News Today

India okays merger of state-run airlines
NEW DELHI - INDIA'S two state-run carriers will merge to create a larger airline able to compete in an increasingly deregulated aviation market, officials said.Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told reporters on Wednesday that a Cabinet panel has approved the merger... [Read more]

S'pore research may slash cost of radio tag readers
COMING soon - shopping carts that scan purchases and total up the bill and hotel rooms that unlock the door automatically for guests. These could well become a reality with researchers at the Institute of Microelectronics (IME) discovering a way to... [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]

London police calm fears after third teen shot dead
LONDON - POLICE chiefs sought to reassure Londoners yesterday after a third fatal shooting in less than two weeks in the south of the city, fuelling fears of an escalating gun culture. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair and senior detectives held... [Read more]

KL backs away from plan to confine foreign workers
KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA'S government yesterday backed away from a proposal to confine foreign workers to their living quarters, acknowledging that such a drastic move would have 'implications'.'The government hasn't taken a position on it yet,' Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun... [Read more]

Putin offers Saudis help with atomic energy
RIYADH - PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin of Russia has offered to help Saudi Arabia develop atomic energy and pledged to develop ties with the Islamic world during his first visit to Saudi Arabia, a key US ally. Mr Putin yesterday listed the... [Read more]

Undignified to place a price on body organs
I refer to the recent debate on organ trading. I am against such a trade. I am also against the medical directive which states that I have to opt out of the situation whereby other people are automatically entitled to my... [Read more]

Diversified Indian firm with global presence
NEW DELHI - INDIA'S Tata Group boasts an increasingly global stable of interests from tea and trucks to technology.A little more than two years ago, Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata said he wanted the conglomerate to 'spread its wings far beyond... [Read more]

Outdated price data on dental association's website
My tooth cracked while I was having lunch and my regular dentist was fully booked for the day. Thus I walked into a clinic in a shopping mall in the Thomson area as there were no patients at that time.The dentist... [Read more]

Father's hugs gave woman cancer
A FATHER'S loving hugs proved deadly for one British woman, who developed an asbestos-linked cancer years after her contact with the naval dockyard worker.Now, Ms Debra Brewer, 47, has won a compensation claim against the British Defence Ministry, after it admitted... [Read more]

Paradise lost
PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIMDeserted and in a state of disrepair, the Jurong Crocodile and Reptile Paradise is anything but Eden for the 60 crocodiles that live there.Dwindling visitor numbers forced the park to close its doors in June last year, and... [Read more]

Two years later, still no light for dark corridor

MY HUSBAND and I moved into Block 642, Rowell Road, in September 2004. We noticed that the approximately 5m-long corridor leading to our flat, the only unit there, was not lit. The corridor has a corner large enough to hide an adult and, without proper lighting, my husband was concerned for the family's safety should we come home at night unescorted.

So I made a call to the Jalan Besar Town Council to express our concern, explaining that the one light bulb at the lift landing could not illuminate the corridor which was at a sharp angle away from the lifts.

The staff said that she would note my concern, that I was not the first one to request more lighting there, and that there were plans to increase the number of lights. To top it off, she said that the wiring of all these lights would take one year to be completed. This was in October 2004.

Forward to October 2005. I called to ask where the lights were as there was no indication of any works there the entire year. I was told this time that it would take another year to put in a light bulb in my corridor. It seems absurd that in efficient Singapore it takes a competent body such as a town council two years to put in a light bulb.

October 2006 came and went, with the most dramatic addition to our block being a fresh coat of white and orange paint just before the period of the general election. Still, no sign of a light bulb.

Last December and again a week ago, shoes belonging to my husband and a guest went missing even though our main door was open and guests were visible from the outside of our flat. These incidents happened at night, and within minutes of my husband and our guest taking off their shoes.

We believe the absence of lights added to the temptation as the culprits thought they could get away with the thefts easily.

Would the town council please respond to this fourth request to light our corridor?



Sharon Ismail (Ms)

Drogba looks to English clubs' European domination

CHELSEA'S striker Didier Drogba believes English clubs are on the verge of another golden era in European football.

The Blues, along with Liverpool and Manchester United, are through to the last eight of the Champions League.

That means the Premiership outstrips Italy's two, with Spain, Germany and the Netherlands limited to one each.

'Now it's perhaps England's turn,' he said on Wednesday. 'At one stage, Spain was on top.

'Then, three years ago, the French clubs started to come through a bit when Marseille reached the Uefa Cup final and Monaco were in the Champions League final.

'At other times, it has been the Italian clubs. These are cycles - and that's all the better for the English league and for us.'

If he is correct, English football is set to enjoy the dominance it had before its clubs were banned for five years after the 1985 Heysel Stadium disaster.

They won seven European Cup finals from 1977 to 1984.

After the launch of the Champions League, only Liverpool in 2005 and United in 1999 have won it.

But they did provide two finalists in the last two seasons - with Arsenal losing to Barcelona last year.

REUTERS

Temasek accountable to Govt on portfolio basis

MR PATRICK Tan Siong Kuan ('Billions at stake, so Shin saga a national concern'; ST, March 3) was understandably concerned that if Temasek Holdings' investment in Shin Corp made losses, Singapore would lose national reserves. But this is not the right way to measure Temasek's performance.

Temasek invests in a broad range of assets to diversify risk and achieve good returns on the portfolio as a whole. It accepts that some investments will do well while others may fail. What is important is that the portfolio as a whole delivers creditable and sustained returns. This is the approach taken by many other reputable, long-term investors.

The Government holds Temasek accountable for achieving good long-term performance on an overall portfolio basis, rather than on individual investments each year. If Temasek were to be assessed on each individual investment, it would adopt an overly conservative investment strategy and ultimately achieve much lower overall returns.

This approach has yielded good results. As of March 2006, Temasek has delivered a compounded annual return of 18 per cent in terms of total shareholder returns by market value since inception, or 28 per cent per annum in the last three years.

For the financial year 2006 ending March 2007, despite the Shin investment Temasek is again expected to do well.

Laurence Lien
Director
Governance and Investment
Ministry of Finance

LeBron, Cavaliers treat Yao like high-school player

CLEVELAND - LEBRON James and the Cleveland Cavaliers made Yao Ming feel like he was back in high school on Monday.

The Chinese player struggled in his first National Basketball Association game, after missing more than two months with a leg injury.

The Cavaliers held off the Houston Rockets 91-85, led by James' 32 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

Yao finished the game with a bag of ice on his right knee.

He had 16 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks and five turnovers.

The centre had trained just once since recovering from a broken bone under his knee.

It showed.

'In the second quarter, third quarter, I was almost like a high-school player,' he said. 'Sometimes, Cleveland would just steal the ball from my hand.'

He air-balled a left hook on the Rockets' first possession, but soon got in the Cavaliers' way on the other end by blocking a shot.

Wearing a black brace on his right knee, he looked slow and out of sync during attacks. He let a crisp pass tip off his hands and missed open shots.

'Uneven, which is to be expected,' said the Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy. 'But he has got to cut down on his turnovers.

'We can't play well if he goes right back to what he was doing before he got hurt, which is being a high turnover guy. It's impossible to have offensive rhythm.'

James, whose popularity in China helped him top Yao in the All-Star voting this year, scored more than 30 points for the fourth straight game. The Cavaliers have won three of the four.

He got help from Larry Hughes, who had been struggling until recently.

Hughes had 22 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

He said this is the most comfortable he has felt since joining the Cavaliers as a free agent last season.

With rookie Daniel Gibson out with a sprained toe, he played some point guard, which he said he would like to do more often.

'I'm able to create,' he said. 'I'm able to get everybody involved, feel the flow of the game, know what plays we can run.'

James would not mind seeing that as well.

'If he keeps playing the way he is playing now, we might have to keep him in there,' James said.

Yao, who played 27 minutes, helped spark the Rockets in the fourth quarter, after they trailed by 14.

He scored seven straight points and provided a presence that forced Cleveland to take outside shots.

'I can't wait for my next game,' he said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Terminator and Ah Long starring in the S-League

S-LEAGUE punters can now place bets on 'Ah Long' - better known as Noh Alam Shah - scoring in his next game.

Singapore Pools has come up with a novel way for fans to identify personalities in the league easily when placing bets.

A list of nicknames and shortened names for strikers will be used on its website, when punters place bets on the first or last scorer of each S-League match.

The nicknames include Terminator and Black Pearl, and shortened names are Indra and Park.

Said Joe Dorai, deputy manager (sports betting) at Singapore Pools: 'We want to build icons in the league.

'Some of the players' names are too long. We have shortened them to make it easier for customers to remember them.'

The Football Association of Singapore and 12 S-League clubs have approved a list of nicknames and shortened names. They are (in brackets):

Albirex: Eiichiro Ozaki (O-za)

Young Lions: Khairul Amri (Asean Amri)

Balestier: Norikazu Murakami (King Kazu), Fathi Yunus (Boy Fathi)

Geylang: Fadzuhasny Juraimi (Grabber)

Home United: Kenge Ludovick (Black Pearl), Qiu Li (China Li), Indra Sahdan Daud (Indra)

Gombak United: Gabriel Obatola (Gabby), Kingsley Njoku (Kingsley)

Sengkang Punggol: Jonathon Angelucci (Jojo)

SAFFC: Aleksandar Duric (Terminator), Noor Ali (Noor)

Tampines: Noh Alam Shah (Ah Long), Peres de Oliveira (Peres)

Woodlands: Laakkad Abdelhadi (The Lark), Park Tae Won (Park)

News Today

New way of counting halves divorce rate
BEIJING - CHINA is switching to a more common international standard of counting divorces that will cut the divorce rate by half, state media said yesterday.This comes after about 20 years of unusually high numbers of failed Chinese marriages.>From this year,... [Read more]

A-G wants Suharto to repay $500m in charity funds
JAKARTA - INDONESIA'S Attorney-General said yesterday he would demand that former president Suharto repay charity funds alleged to have been used to enrich friends and family before launching a civil suit against him. Earlier this month, Attorney-General Abdul Rahman Saleh said... [Read more]

Citibank goes couture
The new lunar year means a new outfit for Citibank, which has given its uniforms for service staff a chic and cheerful makeover. Designed by top local couturier Francis Cheong, the sparkling new look was showcased in a catwalk show starring... [Read more]

3-nation accord to conserve Borneo rainforest
JAKARTA - INDONESIA, Malaysia and Brunei yesterday agreed to conserve a large swathe of mountainous rainforest covering a third of Borneo which is home to endangered orang utans, elephants and rhinoceros. 'This will put the 'Heart of Borneo' on the world... [Read more]

Lions' triumph is no fluke, so give credit where it is due
I was driving home at about 5.30pm on Monday when I heard a question posed by one of FM93.8's radio host. He was asking for listeners to call in if they thought the Singapore Lions' success in the just concluded Asean... [Read more]

McCulloch gives Wigan crucial win
LONDON - TWO runs came to an end on Saturday at Wigan.Portsmouth lost for the first time there in 28 years but, more importantly for Wigan, their 1-0 win ended a club-record run of eight straight Premiership losses.Ironically, their hero was... [Read more]

Falling steel bar kills worker at prime Orchard site
A THAI construction worker died at an Orchard Road worksite yesterday, suffering serious head injuries after being hit by a 12m-long steel bar that fell off a crane. Mr Kaewswang Wong, 50, was walking under the crane when the accident happened.... [Read more]

HK woman sues Osim over 'faulty' foot massager
HONG KONG - A WOMAN in Hong Kong is seeking HK$50,000 (S$9,800) from Osim, a Singapore health products company, alleging that one of its foot massagers had injured her legs, local reports said yesterday. Ms Wong Hoi-yin, who has taken her... [Read more]

Company's charity move scrutinised
ANOTHER group has come under scrutiny by the charities watchdog. A red flag went up when the Commissioner of Charities (COC) saw that it was to have been helmed by an individual who wanted to raise funds for kidney patients -... [Read more]

Rockeby lands new investors, such as ex-minister Cheow Tong
It places out 120m new shares at 1.9 Australian cents LOCAL biotech firm Rockeby biomed, which is planning again to get a listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) after having been rejected four years ago, has attracted new investors, including former... [Read more]

An offence to listen to music while crossing road
NEW YORK - CROSSING the street in New York while engrossed with a cellphone or an iPod could soon get you fined US$100 (S$150) under a draft Bill being presented by a state senator. Senator Carl Kruger blamed 'iPod oblivion' for... [Read more]

Let's wait for US trial results before recommending drug-eluting stents to patients

I refer to the letter by Dr Tan Soon Kiam (Online forum, Feb 26), 'Drug-eluting stems - benefits outweigh the risks.'

The writer seeks to espouse chelation therapy for the treatment of coronary artery disease.

We would like to provide a balanced view on this subject on the basis of evidence-based practice. Chelation therapy involves administering intravenous EDTA (a man-made amino acid) infusion over 2-4 hours, given weekly for a total of 30 or more treatments.

The aim of this therapy is to reduce the amount of calcium in atheromatous coronary arteries, hence possibly reducing the arterial narrowings.

There have also been many alternative explanations as to why chelation therapy might work.

Reports of beneficial effects of drugs or devices could be due to subjective and biased reporting, unless they are tested in double blind randomised placebo controlled trials, with an adequate number of patient subjects.

In a 2005 review of the chelation literature by a group of authors from Canada, they found five such randomised trials (see website www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2261-5-32). After going through these trial results, they concluded that the best available evidence does not support the therapeutic use of EDTA chelation therapy in the treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology and the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA), among many other medical organisations, also similarly do not recommend chelation therapy for this indication.

These trials were, however, underpowered for detecting differences in clinical outcomes, as the numbers recruited were too small. Hence, a large US/Canadian multicentre randomised placebo controlled clinical trial, focusing on major clinical outcome endpoints, is currently being carried out by the National Institute of Health, US. The trial is expected to recruit around 2,000 patients, and be completed by June 2010. As the cost of conducting such a trial is at least US$30 million, the National Heart Centre will not be in a position to perform such a trial, given its prohibitive cost.

We should therefore await the results of this NIH-sponsored trial before recommending such unproven therapy to our patients. This is especially so when there are already very effective proven therapy for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, in terms of drugs, bypass surgery and coronary stenting.

Chelation therapy has also been reported to have rare side-effects of sudden blood pressure drop, abnormally low calcium levels in the blood and kidney damage and it may affect blood cell production.

For more information on this subject, please access the American Heart Association website: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4493

A/Prof Koh Tian Hai

Medical Director

National Heart Centre

SSC offers Singapore's first sports scholarship in 3 areas

LOOKING for a career in the sports industry?

The Singapore Sports Council has launched a new sports scholarship that could be just for you.

It is Singapore's first sports scholarship, and will cater to those intending to pursue undergraduate studies in three areas - sports science, sports management and marketing, and sports media and broadcasting.

The three areas have been identified as critical ones that the industry needs to build up over the next few years in tandem with sports developments here, including the upcoming Sports Hub project.

Two local and two overseas scholarships will be open for application.

Successful applicants can look forward to careers in SSC and the sports industry.

They can work in areas like sports marketing and events management, industry development, sports medicine and sports science, high performance development, business development and communications.

Attachment opportunities with sports-related organisations, including commercial partners, are also on the cards.

Such attachments will give them a holistic view of sports and the sports industry.

Said SSC chairman Alex Chan: 'The sports industry continues to grow over the years as we lead up to the completion of the Sports Hub.

'More demands will be placed on human capital expertise, which will help us fully leverage on the growth potential of the sports industry.

'The introduction of Singapore's first sports scholarship signals our serious commitment to tap the full growth potential of the sports industry.'

For more information, please log on to: www.ssc.gov.sg/scholarship

Robben fed up with Mourinho

LONDON - CHELSEA winger Arjen Robben has voiced his anger at being left on the bench for Sunday's League Cup final.

The 23-year-old came on in the second half and impressed, as Didier Drogba scored from his perfect cross for Chelsea to pip Arsenal 2-1.

But the Dutchman admits he was frustrated to start from the bench.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho again opted for a 4-4-2 formation with a diamond midfield that left no room for Robben.

When he was told by Dutch television that there was disappointment back home over his omission, Robben said: 'You can't be as angry as I was.

'I was pleased about the assist I gave for the second goal, as it showed what I can do. You will have to ask the manager why I was left out.

'For me, it's about time I started games.'

Mourinho, it seems, is unhappy that the winger keeps picking up niggling injuries and missing key games.

'Some players are back from injury quickly and others like Robben take a long time. He is injured a lot and never for a small period - always a long time,' he had said recently.

But instead of Robben leaving Stamford Bridge at the end of the season, it could well be Mourinho.

Club owner Roman Abramovich boycotted the League Cup celebrations for a third time as he failed to attend a dinner on Monday.

The Russian had already snubbed the post-match celebrations in the dressing room and a party on Sunday night in London. And then, on Monday, he failed to turn up again.

The Sun claimed that reservations were made at a restaurant for 90 people, with everyone from Abramovich down to the kitmen expected to attend.

But the Russian apparently opted to fly back to Moscow rather than attend the dinner, with reports suggesting that he is trying to avoid talks with Mourinho about his future.

Last week, after the 1-1 draw at Porto in the Champions League, fans met up with Abramovich in a three-hour impromptu meeting at a hotel.

When they asked about Mourinho's future, the club owner clammed up, preferring to stare at the floor.

One fan at the meeting said: 'Jose's gone in the summer. He's a dead man walking. There's no way he'll be in charge next season. You should have seen Abramovich, he didn't want to know.

'Every time we mentioned Mourinho, he and his mates just cringed and looked at the floor in an angry and dismissive manner.'

S-League Hall of Fame

Grant Holt (striker)

Then: Sengkang Marine, 2002

Now: Nottingham Forest (English League One)

Issey Nakajima Farran (striker)

Then: Albirex Niigata, 2004-05

Honours: 1 cap for Canada.

Now: Vejle Boldklub (Danish SuperLiga)

Suguru Hashimoto (midfielder)

Then: Albirex Niigata, 2005-06

Now: Vejle Boldklub

Hidetoshi Wakui (midfielder)

Then: Albirex Niigata, 2004-05

Now: Interblock Ljubljana (Slovenian division one)

Mohammad Khakpour (defender)

Then: Geylang United, 1996

Honours: League and FA Cup double; played for Iran at 1998 World Cup.

Now: Retired

Hamid Reza Estili (midfielder)

Then: Geylang United, 1996

Honours: League and FA Cup double; played for Iran at 1998 World Cup.

Now: Retired

News Today

Selling Singapore: Stories from the EDB trenches
MR KO Kheng Hwa, the managing director of the Economic Development Board (EDB), shares stories from the frontline in the battle for multinational investments: Wooing Shell with tenacity IT TOOK 'generations' of EDB officers to persuade petrochemical giant Shell to invest... [Read more]

Rotary's earnings surge to $35.2m
THE red-hot oil and gas sector has been a bonanza for Rotary Engineering, which yesterday reported record earnings of $35.2 million, up a staggering 320 per cent.Rotary helps build and maintain oil storage terminals and other infrastructure for the petrochemical industry.... [Read more]

Beijing's democracy drive at a standstill, analysts say
CHINA'S democratic development has come to a standstill and is even taking a step backwards, analysts said yesterday.However, in the long term, pressure from the ground will lead to progress, at a pace that is likely to be 'two steps forward... [Read more]

Shetty a star in UK Parliament
THE winner of Britain's reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother, Shilpa Shetty, was awarded VIP treatment on a visit to Parliament. During the visit, she thanked British Prime Minister Tony Blair for supporting her in the show's 'racist bullying' row. Shetty,... [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]

Thai PM removes national police chief
BANGKOK - PRIME minister General Surayud Chulanont yesterday sidelined the country's powerful chief of police General Kowit Wattana. In the move - which had been rumoured for months - General Kowit was transferred to an inactive post at the Prime Minister's... [Read more]

Bak kwa store shows off Wireless@SG's potential
TECHNOLOGY is helping bak kwa sales in the heart of Chinatown zip right along, despite massive queues as Chinese New Year nears. The Bee Cheng Hiang store in Pagoda Street, which gets some 2,000 customers in a week as the festive... [Read more]

Rare orchid found in Cameron jungles
IPOH - A MYSTERIOUS orchid picked up by two environmentalists deep in the jungles of Cameron Highlands has turned out to be the rare Monomeria barbata. Mr Embi Abdullah, 59, who stumbled across the orchid with his friend while trekking in... [Read more]

Taking off
ST Engg's strong results were led by its aerospace division, whose pre-tax gains rose 21 per cent to $305.3 million. Turnover jumped 35 per cent to $1.67 billion, helped in part by the rise of low-cost carriers which outsource maintenance services,... [Read more]

Stock market fever hits China's students
BEIJING - UNIVERSITY students on shoestring budgets have traditionally waited tables, flipped burgers at fast-food joints or taken on odd jobs to earn an extra buck. But recently, enterprising students in China are turning to a quicker, albeit riskier, way of... [Read more]

Chinese town aims to gain from Asean-China accord
PUZHAI (CHINA) - PUZHAI may be a remote border crossing, but it is in a Chinese region set on keeping its economy on track with raw materials flowing from its South-east Asian neighbours. The plot of dry, dusty land is fast... [Read more]

News Today

No need to shut new Thai airport: Panel
BANGKOK - THAILAND does not need to close its new international airport to repair cracks on taxiways and runways, a panel of investigators said yesterday, blaming the damage on underground water. Cracks have been found across 78,000 sq m, or roughly... [Read more]

Fresh round of clashes in Gaza
GAZA CITY - FIGHTING between rival Palestinian forces erupted again yesterday in the Gaza Strip, where 23 people have been killed in the fiercest bout of internecine violence since Hamas won elections a year ago. Three Palestinians died overnight as militants... [Read more]

Beijingers to be warned of harmful haze
BEIJING - RESIDENTS in Beijing will be warned in daily weather forecasts of the presence of haze, one of city's first steps to evaluate its air quality.>From Thursday, the municipal meteorological authorities will include such information on hazy days when humidity... [Read more]

I feared for my family, says Mikel
LONDON - CHELSEA midfielder John Obi Mikel has revealed why he defied manager Jose Mourinho and played for his country last Tuesday. It was because the Nigerian feared for his family's safety back home. Mourinho wanted Mikel to pull out of... [Read more]

US plans to put on a more welcoming face
WASHINGTON - THE US government and private sector are launching a massive effort to reshape America's image for foreign visitors amid concerns that tightened security measures have made the country inhospitable. The campaign comes as the number of visitors to the... [Read more]

Bellamy a 'scapegoat' for Liverpool's training-trip fracas
LIVERPOOL - CRAIG Bellamy has been made a scapegoat for Liverpool's training-camp ruckus in Portugal. Sources within the club suggest the 27-year-old Welsh international's bad-boy reputation was exploited to deflect blame from a large number of players involved in breaches of... [Read more]

What it should have been
In our article yesterday, '2 Aztech directors exercise options', we erroneously said that Aztech Systems' full-year earnings was $2.04 million.It should be $20.04 million. We are sorry for the error.... [Read more]

Shortest time in womb - now she leaves hospital
MIAMI - A PREMATURE baby who spent less time in the womb than any other surviving infant was to leave a South Florida hospital for her home yesterday. Amillia Sonja Taylor was just 24.13cm long and weighed 284g when she was... [Read more]

No longer noted
PHOTO: AFP Mount Everest will replace this picture of King Gyanendra on Nepalese 10 rupee (20 Singapore cents) notes, the country's government said yesterday. King Gyanendra was stripped of nearly all his powers following mass protests last year that ended nearly... [Read more]

Comeback kid Griselda wins top Sports School award
FOR someone used to cutting cleanly and smoothly through the water, the past year has been a roller-coaster ride for Griselda Khng. The national Optimist sailor ended 2005 with a South-east Asia Games gold medal after a tense deliberation by the... [Read more]

Shorter lead time for GST hike may cost more for firms
THE bad news: Singapore firms may have to pay more to implement the latest hike in the goods and services tax (GST) given the shorter deadline than for the last rise. The good news: Many firms have already started gearing up... [Read more]

McClaren in Becks U-turn?

LONDON - SIX weeks ago, David Beckham was dismissed as a 31-year-old has-been bound for a cushy retirement job in America.

Now, he has been resurrected as the man who could rescue England.

Even coach Steve McClaren admits he has to consider an improbable recall for the country's former captain.

'It gives me a problem, one of the problems you welcome,' he said on Wednesday.

'It's pleasing to see that a month ago, he would never play for Real again, and there he is starring in a game against Bayern Munich and being Man of the Match.'

On Tuesday night, Beckham had a hand in each of the goals in Real Madrid's 3-2 win over Bayern in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Two weeks ago, he scored in the 2-1 win over Real Sociedad in the Spanish league, saving the job of coach Fabio Capello.

And this was the same Capello who had declared that Beckham would never play for Real again, after the midfielder signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy on Jan11.

After a six-match exile, he turned around and declared: 'We doubted he could train with the same enthusiasm, but he has been training perfectly.

'I'm counting on him until the end of the season.'

McClaren is in the same boat as the Italian.

His seven-month tenure has been awful. After two wins, one dispiriting loss and one even more dispiriting draw, England are tied with minnows Israel and Macedonia for third in their Euro 2008 qualifying group.

Clearly, McClaren needs help, and he could always look at how Beckham has given a little CPR to Capello.

England midfielder Owen Hargreaves was in the Bayern side, and witnessed at close quarters exactly what Beckham still has to offer.

His verdict: McClaren would be insane not to recall the former England captain.

'If David plays like he did against us, then he can play his way back into any team,' he said.

'I've always said anyone who writes off Becks is mad.

'He was Real's most influential player against us by a country mile. Every chance seemed to come from his set-pieces or passes.'

Beckham has a crucial few weeks coming up.

He is suspended for Saturday's Madrid derby against Atletico, but returns to face Getafe the following weekend.

Then, there is the return trip to Bayern and another crunch tie at bitter rivals Barcelona, reported The Sun.

The icing on the cake will be the return to his former club Manchester United, with a European Select XI for a friendly on March 13.

Three days later, McClaren - who has to decide whether qualifying is more important than planning for the future - has to name his Euro squad for Israel and Andorra.

Beckham was felt to have too much influence under Sven-Goran Eriksson's indulgent regime. McClaren's decision to drop him on 94 caps was seen as a clear break from the past.

Can the coach swallow his pride and bring him back?

Walkouts can cause bigger trouble

AFTER 16 years as a player and 33 years as a manager travelling to all corners of the globe, the 65-year-old Alex Ferguson must have seen it all.

Then came Tuesday.

'I have never seen anything like that in football,' said the Manchester United manager, after watching Lille walk off the pitch to protest against Ryan Giggs' free-kick goal.

If Ferguson had seen or heard about Thailand's National Stadium walkout on Jan 31, during the Asean Football Championship final against Singapore, he was not letting on.

Lille's walkout in the Champions League tie was for just one minute, compared to the 15 minutes the Thais spent on the sidelines arguing against a penalty decision.

But Ferguson had every right to be upset by Lille's behaviour during the 1-0 win.

His expression - mouth slightly open in the cold French winter, face flushed with anger - said it all: walking out in the middle of a game has no place in sport.

At this point, the two incidents in Singapore and France take different routes.

The Asean Football Federation and the Asian Football Confederation felt a reprimand for the Thais was enough.

If the latest rumblings in Uefa are anything to go by, Lille can expect to receive more than just a ticking off.

And rightly so.

On the surface, acts such as walking off the pitch to protest against a decision may be simply childish.

But, scratch deeper, and you find that such behaviour can be a portent of something more sinister.

Thailand's walkout came and went without incident. Sadly, that was not the case at the Felix-Bollaert Stadium.

There is little doubt that Lille's antics fuelled raging emotions on the terraces. Missiles were thrown onto the pitch, and United's Gary Neville was hit.

Lille president Michel Seydoux countered that attempting to stop the match was never an option. In heading to the sidelines, his team were merely protesting the decision to allow Giggs' goal to stand.

'They are the French rules,' he added.

Newly-elected Uefa president Michel Platini may be French, but he is unlikely to agree with Seydoux.

Uefa is seeking to clean up an image tarnished by recent outbreaks of violence in Italy, Germany and France.

On Monday, Platini had urged all 16 remaining clubs in the Champions League to set good examples.

Lille were not listening. Maybe Ferguson was not either.

Ever the wily one, he added: 'I don't know who was responsible for encouraging them to take that line. But they kicked the ball into touch straight from the kick-off.

'We should have taken a quick throw-in, gone down the other end of the pitch and scored a second.'

How that would have gone down with the already maddened home fans does not bear contemplating.

What can be carefully considered is this: Uefa has already kicked Feyenoord out of the Uefa Cup for crowd trouble. It now has to send out a loud and clear signal that Lille were in the wrong.

It will be a signal that Asian football's bigwigs can learn from.

marclim@sph.com.sg

Electronics weakness clouds exports rebound

EXPORTS of made-in-Singapore goods jumped 11.1 per cent last month over the same period last year, beating forecasts and reversing December's sharp decline of more than 14 per cent.

The strong turnaround in non-oil domestic exports (Nodx) growth was more than double the median market forecast of 5 per cent in a survey of analysts by Bloomberg.

Driving the expansion was a 45 per cent surge in shipments to the United States, and a 25 per cent rise in those bound for China, according to monthly figures released by trade promotion agency IE Singapore yesterday.

But the rebound left some analysts unimpressed.

The January recovery 'masks the weakness in electronics', a sector which makes up half of Nodx, said United Overseas Bank economist Alvin Liew.

What drove up last month's export numbers were petrochemicals and drug shipments, he noted. The latter is given to wild swings from month to month.

Pharmaceuticals grew 12.6 per cent, while petrochemicals surged by more than 26.4 per cent, leading to a 18.8 per cent jump in non-electronics Nodx.

But the crucial electronics segment grew just 2.1 per cent.

And even this modest improvement in electronics was not greatly aided by growth in sales of semiconductor chips - the industry's main money-spinner.

Chip shipments were only 0.5 per cent higher from a year earlier.

Rather, a bigger element of the improvement came because exports of disk drives - an industry probably seeing the final effects of last year's plant closures - fell less steeply last month.

A slump in global technology demand and consolidation of the disk drive industry had plagued electronics exports, which fell 19.3 per cent last December.

The electronics slump may not be over, noted Citigroup economist Chua Hak Bin, as non-oil retained imports of intermediate goods fell for the sixth consecutive month, dipping 6.6 per cent last month.

This figure refers to imports of manufacturing inputs such as chip components, which are an important indicator of future production and exports.

There is another factor to explain why this month's export growth is likely to be sluggish. Chinese New Year public holidays fell in January last year, but are in February this year.

That gave last month three extra working days over January last year, partly contributing to the latest rebound, reported IE Singapore.

But it also means that last February's strong electronics performance is unlikely to be outdone this month, said Dr Chua.

'The high base and timing of Chinese New Year this year suggests that electronics export growth will likely turn negative again this month on fewer working days,' he predicted.

Singapore-made exports had a mixed showing among the country's top 10 Nodx markets last month.

Nodx to America improved spectacularly, with sales of telecommunications equipment up more than 400 per cent while shipments of drugs more than trebled.

Exports to Malaysia, the US and China reversed last December's single-digit declines to stage double- digit growth last month. But shipments to another four of the top 10 destinations fell.

These markets are Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan and the No. 1 market - the European Union's (EU's) 27 member states. Singapore sold less drugs and telecoms equipment to the EU while the decline in Japan-bound Nodx was partly due to lower sales of semiconductor chips.

Overall trade with the world expanded by 14 per cent to hit $68 billion last month, reported IE Singapore.

This was boosted by faster growth in imports as well as the recovery in exports.

Oil domestic exports from Singapore, a major oil refining centre, also climbed 5.5 per cent last month, after sliding 16 per cent the previous month. This was mainly due to significantly higher sales to Indonesia, Australia and China.

With technology demand expected to bottom out only in the second or third quarter this year, analysts expect non-electronics to drive Nodx growth for the time being.

'We expect demand for pharmaceutical exports to remain intact, especially to key European export destinations, although the sector is unlikely to replicate its sterling 2006 performance,' said Mr Liew.

ericatay@sph.com.sg

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