News Today

Teheran makes confusing claims over nuclear work
TEHERAN - IRAN has given conflicting signals on its disputed nuclear work after one of its nuclear agency officials denied claims made by a top lawmaker that the country had started installing 3,000 centrifuges at a uranium enrichment plant.Mr Hossein Simorgh,... [Read more]

China minister on trade trail
WHAT IT IS CHINESE Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing has a busy week visiting India and then Japan. Mr Li's four-day visit to India, which began yesterday, will boost trade and tourism cooperation as well as see the launch of a hotline... [Read more]

Getting a grip on health-care needs of a greying population
THE interview with Mr Khaw Boon Wan begins on an unusual note. For almost 30 minutes, he regales The Straits Times with personal anecdotes, reflecting on his recent visits to the holy site of Gaya in India, and the tombs of... [Read more]

Add another criterion to formula for GST rebate
I UNDERSTAND the formula to arrive at the final amount an individual gets in goods and services tax (GST) rebate is determined by two factors: His income; and The type of housing he lives in.I would like to address the second... [Read more]

Today's Headlines
All's fair game in the blogosphere - or is it?KUALA LUMPUR - WHEN a manager of an Islamic insurance company sent an e-mail asking Muslim staff not to offer Deepavali greetings to Hindus last October, it quickly became the talk in... [Read more]

Open verdict on teen's death fall
THERE was no firm conclusion on how a 17-year-old youth fell to his death from a block of flats in Bedok South Road in September last year, a coroner said yesterday. A 34-year-old eye-witness had told the police that he did... [Read more]

Staff: Lam was confident until the end
UNTIL the day he quit, the now-beleaguered Youth Challenge founder Vincent Lam was confident, optimistic and chatty.Mr Goh Aik Chuan, 19, an intern with the charity, said the boss had seemed 'very positive' throughout the probe into Youth Challenge's books, which... [Read more]

Why demolish perfectly livable old apartments? New isn't necessarily better
In the craze to sell older condos en bloc, has anyone stopped to consider the consequences of demolishing perfectly livable old apartments and replacing them with new developments? Many expatriates who come to Singapore want to spend their housing budgets on... [Read more]

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]

Firm banned from hiring foreign workers at 2 sites
WRITTEN warnings, fines and stop-work orders - construction firm Greatearth has had all of these. But it has not bucked up on its 'very poor safety and health management' record to the satisfaction of the Manpower Ministry (MOM), so it has... [Read more]

Protests against name changes
TAIPEI - HUNDREDS of employees at Taiwan's state-run Chunghwa Post Co protested angrily yesterday against the company's plan to change its name from 'Chunghwa' - which means Chinese - to 'Taiwan'. The protesters held placards and shouted slogans outside Chunghwa's headquarters... [Read more]