News Today

Zero-rate GST on essential food items
THE goods and services tax (GST) was implemented on April 1, 1994 at 3 per cent. The rate will be more than double the original rate on July 1. As GST is a tax on consumption of goods and services, consumers... [Read more]

Fresh round of clashes in Gaza
GAZA CITY - FIGHTING between rival Palestinian forces erupted again yesterday in the Gaza Strip, where 23 people have been killed in the fiercest bout of internecine violence since Hamas won elections a year ago. Three Palestinians died overnight as militants... [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]

Egyptian court finds blogger guilty of insulting Islam
ALEXANDRIA (EGYPT) - A COURT in Alexandria yesterday convicted a blogger for insulting both Islam and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and sentenced him to four years in jail over his online writings.Abdel Karim Suleiman, a former law student in his early... [Read more]

Thailand's ITV seeks injunction on $4.3b fines, fees
BANGKOK - ITV, a Thai television network controlled by Singapore's Temasek Holdings, sought a court injunction on about 100 billion baht (S$4.29 billion) in fines, fees and interest it has been ordered to pay the government. The company asked Thailand's administrative... [Read more]

Ongoing review to help grow CPF nest egg
A STUDY to help Singaporeans earn higher returns on their Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings and enlarge their retirement nest egg is still ongoing, said Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen. One issue to grapple with is how much risk Singaporeans are... [Read more]

Who gets how much from the Doha Asian Games
Badminton $100,000: Li Li, Li Yujia, Vanessa Neo, Shinta Mulia Sari, Liu Fan, Siti Noor Ashikin, Jiang Yanmei (women's team silver) Bodybuilding $250,000: Simon Chua (men's lightweight gold) $62,500: Ibrahim Sihat (men's flyweight bronze), Mohamed Ismail Muhammad (men's welterweight bronze) Bowling... [Read more]

News In Brief
Tokyo, New York bourses on track for tie-up dealTOKYO - THE Tokyo and New York stock exchanges are expected to reach an agreement on their tie-up when bourse officials meet in New York at the end of the month, said a... [Read more]

Tighter laws on handling bomb-making chemicals
TERRORISTS are increasingly using certain industrial chemicals such as ammonium nitrate to make explosives. In view of the security risk, Parliament passed a new law yesterday that requires businesses or individuals dealing in and handling such chemicals to get a licence... [Read more]

Rising seas 'could leave 60m people homeless'
WASHINGTON - A WORLD Bank study has found that a rise of 1m in sea levels from global warming would force about 60 million people in developing countries to abandon their homes. Rising sea levels would have the most drastic effect... [Read more]

China shuts down 205 illegal websites
BEIJING - CHINA had only limited success during a four-month crackdown on Internet piracy and copyright infringement, an official said yesterday.The campaign, launched in September, shut down 205 illegal websites, said Mr Yan Xiaohong, a deputy chief of China's National Copyright... [Read more]

Bravo, he's West Indies' heartbeat

Group D: Pakistan (4), West Indies (8), Zimbabwe (10), Ireland

DWAYNE Bravo (below) has been playing international cricket for fewer than three years, yet the West Indies all-rounder has already become the heartbeat of an emerging team.

The 23-year-old has an infectious effervescence. Whether it be capturing a crucial wicket, smashing boundaries in a tight run-chase or taking a wonder catch, he lifts the moods of teammates.

The West Indies will need Bravo to perform.

The right-handed batsman and seam bowler made his international debut in 2004. He quickly made his mark against England in one-dayers at home and then in his maiden Test series during the English summer.

That September, he had a crucial role as the West Indies won the ICC Champions Trophy at The Oval.

He is an ideal one-day player, yet his returns at Test level are even better. His first nine Tests produced centuries against South Africa and Australia as well as two six-wicket hauls.

Despite his personal success, Bravo has yet to be on the winning side after 19 Tests. The West Indies have been more successful in Bravo's 59 one-day internationals, winning 29 against 26 losses and four no-results.

A year ago in the Caribbean, he bowled a slower-ball yorker to dismiss a free-hitting Yuvraj Singh on 93 and secure a one-run victory that turned around the five-match one-day series against India.

'I love pressure, love a challenge, and it gets the best out of me,' Bravo said after that victory.

He comes from Santa Cruz, the same Trinidad district as his captain and role model, Brian Lara, who is 14 years his senior.

Bravo started his first-class career as an opening batsman with some promise as a bowler, but is now a world-class all-rounder.

He loves calypso and reggae music, and this oozes on the field when celebrating success with the latest Caribbean dance.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

News Today

S'pore 'can draw on Philippines' experience in the arts'
MANILA - SINGAPORE can draw on the Philippines' experience in the arts sector, given the country's wealth of talented artists and institutions, visiting Singapore leaders said yesterday. This could be useful with the expansion of the arts scene in Singapore and... [Read more]

Click to create your own ads for TV
NEW YORK - THE Internet has allowed consumers to trade stocks without using high-priced brokers and travellers to book flights directly from airlines.Now it may free advertisers to make their own television commercials without going through a traditional advertising agency.Several companies... [Read more]

British doctors lose right to be own watchdog
LONDON - BRITISH doctors will lose the right to act as their own watchdog under government plans for Britain's biggest medical regulatory overhaul in decades. The changes, announced on Wednesday, are part of the government's response to the inquiry into how... [Read more]

Japanese gang leader kills himself
TOKYO - THE head of a Japanese gang appeared to have committed suicide yesterday, a week after the fatal shooting of a rival group's member triggered fears of an all-out turf war between the country's two largest yakuza clans. Kazuyoshi Kudo,... [Read more]

New accord, new Palestinian tangle
AFTER months of infighting between Hamas - which won the Palestinian elections - and the Fatah movement which ruled the nation for decades, the two have reached a deal, paving the way for a government of national unity. The deal was... [Read more]

Major computer retailer ejects the floppy disk
LONDON - BRITAIN'S largest chain of computer superstores will stop selling floppy disks once its stash is gone, the store said.PC World said the disks do not hold enough data and there are better alternatives.It has about 10,000 disks in stock... [Read more]

Ailing Castro still has fight in him
CUBAN state television has shown footage of Dr Fidel Castro for the first time in three months, and the ailing leader said he was still in the fight to recover from surgery that forced him to relinquish power last July. The... [Read more]

Banking in money for charity
UNITED Overseas Bank (UOB) held a Chinese New Year gala dinner last night for its small and medium enterprise clients, and money was raised for charity.Mr Sim Kok Hwee, 29, a corporate development manager at industrial equipment maker Zicom Group was... [Read more]

Bid for a place on Chingay float with Lions
THE Singapore Lions, who dramatically retained their Asean Cup football title in Bangkok on Sunday, will be riding high at this year's Chingay Parade. Led by skipper Aide Iskandar, the team will be perched on what has been described as a... [Read more]

Seoul pardons tycoons 'to boost economy'
SEOUL - SOUTH Korea yesterday announced pardons for more than 430 convicted business leaders and politicians in an attempt to reinvigorate the economy 10 years after the Asian financial crisis. The list agreed at a Cabinet meeting includes Park Yong Sung,... [Read more]

US troops told: Kill or nab Iranian spies in Iraq
WASHINGTON - THE Bush administration has authorised the US military to kill or capture Iranian operatives inside Iraq in an aggressive new strategy to weaken Teheran's influence across the Middle East and compel it to give up its nuclear programme.This was... [Read more]

Ballack hails Chelsea comeback

LONDON - MICHAEL Ballack has insisted that Chelsea have the character to win the Champions League.

The German captain scored the winner against Porto on Tuesday to confirm his club's place in the quarter-finals.

And the English club's response to going behind to a Ricardo Quaresma goal warned Europe of their resilience.

'The ability to fight back when you are behind is the character that is needed to win the Champions League,' said Ballack, breaking a goal drought of more than three months.

'It was a special moment for us and, psychologically, that is a big stage to get through. At half time in the dressing room, we were 0-1 down and everybody was a bit surprised by that.

'Playing at home, it was a difficult situation, and to come back was very good for the club.'

It could prove especially good for the German, who has come in for stiff criticism this season from fans and pundits alike. He has struggled to adapt to the English game since his free transfer from Bayern Munich.

Mourinho named his as one of his Untouchables earlier in the season, but the title of under-achiever would be a far more accurate description of a player who pockets £130,000 (S$390,000) a week.

Germany's coach Joachim Low said last month that the player, who scored 34 goals in his two previous seasons with Bayern, was wrong to go to Stamford Bridge.

But Chelsea's manager Mourinho said: 'What the crowd thinks, what the press thinks doesn't make me change my mind.

'The goal is good for him because it's a goal that puts Chelsea in the quarter-finals. It's one of these goals that is like a stamp. He did a great effort to play a good game.'

Chelsea's success against Porto could force a Premiership fixture pile-up and damage their chances of retaining the English title.

Reaching the quarter-finals means their game against West Ham next month will have to be re-arranged.

Mourinho is also worried that their showdown with Manchester United, who are nine points in front, will also have to be moved if they beat Tottenham in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday, reported The Daily Mail.

Both the Premiership's crunch game against United and the FA Cup semi-finals have been scheduled for April 14.

Chelsea are also on course to face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium and Everton at Stamford Bridge in the final weeks of the season.

News Today

Disease threat in Jakarta
A medical team treats a Jakarta flood victim amid a deepening crisis brought on by the worst floods to hit the Indonesian capital in five years. At least 44 deaths have been blamed on the flooding, and officials fear that toll... [Read more]

Don't put going green on catwalk
WE USE more paper than plastic - but more paper than ever before. We wear brands that are eco-friendly, then drink out of styrofoam cups. With ethical consumerism gaining as much clout with youth as designer labels, eco-friendly products are getting... [Read more]

Passengers on train roof electrocuted
KARACHI - DOZENS of people sitting on the roof of a crowded train were by hit by an overhead power transmission line in Pakistan on Sunday. The accident killed at least 11 people and injured more than 40 others. Minister for... [Read more]

T-bird lands here Top US business school sets up office
T-BIRD may be a name Singaporeans are familiar with only from the Grease movies of the 1970s and 1980s. But those in business academia and human resource circles here welcome the presence of the American business school, Thunderbird, in Singapore.Thunderbird -... [Read more]

VW becomes first carmaker to sell its own vehicles in S'pore
FINALLY, it is signed and sealed. After two years of uncertainty, German carmaker Volkswagen (VW) has publicly declared that it is now the importer and retailer for its own vehicles in Singapore. It has taken over the business from entrepreneur Peter... [Read more]

Is Woods' total dominance good for golf?
ATLANTA - NO ONE is crazy enough to suggest that anyone other than Tiger Woods is the world's best golfer. The American has held the No1 spot in the world rankings since June 12, 2005, a span of 89 weeks. He... [Read more]

S'pore's artillery gunners get to hone combat skills in NZ
SINGAPORE Artillery gunners have been bang on target during a live-firing exercise in New Zealand. The Singapore Armed Forces' annual artillery exercise, Thunder Warrior, has been an opportunity for the gunners to practise complex combat skills beyond just gunnery skills, said... [Read more]

SAF gets a new chief next month
THE Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) will have a new chief from March 23. Current Army chief Major-General Desmond Kuek, 43, will take over the post of Chief of Defence Force (CDF) from incumbent Lieutenant-General Ng Yat Chung, 45. Brigadier-General Neo Kian... [Read more]

Dealing with China's rise a key challenge
Will there be a global trade deal? What are the consequences if it fails? Most countries would feel that this is in deep freeze if there are no results in the next three months. The WTO system will still operate and... [Read more]

Singapore's 'big-picture' Budget to be unveiled
WHAT IT IS SECOND Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam will unveil the Budget on Thursday. It has been billed as a Budget that will tilt the balance of public spending towards helping the poor and providing for an ageing population. To pay... [Read more]

Threats can spring from 'rational' action
MR KOO Zhi Xuan made a valid point in asking whether we might not decrease the defence budget with circumspection to reallocate the funds to other needs ('Not slaughtering sacred cow but taking away some food'; ST, Feb8). It is the... [Read more]

News Today

Vast reserves of vital minerals found in Tibet
BEIJING - CHINA has discovered huge resources of vital minerals buried in the Tibetan plateau, locating more than 600 potential sites for new mines. A new survey suggests the plateau has reserves of up to 40 million tonnes of copper, 40... [Read more]

Don't qualify for credit card? You may still get $500 credit
PEOPLE who do not earn enough to qualify for a credit card will soon be able to make purchases of up to $500 on credit every month.The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has proposed to allow banks and other lenders to... [Read more]

Industry faces 3 key challenges: STB chief
FINDING and training people for tourism-related jobs will be one of three crucial challenges facing the industry in the next few years, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) chief executive Lim Neo Chian said at the Asean Tourism Forum yesterday. The other two... [Read more]

Could a wedding break the Gandhi-Bachchan ice?
IF THE Gandhis are the dominant clan in Indian politics, there is little doubt who calls the shots in Mumbai, headquarters of the nation's film world: The Bachchans are the first family of glamour. The city pauses when Amitabh Bachchan, India's... [Read more]

Boosting defence ties
An American defence official received the Singapore Defence Technology Distinguished Fellowship yesterday, for boosting defence cooperation between Singapore and the United States. Mr Craig Hunter, the former deputy assistant secretary of the army for defence export and cooperation, received the award... [Read more]

What it should have been
In our report, 'Non-Indonesian sand arrives as prices start to rise' on Tuesday, we reported that we spoke to ready-mix concrete supplier Supermix Concrete. This is wrong. It was Alliance Concrete and not Supermix Concrete. We are sorry for the error.... [Read more]

Madrasahs get ready for PSLE next year
MADRASAHS, or Islamic schools, are gearing up for next year, when the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) becomes compulsory for their students for the first time. Over the past three years, about $1.5 million has been spent training more than half... [Read more]

Usage rate of chip plants slumps
TOKYO - THE utilisation rate of the world's semiconductor plants fell to its lowest in seven quarters at the end of last year on weak demand for logic chips, said an industry group.However, one analyst predicted an uptick from April as... [Read more]

Four new lifestyle groups for members
'AKAN datang'' (Malay for coming soon) will be more affordable and fun activities for workers.That was what the National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC) new secretary-general Lim Swee Say promised as part of the organisation's workplan this year to care for its... [Read more]

Yudhoyono draws fire from retired generals
JAKARTA - RETIRED military chiefs are marching back into the limelight to challenge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's two-year-old administration. Former military commander Wiranto set up a new political party, the People's Conscience Party (Partai Hati Nurani Rakyat), last month to serve... [Read more]

2 new PAP MPs elected into party's HQ exco
TWO of the 24 new PAP MPs elected at last year's general election have been appointed to the party's headquarters executive committee. It is an indication that Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui Tuck Yew and Mr Lee Yi Shyan are seen as having... [Read more]

News Today

Ma resigns as KMT chief after indictment
TAIPEI - TAIWAN'S opposition Kuomintang (KMT) chief and presidential front runner Ma Ying-jeou stepped down as party chief after being indicted for corruption yesterday. But in a defiant move, he declared for the first time that he would run for presidency,... [Read more]

Europe's biggest trial of Islamic terrorists
MADRID - THE trial into Europe's worst terrorist attack in 15 years started in Spain yesterday amid tight security, with 29 mostly Moroccan suspects facing charges in the bombings three years ago. More than 190 commuters were killed in the attacks... [Read more]

Has Capello coached his last Real game?
MADRID - REAL Madrid have denied radio reports that their manager Fabio Capello has resigned.But the Spanish media yesterday prophesied that last night's Champions League match with Bayern Munich was his swansong. Miguel Angel Arroyo, the spokesman for the club's board... [Read more]

Zoellick's Career highlights
MR ROBERT Zoellick was born on July 25, 1953, in Naperville, Illinois. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1975 from Swarthmore College and received his J.D. from the Harvard Law School and a Master of Public Policy degree from Harvard University's... [Read more]

China tightens disclosure rules
SHANGHAI - CHINA'S stock market watchdog has tightened rules for information disclosure by China's 1,400-plus listed companies. The new rules, issued yesterday, also include possible extra requirements for financial and real estate sectors.The latest regulations, which came into effect immediately, order... [Read more]

S'pore research may slash cost of radio tag readers
COMING soon - shopping carts that scan purchases and total up the bill and hotel rooms that unlock the door automatically for guests. These could well become a reality with researchers at the Institute of Microelectronics (IME) discovering a way to... [Read more]

Organ donation: Treat family members with sensitivity
I COULD NOT agree more with Mr Anthony Yeo in his letter 'Knowing how to handle trauma is important' (ST Forum, Feb 14).In his letter, he rightly stressed the need for medical staff to be better trained in handling procedures leading... [Read more]

US plans to put on a more welcoming face
WASHINGTON - THE US government and private sector are launching a massive effort to reshape America's image for foreign visitors amid concerns that tightened security measures have made the country inhospitable. The campaign comes as the number of visitors to the... [Read more]

US officials to seek N-E Asia backing for nuke accord
WASHINGTON - TWO senior US officials plan to visit North-east Asia next week to consolidate support for a six-party nuclear disarmament deal involving North Korea clinched in Beijing last week.Under the deal, Pyongyang is to close its nuclear bomb-making facilities in... [Read more]

Dubai shopping festival attracts the big spenders
DUBAI - WITH sales running into billions of dollars and prizes on offer worth millions, the annual Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) is attracting more and more businessmen and shoppers each year. Among those in town for the business opportunities at this... [Read more]

Alas, senior citizens the ones most affected by concessional fare crunch
Mr Steven Lo Chock Fei's plea, 'How about extra 30 mins of concessional fare?' (ST, Feb 1), will invoke in fellow senior citizens the image of poor Oliver Twist's 'Please, Sir, can I have some more?'It is not difficult to predict... [Read more]