News Today

Ch 8 serial portrays unrealistic picture of educators in Singapore
The current Ch8 serial at 7pm, 'Let it Shine', portrays a very unrealistic picture of educators in Singapore. Most secondary school teachers work 'from 7 to 7' on weekdays and carry on with our work during weekends.Few of us would have... [Read more]

Govt shows its capitalist head, socialist heart
A CAN-DO Budget with buzz. And one that positions Singapore to run the next lap of the global economy, even as it beefs up social-security spending to take care of those who can't run as fast. That's what Second Finance Minister... [Read more]

Sports World
AUSTRALIA LOSE 2-3 TO BELGIUM LIEGE: Former Davis Cup tennis champions Australia lost 2-3 to Belgium in the first round of the World Group on Sunday.Lleyton Hewitt put the Australians on even terms when he won the reverse singles. But Chris... [Read more]

More than 100 accidents over New Year weekend
WHILE most people here were raising a toast to the Chinese New Year over the weekend, many families had to rush to hospital to attend to relatives involved in road crashes. There were 40 accidents on Friday, 35 on Saturday and... [Read more]

Fatal flip-over
PHOTO: AFP A tractor-trailer hangs down from a bridge pier after crashing into the side wall of the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway and flipping over. The driver died after falling out of the vehicle onto the road. The accident took place yesterday.... [Read more]

Car industry slams EU's emission targets
LONDON - EUROPEAN car makers have described plans to force them to cut back on harmful exhaust emissions as 'unbalanced' and 'damaging'. The industry body said European Union targets were 'arbitrary' and would lead to job cuts and relocation of production... [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]

Plans for new fund-raising moves to keep relief work going
WITH or without an executive president, Youth Challenge is going ahead with events on its calendar - including lunches for some elderly folk to celebrate the Chinese New Year.The events are scheduled for Jan 27 and Feb 14 - with the... [Read more]

Tonight's Summary
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... [Read more]

China punished 97,000 party members for graft last year
BEIJING - CHINA punished nearly 100,000 members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for corruption last year, but anti-graft officials yesterday maintained that the majority of officials are 'clean'. Those taken to task accounted for a mere 0.14 per cent of... [Read more]

Industry snapshot
ENVIRONMENT ENGINEERING SERVICES INDUSTRYEmployment: About 43,000 people in 2003Sectors: Industry covers environmental services, process control and instrumentation, and engineering services.Value-add: This industry's value-add contribution is high at $2.5 billion. Value-add is the value created by a company through its production process... [Read more]