News Today

Arms unused? Money well-spent on deterrence
I REFER to the letters by Mr Koo Zhi Xuan ('Not slaughtering sacred cow but taking away some food'; ST, Feb 8) and Mr Quek Soo Beng ('Examine the old sacred cow of defence spending'; ST, Jan 27), which advocate a... [Read more]

Anti-US feelings among Muslims 'at record high'
NEW YORK - THE war on terror has radicalised Muslims around the world and has raised anti-American feelings to unprecedented levels, according to the largest survey of Muslims ever to be conducted.Debunking the myth that religious radicals were to be found... [Read more]

Subsidies for kindergarten fees to be raised
KINDERGARTEN schooling will be made more affordable for low-income families with children.The Government yesterday announced that it will raise the level of subsidy for kindergarten fees under the current Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme.The subsidy will increase from 75 per cent to... [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]

New Taiwan charter 'at odds with US policy'
WASHINGTON - THE incoming No.2 US diplomat, Mr John Negroponte, said a proposed new Constitution for Taiwan would likely be at 'cross purposes' with Washington's policy. When asked at a Senate hearing about his opinion on Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's push... [Read more]

Sampras a proper match for Federer
LOS ANGELES - PETE Sampras thinks he could have held his own against Roger Federer.But he conceded on Tuesday that the Swiss master is poised to smash his record of 14 Grand Slam titles.Sampras, who retired after winning the 2002 US... [Read more]

British teens urged to learn Mandarin, Urdu
LONDON - THE British government has embarked on an initiative to boost the economy through the learning of 'economically useful' languages.These are expected to include Mandarin and Urdu, alongside the traditional favourites of French, German and Spanish. In the first part... [Read more]

O-level results out on Friday
THE 2006 GCE O-level examination results will be released on Friday. School candidates can collect their results from their schools at 2.30pm on that day. Private candidates will be informed of their results by post. They can also access their results... [Read more]

Some measures to be taken
Educate communities about the impact of the haze on their families' health. Train villagers in ways to prevent forest fires and help them use zero burning techniques to clear land. Reward farmers who reduce burning with funds for necessities such as... [Read more]

Bouquets
CELLPHONE FOUND, THANKS TO STAFF OF FAST-FOOD OUTLETON FEB 2, I left my mobile phone at McDonald's at Centrepoint after having breakfast there. I only realised this later, at the National University of Singapore campus, and had to get my husband... [Read more]

Rare rebuke of Bush appears in People's Daily article
BEIJING - A SENIOR Chinese official has issued a rare public rebuke of US President George W. Bush, accusing him of waging a 'unilateral' battle against terrorists that had worsened global tensions. Mr Ye Xiaowen, director of China's State Bureau of... [Read more]