News Today

Clinic keeps baby over unpaid bill
JAKARTA - AN INDONESIAN clinic is keeping a baby until his poor parents pay the bill for his delivery, a report said yesterday. Pedicab driver Sutrisno, 33, paid 1.3 million rupiah (S$220) to the Murni Asih clinic in Bojong Nangka near... [Read more]

Autocratic democracy: A pragmatic view
I refer to the article, 'Autocratic democracy worked, but will it continue to work?' (Online forum, Feb 2) by Adrienne Ng Qian Wen. I would like to take a pragmatic view.In an economic system that is small and where information is... [Read more]

Merkel welcomes new balance of power
DAVOS - EMERGING economies such as China and India are bringing about a power shift that offers more opportunities than threats. That was German Chancellor Angela Merkel's assessment, as she opened the high-profile World Economic Forum here on Wednesday. But even... [Read more]

Let?s have a dream match between the New and the Old Lions at Kallang Stadium before it gets torn down
Last Wednesday, nearly 55,000 fans witnessed what seemed like the last competitive match at the Kallang National Stadium between Singapore and Thailand in the first leg of the Asean Football Championship final. The match was highly controversial and was marred by... [Read more]

Real defenders speak up for Becks, Ronaldo
MADRID - REAL Madrid defenders Ivan Helguera and Michel Salgado leapt to the defence of out-of-favour teammates David Beckham and Ronaldo on Wednesday. 'Ronaldo's one of the best in the world, if not the best. I don't think it's fair, the... [Read more]

Witness hits back as defence targets his testimony
DEFENCE lawyers for the three former board members of the National Kidney Foundation took turns yesterday to pick apart the testimony of the new NKF board's witness, Mr Bobby Nair. But Mr Nair, the former senior deputy director of communications, held... [Read more]

Minister's tumour detected on TV
A GRATEFUL Irish politician has publicly thanked an eagle-eyed doctor, who upon seeing the lawmaker on a television programme, diagnosed a tumour on the man's jaw.Overseas Development Minister Conor Lenihan said on Wednesday that the surgeon, who he did not name,... [Read more]

Tonight's News Headlines
3 reasons to support LionsCOME to the National Stadium to back the national team against Malaysia tonight.Football Association of Singapore president Ho Peng Kee gave three reasons why: This is the real thing - they are cheering for Singapore, their country,... [Read more]

Unusual route to O levels pays off
MOST students take four or five years to sit for the O levels, but Beatty Secondary student David Hoe, 18, took six. That is because David wants to realise his dream of becoming a university graduate teacher. So determined was he... [Read more]

Isetan burglary: 3 charged
THREE youths - including one who applied for bail so that he could collect his O-level results - were yesterday charged with housebreaking and theft of goods worth a total of $9,616. Ethan Khoo Ee Ren and Yuen Wei Jie, both... [Read more]

HDB likely to modify system of flat sales
THE Housing Board (HDB) is likely to modify the way it offers its flats for sale, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan told reporters yesterday. This is not just because of the fiasco at last week's Walk-In Selection (WIS) - when... [Read more]