News Today

Phones of the future
THESE phones may just make current 3G models obsolete. The phones of the future - showcased at the 3GSM World Congress trade show in Barcelona - are here in today's Digital Life.From Nokia's E90 communicator PDA phone to Motorola's Krzr K3, they... [Read more]

Why complainant could not get Business Class seats
I refer to the letter by Mr Robert James Eve, 'A would-be memorable trip marred by inability to get Business Class seat using frequent flyer award points' (Online forum, Feb 14).Singapore Airlines, like all other airlines, reserves a number of seats... [Read more]

North Korean leader's son 'living quiet life in Macau'
HONG KONG - THE eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has been living a low-key but well-off life in Macau for the past three years, a Hong Kong paper reported yesterday. Mr Kim Jong Nam, 35, and his... [Read more]

S'pore will take globalisation head on
GLOBALISATION has become such a dirty word in so many parts of the world that it was almost refreshing to hear Second Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam give his unflinching endorsement of the phenomenon. His message was simple and stark: Globalisation is... [Read more]

Blair's top fund-raiser rearrested while on bail
THE top fund-raiser for British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour Party was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, a police source said.Lord Michael Levy was arrested when he returned to a London police station... [Read more]

Marathon bid to break N. Korea impasse
BEIJING - ENVOYS at six-nation talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear arms programme were making last- ditch efforts to convince Pyongyang to take its first concrete steps to disarm. A marathon session that began yesterday morning was still going on... [Read more]

Number of jobs created last year at record high
A BUMPER crop of jobs was created last year, with slightly more than half going to Singaporeans and permanent residents. The job market was at its peak, with 173,300 jobs added, beating the previous year's record gains of 113,300. Locals -... [Read more]

Flexi-work at 3 places for single Malay mums
MALAY-MUSLIM single mothers can soon seek work at new businesses that will allow them to keep flexible hours. The move will also pave the way for them to receive Workfare.This community initiative, announced by labour MP Halimah Yacob yesterday, involves setting... [Read more]

McCulloch gives Wigan crucial win
LONDON - TWO runs came to an end on Saturday at Wigan.Portsmouth lost for the first time there in 28 years but, more importantly for Wigan, their 1-0 win ended a club-record run of eight straight Premiership losses.Ironically, their hero was... [Read more]

Federer ties with Connors
NEW YORK - ROGER Federer is set to break Jimmy Connors' record for consecutive weeks atop the men's tennis rankings. The Swiss took over the world No. 1 spot in the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour rankings on Feb 2, 2004.... [Read more]

Three Thai firms show interest in Shin Sat
BANGKOK - TWO state-owned telecoms firms, as well as a private one, have reportedly shown interest in buying Temasek Holdings' stake in Shin Sat. According to reports in The Nation, Telephones of Thailand Corp and CAT Telecom have expressed their interest... [Read more]

Serie A

Today

Siena v Ascoli

Torino v Catania



Tomorrow

AS Roma v Udinese

Atalanta v Parma

Chievo v Messina

Empoli v Livorno

Palermo v Fiorentina

Reggina v Lazio

Sampdoria v Cagliari

Inter Milan v AC Milan

News Today

Soccer Shorts
BARTON MAY FACE POLICE, FA PROBELONDON: Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton may face police and Football Association enquiries for making abusive gestures at Portsmouth fans, the Daily Star said.However, the club insist that he did no such thing in Saturday's 1-2... [Read more]

Missing woman, 72, found
AN ELDERLY woman who went missing after a Chinese New Year lunch on Monday has been found.Police officers on a routine patrol found 72-year-old Madam Chok See Mooi wandering at the Seah Im Hawker Centre, opposite the HarbourFront building along Keppel... [Read more]

In Britain, a new, old terrorism
AT LEAST six people were injured by a series of letter bombs in Britain over the past three weeks, in what police said could be a campaign by animal rights extremists or a disgruntled motorist fed up with the country's laws... [Read more]

Indonesia's uphill fight against bird flu
OFFICIALS conducted a door-to-door sweep for backyard fowl in Jakarta on Thursday, a day after Indonesia said it would declare bird flu a national disaster.This will allow the government to dip into a special budget fund to bolster efforts to contain... [Read more]

Dubai shopping festival attracts the big spenders
DUBAI - WITH sales running into billions of dollars and prizes on offer worth millions, the annual Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) is attracting more and more businessmen and shoppers each year. Among those in town for the business opportunities at this... [Read more]

Smaller sites snapped up in new wave of collective sales
LARGE homes in prime areas may be all the rage, but some developers have quietly turned their attention to smaller sites outside the high-priced central districts. These bite-sized estates in popular residential suburbs are being swept up in a new wave... [Read more]

China's brain drain is the world's most severe
BEIJING - CHINA suffers the most severe brain drain of any country, raising fears that there may not be enough talents around to manage the world's fourth-largest economy, state media said yesterday. Out of about one million Chinese who have studied... [Read more]

Chinese picked for King sculpture
CHINESE stone carver Lei Yixin was 10 when he first read about Martin Luther King Jr's historic 'I have a dream' speech at the Lincoln Memorial. Nearly four decades later, the master sculptor from China's Hunan province said he never dreamed... [Read more]

Bullying cases in Japan soar
TOKYO - THE number of Japanese youngsters officially punished for bullying last year rose 41 per cent over 2005 - a 20-year record high - amid heightened concern over school bullying.The National Police Agency said on Thursday there were 233 cases... [Read more]

Singapore's 'big-picture' Budget to be unveiled
WHAT IT IS SECOND Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam will unveil the Budget on Thursday. It has been billed as a Budget that will tilt the balance of public spending towards helping the poor and providing for an ageing population. To pay... [Read more]

Rising prices may eclipse Sonia magic in state polls
DEHRADUN (UTTARAKHAND) - LOCAL leaders of the Indian National Congress and candidates for today's state assembly polls stand on a makeshift platform, pleading for one more opportunity 'to serve the people'. Party workers dressed in homespun and wearing the traditional Congress... [Read more]

News Today

ComCare has spent $68m to help 90,000 individuals, families
EIGHTEEN months after ComCare was launched to fund social assistance programmes, the scheme has delivered on its promise to deliver faster and better help to Singaporeans in need, an official report declared yesterday.So far, 90,000 individuals and families have benefited through... [Read more]

Love-sick widow, 70, on trial for stalking
TOKYO - A 70-YEAR-OLD Japanese woman has gone on trial for bombarding a 79-year-old man with 206 love letters, repeatedly cleaning his family tombstone and breaking a stalking ban.Prosecutors told a court in Ibaraki prefecture in eastern Japan that the defendant... [Read more]

Federer perfect in 10th Slam win
MELBOURNE - ROGER Federer achieved a perfect 10 at the Australian Open yesterday - and there was not a tear in sight. The champion quelled the challenge of swashbuckling Chilean Fernando Gonzalez 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, 6-4 to lift Grand Slam trophy... [Read more]

Heading North
HE WAS the first person in the world to do a wheelchair marathon in the South Pole, and Olympic wheelchair athlete William Tan is now gearing up for another challenge. The neuroscientist - who lost the use of his legs from... [Read more]

Sri Lankan PM on visit
PHOTO: MICA Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake calls on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana. Mr Wickremanayake, who arrived here on Tuesday on a three-day working visit, was hosted to a lunch by Mr Lee yesterday. He also... [Read more]

I'd rather have the privilege of giving away my organs than having them taken away from me automatically
I would like to thank Dr Andy Ho 'It's time to lay to rest brain death' (ST, Feb 15) for bringing to light some facts about brain death to the general public. By these, I mean that contrary to popular belief,... [Read more]

Grit in air harmful to older women's hearts
BOSTON - THE fine grit in polluted air raises the risk of heart disease in older women much more powerfully than scientists realised, a big US-funded study has found.The study results have, in turn, raised questions of whether US environmental standards... [Read more]

DPP's 'four heavenly kings' face graft probe
TAIPEI - FOUR leading members of Taiwan's ruling party, including Vice-President Annette Lu, will be investigated for corruption, a prosecutor's office said yesterday, a day after the head of the main opposition party was charged with graft. The prosecutor's office said... [Read more]

Another US city to slap ban on trans fat
PHILADELPHIA - PHILADELPHIA is known for its cheese steak sandwiches, but the greasy delicacy could soon be served minus its artery-clogging trans fat.The city is set to become the second large American city to ban restaurants from serving the processed substance,... [Read more]

Champions League
WednesdayBarcelona 1Liverpool 2Porto 1 Chelsea 1Inter Milan 2 Valencia 2Roma 0 Lyon 0... [Read more]

Revenue from ERP 20% lower than in previous scheme, says minister
ELECTRONIC Road Pricing was not introduced to generate revenue, Transport Minister Raymond Lim said yesterday.It actually rakes in less than the Area Licensing Scheme (ALS), the previous plan to manage peak-hour traffic.He was responding to opposition MP Low Thia Khiang (Hougang),... [Read more]

News Today

EPL survival, not Cup glory, is key
LONDON - LEAVE FA Cup glory to others.Beating Wigan at home today is the priority for Watford, the Premiership's bottom club, says manager Adrian Boothroyd.His men will travel to Plymouth, whom the Hornets beat in the 1984 FA Cup semi-final, in... [Read more]

Asia Quickly
LAW TO TARGET 'AH LONG' CLIENTS?KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians who try to borrow money from loan sharks would be prosecuted under proposals floated by police, who are cracking down on illegal money-lending.The director of the federal Commercial Crime Department, Datuk Ramli Yusuf,... [Read more]

Iran still defiant over nuclear push
TEHERAN - IRANIAN President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday defiantly vowed to continue his country's nuclear programme in the face of international condemnation. But he also said his country was prepared to enter negotiations on the issue if conditions for talks imposed by... [Read more]

Proposals to help disabled out soon
RECOMMENDATIONS to help the disabled live as independently as possible are expected to be made by the end of this month, said Minister of State (Community Development, Youth and Sports) Yu-Foo Yee Shoon yesterday.The proposals will come from a committee drawing... [Read more]

Opting out of Hota: It?s a matter of wresting back control over our persons
I wonder how Dr Lee Wei Ling, 'Organ transplant: Unease over last-minute opt-out' (ST Forum, Feb 22), came to the conclusion that 'given a choice, the vast majority of families would object strongly if they thought this could prevent their loved... [Read more]

Malaysia to review curbs on foreign investors
KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA is to review curbs on foreign shareholding in state-linked firms as it gears up for a big push to attract more foreign investment and raise its profile, a minister said yesterday.Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop revealed... [Read more]

Thigh strain rules Vieira out of Valencia match
MILAN - INTER Milan midfielder Patrick Vieira will not play in today's Champions League first-leg match against Valencia after aggravating a thigh strain in training.The French international, who missed Inter's 1-0 win over Cagliari at the weekend because of the injury,... [Read more]

Tobacco fee unchanged for second year
SMOKERS coughed, spluttered but breathed a little easier, when they were spared having to pay a heftier sin tax for their habit. For the second year in a row, the tobacco tax remained unchanged at $352 per 1,000 cigarettes.It was only... [Read more]

Sports World
ENGLAND TRIUMPHSYDNEY: England ended a run of nine straight losses to Australia with a 92-run win in a tri-series one-day cricket international yesterday.That kept alive their chances of leap-frogging New Zealand into the best-of-three finals.Ed Joyce belted 107 to help England... [Read more]

'Judge erred', so housewife cleared of hurting maid
A HOUSEWIFE, originally sentenced to 15 months' jail for hurting her maid, yesterday walked out of court a free woman after the High Court overturned her conviction. Justice V.K. Rajah, in acquitting Madam Sakthivel Punithavathi, 32, said that the district judge... [Read more]

S'pore urged to grab larger slice of Islamic banking pie
SINGAPORE has made a start at offering Islamic financial products - but must do more to get a significant slice of the estimated US$450 billion (S$690.5 billion) invested globally. Speakers at a conference here on this fast-emerging niche sector said wealthy... [Read more]

News Today

Has Capello coached his last Real game?
MADRID - REAL Madrid have denied radio reports that their manager Fabio Capello has resigned.But the Spanish media yesterday prophesied that last night's Champions League match with Bayern Munich was his swansong. Miguel Angel Arroyo, the spokesman for the club's board... [Read more]

Valentine's Day threats and fetes
KARACHI - MANY young, urban Pakistanis ignored threats from religious conservatives and celebrated St Valentine's Day on Wednesday with gifts of red roses, heart-shaped cakes and chocolates. Some religious groups in the predominantly Muslim country have condemned the celebration of the... [Read more]

Target: 10.2m visitors and 2,000 more hotel rooms
SINGAPORE will be trying to woo visitors from the Middle East and Russia, and add 2,000 hotel rooms over the next two years.The Singapore Tourism Board (STB), gunning for another record year, has set an aggressive target of 10.2 million visitors... [Read more]

System to let docs access all patients' e-records
A NEW infrastructure will be set up soon to link all health-care practitioners' IT systems, making it possible for doctors to check their patients' medical records electronically.This will translate to fewer administrative mix-ups, such as mistakes in the prescription of medication,... [Read more]

Donors pledge $12b in aid to Lebanon
PARIS - SAUDI Arabia, the United States, France and other donors pledged about US$7.6 billion (S$12 billion) in aid to Lebanon yesterday to bolster the Western-backed government in Beirut and help the country recover from war. The pledges poured in during... [Read more]

Grounded
JAKARTA - INDONESIA has grounded all of budget airline Adam Air's Boeing 737-300s after the fuselage of one of the aircraft cracked during a hard landing. The accident on Wednesday, which occurred as the plane arrived at Surabaya's Juanda International Airport... [Read more]

Forget sex, clothes come first for US women
NEW YORK - GIVEN a choice between sex and a new wardrobe, most women will go for the clothes.In a survey spanning 10 cities in the US, women on average said that they would be willing to give up sex for... [Read more]

Thai push for satellites may hasten Shin Corp overhaul
THAILAND'S push to take over the country's satellite business controlled by Shin Corp could speed up a corporate overhaul of the conglomerate's diverse assets.For the past three months, a Temasek Holdings-led consortium that controls Shin Corp has been mulling over a... [Read more]

Phelps rewrites 200m fly world mark
NEW YORK - AMERICAN Michael Phelps broke his own 200 metres butterfly world record in Columbia last Saturday. He clocked 1 minute 53.71 seconds at the Missouri Grand Prix meet. Tam Kerekjarto was second in 1:59.79 while Juan Veloz was third... [Read more]

The heat is on
Efforts to tackle global warming pick up steam WASHINGTON - ALL of a sudden, global warming is hot. After years of languishing on Capitol Hill, efforts to curb global warming have picked up momentum, powered by a growing bipartisan belief that... [Read more]

More rail lines needed
SINGAPORE needs to double its MRT network to meet the future transportation needs of an enlarged population, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said yesterday. Mr Mah, speaking at the Urban Redevelopment Authority corporate plan seminar, laid out the daunting series... [Read more]

News Today

Love on hand
PHOTO: AFPChocolates or a ring? Shoppers at Tokyo's Takashimaya department store looking for a Valentine's Day present can now have both in one gift. The chocolate rings cost between 3,780 yen (S$48) and 4,200 yen each, and are part of a... [Read more]

Laver calls Federer the best he's seen
MELBOURNE - IF HE could pick any player from any era to test himself against, Roger Federer (left) would like a shot at Rod Laver or Bjorn Borg. Laver is the last man to win the Grand Slam - all four... [Read more]

One nation, two ways to mark Chinese New Year
BEIJING - CHINESE New Year usually begins with a little bloodletting for the Miao family in rural Inner Mongolia, one of the remotest parts of north-east China. On the eve of the holiday, a pig and several live chickens from their... [Read more]

Thirteen killed by dengue this month
KUALA LUMPUR - THIRTEEN people have died of dengue fever in Malaysia this month. Most of the deaths were in the state of Selangor, where the authorities are scrambling to contain an outbreak, a news report said yesterday. Eleven people in... [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]

Woman with dementia missing
A 72-YEAR-OLD Malaysian woman with severe dementia has gone missing. She is believed to have walked out of a Jurong East flat while her family was having a meal on Monday. Madam Chok See Mooi's family had barely finished lunch at... [Read more]

It's a pleasure to beat the pressure
PHOTO: AP Pub-goers having a thrashing good time during a fiesty pillow fight at a Shanghai bar. More than 50 people took part in the weekend event, organised by the bar as a way for stressed-out Shanghai residents to let off... [Read more]

Terry out again, as Chelsea jinx strikes
OPORTO - IT HAS been the story of Chelsea this season: Every budding hope tempered with more bad news. Their 1-1 draw at Porto in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday was a perfect example. Andriy... [Read more]

Abe under pressure to soften stance towards Pyongyang
IN TOKYO - WITH the United States changing its hardline policy towards North Korea, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is under growing pressure to take a different and possibly softer tack towards Pyongyang. The Japanese leader was quick to say on... [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]

Platini's new Uefa boss by four votes
DUESSELDORF (GERMANY) - MICHEL Platini was yesterday named Uefa's new president, ending Lennart Johansson's 17-year reign in European football's top job by just four votes. Johansson, 77, looked totally stunned as he realised that delegates had rejected him in favour of... [Read more]