News Today

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]

Champions League
TodayCeltic v AC MilanLille v Manchester United Live, Ch23, tomorrow, 3.30amPSV Eindhoven v Arsenal Real Madrid v Bayern Munich Live, Ch24, tomorrow, 3.30amTomorrowBarcelona v Liverpool Live, Ch23, Thursday, 3.30amFC Porto v Chelsea Live, Ch24, Thursday, 3.30amInter Milan v Valencia Roma v... [Read more]

New Year blues for Jakarta's Chinese
JAKARTA - THE wildly wet weather has put a damper on Chinese New Year in the Indonesian capital. Most of the city's ethnic Chinese live in the west and north, the areas that were among the hardest hit by the worst... [Read more]

Sex-change patient just 14
VIENNA - A 14-YEAR-OLD boy in Germany is believed to have become the world's youngest sex-change patient.The boy - born Tim but now known as Kim - has started to receive hormone treatment to prepare for the operation that will complete... [Read more]

For lease: 6 state properties for office use
THE Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has put up six state properties for lease via public tender solely for office use. They are: 195 Pearl's Hill Terrace, the former police headquarters. 18 Pearl's Hill Terrace, which used to house a Criminal Investigation... [Read more]

Advice to S'poreans travelling to Bangkok: Stay in groups
SINGAPOREANS travelling to Bangkok this weekend for the Singapore-Thailand football match are advised to stay together in groups as far as possible and to keep alert and calm at all times, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said yesterday.There have been... [Read more]

Post-secondary fund a good move but more please, say parents
THANK you, it is a nice gesture but it is not enough. While Singaporeans appreciated the money the Government would be giving them for post-secondary education, they said the amount was too little and conditions on its use too restrictive. Second... [Read more]

Letter bomb explodes in central London
LONDON - A LETTER bomb exploded in central London yesterday, injuring one woman and causing panic. The blast occurred at the London headquarters of the company that administers the British capital's traffic congestion toll, Capita. It is less than 180m from... [Read more]

School tests near CNY hard on some students
CHINESE New Year is just around the corner. Foreigners, particularly those of Chinese origin, are naturally excited and many are anxious to return home. Students from China are in an exuberant mood - they can be with their parents and grandparents... [Read more]

Companies in brief
COURTS SOUNDS PROFIT WARNING DUE TO THAI LOSSESTHE furniture and electronics retailer Courts (Singapore) issued a profit warning yesterday, flagging losses incurred by its operations in Thailand.The group said it expects to be in the red for the third quarter ended... [Read more]

Crisis talks in Italy after PM Prodi resigns
ROME - ITALIAN President Giorgio Napolitano has started crisis talks with political leaders following the shock resignation of Prime Minister Romano Prodi after just 10 months in office.The Prime Minister, whose fragile centre-left coalition narrowly won elections last April, tendered his... [Read more]