Straits Times Interactive - NEWS

What it should have been

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

In our Jan 29 report, 'Big companies are big on fengshui', we said corporations are subscribing to the practice of fengshui and cited Singapore Marriott Hotel and Tangs department store as having such features.

In Brief

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

London - British police arrested five people at The Sun tabloid newspaper, parent company News Corp said. Searches have taken place at the homes and offices of those arrested.

Apple acts to block Motorola's patent claims

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

San Diego (California) - Apple sued Motorola Mobility in a United States court on Friday in an attempt to stop the latter from asserting some patent claims against Apple in Germany.

Housing a hindrance to recovery: Bernanke

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

Orlando (Florida) - Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday issued a call to action to restore US housing markets, saying depressed house prices and sales were a serious drag on the economic recovery.

Uzbek man pleads guilty in plot to kill Obama

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

Alabama - A man from Uzbekistan living illegally in the United States pleaded guilty on Friday to terrorism and weapons charges involving a plot to kill President Barack Obama.

Chinese V-P to get top-level US reception

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

Washington: The White House hopes that this week's visit by Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping, who is expected to become the mainland's next top leader, will be 'an investment" in the future of bilateral ties, senior administration officials said.

BBC 'to apologise for news-fixing'

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

London - The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is to apologise for having compromised its editorial integrity through programmes involved in a 'news fixing scandal', media reports said yesterday.

In Britain, maths is a big problem

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

London - Universities in Britain are being forced to 'dumb down' standards of maths because it is 'too difficult' for students, new research has found.

Plea to KL: Don't deport Saudi writer

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

Kuala Lumpur - Detained Saudi writer Hamza Kashgari faces certain death for apostasy if Malaysia agrees to send him home, an international human rights group said.

Racism 'not a factor' in KFC squabble

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

Klang - It was hunger and not racism that triggered a fight at a KFC outlet in Shah Alam, according to a person who uploaded two videos of KFC workers allegedly assaulting a customer who got angry after the restaurant ran out of chicken.

Govt inaction, union politics spur uprisings

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

Jakarta: Business owners and government officials breathed easier when a highly anticipated labour strike failed to materialise in Tangerang, just outside the Indonesian capital, last Thursday.

March against nuclear power in Japan

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

People took to the streets of Tokyo yesterday, urging Japan to abandon atomic power. Thousands joined the peaceful march against nuclear power amid increasing worries about the restarting of reactors, which have stopped operating after the March 11, 2011 disaster in north-eastern Japan.

Chinese agent admits arranging HK births

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

Hong Kong - A mainland Chinese woman has admitted arranging for mainlanders to give birth in Hong Kong, reports said yesterday, in the first prosecution of its kind as the autonomous Chinese city cracks down on the practice.

Years on the run

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

The day before the Bali bombings of Oct 12, 2002, Hisyam Alizein left the Indonesian island by public bus.

Charge phone for free while you shop

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

Running out of battery juice is a surefire way to trigger a dreaded 21st-century affliction: nomophobia, or the fear of being out of mobile phone contact.

Muslim leaders to tackle hot issues

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

THE Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) wants its religious leaders to be versed in science and sociology, in addition to scriptures.

Man sued for allegedly using flat as temple

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

A COUPLE are suing their neighbour for allegedly running a Taoist temple out of his three-room Tampines Housing Board flat, causing them nuisance in terms of noise and smoke.

The link between roses and Valentine's Day

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

One Roman legend has it that there once lived a beautiful maiden named Rodanthe. She was pursued by a number of admirers who broke down her door to seek her hand in marriage. This angered the goddess Diana, who turned Rodanthe into a rose and her suitors into thorns.

Coming up roses

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

A rose is a rose is a rose on any day of the year. But come Valentine's Day, it takes on an extra symbolic role and costs quite a bit extra too.

Why men still pop illegal sex pills

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

A cabby still recalls a night of fun in 2008 that later made him swear off illegal sex-enhancement pills.

Looks like a baby, feels like a baby - it's unreal

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

They look like real babies, feel like real babies and, with eyes closed, sleep like real babies.

Baby boom for hospital on Feb 6

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

Feb 6, 2012, may not sound like a particularly auspicious date, but Thomson Medical Centre saw a record number of 63 babies delivered that day, or more than double what they see on an average day.

Love 'frozen' in time for World Marriage Day

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

'Public Notice: Please do not be alarmed. Just happily married couples having fun.' So read the signs held by volunteers at Ngee Ann City yesterday afternoon.

S'poreans still not visiting Japan

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

Almost a year after Japan suffered an earthquake and nuclear fallout in March, Singaporean visitors have not returned to the East Asian country in big numbers.

'No frills' POSB branch opens at community club

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

DBS Bank has opened a POSB bank branch in a community club as an experiment of sorts, to see if it can further bring down the cost of banking and shorten service times.