Red alert for air pollution in Beijing

Beijing's city government has issued a red alert for severely high levels of air pollution in the Chinese capital, running for five days from this evening.

The smog was expected to be from air pollution accumulated in Beijing and its environs, such as the nearby city of Tianjin and the northern provinces of Hebei, Shandong and Henan, according to the environmental protection bureau.

Tender results out for CNY bazaar

The results of the public tender for the Chinatown Chinese New Year bazaar will be released today at 7.30pm.

The annual street fair is one of the most popular events in the festivities. It will run from Jan 6 to 27 next year. One new feature will be the inclusion of young entrepreneurs selling food items in Temple Street.

Chinese New Year falls next year on Jan 28.

November export figures out today

Singapore's external trade figures for last month will be released this morning. November's numbers will be keenly watched, given the previous month's disappointing data.

Non-oil domestic exports in October fell by a bigger-than-expected 12 per cent, with a poor showing in both electronics and non-electronics segments. Except for Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea, domestic shipments to the top 10 markets were down.