Hearing in Guantanamo for ex-JI leader

Indonesian terrorist leader Hambali will face a hearing today by the Guantanamo Periodic Review Board, which evaluates the continued detention of prisoners in the US military prison.

The former operations chief of the Jemaah Islamiah terror network has been held at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre in Cuba since 2006.

Advanced radiation therapy for cancer

The National Cancer Centre Singapore has awarded a contract to Hitachi Asia to provide a proton beam therapy system for its Proton Therapy Centre. It will be the first centre to offer the advanced form of radiation therapy in South-east Asia. The system, which uses the latest pencil-beam scanning technology, accurately targets the cancer tumour in the body. This means minimal radiation exposure for the patient. More details will be out today.

Japan to announce trade figures

Japan will announce trade figures today, two days after disappointing second quarter GDP data which showed slowing growth weighed down by weak domestic demand and stagnant exports. Data earlier this week showed GDP at just 0.2 per cent growth, way short of expectations of 0.7 per cent.

There is a likelihood of a second straight month of trade surplus, as analysts expect new data to show a fall in imports and exports in July.