Senior officials told to quit EMBAs as part of President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive

Three senior officials halt course at top Shanghai business school, which can cost about 600,000 yuan (HK$756,000) a year, over fears fee payments may lead to bribery, Beijing Times reports

Tougher mainland scrutiny of foreign teachers after child sex scandal fears

Teachers in China face checks and need five years’ experience after one foreign teacher had criminal record for child pornography and another was on the run from child-sex charges

Lai Siu Chiu recounts her four decades in law

She was appointed as a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court in 1991, the first female to hold the post and also the youngest at the time.

US and UK spy agencies ‘have access to German telecoms’

US and British intelligence services are able to secretly access information from German telecoms operators, according to a German newspaper report.

Shanghai civil service rolls out non-Apple smartphone programme

Coolpad, a domestic manufacturer, is chosen for replacement programme aimed at boosting security.

German magazine Der Spiegel reported last year on leaked documents from the US National Security Administration that claimed the NSA had built a backdoor in Apple software that allowed data to be sent or retrieved from handsets.

Segway files suit against copycats

Segway, maker of the self-balancing “people mover” that has struggled to expand beyond a niche market since its splashy debut 13 years ago, is suing its growing number of imitators.

Rethink urged as Singapore bans documentary about political exiles

Censors’ decision on documentary about people who fled the nation from the 1960s to the 1980s draws calls from artists and activists for U-turn

Tan Pin Pin's film To Singapore, With Love not to be shown in public

Tan Pin Pin's film To Singapore, With Love not to be shown in public

Shui On Land leads with 30pc price cuts to woo homebuyers in Chengdu

Shanghai-based developer Shui On Land slashed the price of a residential project in Chengdu by 30 per cent to speed up sales, Chinese media reported on Friday.

Yahoo describes secret court battle with US government over surveillance

Yahoo said on Thursday that the US government threatened to fine the company US$250,000 a day if it did not comply with demands to go along with an expansion of US surveillance by surrendering online information, a step the company regarded as unconstitutional.

Bureaucracy may be wing chun kung fu master’s biggest foe

Ip Chun has helped the martial art pioneered by his father, Yip Man, thrive. But help from the authorities has been severely lacking.

Cutting executive pay at state-owned firms only part of Beijing’s plan

Hu Shuli says the reform will rationalise the roles of the many employees who are both official and executive, amid overall restructuring

7 great restaurants in Singapore that open till late

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New generation of Chinese tycoons putting good causes before money

We begin a fortnightly series profiling the mainland’s economic elite by looking at the China Entrepreneur Club, where their voices can be heard

White Trash Peter Aaron Jeremicjczyk charged with hitting woman singer

An Australian expat, Peter Aaron Jeremicjczyk, was charged in court yesterday for allegedly punching a local jazz singer in the face.

Highly anticipated plans to reform China’s rigid national university entrance exam unveiled

Proposals, to be tested by Shanghai and Zhejiang students in 2017, means admissions will rely less on two-day exam, and more on regular high school tests, Ministry of Education says.

Sacrebleu! French drinkers admit they know little about wine

To the French, wine is more than just a drink. They make it, they quaff large quantities of it and they produce some of the finest in the world. It is officially designated part of the nation’s cultural and gastronomic heritage.

China's Xi urges army to create strategy for information warfare

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UN issues fresh call to Japan over WWII 'comfort women'

A UN watchdog issued a fresh call Friday to Japan to take full blame for forcing women from Korea and elsewhere in Asia to work as sex slaves during World War II.
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Productivity goes negative as China slips towards middle-income trap

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China property launches to deepen inventory overhang, price declines

Property launches in China are set to surge in the latter half of the year with developers sticking to their schedules despite mounting inventories, spelling double trouble for a market hammered by months of falling prices.

Corrupt Chinese hiding in Western nations elude Beijing's 'fox hunt'

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Australian billionaire politician apologizes for TV tirade over China

Australian mining magnate and politician Clive Palmer has apologized to China's ambassador to Australia for a tirade in which he referred to the Chinese government as "bastards", setting off a firestorm in Canberra and Beijing.

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The Gulf of Tonkin episode and the misuse of power

That and other cases raise fears about how a future US president may use military muscle

Big foreign worker dorms faring poorly

Construction firms choosing cheaper option of housing workers on site

Chinese tourists suffering from Paris-syndrome sickness

Grittier side of Paris falls short of their romanticised ideal

Chinese seek freedom, edge at US high schools

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China's elite tighten their belts as crackdown bites

China's big spenders are reining in overt shows of wealth, shelving shopping trips in Hong Kong and Macau gambling sprees in the face of the Communist Party's anti-corruption and frugality drive, analysts say.
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Diaoyu Islands: The Truth

 

 

CIA concedes it spied on U.S. Senate investigators, apologizes

The CIA conceded on Thursday that it had improperly monitored computers used by the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee in an investigation of interrogation tactics and secret prisons for terrorism suspects after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Central Intelligence Agency spokesman Dean Boyd said in a statement that the agency's inspector general had determined that "some CIA employees acted in a manner inconsistent" with an understanding between the agency and the Senate panel.
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CIA director John Brennan lied to you and to the Senate. Fire him.

Private apologies are not enough for a defender of torture, the architect of America’s drone program and the most talented liar in Washington. The nation’s top spy needs to go.
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Osaka police hide 81,000 crimes to clean up image

Osaka police have admitted they did not report more than 81,000 offences over a period of several years in a desperate bid to clean up the region's woeful reputation for street crime.
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Karting track to be built inside Turf Club

It’ll be first permanent CIK- certified facility here, able to hold international races

Japan Rejects UN Call to Take Responsibility for Wartime Sexual Slavery

Japan has rejected a call by the UN's human rights watchdog that it should accept full blame for pressing Asian women into wartime sexual slavery in military brothels, in what was clearly the largest case of human trafficking in the 20th century.
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UN watchdog urges Japan to accept blame for 'comfort women'

The United Nations has called on Japan to accept full blame for pressing women from Korea and other Asian nations into sexual slavery during World War II.
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U.N. panel tells Japan to compensate 'comfort women'

A United Nations human rights agency is calling on Japan to guarantee independent investigations of wartime sex slavery and provide a public apology and compensation to the women who were victims.
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China commerce minister chastises US after WTO victory

China's commerce minister hit out at the United States on Thursday, urging it not to be a "rule-breaker" after the World Trade Organization (WTO) handed Beijing initial victory in a trade dispute.
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Magnate allays fears of Iskandar building glut

This comes against a backdrop of roll-out of mammoth projects by big Chinese developers

Why complicate the COE system even more?

130 hp power limit for Cat A too complex to implement

US law still reigns supreme in global economy

Some bristle at BNP Paribas fine and Fatca but are helpless in face of worldwide use of greenback

Bruised and grumbling, foreign banks bend to U.S. rules

Financiers may grumble that the United States is acting like an imperial power in punishing foreign banks for dealings far beyond U.S. territory, but in the end they are more likely to bow to Washington than kick against its dollar muscle.

In an expletive-charged broadside, the executive was quoted as saying: "You ... Americans! Who are you to tell us, the rest of the world, that we're not going to deal with Iranians?"

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‘Bamboo ceiling’ hampering Asians in Australia

A “bamboo ceiling” exists in Australia for Asians entering positions of power in business, education and politics, the country’s race discrimination commissioner has suggested.

Part of Unit 731 War Crimes Museum, with evidence of human experimentation, to open next year

The research lab where biological warfare was tested during the second Sino-Japanese war is being cleared in Harbin, Heilongjiang province

Is Batu Pahat in Johor the next Iskandar?

Developing the area could signify the northward expansion of the Singapore-Johor megalopolis

10 Best Places to Eat in Malacca

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Snowden effect changes US-China dynamic on cybersecurity

The whistle-blower’s revelations of the extent of NSA spying gave Beijing a stronger hand in negotiations on the issue of cybersecurity

Don't text and drive

Unsold homes big drag on developers' coffers

Punishing fees seen incentivising some to reprice projects to move sales in near term

Virginia’s “comfort women” memorial reveals Asian tensions

In Virginia, US, a memorial dedicated to “comfort women” reveals that Asian Americans are not all quite so ready to forgive and forget.

An Open Letter to the Prime Minster

I had thought to keep quiet during this period of political transition while watching events unfold. But what is happening currently has perturbed me enough to want to do another commentary. I have cast it in the form of a direct letter to the PM, to convey a greater sense of urgency.

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For One Tiananmen-Era Student, a Very Different Path to Power

A few days after the crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests 25 years ago, the Chinese government filled the airwaves with a list of the 21 most wanted student leaders accused of stirring up an antigovernment rebellion. At the top of the list was a 20-year-old student at Peking University named Wang Dan, who set up an unofficial student union to mobilize his classmates to demand democracy.

Slump in China’s wine market forces shake-out, rethink

The sudden slowdown in wine sales to the mainland is forcing merchants to refine their sales strategies, attendees at last week’s Vinexpo trade show in Hong Kong said.

Documents show Japan complicit in WWII sex slavery

Activists said Monday they had a trove of documents proving the Japanese military was complicit in the wartime system of sex slavery, despite nationalist quibbles over responsibility.
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US network NBC 'cut Snowden remarks' on 9/11 and US spy agencies

Russia's state-backed broadcaster said NBC "neglected" to air "critical statements" Edward Snowden made about the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks during an exclusive interview.

Oliver Stone: 'America always wins'

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Luxury homes left empty in quiet market

Sector hardest-hit by property curbs; some sellers leasing out units instead

China Vanke says property sector’s ‘golden era’ over, demand outlook solid

The days of rapid growth in China’s real estate sector are over, but the government’s urbanisation drive will continue to drive demand for the next 15 years, the country’s biggest residential property developer China Vanke Co Ltd said.

大国崛起

The fashion cycle

Roads are the new runways for a tribe of chic cyclists, who have elevated the mode of transportation into a hipster lifestyle.

Doctor exposes China's medical corruption epidemic

Ordering an unnecessary pacemaker, urging a woman to be hospitalised for a sore throat -- a doctor's allegations of corruption spotlight troubles so endemic in China's healthcare system that patients frequently turn violent.
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Irascible general close to country’s royals

Just months before his retirement, Thai army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday took control of the country eight years after the previous military coup.

Fine Line Seen in U.S. Spying on Companies

The National Security Agency has never said what it was seeking when it invaded the computers of Petrobras, Brazil’s huge national oil company, but angry Brazilians have guesses: the company’s troves of data on Brazil’s offshore oil reserves, or perhaps its plans for allocating licenses for exploration to foreign companies.

With Spy Charges, U.S. Draws a Line That Few Others Recognize

For example, the United States spies regularly for economic advantage when the goal is to support trade talks; when the Clinton administration was locked in a high-stakes negotiation in the 1990s to reach an accord with Japan, it bugged the Japanese negotiator’s limousine. At the time, the chief beneficiaries would have been the Big Three auto companies and a smattering of parts suppliers. It is also widely believed to be using intelligence in support of trade negotiations underway with European and Asian trading partners. But in the view of a succession of Democratic and Republican administrations, that is fair game.

China warns US cyber charges could damage ties

The United States denies spying for commercial advantage, though documents released by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden said the NSA broke into the computers of Brazil's main state-owned oil company, Petrobras. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said if that was true, then the motive would be to gather economic information.
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Singapore billionaire Lim joins Asian owners

Singapore billionaire Peter Lim, the new owner of Valencia, has realised a long-held dream by buying a top European football club -- and will hope for better fortunes than some of his fellow Asian investors.
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Anton Casey goes for online makeover

Briton Anton Casey, who fled to Australia in January after being slammed for denigrating public transport commuters, has made headlines again - this time on purpose.

Meanwhile a spokesman for one website where an article entitled “Financial professional Anton Casey optimistic about Singapore Real Estate Market” was posted said it had been uploaded by a user unaffiliated with its staff. He added that the “unwanted article” was removed as it went against the site’s policy.

How a stand-off at sea led to mob violence in Vietnam

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Singapore protesters attack immigration, jobs policies

Hundreds of Singaporeans rallied Thursday to denounce the government's immigration and labour policies amid a fresh wave of anti-foreigner sentiment in the city-state.
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China releases Japanese wartime documents

China has released previously confidential Japanese wartime documents, including some about comfort women forced to serve in military brothels during World War Two, state media reported.
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Archives reveal “comfort women” official actions of Japan

Forcing women into sex slavery and setting up “comfort stations” were official actions of the invading Japanese army during World War Two in Asian countries, newly publicized wartime archives reveal.

Japan's confidential wartime files about China revealed

China on Saturday published more than 110,000 confidential Japanese documents from wartime to expose Japan's history of invasion.

Fucking Perfect

 

 

Americans still don't trust the stock market

More than five years after the financial crisis, the average American is still wary of the stock market, according to a survey released Monday.
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Investigating Zhou Yongkang Family’s Wealth, China’s Leader Signals a Change

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CIA's 'harsh interrogations' exceeded legal authority

A classified U.S. Senate report found that the CIA's legal justification for the use of harsh interrogation techniques that critics say amount to torture was based on faulty legal reasoning, McClatchy news service reported on Thursday.
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Japan opposition fears Abe 'destabilizing' region

Japan's main opposition leader chided Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for conservative statements on war history and voiced fear he could be a "destabilizing" factor in East Asia.
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CIA misled on interrogation program, Senate report says

A report by the Senate Intelligence Committee concludes that the CIA misled the government and the public about aspects of its brutal interrogation program for years — concealing details about the severity of its methods, overstating the significance of plots and prisoners, and taking credit for critical pieces of intelligence that detainees had in fact surrendered before they were subjected to harsh techniques.
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Neville Maxwell interview: the full transcript

In his first interview after a Snowden-style disclosure of the contentious secret report on the 1962 China-India war, Neville Maxwell tells Debasish Roy Chowdhury of the South China Morning Post what the 50-year-old document means for the future of China-India relations.

Neville Maxwell discloses document revealing that India provoked China into 1962 border war

Journalist’s Snowden-like revelations about 1962 war boost China’s claims of ‘peaceful rise’

China seizes $14.5 billion assets from family, associates of ex-security chief - sources

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Legendary "Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee" Opens in Singapore

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NSA infiltrates servers of China telecom giant Huawei

The U.S. National Security Agency has infiltrated servers in the headquarters of Chinese telecommunications and internet giant Huawei Technologies Co, obtaining sensitive information and monitoring the communications of top executives, the New York Times reported on Saturday.
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Russia won’t take an unreliable West at its word

The revival of East-West tension over Ukraine looks thoroughly geopolitical. But the context is bad economics. In the last century, Russia was damaged by flawed ideologies which originated in the West. And today it is damaged by Western economic policy.

‘No link’ between pilot’s politics and loss of Flight 370

Reports linking the pilot’s political affiliation to the plane’s disappearance were dismissed as wild, groundless allegations by the Malaysian opposition People’s Justice Party, of which the captain is a life member.

Police too soft on foreign workers in area: Shopkeepers

A group of shopkeepers in Little India who witnessed the violence unfold on Dec 8 told the Committee of Inquiry (COI) yesterday that the police have been too soft on foreign workers who congregate in the area.

Donnino Rossetti, Italian restaurant owner jailed for attacking cabby in Singapore

Shanghai men attracted to plump women

A survey by a matchmaking website has confirmed a long-held suspicion — that Shanghai men prefer chubby, well-rounded women compared to their brethren elsewhere in China.

Poorest doc jailed for big money transfers to lover

How China's official bank card is used to smuggle money

Growing numbers of Chinese are using the country's state-backed bankcards to illegally spirit billions of dollars abroad, a Reuters examination has found.
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10 Stunning Spas You Won’t Believe Exist in Singapore

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Japanese historians slam sex-slave apology review

A group of Japanese historians on Friday stood behind their government's 1993 apology over wartime sex slavery, slamming Tokyo's possible move to revise it as "unforgivable".
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The golden fields of Luoping

 

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The international law basis behind China’s claims

Many have called on China to base its claims in the South China Sea on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos). In fact, Unclos might not be the proper forum for China’s claims. Customary international law, which recognises historical claims of the kind China is putting forth, might be a more apt avenue.

Former NUS law don Tey Tsun Hang acquitted of corruption charges on appeal

Former National University of Singapore law professor Tey Tsun Hang, who was previously convicted in a sex-for-grades scandal, was on Friday morning acquitted of all his charges in Singapore’s High Court on appeal.
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UK, US spies 'stored millions of Yahoo webcam images'

US senators said British and US spy agencies showed a "breathtaking lack of respect" for privacy after reports they had intercepted and stored images from webcams used by millions of Yahoo users.
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Nanjing massacre memorial stirs strong emotions in China

The skulls, bones, and names of thousands of dead at the Nanjing massacre memorial stand as a stark demonstration of China and Japan's inability to move beyond history in their increasingly tense relationship.
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15 Incredible Malaysian Beaches for the perfect getaway

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White trash cyclist in Singapore

 

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5 Cheap and Good Places to Get Your Sushi Fix in Singapore

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Japan considers revision of comfort women apology

Japan is to consider revising its landmark apology for its wartime system of sex slavery, a top official said on Monday, in a move likely to draw fury in South Korea and beyond.