News Today

Getting into the game
AFTER five years of lacklustre performance, China's stock market is now red-hot. Following a wave of government reforms aimed at reviving investor interest, China's main stock exchange, the Shanghai Composite Index, leapt 130 per cent last year, becoming one of the... [Read more]

Experts tip corporate tax to be cut to 18% in one go
TAX experts are putting their money on a hefty two percentage point cut in corporate tax, from 20 per cent to 18 per cent, in Thursday's Budget. And they are tipping that it will be done in one clean cut -... [Read more]

HK to attract big spenders
HONG KONG is hoping to draw big spenders to boost its tourism revenue this year, tourism chief Selina Chow said yesterday.Tourist arrivals may rise to 26.4 million this year, up 4.6 per cent from the last, she told media and industry... [Read more]

TV times
BASKETBALL: NBA: Cleveland v Miami (Live, Ch24, 9am). NCAA: Duke v Virginia (Live, Ch23, 10am). CRICKET: C'wealth Bank Series, 10th ODI: Australia v England Live, Ch95, 11.15am). GOLF: Dubai Desert Classic: Day 2 (Live, Ch21, 5.30pm). FBR Open: Day 2 (Live,... [Read more]

Inappropriate time slots for prime-time trailers
I am a regular viewer of Ch5 and I am bothered by some of the commercials and shows aired by the channel. Being the premier English channel in Singapore, I expect MediaCorp to be more in tune with the larger English-speaking... [Read more]

Cold War foes meet as defence chiefs
WHEN US Defence Secretary Robert Gates shook hands in Seville with his Russian counterpart Sergei Ivanov, it was a Cold War reunion of sorts.As a Soviet analyst, Mr Gates rose to the top of the Central Intelligence Agency during the Cold... [Read more]

Porto the real test for Chelsea
LISBON - CHELSEA'S recent revival faces its first real test today, when the English champions take on their Portuguese counterparts, FC Porto, in the Champions League. The English club's manager, Jose Mourinho, has likened the match to a final. He said:... [Read more]

Expect heavy rain, floods over Chinese New Year
IT COULD be a wet Chinese New Year - and one that comes with flash floods at that. The weatherman has warned that high tides of 3.1m, along with heavy afternoon rain, can be expected from Feb 18 through 21.Flash floods... [Read more]

Recall Beckham? Experts can't agree
BY LEONARD LIM - DAVID Beckham's sizzling form in Spain has caused ripples in England. The big question: Should England coach Steve McClaren, who dropped the player said to be the world's best crosser last year, welcome him back to the... [Read more]

Why demolish perfectly livable old apartments? New isn't necessarily better
In the craze to sell older condos en bloc, has anyone stopped to consider the consequences of demolishing perfectly livable old apartments and replacing them with new developments? Many expatriates who come to Singapore want to spend their housing budgets on... [Read more]

Trams one more option for public transport here
ASIDE from buses and trains, electric trams could be an additional mode of public transport here. French company Alstom Transport, one of the world's biggest makers of trams and high-speed trains, and also the supplier of the driver-less North-East Line (NEL)... [Read more]