TODAY’s brief, Wed, Jan 7

AirAsia Flight QZ8501

The search for the flight’s wreckage continues into Day 11 today. Two more bodies were retrieved yesterday, bringing the total to 39, after bad weather hampered efforts for most of the day. “Time is of the essence,” said the National Search and Rescue Agency’s director of operations, Suryadi B. Supriyadi. “But it seems like it is hard to beat the weather.”

COE results

The first COE bidding exercise of the year wraps today at 4pm. Last month, premiums for small cars dipped 1.79 per cent to S$65,889, while premiums for big cars also fell 0.52 per cent to S$74,000. The biggest decline was in the goods vehicles and buses category, with premiums falling 13.17 per cent to S$52,100. Premiums for the Open category fell 3.79 per cent to S$73,990. Only premiums for motorcycles inched up from S$4,210 to S$4,312.

Ukraine delegates visit Germany

A Ukrainian government delegation headed by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk will visit Germany to meet with the country’s leadership. Discussions will centre on European policy topics, such as relations with Russia and the developments in Ukraine.

SG50: The Gift of Song

The song-writing competition organised by MediaCorp to celebrate the nation’s 50th birthday will announce the three finalists’ songs. The songs will be put to a vote by the public between Jan 8 and Mar 1 and the winning song will be presented to all Singaporeans to sing along in the weeks leading up to National Day.

SEA Games

As the lead up to this year’s SEA Games gains momentum, we find out how the Singapore Sailing Federation is preparing the national side for the competition.

Weather

The weather is expected to be generally cloudy. with temperatures ranging between 23°C and 30°C.