Jewel - Foolish Games

CIA compelled medics to torture terror suspects: independent report

Military trumped medics’ oath to be ethical and made them complicit in abuses, independent report says; CIA and Pentagon reject findings

China's Forbidden City Built with Giant 'Sliding Stones'

The Forbidden City, the palace once home to the emperors of China, was built by workers sliding giant stones for miles on slippery paths of wet ice, researchers have found.
Link

Kerry says in some cases US spying 'reached too far'

Link

Australia Participated in N.S.A. Program, Document Says

Australia, a close ally of the United States, has used its embassies in Asia to collect intelligence as part of the National Security Agency’s global surveillance efforts, according to a document leaked by Edward J. Snowden and published in the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel.

Manila Mayor Aims to Ease Tensions With Hong Kong

A former Philippine president, Joseph Estrada, now the mayor of Manila, hopes to accomplish in the next few weeks what the national government has failed to do in three years: mend strained ties with Hong Kong over a botched hostage rescue attempt in which eight tourists were killed.

US network apologizes for child's 'Kill Chinese' quip

A US network has apologized after a child flippantly suggested to "kill everyone in China" during a late-night comedy show which infuriated Asian American activists.
Link

China's Real Estate Bubble

Lawsuit after six million bottles of Australian wine poured down drain

Global drinks giant Treasury Wine Estates was on Monday facing a class-action lawsuit from Australian shareholders after oversupply issues forced six million bottles of wine to be poured down the drain.

Manila backtracks on South China Sea accusation against China

In an embarrassing twist after foreign affairs and defence officials had accused China of preparing to build new structures on Scarborough Shoal, a group of rocks about 120 nautical miles off the coast of the main island of Luzon, Aquino said the blocks found within the shoal "are not a new phenomenon" and "some of them have barnacles attached to them."
Link

Kunming's illegal street racing scene

Link

Xi sets up special unit to probe Zhou Yongkang corruption case

Xi Jinping takes unusual step of forming special unit to investigate Zhou Yongkang graft scandal, bypassing party’s internal disciplinary system

Elite French winemakers seek elusive Chinese blend

The world's fine winemakers have exacting standards for soil, climate and cultivation to produce the perfect grape. And they are looking to recreate that unlikely blend in China -- better known for cheap mass production.
Link

US businessman accused of being mob boss in China

When more than 500 policemen swooped in to arrest 40 suspected gangsters in southern China last year, the alleged kingpin was a Los Angeles businessman who had hoisted an U.S. flag amid a crowd to welcome Xi Jinping, now China’s president, to California.

Conflict and clashes over China's prized caterpillar fungus

Link

Porsche Experience Center

Netanyahu the Nuclear Hypocrite!

Trust is a many-splendored thing

Trust enables citizens and the Government to work together to build a cohesive and adaptive society - one with good quality of life for all; where Singaporeans can call home.

Chinese inspectors uncover widespread corruption in “shock and awe” probe

Bo Xilai’s former stronghold of Chongqing among places criticised by anti-graft teams for failing to impose sufficient checks on leaders

Xi Jinping hopes traditional faiths can fill moral void in China

President Xi Jinping believes China is losing its moral compass and he wants the ruling Communist Party to be more tolerant of traditional faiths in the hope these will help fill a vacuum created by the country's breakneck growth and rush to get rich, sources said.
Link

Myanmar old guard clings to $8 billion jade empire

Special Report

Chinese General’s son found guilty of gang rape, sentenced to 10 years in jail

A court in Beijing found Li Guanfeng, the 17-year-old son of prominent military artist Li Shuangjiang, guilty on Friday charges of gang-raping a woman earlier this year and sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

Hacker 'mercenaries' linked to Japan, South Korea spying: researchers

A small, sophisticated international hacking group was responsible for a widely publicized 2011 spying attack on members of Japan's parliament as well as dozens of previously undisclosed breaches at government agencies and strategic companies in Japan and South Korea, security researchers said.
Link

China adoption agency furious over 'child exchange' report

China's adoption agency said it was "very shocked and furious" about the findings in a Reuters report that exposed how U.S. parents use the Internet to abandon unwanted children they have adopted from abroad, including China.
Link

US targeted Indian diplomats with sophisticated bugs

The US National Security Agency targeted the Indian embassy in Washington and the Indian UN office in New York with sophisticated surveillance equipment that might have resulted in hard disks being copied, a report said Wednesday.
Link

At U.N., Brazil's Rousseff blasts U.S. spying as 'meddling'

Link

Myanmar's Suu Kyi looks to Singapore as model - minus the materialism

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi cemented Singapore's role as a major economic partner and model for her country on a five-day trip to the island, taking home what she said were valuable lessons on education policy and anti-graft measures.
Link

Foreign manpower tightening up a notch

Higher qualifying salary for those on employment permits seen adding to labour costs

Hotel-style prison awaits China's Bo Xilai: inmates

Fallen high-flyer Bo Xilai can expect hotel-style treatment at a jail for China's political elite, where he will enjoy comfortable surroundings but be constantly monitored by government agents, former prisoners say.
Link

Both sides were ruthless and cruel, says former communist party member

Chin Peng has been accused of being cruel and ruthless by the Malaysian government, but his actions were no worse than that of the Malayan soldiers, said a former Communist Party of Malaya member.
Link

Bo Xilai sentenced to life in prison

Fallen Chinese political star Bo Xilai was sentenced by a court to life in prison Sunday, following a sensational scandal that culminated in the country's highest-profile trial in decades.
Link

Singapore paper examines Malaysian divide over Chin Peng

Even in death, Chin Peng remains a deeply divisive figure. Putrajaya remains firm that his remains cannot be brought back to Malaysia, the opposition and MCA have urged the government to show clemency and allow bygones to be bygones.
Link

Arabs target Israel at U.N. nuclear meet despite U.S. warning

Arab states will push ahead with a bid to single out Israel for criticism over its assumed atomic arsenal at this week's U.N. nuclear agency meeting, despite Western pressure to refrain, a senior representative said on Friday.
Link

US National Security Agency linked to hacking of telecoms giant in Belgium

Belgium has denounced the “substantial and invasive” hacking of its biggest telecommunications company, saying a foreign state may have been responsible, as media pointed the finger at the US National Security Agency.

Brazil's Rousseff calls off state visit to U.S. over spying

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has called off plans for a state visit to Washington in October because of revelations that the United States spied on her personal communications and those of other Brazilians.
Link

Chin Peng dies in Bangkok hospital

 

 

The Malay Mail

Bangkok Post

Mr Clean catches China's graft tigers by the tail

Behind China's aggressive drive to root out corruption is Wang Qishan, a historian-turned-economist who once felt so bad about getting free parking that he reportedly sent a colleague back to pay the fee.
Link

NSA passes unsifted intelligence to Israel

The U.S. National Security Agency routinely passes raw intelligence to Israel without first removing details about U.S. citizens, Britain's Guardian newspaper said on Thursday, citing documents obtained by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
Link

NSA spying on Petrobras, if proven, is industrial espionage: Rousseff

Reports that the United States spied on Brazilian oil company Petrobras, if proven, would be tantamount to industrial espionage and have no security justification, Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff said on Monday.
Link

Longer wait for China residency permits irk foreign firms

Foreign executives in China are upset at a new rule that allows authorities to hold passports for up to 15 working days when processing and renewing residency permits, saying it could disrupt essential business travel within China and abroad.
Link

New Snowden documents say NSA can break common Internet encryption

The United States (US) National Security Agency (NSA) has secretly developed the ability to crack or circumvent commonplace Internet encryption used to protect everything from email to financial transactions, according to media reports citing documents obtained by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Obama unlikely to win support on Syria

His consensus-building strategy is akin to Bush the First's, but the US, Mid-East and world today are different from 1990

Action on CNPC signals Beijing’s resolve to hit corruption hard

Hu Shuli says the Politburo’s launch of a new five-year plan to tackle corruption, just ahead of a key meeting on reform, is significant

New visa and residence regulations for China

Link

Kerry portrait of Syria rebels at odds with intelligence reports

Secretary of State John Kerry's public assertions that moderate Syrian opposition groups are growing in influence appear to be at odds with estimates by U.S. and European intelligence sources and nongovernmental experts, who say Islamic extremists remain by far the fiercest and best-organized rebel elements.
Link

American jailed for offences in hostels

An American tourist was sentenced to nine months in jail yesterday for insulting and outraging the modesty of five women at backpacker hostels.

China hunts tigers in corruption crackdown

The ultimate test for the ongoing crackdown on corruption by China President Xi Jinping is aptly captured in his own campaign phrase: “Hitting tigers as well as flies.” One year on, what tigers could he catch?

Russia's Putin calls John Kerry a liar on Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry a liar, claiming he had denied that al-Qaida was fighting with the Syrian opposition in that country's civil war.
Link

Brazil's Rousseff wants U.S. apology for NSA spying

Furious about a report that the U.S. government spied on her private communications, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff may cancel a planned White House visit and downgrade commercial ties unless she receives a public apology, a senior Brazilian official told Reuters on Wednesday.
Link

What Japan really needs to learn from the Nazis

Any attempt to amend the Constitution would trigger vast international opposition

Anti-graft agency website lets public file complaints

People can fill out online form anonymously, detailing their suspicions about officials

US launched 231 cyberattacks in 2011

Spy services hacked computer networks, mostly of adversaries Iran, Russia, China and N Korea

Russia gives Snowden asylum

Russia rejected U.S. pleas and granted American fugitive Edward Snowden a year's asylum on Thursday, letting the former spy agency contractor slip out of a Moscow airport after more than five weeks in limbo while angering the United States and putting in doubt a planned summit between the two nations' presidents.
Link

What your favourite ice cream flavour says about you

Thrown to the wolves: China's children at the mercy of foreign predators

Children across China are at the mercy of foreign sexual predators who take advantage of lax background checks and inaction by schools

Local government debt to be exposed by Li’s survey

Audit likely to reveal up to US$3 trillion of debt, with any austerity measures hitting demand

Xi shaping up to be an influential PLA commander

The son of a revolutionary hero may have more chance than predecessors of winning the trust and political backing of the top brass, analysts say

Shenzhen introduces Good Samaritan law

New regulation will protect people who render assistance to those in need and deter dishonest ‘victims’ who see a chance for easy money

Supercar membership club now open

Singapore’s first supercar membership club was launched yesterday and it will offer 100 high-net worth individuals the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a super sports car for a fee. Gran Superdrive is founded by Henry Goh and his associates - a group of car enthusiasts who are also veterans of the car industry.

Thrown to the wolves: China's children at the mercy of foreign predators

Children across China are at the mercy of foreign sexual predators who take advantage of lax background checks and inaction by schools

Travelling? Activate your credit cards first

The next time you travel overseas and plan to use your credit or debit card to buy something, be sure to activate it before leaving Singapore.

Truth behind tragic secret execution of businessman Zeng Chengjie

Pressure mounts for the real facts in the case of Zeng Chengjie, accused of fraud and killed by firing squad without his family being notified

A Charity Aims to Bring Buddhist Studies Into the Modern World

Robert Y.C. Ho, a scion of a historic Hong Kong family, is the chairman of the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation, which supports study in the fields of Buddhism, Chinese art and culture. The charity is named after Mr. Ho’s father, who founded it in 2005.

Game of thorns

The insider’s guide to artisanal durians.

Hong Kong gongfu masters fight back

English-language manual among ways to revive interest in Chinese martial art

Property cooling measures give foreign buyers cold feet

Singapore permanent residents (PRs) and other foreigners are buying fewer private homes. The number slipped for the second consecutive quarter in Q2 2013, according to a caveats analysis by DTZ.

Russia Cites Extradition as Sore Point With U.S.

Russian officials complained on Monday that the United States routinely disregards extradition requests by the Russian government, the latest in a series of public statements that seem aimed at laying the groundwork for granting asylum to Edward J. Snowden, the former intelligence contractor on the run from the American authorities.

30m tons of silt released from Yellow River dam

Link

Legco chief insists on answers to Snowden spy claims

Legco chief Tsang Yok-sing says city’s residents are ‘appalled’ at possible privacy violations and demand details of surveillance

Lawmakers vote to condemn US spying in Hong Kong

Security secretary ‘very disappointed’ there has been no solid explanation of the hacking saga

Hong Kong still waiting for US reply on Snowden hacking allegations

Hong Kong is still waiting for a reply from the United States on claims made by whistle-blower Edward Snowden that US agencies had hacked into the city’s computers, Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok told legislators on Thursday.

'Dirty' GSK inflated China prices with bribes

A Chinese state newspaper on Wednesday called GlaxoSmithKline, which is under investigation for bribery in China, "dirty and devious", accusing the British drug firm of inflating its prices.
Link

Expat teacher from Hong Kong charged with child sex abuse in Cebu

Munro, a 45-year-old Australian, is being detained in the holiday resort of Cebu.

Spain apologizes to Bolivia for presidential plane delay

Link

Edward Snowden has 'blueprints' to NSA

Edward Snowden has highly sensitive documents on how the National Security Agency is structured and operates that could harm the U.S. government, but has insisted that they not be made public, a journalist close to the NSA leaker said.
Link

Snowden documents could be 'worst nightmare' for U.S.

Fugitive former U.S. spy contractor Edward Snowden controls dangerous information that could become the United States' "worst nightmare" if revealed, a journalist familiar with the data said in a newspaper interview.
Link

Hong Kong lawmakers slam Washington for Snowden censure

The US is like a villain suing the victim before the victim could prosecute him. It’s completely disrespectful of Hong Kong and its citizens.

Formula makers facing an end to plump profits

Chinese mothers’ fears of contaminated milk powder may no longer benefit foreign producers

Probe puts foreign milk powder prices in spotlight

Price-fixing investigation forces overseas baby formula manufacturers to cut prices in China after brands have steadily become more expensive

Microsoft helped NSA, FBI access user info: Guardian

Microsoft Corp worked closely with United States (US) intelligence services to help them intercept users’ communications, including letting the National Security Agency (NSA) circumvent email encryption, the Guardian reported on Thursday.

NSA, Israel created Stuxnet worm together to attack Iran, says Snowden

America’s National Security Agency helped Israel code the Stuxnet computer worm used to attack Iranian nuclear facilities several years ago, according to former NSA contractor and whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

Snowden tells of ‘5 eyes’ spy network

US, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada have deep intelligence connection that goes beyond sharing data, whistle-blower says

Latin American nations fuming over NSA spying allegations

Irate Latin American nations are demanding explanations from the United States about new allegations that it spied on both allies and foes in the region with secret surveillance programs.
Link

NSA 'spied' on most Latin American nations

The U.S. National Security Agency has targeted most Latin American countries in its spying programs, with Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and Mexico ranking among those of highest priority for the U.S. intelligence agency, a leading Brazilian newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Link

How to leak and not get caught

Link

Xi issues new rules to rein in PLA excesses

President moves to consolidate control over army and says military must take the lead to protect authority of the Communist Party

Has Xi's graft crackdown run out of steam?

Analysts say candid coverage of 'consultations' may indicate leadership lacks will to take action

Singapore’s open door to billionaires shuts out logic

Brigadier general calls the shots but his top brass will struggle with his wonky economics

Samsung Still Asia’s Most Popular Brand, Beats Apple

Link

Brazil to probe local telecom operators over alleged U.S. spying

Link

Snowden affair clouds U.S. attempts to press China to curb cyber theft

Link

Brazil was target of U.S. signals spying

Link

Fung shui masters hit out at former colleague Peter Chan

Under fire in the courts, pursued by creditors and the taxman, Peter Chan Chun-chuen is also in trouble with leaders of his former profession.

Peter Chan gets 12 years’ jail for forging late tycoon Nina Wang’s will

Former fung shui master granted individual cell in Stanley Prison after judge describes him as ‘shameless, cruel and extremely greedy’

Peter Chan: reinvention of a nobody with a big smile

He was just married, living in a public housing flat, when he met the woman who made him her HK$2.7b penthouse lover

In Okinawa, Talk of Break From Japan Turns Serious

In a windowless room in a corner of a bustling market where stalls displayed severed pigs’ heads and bolts of kimono silk, Okinawans gathered to learn about a political idea that until recently few had dared to take seriously: declaring their island chain’s political independence from Japan.

Xi Jinping seeks changes in way party cadres are selected

A slew of high-profile scandals involving senior Communist Party officials in recent months prompted President Xi Jinping to call for a fundamental overhaul of the appointment and promotion regime for cadres during a recent national conference on the promotion of meritocracy.

Merkel says EU must not forget U.S. spying in push for free trade

Link

Three Latin American leftist leaders offer asylum to Snowden

Link

BRICS emerging economies to expand co-operation on internet security

The cyber snooping saga pushes the major emerging economies, including China, to reduce reliance on American technology