News Today

Bryant outplays Arenas
WASHINGTON - THE big rematch with Kobe Bryant turned out to be too big for Gilbert Arenas.Two of the National Basketball Association's most riveting playmakers tried to outdo each other - point for point, flashy move for flashy move. The Los... [Read more]

The changing Okinawan diet
Before 1945Okinawans consumed mostly fish, soybeans, seaweed, vegetables, tofu and pork. The diet was rich in antioxidants, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids and proteins that helped protect against vascular diseases such as stroke and heart attack, and lowered the risk of cancer,... [Read more]

Just 9 months on, Marina Bay Sands is in overdrive
NINE months after it won the right to build and operate Singapore's first casino resort, Marina Bay Sands has finished most of its on-site piling work and is already promoting its convention venue to 15 organisations. It is also looking at... [Read more]

A head for figures
Wearing bills of 10,000 yen on his head for luck, this Tokyo craftsman is painting 'daruma' dolls at a fair in a temple. The dolls have faces painted with moustaches and beards and their eyes are left white. After buying the... [Read more]

No rift with US over troop policy for Iraq, says Britain
THE British Defence Ministry has denied that there is any rift with the United States over the two countries' plans for troop levels in Iraq.US envoy to Baghdad Zalmay Khalilzad earlier said the US 'would like the British to coordinate and... [Read more]

Airbus delays job cuts on row over A-350 workload
PARIS - AIRBUS on Monday postponed a major announcement on job cuts planned for yesterday, saying that European nations could not agree how to share the work on the planemaker's next aircraft, the wide-body A-350. The surprise statement followed a stormy... [Read more]

Stall assistant's jail term for bomb hoax quadrupled
A STALL assistant who triggered a massive police search after falsely claiming to have overheard a plot to bomb Clementi MRT station, yesterday had his sentence quadrupled by the High Court. Ariff Mohamed, 25, will now have to serve two years... [Read more]

Cigarette smugglers using illegals as 'mules'
CIGARETTE smugglers have found new 'mules' for their contraband - individuals who sneak into Singapore illegally to find work. Such individuals, who swim across the sea or arrive in boats at night, under cover of darkness, are already on the wrong... [Read more]

Quick News
THREE ENVOYS TO EUROPE NAMEDSINGAPORE appointed three new ambassadors to Europe yesterday.Chairman of JTC Corporation Soo Kok Leng has been appointed Singapore's next ambassador to Austria.Businessman and former member of parliament Tan Soo Khoon is Singapore's next ambassador to the Czech... [Read more]

NUS scientists shed light on jumping spiders' sexual behaviour
HITTING the lights is usually synonymous with getting romantic - but not for jumping spiders. These leaping arachnids only get frisky with the lights on. Local scientists have found out that ultraviolet (UV) light influences their sexual behaviour, the first time... [Read more]

HSBC shares fall as bad debt charge rises
LONDON - HSBC'S shares slumped to a nine-month low yesterday after the bank said its bad debt charge last year would be about US$1.8 billion (S$2.8 billion) higher than expected.The bank said that its charge for bad debts last year would... [Read more]