Today's Singapore News

The following are stories that are making the headlines over at Topix Singapore News today, edited by yours truly.

-StarHub dangles $100 carrot as telco war heats up: A day after SingTel announced a hike in its land line fee and call charges, rival StarHub has thrown down the gauntlet by offering its 511,000 cable TV customers a free home line.
-Fixed land lines - a slow demise in the face of technology?: Some consumers are sighing at yet another price hike, the latest of which was by SingTel yesterday. But in this age of technology, consumers have the luxury of turning to alternative communication methods.
-Bringing arts to the people: The National Arts Council wants to reach out to more Singaporeans within the next five years in an ambitious 5 million dollar 'Arts for All - Community Engagement Plan'.
-Tamiflu sales up in Singapore: Drug company Roche said sales of anti-viral drug Tamiflu have gone up in tandem with flu cases this year.
-Singapore is a nation of homeowners: Public housing is often associated with poverty-stricken slums and other social ills but Singapore's high-rise apartment blocks built by the government are an exception.
-Environment Council chief urges Starbucks to save water: In every Starbucks outlet in Singapore, there is a constantly running water tap which is never turned off in order to fill a “dipping well” to clean utensils. But Singapore Environment Council executive director Howard Shaw says he feels that the practice wastes water.
-Pump prices cut by 5 cents: Oil companies cut pump prices here for the eighth time since July amid a worsening economic crisis.
-LTA reconsidering alternative entrance to foreign workers' dorm: The Land Transport Authority is reconsidering an alternative entrance to the Serangoon Gardens Foreign Workers' Dormitory after affected residents complained that the proposed road would cause traffic and noise congestion in the area.
-AVA to test pet food for melamine: Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) is more than halfway done with testing food samples for traces of melamine. It now says it would expand its tests to animal feed and pet food.
-Changi Airport to be corporatised by July 2009: Changi Airport will be corporatised next year in a bid to boost its status as a leading aviation hub.
-Recession looms for Singapore: Singapore appears headed for its first recession since 2002 as the city-state suffers from a US economy wilting under its worst financial crisis since the Great