News Today

$45,000-per-head dinner extravaganza in Bangkok
BANGKOK - SUPERLATIVES are flying about in Bangkok over a 1-million- baht-per-head (S$45,000) gala dinner tonight prepared by six of the world's finest chefs. The first of 15 people wealthy enough to afford the price - plus the 17 per cent... [Read more]

Catch fine arts on last day of Nafa open house
TODAY is the last day of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Nafa) three-day open house. The highlight is a fashion show to be staged by Nafa students who won two major design contests held in conjunction with Singapore Fashion Week... [Read more]

Today in Summary
Supermart staff under probe for skiving on YouTubeLONDON - A BRITISH supermarket chain has launched a probe after video clips of people performing stunts while wearing the company uniform surfaced on the YouTube website.The videos allegedly featured Somerfield staff 'skiving' from... [Read more]

Dubai deal gets nod from US port authority
NEW YORK - THE New York-New Jersey Port Authority and American International Group (AIG) have reached a preliminary agreement to let the insurer buy Dubai Ports World's (DP World) stake in the Port Newark container terminal.DP World acquired assets at six... [Read more]

For S'pore chefs, a lonely quest for success
LYON (FRANCE) - IN HALL 33 of Lyon's Eurexpo, the stands groaned from the weight of 1,000 supporters in the heated throes of war. National flags were printed on their T-shirts, painted on their faces and waved in unison in their... [Read more]

Make high-quality preschool available to rich and poor
I REFER to the recent parliamentary debates between several MPs and Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Education) Masagos Zulkifli concerning preschool education.In the debate, it was assured that the Ministry of Education (MOE), in tandem with the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and... [Read more]

Problem's not the stadia, it's the Ultras
MILAN - THE installation of 28 electronic turnstiles - that was all it took for the Italian government to open the San Siro Stadium to season ticket-holders. The Serie A game staged there yesterday against Livorno ended 2-1 for home team... [Read more]

A-G wants Suharto to repay $500m in charity funds
JAKARTA - INDONESIA'S Attorney-General said yesterday he would demand that former president Suharto repay charity funds alleged to have been used to enrich friends and family before launching a civil suit against him. Earlier this month, Attorney-General Abdul Rahman Saleh said... [Read more]

Car COE prices dive to 17-year low
CERTIFICATES of Entitlement for cars fell to their lowest level in 17 years yesterday. This freak result came about because of a shorter-than-usual interval between the latest tender and the previous one, said motor traders. The early hongbao for 4,000 bidders... [Read more]

Asean rocks on to reach out to youth
ASEAN turns 40 this year, and it is celebrating by reaching out to youth.The 10-member group of South-east Asian nations kicked off its 40th anniversary celebrations with a five-day music festival at the Hard Rock Cafe here yesterday, and more youth-oriented... [Read more]

Fee freeze at 3 universities in view of GST hike
SINGAPORE'S three local universities will not raise tuition fees this year in view of the upcoming increase in goods and services tax (GST).The news came as a pleasant surprise to university-bound students and their parents, particularly because the National University of... [Read more]

Spanish woes

SPAIN'S love-hate relationship with European competition this season endured another roller-coaster journey in the Uefa Cup on Thursday with none of the country's four sides managing to scrape a win.

The night of mediocrity followed on from Barcelona and Real Madrid's exits from the Champions League.

On Thursday, Uefa Cup holders Sevilla, the Spanish league leaders, were held 2-2 at home by Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine. They needed a late goal to draw a game which saw three penalties.

Celta Vigo lost 0-1 at home to Germany's Werder Bremen, Espanyol drew 0-0 at Maccabi Haifa, and Osasuna came back from Glasgow Rangers with a 1-1 draw.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

News Today

More muscle for MAS to fight money laundering
THE central bank will get beefed-up powers to tackle money laundering and help consumers resolve disputes with financial institutions. The changes to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Act will enable the bank to carry out its functions in a more... [Read more]

Roma's hopes rest on an improved performance
ROME - IF ROMA want to progress in the Champions League, they will have to play better than they did last Saturday.Then, they produced one of their worst performances in recent times in their 0-1 loss to Empoli.The result left them... [Read more]

Beckham yet to find a house in LA
THE Beckhams are struggling to find a suitable mansion in their future hometown of Los Angeles.They are looking at more than 20 homes in the US$18 million (S$27.6 million) to US$30 million range, the Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday. David... [Read more]

Why only some organs removed?
I READ with concern about the recent case of Mr Sim Tee Hua's organs being removed despite his family members' unhappiness. I fully empathise with them. According to the Human Organ Transplant Act (Hota), the corneas, heart, kidneys and liver suitable... [Read more]

Slingers lose play-off
THE Singapore Slingers' first season in the Australian National Basketball League is over.They lost 93-106 to the Townsville Crocodiles in the play-off quarter-finals at the Townsville Entertainment Centre in North Queensland yesterday.Said Slingers coach Gordon McLeod: 'We let ourselves down in... [Read more]

Bloggers attempt to have NST's libel suit struck out
KUALA LUMPUR - BLOGGERS Ahirudin Atan and Jeff Ooi, being sued by media giant New Straits Times (NST), are fighting back by attempting to get the suits thrown out even before they are heard.Mr Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, their lawyer, said yesterday... [Read more]

Abe grilled over ministers' controversial remarks
TOKYO - JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his right-hand man were yesterday grilled over gaffes by two ministers who called the Iraq war a 'mistake' and women 'child-bearing machines'.The comments are giving Mr Abe a political headache when his support... [Read more]

8 Iranians nabbed in Gaza as Hamas-Fatah truce collapses
GAZA - EIGHT Iranian citizens were arrested and a Palestinian intelligence chief loyal to Fatah killed, after a shaky truce in the territory broke down on Thursday. At least 10 people have been killed and at least 100 wounded in fighting... [Read more]

Ray of hope for families with sick kids
WHEN a chronic illness hits a child, it also hits the family. Parents will worry for the child - if not also over the extra expenses - and siblings may have to grapple with losing a bit of the attention they... [Read more]

More foreign docs, but 'no lowering of standards'
SINGAPORE needs more doctors, and the Government will let in those from the top two to five overseas medical schools from Asian countries like India. But Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan made it clear there would be 'absolutely no'' lowering of... [Read more]

Hard for a middle class family to live together
IN HIS Chinese New Year message, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged Singaporeans to 'keep the family unit strong and healthy'. However, there are issues that need to be addressed.I would love to endorse this 'living together' concept, but can I... [Read more]

News Today

An SMS novel from the land of Nokia
HELSINKI (FINLAND) - A NOVEL in which the entire narrative consists of mobile-phone text messages was published on Wednesday in Finland, home of the world's top handset maker Nokia. The Last Messages tells the story of a fictitious information technology executive... [Read more]

Investments in S'pore last year hit record $13b
SINGAPORE attracted investments last year that will eventually add $13.4 billion annually to the economy - a record for a single year - and generate almost 27,000 new jobs. The figure, up from 2005's $10.8 billion, was achieved against intense and... [Read more]

Pension fund scam involved 20 top names
SHANGHAI - AT LEAST 20 officials and businessmen were involved in Shanghai's pension fund scandal, the government said yesterday, giving its fullest account yet of the scandal that rocked the city last year. Eleven party officials and more than 10 others... [Read more]

2 S'poreans die in Ipoh crash
PHOTO: SIN CHEW DAILY Two Singaporeans were killed in a road accident near Ipoh on Tuesday evening. The pair, Mr Mohd Ridzuan Hussein, 25, and Mr Roslan Rahim, 24, were on a motorbike bound for Alor Star in Kedah when their... [Read more]

No headway in Iran's nuke stand-off
DEFYING innumerable United Nations Security Council resolutions, Iran let on earlier this week that it has set up more than 300 centrifuges in two uranium enrichment units at its underground Natanz complex. The country's nuclear programme is therefore set to go... [Read more]

NTUC to sponsor training of SME workers
THE National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is going to step in and sponsor the training of unionised workers in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Labour chief Lim Swee Say made the promise yesterday to these workers who are rarely sent for... [Read more]

Tears from Best Player
NOH Alam Shah broke into tears as he spoke to The Straits Times moments after winning the Asean Football Championship in Bangkok yesterday. The joy of retaining the trophy, being named the tournament's Best Player, and being crowned Top Scorer with... [Read more]

On lack of support base
'I have to watch and listen and think about what I am supposed to do, because I do not have any support base like a political party - I have to be very careful.' ON DEALING WITH CRITICISM 'I am not... [Read more]

16 killed after fire breaks out on ferry
JAKARTA - A FIRE broke out on an Indonesian ferry carrying 300 passengers yesterday, killing at least 16 and sending panicked passengers jumping into sea. One women slipped beneath the waves, clutching her 18-month-old daughter. More than a dozen remained unaccounted... [Read more]

3 reasons to support Lions
COME to the National Stadium to back the national team against Malaysia tonight.Football Association of Singapore president Ho Peng Kee gave three reasons why: This is the real thing - they are cheering for Singapore, their country, and not some adopted... [Read more]

Standard design for LTA humps
I REFER to the letter, 'Standardise road humps for better ride' by Mr Teng Heng Tin (ST, Feb 7).The Land Transport Authority adopts standard designs for road humps on public roads under our jurisdiction or maintenance. These include height and width... [Read more]

News Today

Hammers lose Upson, and game
LONDON - CAN things get any worse for West Ham?Bad enough they lost 0-1 to Aston Villa in the Premiership after a dreadful display on Saturday.Worse, they also saw &pound6million (S$18 million) new signing Matthew Upson go off with an injured... [Read more]

Beating the blues
The cold snap this week in north-eastern US has not dampened a West Virginian resident's sense of fun. Mr Rich DeMary. 43, has poured jugs of water mixed with food colouring over the icicles along this road, just to brighten the... [Read more]

Fighting in the streets of Beirut
BEIRUT once again descended into chaos this week as Hizbollah supporters littered the roads with burning tyres in a bid to topple the US-backed government. The country was paralysed as the militants set up a vast network of roadblocks, sparking violent... [Read more]

What's left of coalition troops
Albania: 120 troops (non-combat) Armenia: 46 Australia: 550* Azerbaijan: 150 Bosnia-herzegovina: 36 Britain: 7,100 (to withdraw 1,600 troops by spring) Bulgaria: 155 Czech Republic: 99 Denmark: 460 (to be withdrawn by August) El Salvador: 380 Estonia: 35 Georgia: 900* Kazakhstan: 27... [Read more]

STI slips again on weak electronics data
SINGAPORE shares took another hit yesterday, after Thursday's pummelling, as economic data revealed continued softness in the electronics sector. The nation's December manufacturing output numbers released yesterday fell slightly more than expected, weighed down by the electronics sector, which dipped 8... [Read more]

Seoul pardons tycoons 'to boost economy'
SEOUL - SOUTH Korea yesterday announced pardons for more than 430 convicted business leaders and politicians in an attempt to reinvigorate the economy 10 years after the Asian financial crisis. The list agreed at a Cabinet meeting includes Park Yong Sung,... [Read more]

Year of Golden Pig set to bring home the bacon for investors
ACCORDING to astrologers, this Year of the Pig will be especially auspicious. For investors, it will, they say, really bring home the bacon. That is because it is not just any Pig Year, but a Golden Pig Year - the first... [Read more]

Why insist on just one method of solving a mathematical problem when others achieve the same result?
I thank Mr Lim Boon Tong for addressing the bugbear of many parents who are anxious to track the progress of their kids in primary schools. By insisting on the so-called model-drawing methods of solving a maths problem, the schools have... [Read more]

Austria's Olympian minister dies
AUSTRIA'S first female interior minister Liese Prokop, a former Olympic silver medallist, has died of a ruptured blood vessel. She was 65.Ms Prokop, who was appointed in 2004 to oversee Austria's police and overall security, died on Sunday night as she... [Read more]

'Yellow dust' set to sweep S. Korea
SEOUL - CHINA'S neighbours are bracing themselves for the onslaught of massive sandstorms which hit the Korean peninsula and Japan each spring.Seoul yesterday issued its first nationwide 'yellow dust' alert of the year, urging people to stay indoors as much as... [Read more]

Iranian bombs smuggled into Iraq, says coalition
BAGHDAD - UNITED States-led coalition forces in Iraq presented yesterday what officials said was 'a growing body' of evidence of Iranian weapons being used to kill coalition soldiers.A senior defence official from the Multi-National Force told a briefing that 170 coalition... [Read more]

News Today

SAF insurance plan doesn't leave widows stranded
I EMPATHISE with Mrs Yim Bee Bee ('Widow excluded from Safra insurance scheme''; ST, Jan 20).My husband was a military reservist. but had been discharged from NS liability when he was 50. Both of us signed up for the SAF Insurance... [Read more]

Bangkok blast suspect 'linked to attacks in south'
YALA - INVESTIGATORS said yesterday that a suspect in the deadly New Year's Eve blasts in Bangkok may have links to the Islamic separatist insurgency in southern Thailand.Until now, the Thai government has denied any link to the southern unrest and... [Read more]

Firm banned from hiring foreign workers at 2 sites
WRITTEN warnings, fines and stop-work orders - construction firm Greatearth has had all of these. But it has not bucked up on its 'very poor safety and health management' record to the satisfaction of the Manpower Ministry (MOM), so it has... [Read more]

WP forms 'action plan' to attract more Malays
THE Workers' Party (WP) is rolling out its post-election plans to attract more Malay members and reach out to the community, starting with the young.Four Malays now sit on the 12-member council of the party's youth wing, compared to none when... [Read more]

Streetzone? More like dead zone, say angry mall tenants
ANOTHER group of retail tenants is locking horns with its management over what it sees as half-baked efforts to drum up business. This time, it is in Ang Mo Kio Central, in a mall scarcely five months old called Streetzone. Call... [Read more]

Tonight's Summary
Four new lifestyle groups for members'AKAN datang'' (Malay for coming soon) will be more affordable and fun activities for workers.That was what the National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC) new secretary-general Lim Swee Say promised as part of the organisation's workplan this... [Read more]

Petulant, pathetic, pointless
WALKING off the pitch when you disagree with a referee's decision is no way to behave. Lille players were wrong to protest against Ryan Giggs' winner in Manchester United's 1-0 Champions League first-leg win, which was played in Lens. It was... [Read more]

Man who made ITE world class calls it a day
THE first time he was asked to head the Vocational and Industrial Training Board, Dr Law Song Seng said 'No'. That was 1981, and the board's premises in Ayer Rajah were nothing to shout about. When it rained, the ceiling leaked.... [Read more]

Don't lose focus in the organ trading debate - it's the beneficiaries' survival we should be concerned about
The legality and ethical dilemma on the sale of organ issue requires an objective, and yet empathetic policy.I refer to the article, 'Should organ trading be allowed? No, says poll' (ST, Feb 4) . In that report, seven in 10 polled... [Read more]

PAP moves to counter criticism of party, Govt in cyberspace
THE People's Action Party (PAP) is mounting a quiet counter-insurgency against its online critics. It has members going into Internet forums and blogs to rebut anti-establishment views and putting up postings anonymously. Sources told The Straits Times the initiative is driven... [Read more]

Results
BASKETBALLNBA: Dallas 80 Houston 77, Cleveland 114 LA Lakers 108.CRICKETFirst Chappell-Hadlee series one-day match in Wellington: Australia 148 all out in 49.3 overs (M. Hussey 42; Bond 5-23, Gillespie 2-27, Vettori 2-26, McMillan 1-3). New Zealand 149-0 in 27 overs (L.Vincent... [Read more]

News Today

Restructuring deadline for Shin Corp poses dilemmas
A LOOMING deadline for Shin Corp to restructure its shareholding organisation is set to pose separate dilemmas for Thailand's military-installed government and a Temasek Holdings-led consortium that controls the conglomerate.Here's why.Shin Corp, the publicly listed telecommunications group previously controlled by the... [Read more]

Growing trend
AD AGENCY Y&R Singapore stepped up its PR efforts this month by hiring Mr Justin Low, 30, from Grayling Public Relations to manage its publicity affairs. Mr Charles Sng, who specialises in marketing communications at headhunting firm Aquent, says it is... [Read more]

CapitaLand earnings exceed $1b level
ANOTHER year, another record profit for property giant CapitaLand, which reported yesterday that full-year net earnings had jumped 35.6 per cent to $1.02 billion. The booming high-end residential market here helped power the company to its third record result in as... [Read more]

All that jazz and art from HK
BIG band music from Hong Kong's Saturday Night Jazz Orchestra filled the air last night, as an arts showcase called Spotlight Hong Kong kicked off at The Arts House. Part of the city's arts exchange with Singapore, it is a sister... [Read more]

More troops for Thai south after killer blasts
BANGKOK - THAILAND is sending more troops to the troubled south after bomb and arson attacks marred the Chinese New Year, leaving left nine people dead and 44 injured. The attacks by suspected Muslim separatists overnight on Sunday saw all four... [Read more]

Beckham yet to find a house in LA
THE Beckhams are struggling to find a suitable mansion in their future hometown of Los Angeles.They are looking at more than 20 homes in the US$18 million (S$27.6 million) to US$30 million range, the Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday. David... [Read more]

Sports World
INDONESIAN OFFICIAL SAYS SORRY TO CHUASONNY Tobing, an official of the Indonesian bodybuilding federation (PABBSI), has issued a public apology to Singapore Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation president Paul Chua.He also withdrew the 'damaging, untrue and false' statement he had made in... [Read more]

Report notes Avramovic's behaviour
THE behaviour of Singapore coach Raddy Avramovic during Wednesday's first-leg final has been mentioned in the match commissioner's report.According to sources, match commissioner Mohamad Ameez of the Maldives noted that Avramovic rushed out of his technical area on several occasions.The coach... [Read more]

Attacking football paid off for the hosts, says ST panel
'The Singapore team did well and denied the Thais space and time. We did not allow them to settle down or get any kind of rhythm going.'The one time that they did get going, they scored a goal, so it shows... [Read more]

Bush hits the road to push for free trade
IN WASHINGTON - US PRESIDENT George W. Bush has hit the road to garner support for his free trade agenda. This comes against a backdrop of brewing opposition in the Democrat-controlled Congress, which is trying to clip his powers to negotiate... [Read more]

Samsung hopes new portal will spice up market
ELECTRONICS giant Samsung has unveiled a new website that it says sets a new benchmark for top consumer electronics firms. With the website  Samsung is jostling with a host of commercial portals trying to get noticed in the increasinglycrowded market. Uberme means... [Read more]