News Today

Envoys told to rebut Thaksin
BANGKOK - THE Thai government has asked its diplomats to counter the comments made by deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in interviews with international news organisations.In a number of interviews with newspapers, magazines and TV channels - the latest being an... [Read more]

IN: GST hike to 7%; OUT: 1% Cess tax
THE two percentage point GST hike that will be slapped on to your restaurant bill will be a bit easier to swallow because the 1 per cent Cess tax is getting the chop. Cess is paid by people dining and drinking... [Read more]

Presidential palace safe from flooding
JAKARTA - FOR several hours, Indonesians watched to see if the flooding that has hit the capital would sweep into the presidential palace as well. Also at risk was the upmarket Menteng area where top politicians like Vice-President Jusuf Kalla and... [Read more]

Malaysian paper blames S'pore for Johor floods
KUALA LUMPUR - THE finger-pointing at Singapore over the Johor floods is not over yet.Three days after Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman sought to pin the blame on the land reclamation on Pulau Tekong for causing Johor's worst floods in... [Read more]

Blair 'doesn't have the discipline to keep diary'
BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair admitted that he has not kept a private diary during his nine years in power, raising questions about how complete his memoirs will be. Mr Blair, who has pledged to leave office by September, said simply... [Read more]

The New Paper
The New Paper will not be published tomorrow. It will be the only English paper on sale on Monday, at the usual outlets from 7am.... [Read more]

Study to find out if masks keep flu at bay
ANN ARBOR (MICHIGAN) - HUNDREDS of university students here are taking part in a study that could change the way the world looks at flu. They walk around the campus wearing surgical masks as part of a test to see if... [Read more]

FairPrice to absorb GST hike for 6 months
SHOPPERS with rice and about 400 other essential items in their baskets at NTUC FairPrice supermarkets will not feel the pinch when the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is raised on July 1. This is because, for six months from that... [Read more]

Chiam: Difficult to fulfil lift promise
OPPOSITION MP Chiam See Tong is finding it a struggle to fulfil an election promise to provide his HDB residents with lifts on every floor.Lift upgrading was a carrot the People's Action Party (PAP) dangled in the last general election.The opposition... [Read more]

Durai's $25k monthly salary 'not excessive'
FORMER National Kidney Foundation (NKF) chief T.T. Durai was worth the money he was paid, said the board's former chairman Richard Yong. In his 'humble opinion', $25,000 a month was 'not excessive' for a man who had 1,000 staff under his... [Read more]

More Singapore aid for victims of Jakarta floods
JAKARTA - MORE Singapore companies have pitched in for Jakarta's flood relief efforts. Singapore Ambassador to Indonesia Ashok Mirpuri yesterday handed over 200 million rupiah (S$34,000) worth of relief supplies to Indonesian Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari. The aid is... [Read more]