China launching cyber attacks against India

China’s cyber warfare army is marching on, and India is suffering silently. Over the past one and a half years, officials said, China has mounted almost daily attacks on Indian computer networks, both government and private, showing its intent and capability.

The sustained assault almost coincides with the history of the present political disquiet between the two countries.

According to senior government officials, these attacks are not isolated incidents of something so generic or basic as “hacking” — they are far more sophisticated and complete — and there is a method behind the madness.

Publicly, senior government officials, when questioned, take refuge under the argument that “hacking” is a routine activity and happens from many areas around the world. But privately, they acknowledge that the cyber warfare threat from China is more real than from other countries. (story)

IOC to China, open up the Internet for us

Internet censorship is practically synonymous with China these days. The Chinese government is often used as the poster child for restrictive governments that restrict the free flow of information to its residents. That could be why the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is getting antsy, as Beijing is bound by contract as this year’s Olympic host city to allow the press to report as usual during the games. And reporting as usual means unrestricted Internet access.

The IOC “discussed and insisted” with the Chinese government again this morning that the Internet is required to be “open at all times during Games time,” IOC coordination commission vice chairman Kevan Gosper told Reuters. “There was some criticism that the Internet closed down during events relating to Tibet in previous weeks, but this is not Games time.” (story)

Singapore supports China during Tibet unrest

Singapore on Tuesday voiced support for China’s handling of unrest in Tibet and said there should be no ‘politicisation’ of the Olympic Games hosted by Beijing in August. ‘Singapore supports the declared policy of the Chinese government to protect the lives and property of its citizens from violent demonstrators with minimum use of force,’ a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

‘We are opposed to the politicisation of the Olympics.’

Beijing has repeatedly accused the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, of masterminding the protests, saying the unrest was a deliberate campaign to sabotage the Beijing Games. (story)

Baidu.com blamed for spreading sexy Edison Chen photos

China’s top Internet search engine has been censured for allegedly helping spread sexually explicit photos. The government-sponsored watchdog group is demanding both action and an apology from Baidu.com over the online availability of the photos, which feature several Hong Kong celebrities.

The photos appear to show actor Edison Chen and several female stars performing sex acts or in sexually suggestive poses.

They are widely available in Hong Kong, where the scandal has dominated the headlines for several weeks.

The watchdog group, called the Beijing Association of Online Media, praised other Chinese sites such as NetEase.com, Sina.com and Sohu.com for urging their users not to spread the photos. (story)

Edison quits
Triads offering HK $500,00 reward …
Maggie Q linked …
Singapore stars dragged …

Budget looking good, surplus at 8 year high

Good corporate profits, strong wage growth and a rip-roaring property market are likely to mean that public revenues exceeded expenditures by between $4 billion and $5 billion, say economists.

This would give the Government considerable leeway to be extra generous with one-off financial aid measures to help the elderly and poor cope with escalating living costs, the experts said.

‘It’s going to surprise on the upside,’ said DBS Bank economist Irvin Seah, who is expecting an overall surplus of $4.28 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31.

‘Due to strong economic growth, tax collections will be higher than expected.’

Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam will be presenting the Budget to Parliament on Friday. The expected bumper surplus follows economic growth last year, likely to come in at 7.5 per cent. (story)

Government earns an extra $990 million from tax hike

Government earned an extra $990 million last year from the two-percentage point hike in Goods and Services tax.The bulk, $540 million, came from local consumer spending, while the remainder was from foreigners.

A large portion of the collection went back to Singaporeans.

They received a total of $630 million in cash, to offset the GST increase to 7 per cent in July 2007.With other measures like utility rebates, to help people adjust to paying more GST, the Government will spend $1.17 billion by the end of fiscal year 2007 on Mar 31 this year. (story)

Defunct university agrees to repay millions in loans

University of New South Wales (UNSW), which shut its Asia campus here early this year, has agreed to repay Singapore over $32 million in backed loans and grants, The Straits Times has learned. The settlement, announced on Tuesday, ends a tumultuous experiment for the Sydney-based university.

The school dropped a bombshell in May when it announced it was making a quick exit after just three months of classes - and after receiving $17.3 million in grants and $15 million in loans from the Government.

In September, the school said it might be forced into insolvency. Politicians raised concerns that that the Government might never see the $17.3 million in grant money again. (story)

Singapore to invest 10 billion into UBS

Singapore government’s investment arm announced on Monday that it will inject almost US$10 billion (S$14.4 billion) into Swiss bank UBS, making it the firm’s single largest shareholder.

The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) said it would inject 11 billion Swiss francs (US$9.74 billion) into UBS, which on Monday announced further writedowns of around US$10 billion (6.8 billion euros) due to the US subprime mortgage crisis.

GIC said an undisclosed strategic investor in the Middle East is injecting an additional two billion francs into the bank.

‘We made this significant investment in UBS because we have confidence in the long-term growth potential of the bank’s businesses, particularly its global wealth management business,’ its deputy chairman and executive director, Tony Tan Keng Yam, told a news conference.

GIC has committed to subscribe to 11 billion Swiss francs worth of mandatory convertible notes that will pay a coupon of nine percent until conversion into ordinary shares about two years after issuance, UBS said. (story)

Singapore Government to give employees bonus

The Government will give its 60,000 civil servants a year-end bonus of two months. Add on the half-month bonus they received in July and the total bonus civil servants will get this year amounts to 2.5 months.

Tuesday’s bonus announcement is likely to be a guide for the private sector, as was typically the case in the past.

Although the payout is a dip from the 2.7 per cent given last year, most civil servants will still go home with more - thanks to the new ‘growth bonus’. Introduced this year, it will be given in times of exceptional economic performance.

This year, the Government is forecasting the economy to grow by 7.5 to 8 per cent. For ‘good performers’, this new payout will bring another 0.5 month’s bonus, and for ‘better performers’, up to 0.8 months, said the Public Service Division in a statement on Tuesday. (link)

Li & Fung Foundation donates $1.4 million to SMU for scholarships

Singapore Management University (SMU) students are now eligible for a new scholarship that will help fund the expenses of their overseas exchange program. Hong Kong-registered charity Li & Fung (1906) Foundation granted US$1 million (S$1.4 million) to SMU to fund up to 20 students attending such programmes. The Singapore Government will match this amount dollar for dollar.

Each student recipient will receive $5,000. (story)