Singapore, Nov.5 : The Indian women's hockey team have qualified for the finals of the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) despite going down 2-3 at the hands of China in their last group clash here last evening.

India made it to the finals after they finished as the second-placed team with seven points in the group stage behind China, who climbed to the top spot with nine points.

It was China who made the breakthrough first when Cheng Yahan struck the opening goal in the 35th minute of the match.

China soon doubled the lead for themselves through Gou Qui Deepika's goal in the 51st minute before India pulled one back to make it 1-2 just a minute later.

In the 55th minute of the match, India equalized the score for themselves via skipper Vandana Kataria.

Singapore: Singapore's economy grew more strongly than initially estimated in the final quarter of last year as manufacturing improved, but the country's outlook for this year remained modest at 2.0 to 4.0 per cent in the face of an uneven global recovery.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said the country's economy grew by 2.9 per cent in 2014. The growth forecast for 2015 has been maintained at 2.0 to 4.0 per cent.

Annualised growth came in at 4.9 per cent in the September-October quarter from the previous three months when the economy expanded 2.6 per cent, it said. That was three times the government's initial estimate of 1.6 per cent growth.

This year's growth in the manufacturing sector improved to 2.6 per cent from 1.7 per cent in 2013.

Singapore: Oil prices fell in Asia on Thursday after a bargain-buying rally the day before lost steam, with a pick-up in US inventories reinforcing reinforcing concerns about weak demand and a supply glut.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in February fell 37 cents to USD 48.11 in late-morning trade and Brent crude for February fell 56 cents to USD 48.13.

Both contracts rose sharply yesterday -- WTI gained USD 2.59 and Brent advanced USD 2.10 -- as bargain hunters moved in after prices tumbled close to six-year lows.

Singapore - Oil extended losses on Tuesday to touch fresh 5-1/2-year lows, following a 5 percent plunge in the previous session as a slew of bearish factors added to supply woes.

Worries about surplus oil supplies were fuelled by data showing output in Russia hit a post-Soviet-era high in 2014 and exports from Iraq, OPEC`s second-largest producer, were the highest since 1980. Jitters over political uncertainty in Greece drove investors out of risk assets globally to safe-haven bonds.

"It`s building on the recent bearish supply/demand outlook of oil, led originally by the OPEC meeting," said Mark Keenan, who heads Asia commodities research at Societe Generale.

Singapore : Gold added to sharp overnight gains on Wednesday as global equities took a hit from the risk-averse sentiment in the market, triggering safe-haven bids for the metal.

Bullion was on track to end the year on a steady note with prices holding flat after a turbulent 2013, when prices slumped for the first time in 13 years.

FUNDAMENTALS

Spot gold ticked up 0.1 percent to $1,201.20 an ounce by 0041 GMT. In the previous session, the metal climbed to its highest in nearly two weeks of $1,209.90, before paring some gains to close up 1.5 percent.

Singapore - Oil prices sank further in Asia on Friday, with analysts warning of little respite from the the selling after plunging more than 40 percent since June.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for January deliver was down 86 cents at USD 59.09 in mid-morning trade. The contract closed below the psychological USD 60 mark for the first time since July 2009 yesterday. Brent crude was down 52 cents at USD 63.16.

"There just doesn't seem to be any relief for oil prices at the moment," Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, told AFP.

Singapore, Dec 5 : Every December, the editors of The Straits Times pick an Asian whose work or actions has significantly impacted his own society or the wider Asian continent in the 12 months past. Last year, the Asian of the Year award was shared by President Xi Jinping of China and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan. The inaugural award, in 2012, went to Prime Minister Thein Sein of Myanmar.

For 2014, the editors have picked Narendra Damodardas Modi, India's development-focused prime minister who fashioned an impressive victory for his Bharatiya Janata Party in the national election that ended in May.

Singapore - India's second largest public sector company Oil India Limited (OIL) is seeking more hydrocarbon concessions across the globe, including Brazil and Mexico.

"We are aggressively looking for a lot of good property from where we can bring crude oil into India," Sunil Kumar Srivastava, chairman and managing director, said Tuesday.

"The government of India is very supportive of our overseas ventures. They are encouraging us to go global to help reduce energy import volumes," he said.

"The more oil and gas we bring into the country, it would help reduce the country's energy import bill," he said on the sideline of the Singapore International Energy Week.

Singapore - Brent crude edged up towards $102 a barrel on Tuesday, but stayed near a 14-month low reached in the previous session on weak demand and easing concerns over risks to supply.

Brent shed nearly $2 on Monday, as investor worries over conflict in Iraq eased, and as higher Libyan oil output added to already ample supplies.

"There is still plenty of oil in the market, mostly due to weak demand from refineries in Europe and Asia," said Yusuke Seta, a commodity sales manager at Newedge Japan.

Singapore: An Indian couple in Singapore has invented a first-of-its-kind robot to make chappatis which raked in about 5 million Singapore dollars in pre-sale orders from the US.

Rishi Israni and his wife Pranoti, took six years to develop the robot, Rotimatic, which can produce about one baked chapati per minute.

Rotimatic is the first kitchen device to use robotic technology and awaits US certifications required for such products for the American market.

The Rotimatic shipment to the American market would commence next year.

Singapore: Oil prices rose in Asia on Tuesday on reviving fears of supply disruptions in the Middle East, analysts said.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September delivery rose 14 cents to USD 98.43, while Brent crude for September gained 19 cents to USD 105.60 in mid-morning trade.

"We haven't seen signs so far that the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East could cause disruptions, but those concerns are still there at the back of investors' minds," Desmond Chua, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore, told AFP.

Singapore: Air India (AI) has rescheduled its flights from here by linking them to those taking off from New Delhi to various destinations within the country and Europe from August 1, 2014.

"We have re-timed the flights from Singapore so passengers get on time in New Delhi for onward flights to Europe and Kathmandu," AI's Deputy General Manager-Commercial and Singapore Country Manager Nirbhik Rai Narang said today.

Apart from international connections, AI's daily flight to New Delhi links passengers to flights heading for Buddhist tourist destinations like Varanasi and Gaya, he said.

Singapore - Celebrating its 60th year of flying to Singapore, Air India is adding another Boeing 787 'Dreamliner' aircraft on its Singapore-Chennai-Mumbai sector from next month.

"The Indian national carrier has seen a big increase in passengers on its latest aircraft from Singapore to India," Country Manager Nirbhik Narang told PTI Friday.

"In June, we had more than 90 per cent passengers on our daily flights from Singapore to India," said Narang, underlining the increase in travellers flying by Air India.

Singapore: Oil prices edged higher in Asia Monday on continued violence in Iraq, but gains were capped as the risk premium associated with the crisis in the key crude producer is already factored in, analysts said.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up 31 cents to USD 107.14, while Brent crude gained 35 cents to USD 115.16 in mid-morning trade.

"We see oil retaining support from the violence in Iraq, but markets have already priced in a significant risk premium in the last few weeks," David Lennox, resource analyst with Fat Prophets in Sydney, told AFP.

Singapore, April 9 : Failing yet again to perform to expected standards, India's top women's singles shuttler Saina Nehwal suffered a first round loss at the $300,000 Singapore Open Super Series here Wednesday.

Old nemesis Eriko Hirose of Japan got past the Indian seventh seed 16-21, 21-15, 21-11 in a marathon match which lasted an hour and two minutes at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.  The World No. 15 drubbed Saina the fourth time out of seven meetings in her career.

According to the latest figures released, the resale volume of private non-landed homes has increased by as much as 82.6 per cent during the month of March compared to the previous month in Singapore.

The Singapore Maritime Week (SMW), which is in its ninth edition this year, was launched on Sunday with many facilities.

The ninth edition of the Singapore Maritime Week (SMW) will be the largest edition of the annual event yet with a host of activities planned. Minister for Transport Mr Lui Tuck Yew launched the new SMW 2014 at VivoCity.

According to the latest data released, Housing Board resale flat prices recorded a fall of 1.5 per cent during the first three months of the year compared to the previous quarter.

A government official has said that the government of Singapore will not ask tis investment arm to take on riskier bets for higher returns.

The official said that Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC Pte. Ltd., and the state investment company Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd will not be asked to buy riskier investments to increase revenues even as government expects spending increases to be higher than revenue growth in the coming decade.

Singapore, Dec 29 : Singapore Sunday said it regretted the visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the Yasukuni shrine commemorating those who died in the service of the Japanese empire.

"Our consistent position has been that such visits reopen old grievances, and are unhelpful to building trust and confidence in the region," Xinhua reported quoting a statement by the foreign ministry spokesman.

It also added that tensions in the region have been rising due to the recent series of events, actions and counter-actions, taken by a number of different parties.