Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Lille continue their appeal

FRENCH club Lille intend to appeal over Uefa's decision to uphold Manchester United's disputed Champions League-winning goal.

The European soccer governing body threw out their protest that Ryan Giggs took the crucial free kick while their players were still lining up their wall.

United won the Feb 20 game 1-0.

Lille claimed that Dutch referee Eric Braamhaar made a mistake in allowing the free kick to be taken without having blown his whistle beforehand.

They asked for the game to be replayed.

Uefa said they will consider the appeal on Friday.

The second leg of the Champions League last-16 tie will be played in Manchester next Wednesday.

Uefa announced last week that it was also investigating possible violations during the tie at the Stade Felix- Bollaert in Lens, where United fans were involved in a crush.

Lille fans responded to the goal by hurling missiles onto the pitch, one of which struck United captain Gary Neville on the head as he was waiting to take a throw-in.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

News Today

Punjab goes to the polls amid reform woes
CHANDIGARH (INDIA) - POLLS were held yesterday in the northern Indian state of Punjab, where a defeat for the ruling Congress Party could highlight wider national concerns over rising food prices and economic reforms. India's annual inflation rate rose to a... [Read more]

Woman minister killed for not wearing Islamic garb
ISLAMABAD - A SUSPECTED Islamic militant on Tuesday shot dead a Pakistani female provincial minister and supporter of President Pervez Musharraf because she was not wearing Muslim clothing, officials said. Zilla Huma Usman, 35, the Punjab province minister for social welfare,... [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]

More Chinese delay pregnancy by freezing eggs
BEIJING - AN INCREASING number of Chinese women are asking fertility institutes to freeze their eggs so that they can postpone pregnancy to enjoy their careers and youth, Chinese media reported yesterday.More than 260 couples in Shanghai had frozen eggs, the... [Read more]

'Commitment by govts needed' to tackle region's water woes
ONE word - commitment - stood out as experts distilled the challenges ahead, on the second day of the Asia Pacific Water Forum's inaugural governing council meeting here. Only political commitment by leaders can result in policy action in tackling the... [Read more]

Kreta Ayer Centre tops charity vote
TIGER Beer has donated more than $40,000 to three charities, as part of the brewery's Golden Wish Promotion launched on Jan 12.During the month-long promotion, Tiger invited the public to vote for the charity they supported most out of three -... [Read more]

S'pore to hold major Asian gaming show
COMPUTER gaming companies from around the world will gather here in September to show off their products and strike deals that could run into the millions of dollars.The Games Convention Asia (GCA) 2007 will be the regional equivalent of the Games... [Read more]

Putin throws down gauntlet to West
THE annual security conference in the southern German city of Munich is traditionally a venue where defence leaders showcase their plans for making the world a more stable place. Not the one held last weekend, however. For in a speech which... [Read more]

They just want to go home
PHOTO: AP Queuing for a ticket home for Chinese New Year is a bone-chilling task for these folks in Taiyuan in China's central Shanxi province. The heavy snow has blanketed the highways, preventing coach services from running; hence this long line... [Read more]

Search is on for Joscelin's successors
FOR the first time in 16 years, Singapore will be without Joscelin Yeo at a South-east Asia Games.But a host of young swimmers are gearing up for December's edition, to make sure the Republic do not miss the six golds that... [Read more]

Cash for tribal women who bear over 12 children
GAUHATI (INDIA) - TRIBAL leaders in India's remote north-east are offering cash rewards to women who bear more than a dozen children in a bid to keep from being outnumbered by settlers from elsewhere.In the past two months, Khasi tribal chieftains... [Read more]

Monday, February 26, 2007

News Today

Programme not designed to play up sensuality of pole dancing
We refer to the letter, 'Shocked over local TV programme' (Online forum, Jan 29) by Ms Daphne Lim. The premise of this new series is to be daring and different in its approach to a wide variety of topics, providing a... [Read more]

Disease threat in Jakarta
A medical team treats a Jakarta flood victim amid a deepening crisis brought on by the worst floods to hit the Indonesian capital in five years. At least 44 deaths have been blamed on the flooding, and officials fear that toll... [Read more]

Richard Yong may end up paying the most
WITH all four defendants now having admitted that they are liable to the new National Kidney Foundation (NKF), the way has been paved for the charity to recover the money it is claiming from them. But the twist is that it... [Read more]

Thai govt trying to boost image in Western media
BANGKOK - THAILAND'S military-appointed government is seeking ways to repair its image in the foreign media in the face of a determined publicity drive by ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Among its key objectives is to dispel misunderstandings over the 'sufficiency economy'... [Read more]

Make perverting history a global crime
I AGREE totally with Mr Boguslaw Marcin Majewski, Ambassador of Poland to Singapore, that it is indeed extremely troubling that historian David Irving should persistently deny the existence of Auschwitz and the Holocaust ('Proof of Auschwitz gassing indisputable'; ST, Jan 30).Having... [Read more]

Let a panel review strong objections of families
IT IS very sad and distressing to read about the recent scuffle between Singapore General Hospital staff and brain-dead man Sim Tee Hua's next of kin over an operation to harvest his organs for transplant (ST, Feb 8). We had in... [Read more]

We need a unique Singaporean roar
With the recent euphoria on our Lions' victory at the Asean Football Championship and comments made in the Forum pages about cheering our team, I think the time has come for a Singapore Roar to be created.This will be the rallying... [Read more]

STI breaks 3, 200 mark with few signs of bull run ending
A POTENT mix of New Year fever and pre-Budget expectations propelled the share market on to a dizzying bull run yesterday that ended with another record high close.The Straits Times Index (STI) rocketed 49.58 points to 3,217.68, bringing the gains over... [Read more]

Pressure on China as Hu visits Sudan
KHARTOUM - INTERNATIONAL pressure was on China yesterday to use diplomacy to stop Sudan's civil strife after President Hu Jintao arrived in the country, the highlight of an eight-nation tour of Africa. But Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol said the meeting... [Read more]

Suicide bomber kills 3 in Israel
An Israeli medic wheels a stretcher holding a body bag from the scene of a suicide attack, which ripped through a bakery in the southern Israeli resort town of Eilat yesterday. Three people were killed by the Palestinian suicide bomber, in... [Read more]

Wi-Fi thief's sentence lauded as 'practical'
BY SENTENCING a teenager to 18 months' probation and an accompanying Internet ban for piggybacking on his neighbour's wireless connection, the Community Court sent a clear signal that the teen's actions were wrong but not serious enough to warrant jail time,... [Read more]

Saturday, February 17, 2007

TV times

CRICKET: Hero Honda Cup, 4th ODI: India v Sri Lanka (Live, Ch95, 11.30am).

GOLF: SBS Open: Day 2 (Live, Ch22, 7.30am). Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesian Open: Day 3 (Live, Ch24, 2pm). Nissan Open: Day 3 (Live, Ch21, tomorrow, 4am).

SOCCER: Scottish Premiership: Aberdeen v Celtic (Live, Ch107, 8.30pm). English FA Cup, 5th rd: Arsenal v Blackburn (Live, Ch24, 8.25pm), Chelsea v Norwich (Live, Ch23, 10.55pm), Middlesbrough v West Brom (Live, Ch24, 10.55pm), Man Utd v Reading (Live, Ch24, tomorrow, 1.10am). French Ligue: St Etienne v Rennes (Live, Ch108, tomorrow, 12.10am). Spanish Primera Liga: Real Madrid v Betis (Live, Ch22, tomorrow, 2.55am), Real Zaragoza v Villarreal (Live, Ch22, tomorrow, 4.55am). Dutch C'ship: Heracles v PSV (Live, Ch108, tomorrow, 3am).

Friday, February 16, 2007

Today in Summary

Supermart staff under probe for skiving on YouTube
LONDON - A BRITISH supermarket chain has launched a probe after video clips of people performing stunts while wearing the company uniform surfaced on the YouTube website.The videos allegedly featured Somerfield staff 'skiving' from work and showed - among other antics... [Read more]

Good chance for Barca to increase league lead
MADRID - BARCELONA'S coach Frank Rijkaard refuses to see his team as the Primera Liga title favourites.He is adamant, despite history showing that the leaders at the half-way point have gone on to win the Spanish championship in 10 of the... [Read more]

Four-month wait to be seen at SGH
MY FRIEND'S mother, who had been having diarrhoea for the past month despite seeing a GP, was given a referral to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) by Choa Chu Kang Polyclinic on Tuesday. However, she could be seen only on May 11.My... [Read more]

Pakistan denies harbouring Taleban leader
ISLAMABAD - PAKISTAN denied yesterday that its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was sheltering Taleban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar in the city of Quetta near the Afghan border. 'It is an absurd and sheer lie,' said top military spokesman Shaukat Sultan. The claim... [Read more]

New project spending in China loses steam
BEIJING - CHINA saw less investment in new projects last year than in 2005, government sources said yesterday. This marked a sharp turnaround from the rapid expansion in such spending seen in the first few months of last year. China carried... [Read more]

Two women slipped on VivoCity stairs and fell
ON JAN 6, my friend and I visited VivoCity for the first time. She was on vacation in Singapore.It was 9pm when we went up to the rooftop sky garden where children were still playing in the pools. It was surprising... [Read more]

Scramble for aid
Kota Tinggi flood victims crowd around an official handing out queue tickets for the next day's handouts. Malaysians affected by the first wave of floods last month were promised aid of RM200 (S$87) per family. They also get coupons to collect... [Read more]

Ask customers before charging for trial services
TELCOS often throw in extra free services for a limited period of time to woo customers. This is well and good.However, before the expiry of such services, they do not ask customers whether they would like to continue receiving the services.... [Read more]

Focus on Mideast peace, free trade, climate change
DAVOS (SWITZERLAND) - THIS year's gathering at the World Economic Forum produced fresh commitments to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, a glimmer of hope on liberalising world trade and determination to combat global warming. And, as a tailpiece, emotional appeals at yesterday's... [Read more]

Ukraine leader pleased with talks here
FEW Singaporeans have taken the 15-hour flight to visit Ukraine.Ukraine's First Vice-Prime Minister Mykola Azarov wants Singapore businessmen to know that his country of 47 million people is replete with history, scientific expertise and investment opportunities.Summing up his four-day official visit... [Read more]

Existing customers left in cold for SingTel mio package
I'VE BEEN using SingTel mobile services for five years and currently hold three lines. In August 2005 and April last year, I also signed up for the home residential fixed line and unlimited broadband services. Thus, I was quite excited when... [Read more]