News Today

Good manners campaign ahead of 2008 Games
BEIJING - BEIJING will kick-start a campaign to promote good manners ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games by introducing monthly 'queuing days' and raising the number of covered bins for disposing of spit. From this week, the city government will commend... [Read more]

Women who choose career over family: The risks
I refer to the report, 'Moving beyond the gender gap' (ST, Feb 2).Heleen Mees advocates the notion that the European economy would benefit much if women were to take on higher-ranking jobs in society, and therefore strongly encourages them to step... [Read more]

Pitching for the big one
UP FOR grabs is the national flag carrier's coveted account, estimated to be worth $50 million a year for five years, plus the chance to work on the Singapore Girl campaign, one of the best-known advertising icons in the world. In... [Read more]

Diamond ring does it for Baihakki
SOME girls are wooed with flowers, others with expensive dinners. But, when Singapore and Young Lions defender Baihakki Khaizan professed his love for girlfriend Norfasarie, an OSIM uZap slimming belt was his idea of saying 'I love you'. 'I was shocked.... [Read more]

Loan shark ring using hell money threats smashed
THE first bust has been made by police of a loan shark syndicate which harassed debtors with threatening letters accompanied by hell money, incense paper and sackcloth mourning patches.On Wednesday evening, eight men were arrested in the five-hour police operation. They... [Read more]

Japanese gangs call a truce after shootings
TOKYO - JAPAN'S two biggest organised crime groups have smoothed over a dispute after a fatal shooting that sparked fears of an all-out turf war in Tokyo, Kyodo news agency reported yesterday, quoting national police.Kyodo gave no further details of the... [Read more]

UN agency to regain control of N. Korea work
NEW YORK - THE United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has authorised its office in North Korea to take back control of its work from Pyongyang and cease hard currency payments to local staff and suppliers.The move followed fears that the North... [Read more]

'My ATM' feature a time-saver
I am surprised that some users find the new DBS ATM screens more difficult to use 'New ATM screen not user-friendly', (Online Forum, Jan 23) and 'Exasperating to make out options on new ATM screen' (Online Forum, Jan 25). I felt... [Read more]

Yuan rise 'appropriate'
Central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan called the pace of the yuan's gains 'appropriate' at a weekend G-7 meeting. That prompted the biggest fall in a month yesterday, with the currency declining 0.11 per cent to 7.7562 against the US dollar in... [Read more]

News Corp nears deal for Chinese MySpace
SHANGHAI - NEWS Corp is finalising an agreement with partners to launch a networking website venture in China within a few months, venture capital and Chinese government sources said yesterday.The deal, if successful, would be a landmark step for News Corp,... [Read more]

Winner of top culinary contest accused of cheating
LONDON - THE culinary world is in an uproar, with allegations of cheating levelled against the winner of an annual contest among top chefs. Mr Fabrice Desvignes, 33, one of France's most promising young chefs, won this year's Bocuse d'Or, receiving... [Read more]