News Today

Khaw wants housewives, young on MediShield
HOUSEWIVES and the young are two groups that Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan wants to see brought under MediShield, the national insurance scheme. About 200,000 housewives and 400,000 people under the age of 20 are not covered. It is not because... [Read more]

India markets set for correction, says banker
MUMBAI - INDIA'S real estate and stock markets are heading for a correction, with a liquidity crunch in the banking sector likely to accelerate the trend. According to one of the country's most influential bankers, Indian stock valuations are inflated and... [Read more]

System to let docs access all patients' e-records
A NEW infrastructure will be set up soon to link all health-care practitioners' IT systems, making it possible for doctors to check their patients' medical records electronically.This will translate to fewer administrative mix-ups, such as mistakes in the prescription of medication,... [Read more]

Cosco's profits up 28% to record $205m
CHINESE shipping group Cosco has posted a 28 per cent hike in profit to a record $205.4 million as turnover surged 39 per cent to $1.22 billion. The strong performance for the year ended Dec 31 came as the company repaired... [Read more]

Old Changi hospital gets new life as spa-resort
THE former Changi Hospital will undergo a $20-million makeover to become a rustic spa and resort for Singaporeans and budget travellers by year's end. Property company Bestway Properties, which won a recent tender to lease the Halton Road site, wants to... [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]

No headway in Iran's nuke stand-off
DEFYING innumerable United Nations Security Council resolutions, Iran let on earlier this week that it has set up more than 300 centrifuges in two uranium enrichment units at its underground Natanz complex. The country's nuclear programme is therefore set to go... [Read more]

Iran still defiant over nuclear push
TEHERAN - IRANIAN President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday defiantly vowed to continue his country's nuclear programme in the face of international condemnation. But he also said his country was prepared to enter negotiations on the issue if conditions for talks imposed by... [Read more]

Israel warns Iran of all-out retaliation
HERZLIYA (ISRAEL) - ISRAELI Prime Minister Ehud Olmert did not mince his words during a high-profile policy speech on Wednesday when he warned Iran that his country will respond to a nuclear threat 'with all the means at our disposal'. Addressing... [Read more]

China tightens control over print media
HONG KONG - THE Chinese Communist Party's propaganda department has launched a points-based penalty system for the print media, a Hong Kong newspaper reported yesterday. The move is aimed at tightening control over the sector ahead of a crucial party congress... [Read more]

Donated film reveals new details of Kennedy's final moments
DALLAS - A PREVIOUSLY unreleased film of President John F. Kennedy's motorcade has revealed new details of the final moments before his assassination. The silent 8mm film, which was donated to a Dallas museum by amateur photographer George Jefferies and his... [Read more]