News Today

Nine Al-Qaeda members among 11 held in France
PARIS - FRENCH police have arrested 11 terror suspects, nine of whom are believed to be members of Al-Qaeda who helped fighters join the ranks of Iraqi insurgents.The first arrests took place at Orly airport in Paris when two men were... [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]

Rules eased to get more foreign docs here
THE door has been opened wider to foreign doctors, as Singapore moves towards a new goal of having one doctor per patient in public hospitals.The public sector currently employs 3,156 doctors, which translates to one doctor for every two patients at... [Read more]

Citigroup to become Citi under new strategy
NEW YORK - HOPING to add customers and sell more products with a coherent marketing strategy, Citigroup said yesterday that it will rebrand itself as 'Citi'.It will also sell its trademark red umbrella to St Paul Travelers. The largest bank in... [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]

Special exemption
ANNIKA Sorenstam has given a sponsor's exemption to MacKinzie Kline for the Ginn Tribute, a golf tournament sponsored by the Swedish world No 1.Kline is a talented 14-year-old with a rare heart condition. As she cannot walk long distances without becoming... [Read more]

$20m assets: Scion tied down by fake will wins legal battle
AT THE heart of a family feud was a clumsily forged will, said to have been drawn up in 1988.It had a glaring spelling mistake. Instead of 'Law Offices', it read 'Law Ofices Berris Seton and Bishton'.But while there was a... [Read more]

Call for Indonesia to buy back telco from Temasek
JAKARTA - SEVERAL Indonesian MPs have reportedly called on their government to follow Thailand's example and try to buy one of the country's telecommunications giants back from Singapore's Temasek Holdings.The afternoon daily Sinar Harapan yesterday quoted Mr Hajriyanto Thohari, the Golkar... [Read more]

Some questions remain on trans fat labelling
I AM encouraged by the brave initiative by FairPrice to have healthier 'no trans fat' house-brand products on its shelves ('FairPrice house brand to get trans fat labels'; ST, Feb 8). It may start the ball rolling and see the efforts... [Read more]

Stop those insensitive practices
I would like to highlight a number of insensitive practices that I have observed on MediaCorp broadcasting.There is this advertisement by a popular mall in the heart of Orchard Road that is currently being aired. It features a male Thai and... [Read more]

Weather blows hot, then cold, in north-east
BEIJING - TENS of millions of people in China's far north-east who recently experienced their warmest winter in 40 years are now enduring their heaviest snowfalls in a decade, state press said yesterday. More than 22cm of snow fell on Tuesday... [Read more]