News Today

SME clinic
I WOULD like to set up my own business selling takeaway food with light cooking. I have been looking for a shop but can't find any that is suitable. Either the rental is too high ($2,000 per month and above) or... [Read more]

Results
BASKETBALLNBA: Phoenix 115 Cleveland 100, Milwaukee 107 New York 105, San Antonio 96 LA Lakers 94 (OT), Washington 105 Boston 91, Detroit 95 Indiana 87, LA Clippers 98 Seattle 76.CRICKETTri-series one-day international in Perth: Australia 343-5 in 50 overs (Hayden 117,... [Read more]

A lesson in economic defence
SINGAPORE'S political leaders should seize on the ban on sand exports from Indonesia to impart an important lesson on total defence.How Singapore and the affected parties are responding to the emergency situation demonstrates the concept of economic defence.The Ministry of National... [Read more]

Pyongyang's will to disarm still in doubt
BEIJING - PYONGYANG yesterday finally signed on to what observers say is the first concrete step forward in the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. However, analysts say the jury is still out on whether Pyongyang is committed to a long-term process... [Read more]

CapitaLand earns $40m from sale of office space
CAPITALAND has sold all its entire interest in the Samsung Hub office block to two different buyers for a gain of $40 million.The entire divestment of space in the central business district building amounted to $152.9 million.Property company Ho Bee Development... [Read more]

Why no new $10 polymer notes?
AFTER queuing for almost an hour at a POSB branch for its $500 Prosperity Pack, I was surprised to find that the new $10 notes were not of the polymer type, and the serial numbers were not in sequence. Has the... [Read more]

Apples are Good for You
As the doctor says 'An Apple a Day keeps the Doctor away'And I thought it was clear enough.... [Read more]

News In Brief
Tokyo, New York bourses on track for tie-up dealTOKYO - THE Tokyo and New York stock exchanges are expected to reach an agreement on their tie-up when bourse officials meet in New York at the end of the month, said a... [Read more]

Phone call may give vital lead in train blast probe
NEW DELHI - INDIAN investigators are looking into a suspicious phone call made to Pakistani Kashmir just after bombs on a train bound for Pakistan killed 68 people, an official said yesterday. But Kashmiri militants denied any role. The governments of... [Read more]

Terror alert in Manila on Valentine's
POLICE have stepped up security at train stations and an oil depot and set up road checkpoints in the Philippine capital to prevent a repeat of the deadly 2005 Valentine's Day terror bombings, officials said yesterday.The authorities have not monitored any... [Read more]

Foreign undergrads' English not up to par
AS A human resource practitioner for more than 10 years, I have interviewed a number of foreign undergraduates from our local universities for part-time employment. Their command of our working language, which is English, is not up to my expectations of... [Read more]

Is there a need to freeze deceased's bank accounts?

THE estate-duty law, as it stands, favours those who invest in residential properties with exemption of up to $9 million, compared to only $600,000 for 'Other Assets'.

Because of this, many who are in the middle-income group are disadvantaged. When the sole breadwinner dies, the rest of the family are often in financial distress due to the freezing of the deceased's bank account(s) by the bank. To get the bank to release the funds, the family has to seek help from lawyers and accountants and this adds to their financial woes. This process can take anything from a few months to a few years. Much of the problem is attributable to the family's ignorance of the deceased's financial affairs and their inability to explain or furnish information to the tax authorities to verify the deceased's assets and liabilities.

This invariably results in the family paying higher estate duty than had they been in a position to satisfy the tax authorities with the requisite information. The problem does not end there. In the meantime, the family has to rely on friends and relatives to support them financially until the matter is settled fully.

As the Government has often spoken of the need to build a gracious society and to show compassion to our fellow citizens, I hope it will set an example by abolishing estate duty.

Meanwhile, it would be appreciated if the authorities could review urgently the provisions of the law, particularly the freezing of bank accounts of the deceased by financial institutions.



Patrick Chan Choon Meng

Kaka's goal sees Milan through to last eight

MILAN - AC MILAN had Kaka to thank, after reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

But the Italians' stilted all-round display against Celtic raised questions about how much further they can go.

The 24-year-old Brazilian scored in extra time to give the six-time European champions a 1-0 win over the Scottish side on Wednesday.

Celtic had threatened to nick an unexpected victory after keeping the tie level at 0-0 after 180 minutes of play.

'I'm very happy to have helped Milan in a match that was so difficult,' said Kaka.

He had held off Neil Lennon's challenge on the halfway line, before outpacing the Celtic defence and slipping the ball under goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

'At the end, we were all very tired but we did well to do what we needed to go through to the next round,' added Kaka.

Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said he believed his side could use the win as a springboard to a good run in the competition.

Kaka's superb individual performance on Wednesday, however, failed to hide Milan's shortcomings, the most obvious being the lack of a reliable scorer.

Filippo Inzaghi, Alberto Gilardino and Ricardo Oliveira have scored only 24 goals between them all season and four in the Champions League.

Celtic felt they should have won, with midfielder Jiri Jarosik branding Austrian referee Konrad Plautz 'arrogant' for refusing to award two penalties.

Jarosik saw his fifth-minute shot handled by Milan captain Paolo Maldini, while a tackle on Shunsuke Nakamura five minutes from the end of normal time also drew dismissive gestures from the official.

'The referee was very arrogant and very difficult to talk to and seemed to want to help the Milan players,' Jarosik said.

REUTERS

Temasek operates like any investment firm

WE APPRECIATE Mr Patrick Tan Siong Kuan's concern over Temasek Holdings' investment in Shin Corp ('Billions at stake, so Shin saga a national concern'; ST, March 3).

Temasek operates with commercial discretion and flexibility as a commercial investment company. Like other investment firms, our investment decisions are based on commercial considerations within the appropriate risk-adjusted return framework for the different industries and markets.

Our investment in Shin Corp in Thailand was no different. We had a positive assessment of the outlook for Thailand, and completed the investment in accordance with market norms and best practices in international mergers and acquisitions. We continue to monitor the political situation and business environment in Thailand and will take the appropriate decisions as an investment firm.

Temasek is accountable to our shareholder in terms of our overall returns. We have maintained our Triple A credit rating by Standard & Poors and Moody's. This means we are financially sound and have sufficient assets and liquidity to support our obligations and investments.

It remains our objective to continue to deliver sustainable long-term returns.

Myrna Thomas (Ms)
Managing Director
Corporate Affairs
Temasek Holdings

England feel 'full weight of the law' in Leverock

ARNOS VALE (ST VINCENT) - THE British press have a new pin-up: Bermuda's Dwayne 'Sluggo' Leverock.

The roly-poly left-arm spinner dismissed two of England's best one-day batsmen in their World Cup warm-up match on Monday.

The 35-year-old Leverock's 120kg frame was an excuse for sports editors to trot out a few weight-related jibes yesterday.

'Owzfat! 19st part-time bowler flattens England stars' was The Sun's headline.

It was accompanied by a full-page photograph of his wobbly celebrations, after snaring Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen.

The Bermuda policeman even warranted a mention in the tabloid's editorial, which declared: 'The mystery of the Bermuda Triangle has been solved.

'None of the missing people, ships or planes were abducted by aliens after all. They were eaten by Leverock.'

The Telegraph put him on the front page under the headline: 'The full weight of the law.'

But there was also praise for the big man. His efforts saw England tottering at 132 for five, before they rallied to 286 for eight.

They won by 241 runs as Bermuda, one of the five associate nations in the World Cup, were bowled out for 45 inside 23 overs.

Critics have accused the International Cricket Council of including too many associate teams in this World Cup, starting in the West Indies on Sunday.

They argue that it will make the tournament too long at seven weeks and create too many mismatches.

However, Ireland's loss by only 35 runs to the world's top one-day team, South Africa, on Monday was a shot in the arm for the minnows.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

FAS may sanction Home duo for not joining U-23 side

AS IF losing skipper Baihakki Khaizan and midfielder Tengku Mushadad was not enough, the Singapore U-23 team were hit by another double blow yesterday.

Juma'at Jantan and Kamarulariffin Abdul Karim did not travel with the team to Alor Star for today's Malaysia FA Cup first-round tie against Kuala Muda Naza.

They are likely to face sanctions from the Football Association of Singapore.

The pair did not show up at Changi Airport for the 11.05am flight to Penang.

The Home United defenders, who played the full 90 minutes against the Korean Super Reds on Sunday, asked to be excused from the trip.

'They sent me an SMS at about 11pm on Sunday saying they couldn't make it,' said the U-23 squad's team manager Eugene Loo.

Juma'at said his left thigh was strained, while Kamarulariffin said he was tired after the S-League game.

Both players confirmed this when contacted.

Juma'at declined further comment, while Kamarulariffin said he was celebrating his birthday.

'I tried contacting them repeatedly, but they didn't pick up or return my calls,' added Loo. 'They are still part of the team, and should have travelled with us.'

Home's team manager K. T. Velu said that, as far as Home were concerned, they had allowed the players to go.

The Protectors' other players in the U-23 side, Shahril Ishak and Shahril Alias, travelled with the team.

Last week, the Ministry of Defence said Baihakki and Tengku were not cleared to play in this season's S-League because they were carrying injuries and were medically excused from military training.

This extended to national team call-ups, said Loo.

P. Sivakumar, the FAS' chief of development and planning, said he received a report from Loo yesterday on the Home players.

'I have made the appropriate recommendations to the FAS for action to be taken against the players,' he said.

It is understood that among the sanctions the FAS can impose on the duo are fines and/or suspensions from club and national games.

Under S-League rules, players who do not answer national team call-ups could be restricted from playing for their club for the period of the call-up, plus five days.

The call-up for the U-23 side is until tomorrow.

LEONARD LIM

News Today

Going the extra mile
PAYA Lebar Airport hit a space crunch not long after its opening in 1955. Mr Bernard Chan, now CAAS assistant director for estate management, remembers well the flights that took Muslim pilgrims to Mecca. Going on the haj was a red-letter... [Read more]

Body formed to help make doing business in KL easier
KUALA LUMPUR - A HIGH-profile task force set up to find ways to make Malaysia more business-friendly has been given six months to deliver.Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi said on Thursday that he wanted to see some form of achievement within six... [Read more]

Body Shop founder tells of liver damage
BODY Shop founder Anita Roddick is suffering from liver damage after contracting the hepatitis C virus more than 35 years ago, she said.Dame Anita, 64, one of Britain's best-known businesswomen, developed the potentially deadly disease from infected blood given to her... [Read more]

La Liga
TodayDeportivo La Coruna v MallorcaEspanyol v Real ZaragozaValencia v Atletico Madrid Live, Ch22, tomorrow, 4.55amTomorrowAthletic Bilbao v Real BetisCelta Vigo v GimnasticOsasuna v Barcelona Live, Ch22, Monday, 3.55amRacing Santander v GetafeReal Madrid v Levante Live, Ch22, Monday, 1.55amRecreativo Huelva v VillarrealSevilla... [Read more]

Companies in brief
NO INJUNCTION FOR KOON'S EX-CHAIRMANKoon Holdings' former chairman, Mr Oh Keng Lim, has failed to obtain a court injunction to prevent the company from issuing 12 million warrants to India's Valecha Engineering even if a reverse takeover deal between Valecha and... [Read more]

The four main plotters
Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed (Mohammed The Egyptian) The 35-year-old was arrested in June 2004 in Italy, where he was convicted on terrorism charges and sentenced to 10 years in jail. Transcripts following three months of recordings by the Italian police showed... [Read more]

A delisting of Nikko could lead to buyout by Citigroup
TOKYO - AS THE Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) deliberates whether to delist Nikko Cordial over an accounting scandal, bankers are keeping a sharp eye on the brokerage's most likely suitor - financial conglomerate Citigroup.Should the TSE decide next month to revoke... [Read more]

New system to help sniff out threats
LOOKING for that 'needle in the haystack' yet vital clue in foiling terrorist, cyberspace or even bird flu threats will get easier with some made-in-Singapore help.This locally developed computerised tool for intelligence analysts is called the Risk Assessment and Horizon Scanning... [Read more]

What the fuck's happening in the world today
Jazz spoil Webber's homecoming gameAUBURN HILLS (MICHIGAN) - THE Detroit Pistons fans cheered for Chris Webber's debut and Chauncey Billups' return from injury. But they could not cheer for a victory over opponents the Pistons cannot seem to beat. Deron Williams... [Read more]

Hold courtesy drive instead of axing bus bays
THE Land Transport Authority (LTA) plan to do away with bus bays is a step backwards. I agree with readers it would lead to severe traffic congestion and much confusion.Rather than do away with bus bays, the LTA should call for... [Read more]

Experts tip corporate tax to be cut to 18% in one go
TAX experts are putting their money on a hefty two percentage point cut in corporate tax, from 20 per cent to 18 per cent, in Thursday's Budget. And they are tipping that it will be done in one clean cut -... [Read more]