<p>WASHINGTON - CHINA cut back its Treasury bond holdings in January but remained the top owner of US government debt, the Treasury Department said on Monday.<p>China held US$889 billion (S$1.24 trillion) in Treasury securities at the end of January compared with US$894.8 billion in December, the department's latest figures on international capital flows showed.</p>

China cuts US bond holdings

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<P>WASHINGTON - US industrial production inched up 0.1 per cent in February, grinding to a near-halt amid severe snow storms that crippled large parts of the East Coast, Federal Reserve data showed ON Monday.

US industrial output stutters

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<P>NEW YORK- US STOCKS got off to a cautious start Monday as the market took a breather ahead of a Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting the next day and weighed mixed data on manufacturing.

Wall Street stocks open mixed

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<p>THE number of containers handled at Singapore ports shot up 18 per cent last month from the same month a year earlier, port statistics showed on Monday.

Feb container traffic in Feb up by 18%

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<p>PROMINENT paraplegic athlete William Tan Kian Meng claimed that a woman who is suing him for some $400,000 had given him the money, not lent it to him, as they had been in an 'intimate relationship'.

Money given, not loaned

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<p>MANILA- MYANMAR'S military government broke its promise to democratise by barring opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from upcoming elections, the Philippines said Monday, urging Southeast Asian countries to push the junta to rescind a slate of new elections laws.

Myanmar broke promise

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<p>SHANGHAI - CHINA is urging its automakers to upgrade quality and set up accountable recall systems to handle defects, amid growing awareness of such issues following Toyota's recent recalls.

Car makers must boost quality

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<p>JAKARTA - INDONESIA urged the US on Monday to consider lifting a ban on working with a commando unit accused of human rights abuses a decade ago, saying the country's military has undergone significant reform.

Reconsider ban on training, US

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<P>WASHINGTON - THE US government said on Monday it cannot explain a reported incident of sudden, high-speed acceleration in a Toyota Prius on a San Diego, California, freeway last week.

Can't explain runaway Prius

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<p>LONDON - THE top big four economies are strongly placed to keep their top credit status but will face slightly increased risk when they curb overspending despite weak recovery, Moody's said on Monday.<p>The United States, Germany, France and Britain remain 'well positioned,' Moody's credit rating agency said. Its report contrasted with some warnings in recent months that huge public deficits and debt could undermine the credit status of some leading economies.</p>

Big 4 in budget dilemma

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<p>LONDON - PHIL Brown, the colourful manager who led Hull City to the top flight of English football for the first time, was relieved of his duties on Monday as the club fights to hang on to their Premier League status.

Hull sack Brown

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<p>MANAMA - FERNANDO Alonso may have rediscovered his winning touch with a sparkling debut for Ferrari, but he was quick to join the chorus of dissidents unimpressed with Formula One's new rules in the wake of Sunday's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

Alonso joins unhappy drivers

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<p>MANAMA - FERRARI were singing and smiling again on Monday morning as they reflected on what a difference a year - and one important win - can make in the Formula One World Championship.

Ferrari all smiles, but cautious

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<p>BEIJING - FOREIGN direct investment in China rose 4.86 per cent year-on-year in the first two months of 2010, the government said on Monday, in a sign of growing confidence in the world's third-largest economy.

China's FDI up 4.86%

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<p>THE Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) is going after companies that are foisting unsolicited services upon mobile phone users, as complaints go up.<p>Case said on Monday it will hold talks with the three major telcommunications providers here - Singtel, Starhub and M1 - to pursue this issue. </p>

Case goes after telcos

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<p> BANGKOK - GRENADE explosions that wounded two soldiers at a Thai military base raised tensions in Bangkok on Monday as tens of thousands of anti-government protesters massed at another barracks on the outskirts of the city.</p><p>It was unclear who was behind the attack or whether it was directly linked to the protests by red-shirted supporters of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra. But it came shortly after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva rebuffed demands by protesters to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections by midday.</p>

Grenade attack ups tension

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<p>HELSINKI - INJURED former England captain David Beckham will undergo surgery at a Finnish hospital on Monday afternoon, orthopedic surgeon Sakari Orava told AFP.</p>

Beckham to undergo surgery

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<p>AFTER guarding their wallets closely for more than a year, shoppers hit the streets again in January, sending retail sales in Singapore up for the first time in 16 months.<p>Sales, on a downtrend since the financial crisis started in October 2008, rose 2.3 per cent in January from the year before, said the Department of Statistics (DOS) on Monday.

Retail sales up in Feb

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<p>PODGORICA - FORMER Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, on the run from corruption charges, was spotted in the Montenegrin town of Budva this weekend, a local TV station reported on Monday.

Thaksin seen in Montenegro

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<p>KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIAN authorities said on Monday they are probing claims that 93 Rohingya from Myanmar were chased out of Thai waters and drifted aboard a boat for 45 days before being rescued.

Rohingya chased out of waters

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