Download  Malaysia and Singapore have finally agreed to a settlement on the strip of railway land that has been a diplomatic sore point for decades.

A deal is expected to be finalized next month that would see Malaysia surrender the prized real estate to a company jointly owned by both countries.

The land swap will see Singapore cut the historical cord that physically binds the two nations together.

Our reporter Clarence Chua has the story.

Download  A British author is facing possible jail time in Singapore after he released a book criticising the country’s use of the death penalty and its judicial system.

75-year-old freelance journalist, Alan Shadrake, is facing contempt of court charges for his book ‘Once a Jolly Hangman - Singapore Justice on the Dock’.

The book’s release has renewed calls for Singapore to abolish the Mandatory Death sentence.

Monica Kotwani has been speaking to the author and has this report.

Download In Asia the stop smoking battle is failing.

In places like the Philippines the number of smokers…men women and children…is still increasing.

In China, where more than 60 percent of men smoke, it’s okay to light up most anywhere.

Anti-Tobacco activist from across Asia are meeting in the United States this week to talk about what’s going wrong.

Jasvinder Sehgal reports from the conference at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of public health in Baltimore, USA.

Download  Singapore's government keeps a tight grip on many things.

Multi-culturalism and religious tolerance are two of them.

The city-state is so tiny that harmony between the three ethnic groups is essential to maintaining the economy.  

After race riots in the 1960s the ruling party put in place firm multi-cultural policies.

As Rebecca Henschke reports they control where people live, the make-up of political parties and what languages young people learn at school.