Small cars more popular after announcement of new car-buying measures

SINGAPORE: It is the first weekend since the government announced the tightening of car loans and increases in additional registration fees for more expensive cars. Some car dealers said the popularity of small cars has gone up.A showroom which sells mostly small cars with an open market value of less than S$20,000 said it has seen a 30 per cent increase in potential car buyers, compared...

Read More..

Growing calls for abolishment of China's labour camps

SHANGHAI: A hot issue likely to be discussed at China's upcoming National People's Congress in Beijing is one that is not often talked about - re-education labour camps.The system allows for detention of up to four years without trial -- and there are growing calls for it to be abolished.26 year-old Ren Jianyu was arrested and held in police custody for 36 days in Chongqing, after allegedly...

Read More..

N. Korea's Kim, Rodman watch basketball game: Xinhua

BEIJING: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un watched a basketball game with former Chicago Bulls' star Dennis Rodman on Thursday, Chinese state media reported.In a dispatch from Pyongyang, China's official Xinhua news agency said that Kim and Rodman watched a game consisting of players from North Korea and the Harlem Globetrotters, a famed goodwill team from the United States.Xinhua, which...

Read More..

Sausages containing horsemeat found in Russia: official

MOSCOW: Russia said on Wednesday it had found horsemeat in a shipment of sausages imported from Europe, its first known case of horsemeat contamination.Alexei Alexeyenko, an aide to Sergei Dankvert, the head of Russian agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, said that tests on sausages imported from the city of Linz in Austria found horse DNA."It came two days ago from Austria," Alexeyenko...

Read More..

Middle & lower-income groups may be priced out of car market: dealers

SINGAPORE: Car dealers on Tuesday said middle and lower-income groups may find it difficult to own a vehicle with the new rules in place.The government on Monday announced a slew of measures, tightening the noose on car loans and registration fees.This has prompted strong reactions from the industry and prospective buyers.Under Budget 2013 measures, buyers have a maximum of five years...

Read More..

Budget 2013: Govt projects budget surplus of S$2.4b for FY2013

SINGAPORE: A windfall from stamp duties and vehicle-related taxes will hand the government a bigger than budgeted surplus for fiscal year 2012.However, the revenue growth is expected to slow this upcoming financial year.The government is projecting an overall budget surplus of S$2.4 billion or 0.7% of GDP for FY2013 starting 1 April. The government is expecting to post a higher-than-expected...

Read More..

Tennis: I can become world No.1 again: Federer

DUBAI: Roger Federer bristled a little when it was suggested to him that his days as world number one might be at an end because of his reduced schedule, and only a few seconds were needed for him to knock that idea back.The 31-year-old top-ranking record-holder is only planning to play 14 tournaments this year, even dropping his home town tournament in Basel and the Miami tournament which...

Read More..

Pistorius spends time with family on first day of bail

PRETORIA: South African Paralympic icon and murder suspect Oscar Pistorius on Saturday said he was thankful for prayers offered to his family and that of his slain girlfriend, a day after he was freed on bail."Thank-you to every person that has prayed for both families, Osca" read a tweet posted by his brother Carl, in the track star's first public reaction, outside of his court appearances,...

Read More..

Air France losses widen as it takes on low-cost carriers

PARIS : Air France-KLM said Friday its net loss deepened by nearly 50 percent last year to 1.2 billion euros (US$1.59 billion) as it began restructuring to cope with the rise of low-cost airlines.However the airline group said that underlying prospects were improving despite heavy fuel and restructuring costs, with its operating loss narrowing to 300 million euros from 353 million euros...

Read More..

Bulgaria confirms horsemeat in lasagne dishes

SOFIA: Bulgaria on Thursday became the latest European country to confirm the presence of horsemeat in products labelled as beef that were taken off shelves last week."Results from the two tests taken from the already banned products were positive for horsemeat, indicating 80 percent and 50 percent content," Bulgaria's food safety agency said.The tests by a German laboratory were ordered...

Read More..

Fare structure of high-speed rail will determine impact on buses, airlines

SINGAPORE: Travellers have welcomed the move to build a high-speed rail link between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.Industry players, however, said the impact on buses and airlines will depend on the future rail link's fare structure.Presently, those travelling by bus between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur pay as little as $25 per trip for the five-hour ride.This is in contrast to just 90 minutes...

Read More..

BMW recalls 750,000 cars worldwide

FRANKFURT: German luxury car maker BMW is recalling about 750,000 cars worldwide over potential electrical problems, a spokesman said on Tuesday.The recall affects mainly about 500,000 cars in the United States, specifically various versions of its 1-Series and 3-Series cars built between March 2007 and July 2011 and its Z4 model built between March 2009 and June 2011.Cars sold in Canada,...

Read More..

Iberia strikers clash with police at Madrid airport

MADRID: Strikers at Spanish airline Iberia clashed with police at Madrid-Barajas airport on Monday as they launched a five-day action against job cuts.Thousands of strikers tried to force their way into one of the terminals at the airport before being pushed back by police, an AFP reporter at the scene said.After several charges by police armed with batons, the Iberia staff finally entered...

Read More..

More youths doing volunteer work in North West District

SINGAPORE: More youths have stepped up to do volunteer work in Singapore's North West District. Last year, the number more than doubled, from about 470 to some 1,000.Volunteers' Night was held on Sunday evening to show appreciation to those who have helped.Members of Parliament from Holland-Bukit Timah GRC were present to show their support. This year, the district aims to boost the number...

Read More..

G20 pledges to refrain from currency warfare

MOSCOW: G20 finance ministers on Saturday moved to calm fears of looming "economic warfare" on the currency markets, pledging they would not target specific forex rates or devalue currencies to make them more competitive.The jitters -- similar to previous disputes with China -- have been set off by Japan's plan of monetary easing to boost inflation and activity by reducing the value of...

Read More..

Eastbound MRT service delayed due to faulty train

SINGAPORE: Eastbound train service on the East-West Line was delayed due to a faulty train at Raffles Place station on Friday evening. Rail operator SMRT said passengers were asked to alight, and the train was taken out of service. To maintain service on the unaffected stretches of the East-West Line, some trains were turned around at Queenstown and Outram Park stations (eastbound), and...

Read More..

Philippine gunmen "demand to stay in Malaysia"

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's government said Thursday its security forces have surrounded dozens of Philippine gunmen in a remote area of Borneo island, and a report said the group is demanding the right to stay.Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters about 80 to 100 gunmen had been cornered by security forces near the small coastal town of Lahad Datu in the Malaysian state of Sabah.He...

Read More..

Former Romanian diplomat's trial resumes in Bucharest

SINGAPORE: The trial of former Romanian diplomat Silviu Ionescu resumed on Wednesday in Bucharest.The judge handling the trial has expressed displeasure with the defence lawyer for dragging the case over three years.He noted that the submission of evidence should have been long finished, but Ionescu's lawyer has asked for yet another witness to be heard.Ionescu's lawyer replied that the...

Read More..

Three men in hospital after fight at mall in Sembawang

SINGAPORE: Three men ended up in hospital after an apparent brawl at Sun Plaza in Sembawang.The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it received a call for ambulance assistance just before 6pm.The three men were then taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.Police said investigations are still on going.An eyewitness, Nur Indra Abdul Karina, told Channel NewsAsia that one of the men involved in the...

Read More..

US withdraws military equipment through Pakistan

KABUL: The US military has started to withdraw equipment from Afghanistan through Pakistan ahead of next year's deadline for combat troops to leave the war against the Taliban, an official said Monday.Two convoys, each hauling 25 shipping containers, entered Pakistan at the Chaman and Torkham border crossings on Sunday as part of the US redeployment of equipment from Afghanistan, US Lieutenant...

Read More..