Results

BASKETBALL

NBA: Philadelphia 89 Sacramento 82, NY Knicks 99 Miami 93, Denver 111 Memphis 107, San Antonio 107 Toronto 91, Orlando 94 Chicago 87, Boston 77 Houston 72, Dallas 110 Atlanta 87, LA Lakers 102 Utah 94, Seattle 97 Portland 73, LA Clippers 100 Charlotte 93.

ICE HOCKEY

NHL: Atlanta 3 Boston 2, Montreal 5 Toronto 4, Calgary 5 Phoenix 2, Anaheim 3 San Jose 2.

SOCCER

FAS Women's Challenge Cup - Group A: NTU 2 NYPGA 0. Gp B: Police 12 Jollilads Arsenal 0, UWC 5 FAS U-17 0. Gp C: Sporting Westlake 2 Redhill Rangers 1, Tiong Bahru 4 Bishan Arsenal B 0.

TENNIS

ATP Dubai Open, 1st rd: Fabrice Santoro (Fra) bt Tommy Robredo (Esp) 7-6 (8-6) 6-4, Roger Federer (Sui) bt Kristian Pless (Den) 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-3, Florent Serra (Fra) bt Jonas Bjorkman (Swe) 5-7 6-3 6-2, Olivier Rochus (Bel) bt Lee Hyung Taik (Kor) 7-6 (7-4) 6-2, Tomas Berdych (Cze) bt Mohammed Al Ghareeb (Kuw) 3-6 6-3 6-2, Igor Andreev (Rus) bt Marc Gicquel (Fra) 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-5, Dominik Hrbaty (Svk) bt Omar Bahrouzyan (UAE) 6-1 6-2.

ATP Las Vegas Open - Group 1: Juan Martin del Potro (Arg) bt Evgeny Korolev (Rus) 6-3 6-2. Gp 2: Paul Goldstein (USA) bt Julien Benneteau (Fra) 6-1 6-0. Gp 5: Fernando Verdasco (Esp) bt Paul-Henri Mathieu (Fra) 3-6 6-3 7-5. Elimination rd: Gustavo Kuerten (Bra) bt Wesley Moodie (Rsa) 6-4 7-5, Thomas Johansson (Swe) bt Bjorn Phau (Ger) 4-6 6-4 6-1, Feliciano Lopez (Esp) bt Chris Guccione (Aus) 6-4 3-6 7-6 (8-6), Danai Udomchoke (Tha) bt Robert Kendrick (USA) 6-4 7-6 (9-7), Paul Capdeville (Chi) bt Lu Yen-hsun (Twn) 6-3 6-3.

WTA Qatar Open, 1st rd: Daniela Hantuchova (Svk) bt Catalina Castano (Col) 6-1 6-0, Sania Mirza (Ind) bt Romina Oprandi (Ita) 6-4 6-3, Mara Santangelo (Ita) bt Sandra Kloesel (Ger) 6-3 7-6(4), Francesca Schiavone (Ita) bt Tsvetana Pironkova (Bul) 6-2 6-4.

News Today

Ticket details
SINGAPORE fans travelling to Bangkok for the second leg can buy grandstand tickets for $14 at the FAS office in Jalan Besar Stadium today from 1-7pm.... [Read more]

ST Engg finance chief to join SingTel
THE chief financial officer (CFO) of Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engg), Mr Francis Heng, is resigning and moving to SingTel to become its group CFO.Mr Heng, 47, will serve notice at ST Engg until March 8. He will start work at... [Read more]

Winner of top culinary contest accused of cheating
LONDON - THE culinary world is in an uproar, with allegations of cheating levelled against the winner of an annual contest among top chefs. Mr Fabrice Desvignes, 33, one of France's most promising young chefs, won this year's Bocuse d'Or, receiving... [Read more]

Flip side of foreign students topping exams
IT IS no surprise that almost half the 25 students who scored nine A1s are foreign students, in particular those from China ('Foreign students post strong O-level showing'; ST, Feb 10). Extrapolating from this trend, we can expect a similar figure... [Read more]

DPP chairman sets sights on presidency
TAIPEI - THE chairman of Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said he would seek the party's nomination for next year's presidential race.Mr Yu Shyi-kun, 58, told supporters in the north-eastern city of Ilan that he will register to participate... [Read more]

SMEs with profits around $300,000 benefit most from tax cuts
WHEN all the business tax permutations are totted up, one specific group scores best - smaller firms with profits around $300,000 - although all firms benefit to various degrees. Cuts and exemptions listed in the Budget will deliver small and medium-sized... [Read more]

Sports World
SLINGERS TO TAKE ON CROCODILESSYDNEY: The Singapore Slingers will face the Townsville Crocodiles in the quarter-finals of the Australian National Basketball League play-offs.Singapore lost 76-102 to the Kings in their final regular-season game in Sydney yesterday.They finished eighth, with a 13-20... [Read more]

Clinic charged $42 for consultation over CNY
DURING the long weekend to celebrate Chinese New Year, an incident occurred which I feel I have to clear my doubts about.It happened that my grandmother had gastric flu and had to consult a doctor. As it was a public holiday,... [Read more]

Were you among the late-night shoppers?
THE year's first late-night shopping session took off yesterday, with four times more retailers joining in to get consumers spending until midnight.A dry run last year by 58 retailers was a success, with retailers reporting sales going up by as much... [Read more]

When chickens and rabbits fail to produce results, it may be left to the Year of the Pig
THEY resisted counting unhatched chickens. Then they tried to pull a rabbit from a hat before the Year of the Pig trots in. But so far, to no avail.But as negotiators of the six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions entered... [Read more]

Najib slams bullying of air force recruit
PUTRAJAYA - MALAYSIAN Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak yesterday condemned as 'unforgivable' the actions of senior air force trainees who allegedly tortured a recruit, including forcing him to swallow his own vomit. Datuk Seri Najib, who is also the Defence... [Read more]

News Today

By George, the US finally talks about going green
AMERICAN presidents in the second half of their second term are usually lame ducks: They represent a quickly fading past, rather than the future. Yet, even by such traditional standards, President George W. Bush may be more 'lame' than most of... [Read more]

Singaporean jailed in JB for illegal entry returns home
SHE'S back. The Singaporean woman jailed for entering Malaysia with her passport unstamped has been released and deported. Malaysian immigration officers told The Straits Times they released Miss Cai Hui Si late on Tuesday night. Earlier, it had seemed that an... [Read more]

Rise of sea levels 'will hit big nations too'
NEW DELHI - SMALL island states are most vulnerable, but even Indonesia, Thailand and China will feel the backlash as global warming causes sea levels to rise. That is the warning from the scientist who chaired the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate... [Read more]

Despite model drawing, pupils still stumped by problem sums
IF DEMAND is born out of a need, there must be some inadequacy in model drawing that impels parents and pupils to seek alternative means to tackle problem solving.Pupils continue to be stumped by problem sums despite the prolific use of... [Read more]

Companies in brief
SALES HEAD FOR MEDIACORPMEDIACORP has appointed Mr James Yip as head of all its advertising sales across television, radio and print.The appointment, which is effective from April 1, will put Mr Yip in charge of airtime sales across all of MediaCorp's... [Read more]

Dangerous to play nationalist card, Bangkok Post warns
IN A commentary headlined 'Playing the nationalist card', Thailand's English-language daily Bangkok Post yesterday said the nationalist card could end up being a dangerous one to play.The column, by Editorial Pages Editor Atiya Achakulwisut, said: 'It's likely the National Stadium will... [Read more]

Bye to paper files - nursing students get PDAs
STUDENTS of nursing at Ngee Ann Polytechnic will be the first in Asia to have instant information at their fingertips.About 200 of them will be toting personal digital assistants (PDAs), which will enable them to access huge databases on drugs, diseases... [Read more]

Media watchdog's chairman makes coveted list
FOR A man whose job involves developing the Singapore media industry, Dr Tan Chin Nam is getting something of a media profile of his own.Dr Tan, chairman of the Media Development Authority (MDA), has been named by British-based trade publication Television... [Read more]

Virtual makeover
Trying on make-up need no longer be messy. Waving an item with a radio frequency identification tag before a virtual make-up system, a sales clerk at Tokyo's Mitsukoshi department store yesterday demonstrated how she would look with the make-up - without... [Read more]

It will be hot, dry days ahead for Singapore
AFTER the severe storms and floods in recent weeks, Singaporeans should prepare for unusually hot and dry weather in the next two months.Bring on the sunshades and sunscreen, say the weathermen and climate experts.The reason: Singapore is now in the second... [Read more]

Environmentalists in India cry foul
THE new report on climate change, with its dire warnings, has shifted the onus onto governments to halt activities that trigger climate change. In China and India - the two Asian nations that face the challenge of how to develop economically... [Read more]

Lille blame United for crowd trouble and accuse ref of bias

LONDON - LILLE want Manchester United thrown out of the Champions League, after crowd trouble marred the English club's 1-0 win on Tuesday.

The French side have also accused the referee of bias against them.

With seven minutes left in Tuesday's game, United won a free kick. As Lille goalkeeper Tony Sylva organised the position of a defensive wall, Ryan Giggs curled the ball into goal.

That sort of quick free kick has become common in England. Referees are weary of the time defences take to argue decisions and set up their wall.

But it is unheard of in France.

Lille have made an official complaint to Uefa, claiming that Dutch referee Eric Braamhaar encouraged Giggs to take the free kick quickly.

Lille director general Xavier Thuilot said: 'His behaviour showed that he was not being impartial.'

Striker Nicolas Fauvergue added: 'Manchester United were given preferential treatment.

'We feel that we have been betrayed and we are absolutely furious.'

The Daily Mail reported that Uefa guidelines state the kick should not have been taken without the referee's whistle.

In the laws of football, a referee does not have to blow his whistle for a free kick to be taken.

But Uefa believe it is unfair for the defensive side to not be fully prepared when the kick is around the penalty area.

European football's governing body gave these guidelines to its match officials at various refereeing seminars over the past year.

A check with Uefa confirmed this view.

Its statement to The Straits Times read: 'The Uefa Referee Development Programme 2006 says: If the attacking team have decided not to immediately have a quick free kick, then clearly advise them that they must wait for a signal.'

Thuilot also blamed United for the crush scare along the perimeter fences involving their supporters early in the game.

He said: 'We sent Manchester their quota of tickets several weeks ago, which is usual practice.

'However, the English club distributed the tickets a month ago, instead of giving them to their supporters as they came off the coaches at the stadium.'

United rejected Lille's claims about the tickets.

A club spokesman told PA Sport: 'Tickets were distributed by recorded delivery 11 days before the game or for collection from February 1.'

The disciplinary committee of Uefa will meet on March 22 to discuss the issue.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Becks becomes vital again

MADRID - REAL Madrid and Bayern Munich experienced their worst and best in Tuesday's Champions League clash, which ended 3-2 in the Spaniards' favour.

The Germans appeared dead and buried, but recovered with a goal two minutes from time to take two valuable away goals for the second leg on March 7.

Real looked revitalised before succumbing to what their coach Fabio Capello described as fear.

But, for David Beckham, 31, it was a good day at the office. He played key parts in each of Real's goals and overshadowed new England favourite Owen Hargreaves.

So England manager Steve McClaren's job ahead of the crucial Euro 2008 qualifier against Israel on March 24 has just got harder.

Will he recall Beckham or will he continue to leave him out?

Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn described Beckham's performance as 'world class'.

There were even chants of 'Beckham! Beckham!', which have not been heard since the early days of his stint in Spain.

Even Capello, who only last month insisted that Beckham would never play for Real again, admitted: 'He played very, very well - and has done since he came back into the team. That is a fact - and one I recognise.'

After the game, Beckham, cast aside by McClaren soon after the World Cup last year, again pleaded his England case.

'My ambition has never changed since the age of 13, even younger. I always wanted to play for my country and I will always be available whether I'm in Spain for the next four months, or whether I'm in LA,' he told Sky News.

'I will always want to do well for my country.'

Beckham's influence on Tuesday was felt as early as the 10th minute.

His pass found former Manchester United team-mate Ruud van Nistelrooy, who set up for Raul to score, reported The Guardian.

Bayern levelled after 23 minutes. Willy Sagnol swung in a free kick from the right, goalkeeper Iker Casillas stayed rooted to his line and Lucio headed home.

It was a temporary reprieve. Beckham's corner reached Ivan Helguera, whose header dropped in just below the crossbar as Raul rushed in. Helguera celebrated but Raul claimed the goal.

Five minutes later, another dead-ball, another Beckham delivery, another Helguera header and another goal. This time van Nistelrooy fired home to bring the score to 3-1.

Beckham even had a free kick tipped over the bar in the opening moments of the second half.

Then fear took hold of Real.

Said Capello: 'Maybe there was a psychological issue there. We tied up, like a tennis player whose arm goes. Teams have scored a lot of goals at the Bernabeu and we suffered a kind of fear.'

Bayern's Mark van Bommel rifled in a fierce half-volley in the 88th minute for their second goal.

'We realised too late that Real were there for the taking,' said captain Kahn, whose side, like Real, are on a dreadful run of form in their domestic league. 'We need to set the Allianz Arena ablaze for the second game. Our second goal could be vital.'

Real Madrid sports director Predrag Mijatovic had said before Tuesday's game that the club were working on 'Plan B' should Capello's team fail.

But, thanks to Beckham, Capello's head remains intact.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Thigh strain rules Vieira out of Valencia match

MILAN - INTER Milan midfielder Patrick Vieira will not play in today's Champions League first-leg match against Valencia after aggravating a thigh strain in training.

The French international, who missed Inter's 1-0 win over Cagliari at the weekend because of the injury, pulled up 20 minutes into the team's training session yesterday.

'He was fine this morning. In training, however, he made an odd movement and aggravated the injury,' Inter coach Roberto Mancini said.

'It was pointless to risk making it worse, so I decided not to select him.'

Defender Ivan Cordoba has also warned his teammates that Inter's excellent record against Valencia will count for nothing.

Inter knocked the Spaniards out of the 2001-02 Uefa Cup quarter-finals, and then the last eight of the 2002-03 Champions League.

They also won 5-1 in Spain in the group stages of the 2004-05 Champions League.

But Cordoba is aware of the dangers of revelling in past results.

'The past meetings might be in our favour, but they don't count for much because each match has its own story,' said the Colombian.

The Italian league leaders have not lost for 29 matches in all competitions.

And they have lost just once at home to Spanish clubs in 15 European games.

Valencia, 2-1 winners over holders Barcelona in the Spanish Primera Liga on Sunday, have struggled in Italy - with just one win in nine matches.

About 1,800 seats - out of the permitted 36,000 capacity - will be reserved for visiting fans at the San Siro, which can seat over 80,000.

This is because the stadium has yet to comply fully with security measures introduced by the government, after rioting fans killed a policeman in Sicily earlier this month.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Companies in brief

NIDEC'S BID FOR BRILLIANT GETS NOD

JAPANESE hard disk component maker Nidec looks set to take up an 87 per cent stake in Brilliant Manufacturing.

Nidec is buying the stake from existing Brilliant shareholders, including the local company's founding family, who are selling a combined stake of 53 per cent.

The offer by the Japanese firm was made last November and closed yesterday at 3.30pm.

UOL'S GAINS TREBLE TO $339M

PROFIT at UOL Group more than trebled to $339.4 million on one-off gains from the sale of two subsidiaries.

The sale of UOL's 50 per cent interest in Clifford Development and the sale of Hotel Grand Plaza boosted the bottom line by $232.8 million.

Revenue for the year ended Dec 31 rose 20 per cent to $605.1 million.

Earnings per share were 42.75 cents, up from 12.62 cents. Net asset value per share was $3.97, up from $2.98 as at Dec 31, 2005.

A final dividend of 7.5 cents per share and a special dividend of 7.5 cents per share have been declared.

IPC SLIPS INTO RED WITH $3M LOSS

IPC said yesterday that it incurred a full-year net loss of $3.3 million, reversing a net profit of $8.6 million previously.

In the year ended Dec 31, the education and information technology specialist in Asia saw revenue slipping 20.1 per cent to $32.2 million.

Loss per share was 0.62 cent, compared to earnings per share of 1.62 cents previously, while net asset value per share fell to 27.07 cents from 28.34 cents.

A first and final dividend of 0.25 cent per share was proposed, unchanged from previously.

ACE DYNAMICS PLANS WARRANTS ISSUE

INDUSTRIAL equipment and hardware distributor Ace Dynamics announced yesterday that it is issuing up to 28.2 million bonus warrants.

One warrant is being issued for every five existing shares held by shareholders.

The exercise prices of 20 cents and 25 cents apiece - depending on when they are exercised - represent a discount of about 42 per cent and 28 per cent respectively, to yesterday's closing price of 34.5 cents.

The gross proceeds from the exercise are estimated to range from $5.6 million to $7 million.

The money will be used for capital expenditure and business expansion plans.

Today's Headlines

All's fair game in the blogosphere - or is it?
KUALA LUMPUR - WHEN a manager of an Islamic insurance company sent an e-mail asking Muslim staff not to offer Deepavali greetings to Hindus last October, it quickly became the talk in this city.The diktat, a show of religious insensitivity, resulted... [Read more]

Two women slipped on VivoCity stairs and fell
ON JAN 6, my friend and I visited VivoCity for the first time. She was on vacation in Singapore.It was 9pm when we went up to the rooftop sky garden where children were still playing in the pools. It was surprising... [Read more]

Sports is not just about winning medals. It's about developing oneself
It has been reported that a multi-million dollar war chest will be set up to help four sports achieve its first Olympic medal. What has sports in Singapore become? Has too much focus been put on the pursuit of medals? Sports... [Read more]

Ethics concern raised about CNBC anchor, Citigroup exec
NEW YORK - THE friendship between TV news anchor Maria Bartiromo and former Citigroup executive Todd Thomson raises questions about ethical boundaries between reporters and their sources, experts said. Mr Thomson found himself out of a job recently after spending US$5... [Read more]

Corporate tax hike overplayed as the reason behind stock market gain
The way our local media reported on the recent 2.3 per cent stocks market gain of Jan 22 - with the ST Index reaching a record high of 3,145 - had created the impression that the impending corporate tax cut was... [Read more]

N. Korea claims deal with US after talks
SEOUL - NORTH Korea said yesterday that it had reached a 'certain agreement' with the US in talks earlier this week in Berlin, and praised the rare direct dialogue between the two bitter foes.US envoy Christopher Hill and the North's Mr... [Read more]

Widow excluded from Safra insurance scheme
I HAD a rude surprise when my husband died late last year.He served his national service and was a captain in the army. He became a Safra member and applied for me to join when we got married.As members of Safra,... [Read more]

Two-tier pricing system at golf course unfair to Employment Pass holders
While the new Marina Bay Golf Course (MBGC) is a welcome addition to the list of courses in Singapore, I feel the management should justify their pricing system. Unfortunately I have not been able to get a satisfactory response from officials... [Read more]

Asian central bankers call for curbs against massive inflows
TOKYO - ASIAN nations need better protection to prevent 'massive' capital inflows from damaging their economies, according to central bank governors from the region. 'In order to increase the ability to absorb external shocks from massive capital flows, the priority seems... [Read more]

Seoul court rejects tobacco lawsuits
SEOUL - A COURT yesterday rejected South Korea's first lawsuits filed seven years ago by lung cancer patients and their families against a tobacco firm.The court said there was no evidence that the disease was caused by smoking cigarettes produced by... [Read more]

Call to permit sale of organs pragmatic
I AGREE with Dr Lee Wei Ling's argument on organ trading ('Ban on organ trading entirely irrational'; ST, Jan 16).As a renal patient myself, I cannot describe adequately the pain and inconvenience that end-stage kidney failure has caused, not only to... [Read more]