News Today

Health items law can enforce after-sales scrutiny
A NEW law on health products for human use, approved yesterday, sends 'a strong signal' that products made or sold here are of the highest standards. Madam Halimah Yacob (Jurong GRC) said when debating the Health Products Bill, that it will... [Read more]

Nine-storey deep storage solution under sea
IN FOUR years' time, the seabed off Jurong Island will be transformed. Rock caverns nine storeys deep, which can store up to 1.47 million cubic metres of oil, will lie beneath - a safe, environmentally friendly storage solution for the growing... [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]

Beijing slams Taipei over changes to textbooks
BEIJING - CHINA lashed out at Taiwan yesterday for dropping phrases from high-school history textbooks that link the two as one country, and said the move was another step towards promoting the island's independence.The changes included replacing terms such as 'the... [Read more]

Taiwan's new history textbooks draw flak
TAIPEI - TAIWAN'S new high school history textbooks have sparked controversy by drawing a clear distinction between the history of China and Taiwan.The move was seen by some observers as the latest in a continuing effort by the ruling Democratic Progressive... [Read more]

Putin defends Russian democracy and energy policies
MOSCOW - PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin yesterday assured that Russia's next president would be democratically chosen and defended Moscow's energy policies in a mass press conference seen as a chance for him to repair Russia's battered image.'There won't be a successor; there... [Read more]

Rush to buy subsidised rice
PHOTO: AP Poor Indonesians scrambling in Jakarta on Thursday to buy rice subsidised by the Indonesian government for 75,000 rupiah (S$13) per 20kg bag, which is roughly half the market price. The loss of the rice harvest in parts of the... [Read more]

Quick-thinking pilot, passengers foil hijack
LAS PALMAS (SPAIN) - PLUCKY passengers of a Mauritanian plane overpowered a suspected armed hijacker with help from a quick-thinking pilot. The Air Mauritania Boeing 737 was on an internal flight in the north-western African country on Thursday when the hijacker,... [Read more]

US review of copyright piracy set to rock China ties
WASHINGTON - THE Bush administration has begun a comprehensive review of enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in China, an issue that could sour trade relations between the two economic giants. US Deputy Trade Representative Karan Bhatia told The Straits Times... [Read more]

S'pore looks to host global sporting events
DAVOS - SINGAPORE is exploring the option of hosting international single-sport events, according to Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. He told The Straits Times, ahead of a panel discussion on sports and development during the World Economic Forum... [Read more]

85% of bumi contracts 'sold off to non-Malays'
KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIAN Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has expressed disappointment at a study which shows that 85 per cent of projects secured by bumiputera contractors end up with other communities.Revealing for the first time the percentage of abuses in the... [Read more]