New taxi app takes disruption up a level

Singapore on Wednesday said hello to Hailo, a London-based taxi-booking app, and at least the fifth such third-party platform (after GrabTaxi, Easy Taxi, MoobiTaxi and UberTAXI) to hit the roads here in the last two years - a move observers say should further unnerve “traditional” taxi companies that continue to dismiss disruptive technologies.

UN rebukes Israel over Jerusalem settlements

BBC

Bar Association slams Occupy Central for flouting injunctions to clear streets

Protesters criticised by Bar for flouting court orders, as doctors sign petition to end sit-ins

Occupy leaders refuse to reveal who donated HK$1.3m that co-founder passed to HKU

Occupy Central last night declined to reveal the source of HK$1.3 million in donations that movement co-founder Reverend Chu Yiu-ming passed on to fellow organiser Benny Tai Yiu-ting.

AIIB: Yet another symbol of the changing balance of global power

The birth of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People last Friday is yet another reminder that the global balance of economic and political power is shifting. The United States is still a superpower but US-inspired regional institutions can no longer expect to have the field to themselves.

US used Nazis as Cold War spies

BBC Link

Woman Destroys Taoist Prayer Items At HDB Void Deck

Singapore inks deal to establish regional bank for infrastructure development

Link

China, 21 other countries initiate new Asian bank

Link

US pressured on 3 Nations to stay out of AIIB

Link

Taxis vs Uber saga

This is one perfect example of people’s resistance to change.

How the elite ‘fox hunt’ police taskforce scours the world for fugitives who have fled overseas

Mainland media reveal details of how a clutch of suspects, including allegedly corrupt officials and businessmen, fled before being brought to justice.

Ex-justice secretary Wong part of expert team who trained students for crunch talks

Australia poised to seize assets of corrupt Chinese

Link

Occupy protests leave Hong Kong directionless, divided and further from its democracy goal than ever

Michael Chugani says the Occupy protests have changed Hong Kong forever, but greater democracy is further away than ever

'External forces' involved in Hong Kong protests

Link

China set to introduce major legal reforms

China is set to unveil key legal reforms this week that will try to limit the influence local officials have on court cases, a move being closely watched by company executives who hope it will make the legal system more impartial.

Australia set to help China seize assets of corrupt Chinese officials

Australian police have agreed to assist China in the extradition and seizure of assets of corrupt Chinese officials who have fled with hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit funds, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported on Monday.

Presumed Guilty in China’s War on Corruption, Targets Suffer Abuses

Catherine Lim launch of latest book

Link

Shake-up ahead for car loans?

CITIBANK is upending the traditional vehicle financing model here by pre-qualifying customers for car loans - thus bypassing the motor industry, which could lose millions of dollars in finance commissions if this practice is eventually adopted by other banks.

Hong Kong’s Basic Law and political reform

Hong Kong has a Constitution which currently sets out the extent and limits of Beijing’s authority over the selection of the territory’s Chief Executive

The day China entered the nuclear age

Fifty years ago, the world woke up to news the nation - then at odds with Moscow and Washington - had detonated its own atomic bomb

Why Singapore graduates aren't getting the right jobs

A university degree may no longer be the golden ticket to an ideal job in Singapore amid a growing pool of degree holders and fast-changing economy.
CNBC

U.S. slaughter of Iraqi prisoners

U.S. army massacre at Rumaila
Link

Japan Rebuffed Over U.N. Report on Wartime Brothels

The Japanese government has asked for the partial retraction of a nearly two-decade-old United Nations report on women forced to work in Japanese military brothels, but the report’s author has refused the request, a Japanese government spokesman said on Thursday.

Corruption probe puts heat on Agile Property

Detention of chairman not the first time firm is placed in the spotlight, having been involved in sexual assault and corruption cases previously

Driving to the Terminal 1 Car Park

U.S. reviews Waldorf Astoria sale to Chinese firm

Reuters

Confederation of Trade Unions received grants from US-based NGO according to files sent to media

Signs that US is behind the protest in Hong Kong

NSA may have undercover agents in Chinese companies

New revelations from documents leaked by US National Security Agency whistle-blower Edward Snowden, which suggested the NSA may have undercover agents in mainland companies, have prompted criticism from Beijing.

US is biggest hacker, Chinese military expert says

Snowden’s latest revelations and government statistics show America is the real world police, Zhang Junshe claims

Not all smiles for some retirees in Chiang Mai

Foreigners who do not plan ahead could end up abandoned and alone, infirm and destitute

Seiji Yoshida’s lies about “comfort women” exploited by Japan’s right

Seiji Yoshida’s fabrications about kidnapping Korean ‘comfort women’ have been an excuse to keep denying the darkest aspects of nation’s past

New documentary on Edward Snowden covers NSA whistleblower’s Hong Kong revelations

Premier of a documentary about NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden offers an intimate portrait of man prepared to risk losing his freedom in order to expose government surveillance

Triads See Underworld Business Hurt by Hong Kong Protests

As thousands of pro-democracy protesters thronged Hong Kong’s major retail and business districts, blocking roads and forcing shops to close, it wasn’t just legal establishments feeling the pain.

Bloomberg Link

You Could Make $50,000 Selling Your Luxury Bag Online

Two years ago, Marie Green, a San Diego fashion stylist, was running out of closet space. She was spending $12,000 to $20,000 a year on high-end clothing, handbags, and shoes -- but couldn’t wear it all. Then she discovered the RealReal, an online reseller of luxury clothing and accessories.

Link

China's high-end car dealers go online in search of second-hand income

A government campaign in China against the high pricing of luxury cars is hitting the profit margins of auto dealers, prompting them to supplement income through the online trading of second-hand vehicles.

Reuters

China’s Plan for Regional Development Bank Runs Into U.S. Opposition

For almost a year, China has been pitching an idea to its neighbors in Asia: a big, internationally funded bank that would offer quick financing for badly needed transportation, telecommunications and energy projects in underdeveloped countries across the region.
Link

Hong Kong's 'silent majority' critical of protests

Link

Why personal secretaries to Chinese leaders are so prone to graft

The job of personal secretary to a senior leader offers ample opportunity to advance in the system and use great influence for corrupt gain

Biography of Emperor Hirohito a whitewash: US historian Herbert Bix

Herbert Bix, the respected US historian and author of Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, has launched a withering criticism of the Imperial Household Agency for attempting to whitewash the emperor’s responsibility for the Second World War.

Hirohito a string-puller, not puppet

Last month, I received a startling e-mail from an employee at one of Japan’s largest newspapers, about a development I’d long awaited.

Precious stones and metals dealers to report cash transactions above S$20,000

A cash transaction reporting regime for precious stones and metals dealers (PSMDs) will be implemented in Singapore from Oct 15.

Court denies woman permission to divorce before completing mandatory 3-year period of marriage

Judge rules that she has insufficient grounds to do so before 3-year mark

Hwa Chong student calls sex-ed booklet by Christian group "bigoted”

Link

Umbrella Generation: Hong Kong's despairing youth split with old guard

Hong Kong's unprecedented student-led democracy rallies have highlighted a stark divide between a disenfranchised younger generation who say they have little to lose, and an older guard who favour pragmatism over protest.
Link

The umbrella revolution won’t give Hong Kong democracy. Protesters should stop calling for it.

This is about inequality, not politics, so democracy can't fix the problem.
Link

Man accused of sexually harassing protester vows to sue Occupy leaders and Apple Daily

A restaurant owner accused of sexually harassing a young female protester may try to sue the organisers of Occupy Central.

Patten aides ‘offered UK passport to Jimmy Lai’

Is Jimmy Lai Britain's MI6 agent?

US Now Admits it is Funding Hong Kong "Occupy Central"

Just as the US admitted shortly after the so-called "Arab Spring" began spreading chaos across the Middle East that it had fully funded, trained, and equipped both mob leaders and heavily armed terrorists years in advance, it is now admitted that the US State Department through a myriad of organizations and NGOs is behind the so-called "Occupy Central" protests in Hong Kong.

US wants to recolonize Hong Kong.

Link

China ‘unlikely’ to give in to HK protesters: Shanmugam

Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam also pointed out the anti-China bias in Western media reports, and urged the people of Hong Kong to consider the implications of a change from the Basic Law.

Evil US Government behind Hong Kong Protests

Previous cables show links between United States agencies and the Hong Kong protest movement

Link

Shoppers’ paradise on Hainan Island gives Hong Kong a run for its money

Massive mall on Hainan is drawing away from city mainlanders keen to snap up luxury goods at duty-free prices while enjoying beach holiday

British White Trash James George Palin

James George Palin punched and shattered the window of a Volkswagen, in a road rage incident on Nov 16 2013, was sentenced to three weeks’ jail yesterday. But Briton James George Palin, 33, is appealing against the sentence and is out on $15,000 bail.

Graft crackdown has paralysed China’s energy industry

Battle against corruption has hit the workings of the state energy sector to such an extent that decisions are becoming torturously slow

Chinese internet regulator sacked and expelled from party over graft

Gao Jianyun was official in high-level taskforce chaired by President Xi Jinping

China's CITIC wins interim injunction in Mineralogy dispute

Link

Clive Palmer's Mineralogy bid to curtail CITIC rights halted by court

But Justice James Edelman said it was a grave concern that Mineralogy had issued notices to CITIC just days after giving an undertaking not to do so. “The spirit of those undertakings were not abided by,” he said.
Link

China's anti-graft drive puts the squeeze on Macau junkets

Macau's casino junket operators are feeling the squeeze as China's anti-corruption drive has blown a hole in the world's biggest gambling hub. Some are shifting players elsewhere, like the Philippines and Vietnam; others are quitting the business.
Link

Luck running out for Singapore's two casinos?

Singapore's two casinos have encountered slowing growth lately, partly due to a more tepid economic outlook. But the root of the sector's problem remains the Government's heavy hand in the industry.

Have Singapore’s casinos lost their mojo?

Singapore's casinos opened their doors in 2010 with great expectations for the market's potential growth, but some analysts believe the party may be over.
Link

The 14 Most Breathtaking Places To Visit In China

Link

The tale of Alibaba and GSK a sign of China’s rise on world stage

Alibaba’s successful IPO and GSK’s record fine for bribery highlight China’s new global clout

PLA reshuffle strengthens Xi Jinping’s hand in corruption fight

Two key ‘princelings’ are set for promotion as president targets corruption and aims to turn world’s largest army into a battle-ready force

China’s VAT reform to impact developers in cooling market

Property and construction sectors likely to see introduction of 11pc value added tax next July, forcing them to overhaul business practices

Defiant Singaporeans watch banned political documentary in Malaysia

To Singapore, With Love Hundreds of defiant Singaporeans protesting censorship gathered in Malaysia to see a documentary banned by regulators in their home country as a threat to national security.

GSK Statement of Apology to the People of China - Full Text

Link

China fines British drugmaker GSK $489 million, jails ex-China head

Reuters

Reuters

Jiaozi Snow Mountain

Link

Wine investors demand refund after firm's 'empty promises'

This company was previously known as the Australian Wine  Index. Same people just different company name now. Run by Australian crooks. People in the wine industry would know the many horrible stories in AWI last few years. Some couldn't even withdraw their own wines from AWI.

World War III Will Erupt over Sea Disputes

A Chinese state-controlled newspaper has run an opinion piece by a military expert urging Beijing to develop its naval forces, for a third world war might break out over sea disputes, with China on the frontlines.
Link

Iron ore miners battle for survival as ‘perfect storm’ hits

High-cost Australian miners are battling for survival as plunging iron ore prices push many to breaking point, with analysts seeing no significant short-term recovery as Chinese demand for steel wanes in line with sliding property prices.

'Forced labor' rife in Malaysian electronics factories

Nearly a third of some 350,000 workers in Malaysia's electronics industry - a crucial link in the international consumer supply chain - suffer from conditions of modern-day slavery such as debt bondage, according to a study funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Link

Snowden: NSA collects mass data on New Zealanders

Link

QS world university rankings 2014

Link

Are Australian Properties Marketed Truthfully to Singapore Investors?

Link

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

Link

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

Link

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.
Link

Productivity goes negative as China slips towards middle-income trap

Link

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'

Link

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.

Reuters Link

AP Link