What's News: February 16, 2016

Manchester City's Yaya Toure (left) and Tottenham's Mousa Dembele in action on Sunday.
Manchester City's Yaya Toure (left) and Tottenham's Mousa Dembele in action on Sunday. PHOTO: REUTERS

TOP OF THE NEWS

Challenges of air travel boom

South-east Asia has seen air passengers within the region triple over the past decade, and the figure is expected to keep growing for at least the next 20 years. Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan spoke about the challenges that come with such growth, including the need to ensure safety, at the opening of the Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit.


TOP OF THE NEWS

Issues at US-Asean summit

Trade, terrorism and the South China Sea territorial disputes are set to top the agenda for Asean leaders at the Sunnylands estate in California today, at the first-of-its- kind summit with United States President Barack Obama.


PHOTO: REUTERS

WORLD

Festive splurge in China

Defying the country's downbeat economic outlook, Chinese consumers splurged during the week-long Spring Festival holiday, with higher spending recorded in a wide range of areas such as tourism, and cinema and retail sales. Shops and restaurants across China, for instance, raked in 754 billion yuan (S$162 billion), up 11.2 per cent over the same period last year, the Ministry of Commerce said.


SPORT

Spurs close in as City slip up

The reactions of the managers could not have been more different after Tottenham's 2-1 Premier League win at Manchester City on Sunday. Mauricio Pochettino urged fans to dream of a first top-flight title since 1961 while Manuel Pellegrini blasted the referee's "wrong" penalty call.


WORLD

Kim pushes rocket launches

Despite condemnation from the international community after what many countries see as a disguised ballistic missile test, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to put more satellites in space after last week's long-range rocket launch.


OPINION

Adapting to declining Europe

European power peaked early in the 20th century. Today, Europe's prospects are bleaker. The social climate will deteriorate, as will the economies and business prospects. Asia must adapt to Europe's decline, By Invitation columnist Jean-Pierre Lehmann writes.


HOME

Sweet deal for bus drivers

The race to hire Singapore bus drivers has gone up a notch. Newcomer Go-Ahead, which will run bus services in Loyang, has announced a pay package that matches that of Tower Transit and thrown in signing-up bonuses.


HOME

Jail and caning for extortion

A married man who extorted nearly $200,000 in cash and more than $50,000 in valuables from a male teacher in return for keeping quiet about their sexual encounter was sentenced to three years and four months' jail and caning. Vincent Ng Hian Gee said he felt rejected and wanted to "punish" the teacher.


BUSINESS

Cosco posts $483m loss in Q4

A slump in shipbuilding activity amid dire market conditions swamped Cosco Corporation (Singapore) with red ink in the fourth quarter.

The company's net loss deepened to $483.8 million for the three months to Dec 31, from $13.2 million in the same period a year earlier.


LIFE

'No' to sex objects for art show

Two sex objects have been withdrawn from a queer-themed exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore. They are part of an installation by multi-disciplinary artist Loo Zihan titled Queer Objects: An Archive For The Future. The exhibition, Fault-Lines: Disparate And Desperate Intimacies, is open to the public.


PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

LIFE

Revenant sweeps Bafta awards

The Revenant was the top winner at Britain's biggest movie awards on Sunday, taking Best Film as well as the Best Actor and Best Director honours for its star Leonardo DiCaprio (right) and director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (left). It earned five British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) awards, including for cinematography and sound.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 16, 2016, with the headline What's News: February 16, 2016. Subscribe