaacob

Earlier yesterday, Singapore's Minister for Communications and Information, Yaacob Ibrahim, announced that the …

Singapore's Minister of Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim said on Friday that he instructed the National Library Board (NLB) to place two children's books it earlier banned in the adult section instead of pulping them as initially planned.

In a Facebook post on Friday morning, in which he shared his responses to queries from the Straits Times, he reiterated, "We stand by NLB's decision to remove the three books from the children's section. As I said earlier, NLB has to decide what books should be made readily available to children, who are usually unsupervised, in the children's section of our public libraries. NLB will continue to ensure that books in the children's section are age-appropriate. We have a much wider range of books in the adult section of public libraries."

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/online-petitions-started--call-for-singapore-nlb-to-reinstate-removed-children-s-books-095911437.html

Israel deepens Gaza push to destroy Hamas tunnels

This image made from video shot through a night vision scope released by the Israeli military on Friday, July 18, …

Israeli troops pushed deeper into Gaza on Friday to destroy rocket launching sites and tunnels, firing volleys of tank shells and clashing with Palestinian fighters in a high-stakes ground offensive meant to weaken the enclave's Hamas rulers.

Israel launched the operation late Thursday, following a 10-day campaign of more than 2,000 air strikes against Gaza that had failed to halt relentless Hamas rocket fire on Israeli cities.

Israel's first major ground offensive in Gaza in just over five years came as Egyptian cease-fire efforts stalled. Earlier this week, Israel accepted Cairo's offer to halt hostilities, but Hamas refused, demanding that Israel and Egypt first give guarantees to ease the blockade on Gaza.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/israel-deepens-gaza-push-destroy-hamas-tunnels-081349885.html

Body found in Singapore river

SAF regular found dead at Nee Soon Camp

The body of a man was retrieved from the Singapore River on Friday morning.
 
Police received a call requesting for assistance at 7:46 am and subsequently found a body floating in the river near Eu Tong Sen Street.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/body-found-in-singapore-river-041943501.html

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/what-is-buzzing/friday--sgroundup--malaysia-airlines-denies-flying--mh17-over-ukraine-air-space-to-save-on-fuel-095549007.html