News Today

Jakarta 'using sand ban to put pressure on S'pore'
JAKARTA - INDONESIA'S recent ban on land sand exports was a means by which it could apply pressure on Singapore to sign an extradition treaty, said a top Foreign Ministry official here.Mr Primo Alui Joelianto, the ministry's director-general for Asia, the... [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]

Boy, 7, left in burning flat as family flees
A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD boy - mistakenly left behind in a burning flat by his panicked family - was saved in a dramatic rescue carried out by firefighters yesterday. Muhamed Arrifin's relatives realised he was still in the Yishun flat only when they... [Read more]

Who's who
James Lawton, chief sports writer and columnist for The Independent, an English dailyGordon Farquhar, BBC sports news correspondentBarry Whitbread, former Singapore coach and current Liverpool FC director of recruitmentRobert Alberts, Football Association of Malaysia technical directorSpencer Robinson, British-born sports writer based... [Read more]

Online heroes
THEY might not have capes and costumes, or any superhuman powers to speak of. Yet, the Internet's superheroes have been making their mark in cyberspace. >From cleaning defaced wiki entries to protecting little ones from online predators and smut, these online... [Read more]

Visiting Vice-PM
Vice-Prime Minister of Gabon Jean Ping calling on Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar yesterday. They first met in 1994 when Professor Jayakumar was Foreign Minister. Mr Ping, who is also the Foreign Affairs Minister of the African nation, is here on... [Read more]

Cramming in for art's sake
PHOTO: XINHUAThese art students are oblivious to the crowded surroundings as they took part in entrance exams for art school in Nantong city in China's Jiangsu province. The test centre did not expect the huge numbers, forcing them to hold tests... [Read more]

Khaw wants housewives, young on MediShield
HOUSEWIVES and the young are two groups that Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan wants to see brought under MediShield, the national insurance scheme. About 200,000 housewives and 400,000 people under the age of 20 are not covered. It is not because... [Read more]

Philippines passes anti-terror Bill
MANILA - THE Philippine Congress has passed anti-terrorism legislation aimed at helping the government combat Al-Qaeda-linked militants.In a special session, the House of Representatives late on Monday approved a watered-down version of the Human Security Act passed by the Senate two... [Read more]

Mahathir out of hospital
FORMER Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad was discharged from hospital yesterday after being treated overnight for flu, his aide said. Tun Dr Mahathir, 81, said he was feeling better, according to his aide Sufi Yusoff. Details of his medical treatment were... [Read more]

What next, for Changi Airport to stay ahead?
IT HAS been a good 25 years and Changi Airport continues to soar. It comes up tops in worldwide airport surveys for check-in efficiency, a speedy immigration process and swift baggage retrieval, among other winning attributes. That Changi is so well... [Read more]