News Today

Companies in brief
SUNTEC REIT'S PROFIT RISES 21% TO $21MSUNTEC Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) has posted a 21 per cent jump in profit to $21 million. Revenues grew 17 per cent to $45.9 million for the quarter ended Dec 31, buoyed by rising... [Read more]

India's Essar rules out selling out of Hutchison joint venture
MUMBAI - INDIA'S Essar Group has no plans to sell out of Hutchison Essar, increasing the pressure on Britain's Vodafone to come up with a workable shareholder arrangement with the company that could end up being its main partner in India.... [Read more]

Singapore remembers victims of Japanese Occupation
THE long wail of an air raid siren yesterday morning, distinctly heard over the War Memorial at Beach Road, sounded the 'All Clear' signal. It marked the start of a 30-minute ceremony to remember victims of the Japanese Occupation 65 years... [Read more]

Change Agent
NEW DELHI - BACK from Paris after presenting a climate change report, Dr Rajendra Pachauri was disturbed by a mosquito's buzz as he rested in his New Delhi home last week. What alarmed the environmental expert, who chaired the United Nations-backed... [Read more]

Police inquiry ordered into botched murder investigation
KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA'S police chief has ordered an inquiry into the botched investigation of the murder of a 21-year-old which led to the case being thrown out of court earlier this week.The collapse of the Mohd Hosni Fadzil Mohd Amin... [Read more]

World Quickly
PERES THE FAVOURITE TO BE PRESIDENTJERUSALEM: The battle to succeed Israel's disgraced president Moshe Katsav got under way yesterday, with veteran politician Shimon Peres favoured to gain the prestigious post that slipped from his grasp seven years ago.Prime Minister Ehud Olmert... [Read more]

Bogus NKF fund seekers
THERE were two reported cases this week of fake donation seekers using the name of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) in Clementi and Jurong East. The NKF, which does not have any door-to-door donation drives in these areas, advises the public... [Read more]

Hu heads to Africa again
WHAT IT IS CHINESE President Hu Jintao begins a 12-day trip to Africa tomorrow, his third trip there in three years.He will visit eight African countries, including major trading partner South Africa and geopolitical flashpoint Sudan. His trip comes two months... [Read more]

STI dips as investors play it cautious after recent surge
AFTER Wednesday's big surge, cautious sentiment weighed down the Straits Times Index (STI) yesterday although the broader market was mildly positive. Across the bourse, 430 gainers outgunned 312 losers. Another 628 counters sat out the action, ending unchanged. The STI, made... [Read more]

Sign of Mars life?
New evidence has surfaced that water may be present on Mars. This image from Nasa spacecraft Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows alternating layers of dark- and light-toned rock in Becquerel Crater on the planet. Within those deposits are a series of linear... [Read more]

PayPal picks Singapore for regional headquarters
ONLINE payments giant PayPal has set up its regional headquarters in Singapore.California-based PayPal helps users to send and receive payments securely online, using its own technology coupled with bank accounts and credit cards.Owned by popular online auction site eBay, PayPal has... [Read more]