News Today

Govt agency helps 22,000 find new jobs
ABOUT 22,000 people found jobs last year with help from the Workforce Development Agency (WDA), a government body that develops training programmes.Most were older and low-skilled workers. Some of them snagged better-paying jobs through the Job Re-creation Programme, which reinvents low-end... [Read more]

Pakistan orders probe into suicide bombing near Shi'ite centre
PESHAWAR (PAKISTAN) - PAKISTAN yesterday ordered a federal investigation into a suspected suicide bombing that killed 15 people, including a police chief and other officers, and beefed up security in this north-western city. It was the second such attack in two... [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]

Roma's hopes rest on an improved performance
ROME - IF ROMA want to progress in the Champions League, they will have to play better than they did last Saturday.Then, they produced one of their worst performances in recent times in their 0-1 loss to Empoli.The result left them... [Read more]

Cold wave disrupts travel in Britain and US
LONDON - BRITAIN was hit by travel chaos yesterday with much of the country covered by a thick blanket of snow during the morning rush-hour. There were delays on railways and roads, and airports were forced to close as snow and... [Read more]

Cosco's profits up 28% to record $205m
CHINESE shipping group Cosco has posted a 28 per cent hike in profit to a record $205.4 million as turnover surged 39 per cent to $1.22 billion. The strong performance for the year ended Dec 31 came as the company repaired... [Read more]

CapitaLand earns $40m from sale of office space
CAPITALAND has sold all its entire interest in the Samsung Hub office block to two different buyers for a gain of $40 million.The entire divestment of space in the central business district building amounted to $152.9 million.Property company Ho Bee Development... [Read more]

Stall assistant's jail term for bomb hoax quadrupled
A STALL assistant who triggered a massive police search after falsely claiming to have overheard a plot to bomb Clementi MRT station, yesterday had his sentence quadrupled by the High Court. Ariff Mohamed, 25, will now have to serve two years... [Read more]

Minister doubts eavesdropping claims
THAI Minister of Information and Communication Technology Sittichai Pokai-udom has cast doubts on the junta's claims that Singapore was eavesdropping on Thai military conversations.In an interview on a Thai-language TV talk show, Siam This Morning, on Tuesday, Mr Sittichai said eavesdropping... [Read more]

Malaysian paper blames S'pore for Johor floods
KUALA LUMPUR - THE finger-pointing at Singapore over the Johor floods is not over yet.Three days after Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman sought to pin the blame on the land reclamation on Pulau Tekong for causing Johor's worst floods in... [Read more]

'Judge erred', so housewife cleared of hurting maid
A HOUSEWIFE, originally sentenced to 15 months' jail for hurting her maid, yesterday walked out of court a free woman after the High Court overturned her conviction. Justice V.K. Rajah, in acquitting Madam Sakthivel Punithavathi, 32, said that the district judge... [Read more]