WASHINGTON, - PRESIDENT Barack Obama will challenge government departments on Monday to slice US$100 million (S$151 million) from the US federal budget in the next three months, during his debut cabinet meeting.

The move will highlight his vow to trim unneeded spending from the budget as the deficit is inflated by hundreds of billions of dollars in federal spending intended to rescue the crisis-mired economy.

TRAFFIC police slammed the brakes on errant motorists speeding down Singapore's famous shopping strip of Orchard Road last weekend, issuing 33 summonses.

Of the 33 summonses issued in the six-hour late-night crackdown, 21 were for the illegal modification of vehicles. The remaining 11 were for speeding and other offences.

GENEVA - EUROPEAN Union delegates walked out of a major United Nations anti-racism conference on Monday after Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched a verbal onslaught against 'cruel' Israel.

The meeting which had already been boycotted by several Western countries such as the United States and Australia, as well as Israel, was plunged into further controversy as Mr Ahmadinejad took to the stage.

MONTEGO BAY (Jamaica) - POLICE in Jamaica stormed a hijacked plane on Monday and arrested a lone gunman who had seized the Canadian airliner carrying 182 people during a stopover, the country's information minister told media.

Police captured the hijacker without firing any shots and no one was injured, minister Daryl Vaz said.