News Today

Minimum Sum not needed here
I REFER to the letter, 'Be more flexible on CPF Minimum Sum' (ST, Feb 5). My wife and I retired from government service in 1996. We withdrew our CPF to help pay for our property. Because we depleted our Minimum Sum... [Read more]

Time to monkey around
Who wants to live with monkeys? The people dressed in fatigues do, in the hope of winning 11,888 yuan (S$2,400). The couple who survive five days and nights with the animals at Qinlin zoo in Xian, China, will get the money.... [Read more]

Champions League
WednesdayBarcelona 1Liverpool 2Porto 1 Chelsea 1Inter Milan 2 Valencia 2Roma 0 Lyon 0... [Read more]

Youth Challenge volunteers keep up the good work
YOUNG volunteers at the Youth Challenge are continuing to run the charity's community programmes despite last month's revelations of 'irregularities' in its financial records and management. About half a dozen current and former volunteers The Straits Times spoke to said they... [Read more]

Ghosts and lollipops for 'chair-ity'
GHOULS and gingerbread men helped raise $7,500 for charity. They were featured among the creations of 150 youths from 10 schools for the 100 Chairs project to raise funds for the Singapore Children's Society. Three Nanyang Technological University mass communication students... [Read more]

N. Korea, US more optimistic over talks
BEIJING - NORTH KOREA and the United States appeared to be entering a fresh round of six-way nuclear talks, which begins here today, with a greater willingness to compromise, analysts say.While negotiators are unlikely to reach a final deal over the... [Read more]

Fight to keep disease at bay
Flood victims reach out for packets of soap and insect repellent that a volunteer is distributing in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.Thousands remained camped out in shelters or under bridges in the city yesterday, even as flood waters continued to recede.At... [Read more]

Anthony misses out
ONE bad night may have overshadowed all the good performances Carmelo Anthony has displayed this season. The National Basketball Association's leading scorer was not named among the reserves for the Western All-Star team announced on Thursday. Anthony is averaging 31.3 points,... [Read more]

Peru's peaks in peril
As the ice atop the Cordillera Blanca, the largest glacier chain in the Tropics, continues to melt, Peru's 'White Mountain Range' may soon be in for a name change. Due to rising temperatures, the once snowy-white caps of the glacier chain... [Read more]

Don't call non-Muslims infidel or kafir
I REFER to the letter, 'Origins of jihad and what it really means' by Mr Zainuddin Mohamed Ismail (ST, Jan 29). I discussed it with my friends and came to some conclusions, among which was the need to remind ourselves and... [Read more]

US consumer prices up more than forecast
WASHINGTON - CONSUMER prices in the United States rose more than forecast in January as Americans paid more for food, medical care and airfares, suggesting that inflationary pressures persist.The consumer price index rose 0.2 per cent after rising 0.4 per cent... [Read more]