News Today

Docs, nurses learn to break bad news better
NURSE Punasundri Thangaraju has met her share of patients weeping following a miscarriage or after learning they had cancer. Her usual response, which she thought comforting, was to tell them not to cry.Now, she knows it is better just to sit... [Read more]

Roh will quit party to help its poll chances
SEOUL - SOUTH Korean President Roh Moo Hyun yesterday said he would leave the ruling party, paving the way for a political shake-up ahead of the December presidential election. His office issued a statement on his decision after he met Uri... [Read more]

Thailand's ITV seeks injunction on $4.3b fines, fees
BANGKOK - ITV, a Thai television network controlled by Singapore's Temasek Holdings, sought a court injunction on about 100 billion baht (S$4.29 billion) in fines, fees and interest it has been ordered to pay the government. The company asked Thailand's administrative... [Read more]

School proves disabled can fit in
AT EVERGREEN Primary, Loh Jiawei is just one of the girls, the muscle-wasting disease that confines her to a wheelchair no barrier to learning. With help from an understanding and caring principal, teachers and schoolmates, the determined 11-year-old topped her Primary... [Read more]

'Serial killer' cleric may have links to Islamists
ISLAMABAD - PAKISTANI investigators are probing whether a 'serial killer' cleric who assassinated a female minister this week - having previously confessed to four other murders - had links to Islamist groups.In a case that shocked even this unstable Islamic republic,... [Read more]

Organ transplant: Unease over last-minute opt-out
THE recent incident in which a brain-dead patient's family tried to physically obstruct the operation to harvest his organs for transplant into patients needing them has revived the discussion about brain death and even led to calls to amend the Human... [Read more]

Crackdown on Eurasian faces sparks outcry
KUALA LUMPUR - THE Malaysian government's plans to reduce the number of Eurasian faces in advertisements have triggered outrage among models and presenters in the multicultural country. Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin said last week that he would work with the Culture,... [Read more]

Committee members have no hidden agenda when serving community
I couldn't agree more with Ms Ooi Hui Mei 'RCs glad to work with voluntary groups' (ST, Jan 29) that grassroots leaders do not expect medals nor do they hanker after so-called 'privileges'.As a former secretary of the Pasir Panjang Garden... [Read more]

Couple get back baby held over unpaid bills
JAKARTA - THE impoverished parents of a baby held by an Indonesian clinic for three weeks because they could not pay the bill for her birth have been reunited with their daughter, a welfare official said yesterday. The clinic was forced... [Read more]

StarHub's annual income rises 63%, beating estimates
STARHUB surpassed market expectations by nearly doubling its fourth-quarter net profit, boosted by a tax credit and double-digit growth across all its businesses. Singapore's No. 2 telco posted net profits of $141.7 million for the three months to Dec 31 -... [Read more]

Sleeping pills: Doctor fined, suspended for flouting rules
A DOCTOR has been suspended from practice for a year, fined $8,000 and censured by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) for disregarding guidelines when prescribing sleeping pills.General practitioner Dr James Ong Zhang Yi, 31, pleaded guilty to 12 charges of prescribing... [Read more]