Jake Ellenberger Out of UFC Singapore Main Event, UFC Taps Hyun Gyu Lim vs ...

The main event for the UFC 's Singapore debut fell apart on Thursday, but the promotion already found a way to put it back together less than 24 hours later.

Jake Ellenberger had to withdraw from the UFC Fight Night 34 main event due to an undisclosed injury on Thursday, but UFC officials quickly moved to insert Hyun Gyu Lim in his stead. Lim will face off with former Strikeforce champion Tarec Saffiedine.

Lim (12-3-1) was already scheduled to fight Kiichi Kunimoto on the card, before being asked to step into the headlining role. Kunimoto will now face Luiz 'Besouro' Dutra, according to UFC officials.

Lim is currently on a seven-fight winning streak including victories in his first two UFC bouts. He knocked out Marcelo Guimaraes at UFC on Fuel TV 8 and Pascal Krauss at UFC 164.

Saffiediene has won his last four fights, including defeating Nate Marquardt for the Strikeforce welterweight championship in his final bout for the company before parent company Zuffa folded it into the UFC.

That was in January, so Saffiedie's UFC debut has been a year in the making.

A Pancrase and Heat veteran, Kunimoto (15-5-2) is riding four consecutive victories into the fight with Dutra. Dutra (11-2-1) is another fighter on a four-fight winning streak. Both Kunimoto and Dutra are making their UFC debuts.

UFC Fight Night 34 is slated for Jan. 4 in Singapore. It will air on Jan. 3 in the United States due to the time difference.

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378 new cases of HIV infections in Singapore so far this year

YourHealth, AsiaOne

SINGAPORE - In the first 10 months of this year, another 378 new cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections were reported among Singapore residents.

In a statement released today, the Ministry of Health said that by extrapolation, it can be expected that the total number of notified HIV cases in 2013 will be similar to that of the 469 cases reported in 2012.

Of the 198 Singapore residents detected with HIV infection in the first six months of 2013, 95 per cent are males. Sexual transmission remained the main mode of HIV transmission as 97 per cent of the 198 cases acquired the infection through the sexual route.

Heterosexual transmission accounted for 43 per cent of these cases while 44 per cent were from homosexual transmission. Ten per cent were from bisexual transmission.

Almost half of the new cases reported in the first half of 2013 were aged 30 to 49 years.

Two in five newly reported cases already had late-stage HIV infection when they were diagnosed. This was lower than the proportion of 50 per cent in previous years.

Slightly over 40 per cent of the newly reported cases from January to June 2013 had their HIV detected when HIV testing was performed in the course of medical care provision. Another 30 per cent were detected during routine programmatic HIV screening while 20 per cent were detected as a result of voluntary HIV screening.

The rest were detected through other types of screening.

When differentiated by sexual transmission, a higher proportion of homosexuals (33 per cent) had their HIV infection detected via voluntary screening compared to heterosexuals (8 per cent).

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8m population by 2030?

SINGAPORE - Earlier this year, Singaporeans balked at the idea of having 6.9 million people on our tiny island. But some experts, including Dr Parag Khanna, Senior Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, has said that Singapore can fit 8 million or more by 2030.

That is, if urban planning plays its part in spreading out the load.

'There is a much more physically devolved Singapore in which the towns play a much stronger role, in which there's much more local economic activity and vibrancy, in which everyone is not cramping down into Orchard or CBD every single day. And that Singapore can most certainly accommodate a couple million more people.'

Dr Khanna was speaking at The Straits Times Global Outlook Forum on Friday.

Population aside, he said that Singapore is also on its way to becoming a leading info state, using technology to canvas information and public opinion.

'As part of the national conversation here, people were creating stories about certain towns and areas within Singapore, and even geo-coding their emotions through various iPhone apps. There are all sorts of ways to harness these technologies.'

In an earlier dialogue, The Straits Times correspondents and economic experts discussed key issues affecting Asia, including increased tension between China, Japan and the United States after Beijing unilaterally established an air defence identification zone over the East China Sea.

Peh Shing Huei, deputy news editor, The Straits Times:

'For Beijing, having this air defence zone is an useful experiment to a certain extent. If this air defence zone over Diao Yu Dao or Senkaku, should pay off in terms of a weak response from the Americans, then that would very much embolden the Chinese government when it comes to Taiwan going forward.

But of course, as we have seen with the B-52 bombers, that experiment has kind of failed and um.. pretty much a miscalculation.'

The Straits Times Global Outlook Forum is now in its second year. Minister for Law and Foreign Affairs K Shanmugam was the event's guest-of-honour.

More foreign properties being launched in Singapore

Overseas property continues to lure local investors with developers seeming to jet in every other weekend offering new launches.

DTZ Singapore research head Lee Lay Keng said about 107 London projects alone, including student accommodation blocks, have been brought to Singapore for sale by various agencies this year.

Consultancy Colliers International data shows an increasing number of Singapore investors have been buying London property over the past 12 months, about 25 per cent more than a year earlier.

Mr Julian Sedgwick of Savills Singapore says: 'It is hard to track the number of different launches in Singapore but we have certainly seen an increase in the number of launches this year compared with last year.'

Neighbours know Singapore will not harm their interests: Shanmugam

Foreign Minister K Shanmugam gave his first comments on allegations that Singapore had spied on its neighbours, saying at The Straits Times Global Outlook Forum on Friday that 'the Indonesians and Malaysians know that we won't do anything to harm their interests'.

He said that on intelligence matters, the Singapore Government will not confirm or deny any specific reports even if they are untrue, because the ensuing back-and-forth would be 'never-ending'.

'You cannot say, this is 5 per cent true or 95 per cent true, that we work with the Americans, Australians, Malaysians and Indonesians on this aspect of counter-terrorism but not this aspect. Never-ending. The point is that the Indonesians and Malaysians know that we won't do anything to harm their interests,' he said.

Asked by moderator, ST editor Warren Fernandez, if the allegations that were published in an Australian newspaper this week would harm Singapore's bilateral ties with Indonesia and Malaysia, Mr Shanmugam said that it should not, as 'what we do is known to all of us.' The pressure of domestic politicking around the allegations would be stronger in Malaysia and Indonesia, but 'that is not new and we just have to deal with it', he added.

In the 90 minute dialogue, Mr Shanmugam was also asked about tensions over China's new air defence identification zone that covers disputed territory with Japan, as well as its ongoing terroritorial disputes in the South China Sea with Asean countries.

He said that all the major players in the ongoing disputes - China, Japan and the United States namely - face pressures of nationalism, and these stand in the way of a resolution.

'In the public arena, China bashing is very fashionable in the US, it's going to require the administration to be able to move beyond that. It's going to require China to be able to handle its own politics. A lot of people think China doesn't have politics but that's untrue. China has a huge amount of politics. Five hundred million netizens are pushing and putting pressure on the leadership. It's going to require Japan to be able to look beyond the purely nationalistic considerations and local domestic considerations.'

True resolutions to the territorial disputes would take time and probably would not happen in his lifetime, said Mr Shanmugam, adding that he hopes only that they would not escalate into military action.

As for what Asean can do to resolve the territorial disputes in the South China Sea between some of its member states and China, Mr Shanmugam said that 'we must not kid ourselves that these fundamental national sovereignty issues can be dealt with at multi-national forums.' But he emphasised that peace and stability in the region is the bedrock of Singapore's, and Asean's prosperity, and that recent developments reflect worrying trends.

rchang@sph.com.sg

Goldman Sachs sued in Singapore penny stock saga

Credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermid

A Goldman Sachs sign is seen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, April 16, 2012.

Last month, Blumont Group Ltd, Asiasons Capital Ltd and LionGold Corp Ltd - three firms interlinked by cross shareholdings and common officers - lost a combined market value of about S$8 billion ($6.4 billion) in just three days of trading.

The court case may shed light on the causes of the crash. Both the crash and huge run-ups in their share prices earlier in the year left many in the market mystified, prompting the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the stock exchange to launch an extensive review.

The lawsuit was filed in the High Court in London on November 20 by Quah Su Ling, who held stocks in all three companies and is the chief executive of investment firm IPCO International Ltd, the second-largest shareholder in Blumont. It is being brought against London-based Goldman Sachs International, a fully owned unit of Goldman.

Quah said that on October 2 Goldman demanded she pay back about S$61 million ($49 million) in loans in cash, giving her only 1.5 hours to do so, according to the filing which was seen by Reuters.

As Quah failed to make the repayment, Goldman issued a notice of default and immediately started to sell Quah's collateral, including shares in investment firm Asiasons, Blumont, a natural resources investment company, and gold miner LionGold, the filing says.

She also said that Goldman neglected to contact Hong Kong-based Vicario Investments Limited, which had agreed to buy 10 million shares each in LionGold and Blumont from her in cash, according to the filing.

'...the Defendant continued to sell the Claimant's LionGold and Blumont shares knowing full well that the continued sale of the said shares would depress the share prices and jeopardize the intended purchase by Vicario,' the filing added.

Sophie Bullock, a spokeswoman for Goldman in London, declined to comment on the case. Quah, who is seeking unspecified damages, could not be reached for comment.

Blumont and Asiasons did not respond to requests for comment about Quah's case. LionGold declined to comment. All three companies have previously denied any wrongdoing in relation to the falls in their share prices.

Contact details for Vicario Investments could not be immediately obtained by Reuters.

The alleged action by Goldman came after Singapore Exchange Ltd on October 1 issued a particularly detailed query to Blumont, asking if its activities had justified an eightfold rise in its share price in the first nine months of the year. The query was one of several made to the three companies in September and early October about the rise in their share prices.

Over the next few days, the three stocks started to plummet, transforming them back into the penny stocks they had once been.

Three other individuals also received demands from Goldman Sachs to repay loans on October 2, including Wong Chin Yong, chief executive officer of Innopac Holdings Ltd, James Hong, executive director at Blumont and Ng Su Ling, a director at LionGold and at the time, also a director at Blumont, according to the court papers.

Hong told Reuters that he was also suing Goldman Sachs but declined to elaborate further. It was not clear if a suit had been filed.

Records from the High Court in London show Ng has filed a lawsuit against Goldman, though details were also not immediately available. Ng could not be reached for comment, while LionGold said that Ng's suit was a personal case and did not relate to the management of the company.

Goldman's Bullock declined to comment on Ng's lawsuit and possible legal action by Hong.

Wong and Innopac, a property and equity investment firm, did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Some brokers in Singapore had put trading restrictions on the stocks during September due to concerns that their value was no longer matched by fundamentals.

The Singapore Exchange queried Asiasons and Blumont twice and LionGold once about their share prices in the weeks leading up to the crash, but did not put in place trading curbs until after the stocks started to fall.

The exchange later came under fire for lifting those trading curbs before the companies could issue clarifications about their stock moves. It has said that it deployed a series of tools to restore stability in the market when the stocks began to fall and that it uses separate measures to investigate possible wrongdoing. ($1 = 1.2543 Singapore dollars)

(Additional reporting by Rachel Armstrong in SINGAPORE and Kirstin Ridley in LONDON; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

Singapore Says Spying Reports Won't Hurt Ties With its Neighbors

Singapore's relations with its Southeast Asian neighbors Malaysia and Indonesia shouldn't be damaged by recent spying allegations, Foreign Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said.

'The Indonesians and Malaysians know we won't do anything to harm their interests,' Shanmugam said at an event today in Singapore. 'Nevertheless, there's such a thing as domestic politics in all three countries.'

Malaysia summoned Singapore's high commissioner earlier this week and said it was 'extremely concerned' about claims of spying by the city state. Indonesia and Malaysia have been key targets for Australian and U.S. intelligence cooperation since the 1970s, facilitated in part by Singapore, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Nov. 25, citing documents leaked by former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.

'When it comes to intelligence, we don't come up and confirm or deny it,' Shanmugam said. 'You cannot be, on intelligence matters, come out and say that's true, that's untrue, this is 5 percent true, that's 95 percent false.'

The spying allegations come as ties between Singapore and Malaysia have improved after half a century of tensions over issues such as water supply and ownership of a railway station, with the two countries cooperating on real estate projects on both sides of the border and seeking to improve transport links. Malaysia is a party alongside Singapore and the U.S. to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations.

Ambassador Withdrawn

In Australia, tensions with Indonesia recently reached the highest point in 14 years after Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono halted cooperation on asylum seekers and military operations and withdrew his ambassador from Canberra in response to phone tapping claims.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Nov. 27 Australia wants to create a 'security round table' with Indonesia as its neighbor pledged to assign a senior official for talks, a sign that those tensions are easing.

Yudhoyono's mobile phone activity was tracked for 15 days in August 2009, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. said on its website Nov. 18, citing documents leaked by Snowden. At least once, intelligence agencies tried to listen to a conversation though the call lasted less than a minute and couldn't be tapped, it said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jasmine Ng in Singapore at jng299@bloomberg.net; Andrea Tan in Singapore at atan17@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rosalind Mathieson at rmathieson3@bloomberg.net

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Singapore Cracks the Whip on Cyber 'Terrorism'

In early November, a video with a distorted voice, faux static and a now-familiar Guy Fawkes mask went viral in the Singaporean online community. Anonymous, it seemed, had turned its attention to Singapore. It was the opening salvo in what would end up being a string of hacked or defaced websites, and energetic discussion on the place of hacking in civil disobedience and activism.

The hackers claimed they were declaring war on the country's government. Speaking out against the relatively new licensing regime for news websites, Anonymous threatened to disrupt government services in early November. Seeing that a single member of the group, known only as 'The Messiah,' had already compromised websites such as that of the Ang Mo Kio Town Council, they were confident that bringing down public service websites would be a piece of cake.

Despite these grandiose threats, none of the major state websites were affected by Anonymous activity. 'The Messiah' did, however, get into the The Straits Times' blog, posting a message of his own. The social media accounts of entertainer Ridhwan Azman were also hacked as punishment for 'dissing the legion.'

These were minor, petty stunts, but Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was not amused. 'It is not just anything goes and you are anonymous, therefore there is no responsibility,' he told reporters. 'You may think you are anonymous. We will make that extra effort to find out who you are.' The comment triggered the defacement of the website of the Prime Minister's Office.

Anonymous and 'The Messiah' claimed to be acting in the interests of the Singaporean people, but gratitude was not forthcoming. In a country where physical protests are frowned upon and very quickly equated with violence and strife, Anonymous' cyber-hacking was seen as little more than cowardice and needless provocation. Instead of a hero, 'The Messiah' was perceived as an immature rabble-rouser.

'[Hacking] causes very real property damage and harm in terms of time and resources, not unlike arson or vandalism,' said former web development director and content producer Alvin Pang. 'I've had to fix hacking attempts on a perfectly innocuous educational campaign site; it's not funny at all, and can have significant financial implications.'

The fact that the cyber-attacks singled out individuals rather than sticking to the original message of protest did little good for the credibility of 'The Messiah' and his colleagues. The government has also been quick to link hacktivism to ideas of violence, vandalism and harm. 'Whether through hacking, vandalism or other illegal actions, such persons only serve to disrupt the lives of other law-abiding citizens and cause unnecessary alarm. We should not allow the actions of a few to affect our sense of safety and security in Singapore,' said a spokesperson of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

No time was wasted in identifying the perpetrators. 35-year-old James Raj Arokiasamy was charged with hacking the Ang Mo Kio Town Council website under the moniker 'The Messiah.' The High Court has yet to decide whether he should be allowed immediate access to his lawyer, and if found guilty he could be fined S$10,000 (approx. USD7,970) and sentenced to three years in jail. Taking into consideration his three prior drug charges, Raj could also receive a further S$20,000 (approx. USD15,940) fine and 10 years in jail for each count.

Another two men have been arrested for their involvement in hacking the website of the President's office and will soon be charged.

Judging from the strong statements of condemnation, it is likely that the government will take a harsh stance against those believed to be involved with the hacks. Speaking before university students, Law Minister K Shanmugam likened cyber-hacking to violent crime: 'Hacking in real terms is nothing short of terrorism. When somebody says, 'you, the Government, or you, the people of Singapore, do this, and if you don't, if you don't agree with me, you don't change the laws, I don't like these laws, I'm going to hack', it is no different from saying, 'if you don't change the laws in the way that I want, I'm going to bomb you or I'm going to put your house on fire or I'm going to do these things to you'.'

Yet this interpretation of hacking might be incomplete. Laurence Putra, organizer of GeekcampSG, points out popular misconceptions. 'Hacking at its roots was never malicious,' he wrote in an email. 'Things that the media call hacking these days are actually cracking.' While hackers come together to build things using their technical know-how, crackers are the ones who enjoy breaking into systems, much like what 'The Messiah' has done.

The distance between hackers and crackers is further explained on the website of NUS Hackers, a student-run organization committed to hacker culture and open-source software: '[B]eing able to break security doesn't make you a hacker any more than being able to hotwire cars makes you an automotive engineer. Unfortunately, many journalists and writers have been fooled into using the word 'hacker' to describe crackers; this irritates real hackers no end. The basic difference is this: hackers build things, crackers break them.'

This need for hackers to clear the air with the public demonstrates the level of misunderstanding and prejudice among the public. ''Cracking' is really a recently invented term used to counter the pejorative sense in which mass media uses the term 'hacking',' explains Chong Kai Xiong, a coder who has worked on free and open-source software. 'It helps to reclaim 'hacking' for programmers.'

The distinction between hacking and cracking is a missing nuance in the debate on cyber-hacking and activism. Equating hacking to violence and terrorism ignores the different contexts and aspects of the issue, and could potentially - and arguably already has - lead to over-reaction by the authorities. Laurence does not deny that hacking could have serious consequences, but warns against generalizing: 'One has to be very careful at classifying these attacks, because it could lead to a dangerous precedent, and potentially make any security research in Singapore illegal.'

Kirsten Han is a writer, videographer and photographer. Originally from Singapore, she has worked on documentary projects around Asia and written for publications including Waging Nonviolence, Asian Correspondent and The Huffington Post.

Singapore Gov't Buys Stake in India's Eros

HONG KONG - Fullerton, an investment fund controlled by Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings, has bought a 7.4% stake in leading Bollywood film distributor Eros International.

The stake was acquired after Eros International this month completed the transfer of its primary share listing from London's second tier Alternative Investment Market to the main New York Stock Exchange.

Eros cut back the scale and pricing of its recent share sale below its initially indicated range. Finally it sold 5 million shares at $11 apiece.

The company, which is operated from London is a major financier of Indian movies and has distribution operations that span India and 50 territories overseas. Most recently it handled Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Ram-Leela' (pictured), adding to a catalog of some 2,000 titles.

With its shares currently trading at $11 the company has a market capitalization of $252 million. It also controls Eros International Media, its Indian subsidiary which has its own separate share listings on both the main Indian bourses.

Singapore arrests two men for govt site breach

Summary: A 17-year-old student and 42-year-old businessmen will be charged for unauthorised modification of computer material, relating to the breach of Istana website belonging to the presidential office.

Two Singaporean men have been arrested over the alleged 'hacking' of the Istana website, which belongs to the presidential office.The two suspects were arrested today and will be charged in court tomorrow, according to a press release by the Singapore Police Force. They two men were identified as suspects earlier in November and brought in for questioning.

Singapore arrests two men for govt site breach.

According to the Straits Times, the two arrested are 17-year-old ITE student Melvin Teo and 42-year-old Delson Moo. Teo had told the news agency earlier that 'it was a purely stupid mistake'.

They will be charged with an offence of unauthorised modification of computer material under Section 5(1) of the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act, Chapter 50A. They can be fined up to S$10,000 (US$8,000), jailed up to three years or both.

Investigations are still ongoing for two separate cases involving government sites, one belonging to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the other belonging to Ang Mo Kio Town Council involving the alleged 'Messiah' hacker. A spate of other cyberattacks including the defacement of Singapore sites have been linked to the 'Messiah' hacker.

In early November, the PMO and Istana sites were subject cross-scripting hacks a day after Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong pledged to 'spare no effort' to 'track down' hackers who targeted Singapore's IT infrastructure. Lee was responding to earlier threats by a hacker called 'The Messiah', who claimed to be part of the Anonymous group and posted a YouTube video in protest of the Singapore government's online media licensing rule..

Singapore's Home

Singapore's home-price decline accelerated in October, falling 1.2 percent from the previous month, adding to evidence that the government's efforts to cool the property market are working.

The city-state's residential property index fell to 159.1 points last month after declining a revised 0.9 percent in September, according to the National University of Singapore's Singapore Residential Price Index. The measure tracking prices in the central region decreased 1.4 percent in October.

Record home prices amid low interest rates raised concerns of a housing bubble and prompted the city-state to introduce new taxes and higher minimum down-payments since 2009 to curb speculation in Asia's second-most expensive housing market. Home sales have been falling in the past four months after the government imposed new rules in June governing how financial institutions grant property loans to individuals.

'The latest statistics is a reflection of the current measures starting to bite the residential market,' said Alice Tan, head of consultancy and research at Knight Frank LLP, in Singapore. 'Price quantum is still the key consideration for many prospective homebuyers.'

Home sales fell 19 percent in October to 1,009 units from a month ago, according to data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority released Nov. 15. From the previous year, sales dropped 48 percent, the data showed.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jasmine Ng in Singapore at jng299@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andreea Papuc at apapuc1@bloomberg.net

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Sampling a Tasty Sliver of Singapore's Cuisine

On the small sidewalk that hugs a corner coffee shop in the Tiong Bahru neighborhood in Singapore, a long line was once again firmly in place. Though it was just late morning, people had gathered to make sure they'd get a morsel of the lunch treats sold out of the closet-size stall that is Loo's Hainanese Curry Rice.

The view through the oil-slicked window that separates the line from the food revealed a handful of narrow shelves packed with dishes filled with mounds of juicy squid drenched in spicy tamarind gravy, pork belly braised in a sweet soy sauce, chicken slathered in fermented shrimp paste and deep-fried to crispy perfection and, finally, crunchy planks of thin pork chops coated in a saltine-cracker crumble and fried.

What you would not find here is Hainanese chicken rice. Though it is arguably Singapore's most famous dish, there is much more to Hainanese cuisine in the country. It has a breadth that serves as a reminder of Singapore's colorful migrant history and is one of the country's first fusion foods.

The Hainanese style of cooking in Singapore can be traced back to immigrants from Hainan Island in China, who began arriving after the British established a trading port there in 1819. Among the wave of Chinese, people from Hainan were among the slowest to arrive, a fact that dictated the trade they would take up. 'They were pretty much the last people on the boat,' said Yin Phua, a Singapore-based food and travel TV producer who is of Hainanese descent. 'What was left when they got here was jobs in the kitchen.'

These kitchens were often in colonial households, where the Hainanese, known as 'cookboys,' learned to make standard British dishes such as roast beef but also adapted some Hainanese dishes using British or Southeast Asian touches, said Cynthia Chou, a native Singaporean who is associate professor and head of the Southeast Asian Studies section at the University of Copenhagen. Along the way, they 'also acquired innovative techniques to use whatever available condiments there were to recast the dishes,' she said. Hainanese chicken rice, for example, is spiced up with chile and tropical pandan leaves, and tastes unlike the typical chicken dishes you'd find on the actual Hainan Island.

After World War II, when the British began leaving Singapore and kitchen jobs dried up, the Hainanese cooks began setting up snack counters and hawker stalls selling British-inflected Chinese dishes, Ms. Chou said, signifying the beginning of Hainanese cuisine in the country.

Hainanese food is one of several delicious varieties of ethnic Chinese food you'll find in Singapore's hawker centers, restaurants and homes. Beloved Teochew-style porridges, Fukienese fried seafood noodles and hearty Cantonese soups have, over the decades, become tightly woven into Singapore's gastronomic fabric.

In my many years of living in the United States after growing up in Singapore, as Singapore's cuisine has become more internationally known, people have often asked me about Hainanese chicken rice - which is tasty, to be sure. But as delectable as it is, I've long known that it represents just the tip of the iceberg. So, on a trip back to Singapore last year, I was determined to more fully investigate this sliver of my country's cuisine - and refresh my Hainanese palate.

One evening, I was making good on a promise to take my family to a good Hainanese meal, and was soon leading them past smoky karaoke bars and shops offering young Vietnamese brides for a fee in Golden Mile Tower, among the sleaziest of Singapore's shopping malls. My family, though very adventurous and food-loving, had never been to the restaurant we were heading to (or spent much time in this mall) before. But a Hainanese-Singaporean friend had highly recommended it. And as the smells and chopstick sounds from a restaurant in a bright basement began to hit us, their anxiety dissipated.

The Golden Mile Thien Kee Steamboat is a cavernous place whose dozens of tables are each anchored with a large silver bowl set atop a burner in the center. Though the place bills itself as a Hainanese restaurant, its signature dish, the steamboat (or hot pot), is a generic Chinese dish in Singapore. But it was tasty anyway, especially as the broth became milkier and sweeter after we cooked liver, fish, maw, eggs and more in it.

But the standout here was the pork chops - the crust had a lovely crunch to it, and its tomato sauce was delicious. Equally remarkable was the fact that it had pork satay on the menu, a Hainanese dish that has become harder to find in recent years. As nicely grilled as it was, it only made me think of a certain satay man elsewhere.

I found him a few days later, when I headed to Tiong Bahru once again. From about 2 p.m. onward, a plump man in flip-flops can be seen pushing a large wooden cart along the sidewalks. From the moment he appears, it's only a matter of minutes before a crowd gathers around his cart. Once you've placed your order, he counts out the sticks and grills them on the spot, bundling them up with ketupat (Malay rice cakes packed in coconut leaves) and cucumber.

When eaten right away, the satay is absolutely delicious, with each bite of pork interspersed with a beautifully charred chunk of fat. Dipped into spicy peanut sauce mixed with crushed pineapple - a signature of Hainanese satay - these skewers are mesmerizing.

Even with this smorgasbord, there are still a few Hainanese standards I had yet to try, so I ventured off to Chin Chin Eating House, on Purvis Street, one of Singapore's oldest, most beloved Hainanese restaurants. The setting is basic, little more than a fluorescent-lit coffee shop with chipped tables and plastic stools. But the menu is impressive: It even has delicious Hainanese mutton soup, a thick, dark broth packed with mutton and the flavors of cinnamon, dried dates, star anise and a litany of Chinese herbs; and chap chye, a classic dish of Chinese cabbage and carrots stir-fried with slivers of fish maw.

For the finale to my Hainanese quest, I went to a leafy, rustic corner near Queenstown in Singapore. Nestled amid the trees on Whitchurch Road was ColBar Cafe, a baby-blue wooden shack that looks as if it's firmly stuck in the 1950s. The restaurant did indeed open in 1953 - as a Hainanese-inflected canteen serving the British military. (ColBar is short for Colonial Bar.) And when you step inside, the décor takes you back to those tropical colonial days, with yellowing photos of British soccer and cricket teams lining the walls. On the counter was that day's dessert: brownies perched on a plastic plate floating in a dish of water to keep away the ants.

A curt woman with a shock of white hair who was wearing an old housedress recommended that my mother and I order the Hainanese pork chops, which are not on the menu, but the locals know to order it. The chops were a little more British than the others we'd tried: There's much less breading, and they come tossed with tomatoes, fried potatoes and large peas in a sweet tomato sauce. The Hainanese curry there, too, was different: The gravy was thicker and sweeter, but the chicken itself was just sheer falling-apart goodness.

As my mother pulled out toothpicks from her purse for us, and we sat back in our chairs thinking of our meal, I couldn't help but be thankful.

The Hainanese may have been the last to arrive, but after having eaten my way through many pork chops, mutton soups and curry rices, I'm certainly glad they made it at all.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra to get more leeway to manage its funds

$25m trust fund dissolved; proceeds moved to more flexible endowment fund

Published on Nov 28, 2013 8:08 AM

A successful High Court application by the Singapore Symphonia Company (SSC) has paved the way for its $25 million trust fund to be dissolved and the proceeds transferred to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra's (SSO) endowment fund.

This will give the orchestra flexibility in using the funds, instead of being hampered by the onerous conditions of the trust.

The trust fund - known as the Singapore Totalisator Board Trust - was created by the Tote Board in 1989 for the SSO with the income from the capital sum to help with the orchestra's operations.

The board operates horse racing through the Singapore Turf Club and other forms of betting through Singapore Pools, and manages funding activities from the gaming surpluses.

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Nokia's Lumia 1520 to go on sale in Singapore on Dec 14

Announced at the Nokia World event in Abu Dhabi, the 6-inch Lumia 1520 is possibly the last model from the Finnish company before it sells its hardware division to Microsoft.

Sporting a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, the 1520 is powered by the latest version of Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 operating system, and will have three columns instead of two in its home screen thanks to the large 6-inch full-HD display.

The Nokia Lumia 1520 will retail at S$999 (US$797) and the handset will hit stores on December 14 -- just in time for Christmas. So, if you haven't yet decided on a present for yourself, well, the Lumia 1520 could be just the thing. Also launching on the same day is the budget friendly Lumia 525, which will retail for S$249.

Additionally, Nokia said the Lumia 1320, a similarly sized version will be available in January. Pricing was not announced.

At Haw Par Villa In Singapore, You Just Might See A Breastfeeding Granny

Ok, so there is this famous theme park in Singapore which apparently every Singaporean child has visited and taken a photograph in. Lately, the park is kind of run-down and low on visitors. We're not sure why, though, because it is a SIGHT to behold.

The park is called Haw Par Villa, and it is 'founded on Chinese values.' When walking through, you'll see over 1,000 statues and dioramas that 'dramatize Chinese legend and folklore,' including stories from Buddha and Confucius.

This makes for some pretty nutzo imagery, like the statue of an elderly woman and the exposed chest of a younger lady.

The most chilling part of Haw Par Villa is the Ten Courts of Hell exhibit. It's a series of dioramas that depict, in graphic detail, the various after-death punishments you'll receive for specific sins. According to the Guardian:

Tax dodgers are pounded by a stone mallet, spikes driven into a skeletal chest cavity like a bloodthirsty pestle in mortar. Spot the tiny tongue as it is pulled out of a screaming man, watch the demon flinging a young girl into a hill of knives. Ungratefulness results in a blunt metal rod cutting a very large, fleshly heart out of a woman.

Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par -- the brothers who helped to concoct Tiger Balm -- built the park in 1937 with a goal to 'educate visitors in morality.' Today, admission is free and parents are often overheard reading the exhibits' moralistic explanations aloud to their kids.

We would love to visit, just to hear the proper interpretations of these crazy displays.

Also on HuffPost:

Lithuanian 'Banksy' finds admirers in anti

By Agence France-PresseWednesday, November 27, 2013 7:00 EST

A Lithuanian artist who angered Malaysian officials with a street mural depicting a knife-wielding Lego robber has found unlikely admirers across the border in graffiti-averse Singapore for his works on a softer theme.

Ernest Zacharevic, who has been likened to British graffiti artist Banksy, has seen photos of his murals depicting children playing go viral on Facebook as Singaporeans unused to seeing art on outdoor walls expressed their approval.

Zacharevic received permission from the owners of private buildings in Singapore to paint the child-themed murals in the city's picturesque Muslim trading and dining quarter, thereby avoiding a possible jail term for vandalism.

'It's been a very interesting experience,' the 27-year-old Zacharevic told AFP by telephone.

'They do appreciate it. The moment I get out my tools, people approach me and they ask me what I'm doing,' said the artist, who has a studio in Malaysia's Penang state.

Zacharevic angered Malaysian officials last week after he drew a mural on a wall in the southern city of Johor Baru depicting a woman drawn in the style of a Lego toy walking towards a street corner, where a black-clad, knife-wielding robber waited to pounce.

City officials quickly painted over the mural, an apparent commentary on the city's reputation for crime, which drew on the image of a Legoland theme park which opened nearby last year.

Ordinary Malaysians however lauded the work as it tapped into concerns about the country's crime problem, with photographs of it shared virally on Facebook and cut-out versions popping up across the country.

Vandalism in Singapore is punishable by up to three years in jail or a fine of up to Sg$2,000 ($1,600). Male offenders can also face caning.

In 2010 a Swiss man was jailed and caned for spray painting the signatures of infamous European train vandals on a Singapore metro train.

Zacharevic said there was no overall theme to his murals in Singapore, which also includes bollards painted to depict the yellow-colored 'minion' characters from the animated film 'Despicable Me'.

'I do not carry out any straightforward messages with my art ... I try to provoke people to try to find their own meanings,' he said.

Sampling a Tasty Sliver of Singapore's Cuisine

On the small sidewalk that hugs a corner coffee shop in the Tiong Bahru neighborhood in Singapore, a long line was once again firmly in place. Though it was just late morning, people had gathered to make sure they'd get a morsel of the lunch treats sold out of the closet-size stall that is Loo's Hainanese Curry Rice.

The view through the oil-slicked window that separates the line from the food revealed a handful of narrow shelves packed with dishes filled with mounds of juicy squid drenched in spicy tamarind gravy, pork belly braised in a sweet soy sauce, chicken slathered in fermented shrimp paste and deep-fried to crispy perfection and, finally, crunchy planks of thin pork chops coated in a saltine-cracker crumble and fried.

What you would not find here is Hainanese chicken rice. Though it is arguably Singapore's most famous dish, there is much more to Hainanese cuisine in the country. It has a breadth that serves as a reminder of Singapore's colorful migrant history and is one of the country's first fusion foods.

The Hainanese style of cooking in Singapore can be traced back to immigrants from Hainan Island in China, who began arriving after the British established a trading port there in 1819. Among the wave of Chinese, people from Hainan were among the slowest to arrive, a fact that dictated the trade they would take up. 'They were pretty much the last people on the boat,' said Yin Phua, a Singapore-based food and travel TV producer who is of Hainanese descent. 'What was left when they got here was jobs in the kitchen.'

These kitchens were often in colonial households, where the Hainanese, known as 'cookboys,' learned to make standard British dishes such as roast beef but also adapted some Hainanese dishes using British or Southeast Asian touches, said Cynthia Chou, a native Singaporean who is associate professor and head of the Southeast Asian Studies section at the University of Copenhagen. Along the way, they 'also acquired innovative techniques to use whatever available condiments there were to recast the dishes,' she said. Hainanese chicken rice, for example, is spiced up with chile and tropical pandan leaves, and tastes unlike the typical chicken dishes you'd find on the actual Hainan Island.

After World War II, when the British began leaving Singapore and kitchen jobs dried up, the Hainanese cooks began setting up snack counters and hawker stalls selling British-inflected Chinese dishes, Ms. Chou said, signifying the beginning of Hainanese cuisine in the country.

Hainanese food is one of several delicious varieties of ethnic Chinese food you'll find in Singapore's hawker centers, restaurants and homes. Beloved Teochew-style porridges, Fukienese fried seafood noodles and hearty Cantonese soups have, over the decades, become tightly woven into Singapore's gastronomic fabric.

In my many years of living in the United States after growing up in Singapore, as Singapore's cuisine has become more internationally known, people have often asked me about Hainanese chicken rice - which is tasty, to be sure. But as delectable as it is, I've long known that it represents just the tip of the iceberg. So, on a trip back to Singapore last year, I was determined to more fully investigate this sliver of my country's cuisine - and refresh my Hainanese palate.

One evening, I was making good on a promise to take my family to a good Hainanese meal, and was soon leading them past smoky karaoke bars and shops offering young Vietnamese brides for a fee in Golden Mile Tower, among the sleaziest of Singapore's shopping malls. My family, though very adventurous and food-loving, had never been to the restaurant we were heading to (or spent much time in this mall) before. But a Hainanese-Singaporean friend had highly recommended it. And as the smells and chopstick sounds from a restaurant in a bright basement began to hit us, their anxiety dissipated.

The Golden Mile Thien Kee Steamboat is a cavernous place whose dozens of tables are each anchored with a large silver bowl set atop a burner in the center. Though the place bills itself as a Hainanese restaurant, its signature dish, the steamboat (or hot pot), is a generic Chinese dish in Singapore. But it was tasty anyway, especially as the broth became milkier and sweeter after we cooked liver, fish, maw, eggs and more in it.

But the standout here was the pork chops - the crust had a lovely crunch to it, and its tomato sauce was delicious. Equally remarkable was the fact that it had pork satay on the menu, a Hainanese dish that has become harder to find in recent years. As nicely grilled as it was, it only made me think of a certain satay man elsewhere.

I found him a few days later, when I headed to Tiong Bahru once again. From about 2 p.m. onward, a plump man in flip-flops can be seen pushing a large wooden cart along the sidewalks. From the moment he appears, it's only a matter of minutes before a crowd gathers around his cart. Once you've placed your order, he counts out the sticks and grills them on the spot, bundling them up with ketupat (Malay rice cakes packed in coconut leaves) and cucumber.

When eaten right away, the satay is absolutely delicious, with each bite of pork interspersed with a beautifully charred chunk of fat. Dipped into spicy peanut sauce mixed with crushed pineapple - a signature of Hainanese satay - these skewers are mesmerizing.

Even with this smorgasbord, there are still a few Hainanese standards I had yet to try, so I ventured off to Chin Chin Eating House, on Purvis Street, one of Singapore's oldest, most beloved Hainanese restaurants. The setting is basic, little more than a fluorescent-lit coffee shop with chipped tables and plastic stools. But the menu is impressive: It even has delicious Hainanese mutton soup, a thick, dark broth packed with mutton and the flavors of cinnamon, dried dates, star anise and a litany of Chinese herbs; and chap chye, a classic dish of Chinese cabbage and carrots stir-fried with slivers of fish maw.

For the finale to my Hainanese quest, I went to a leafy, rustic corner near Queenstown in Singapore. Nestled amid the trees on Whitchurch Road was ColBar Cafe, a baby-blue wooden shack that looks as if it's firmly stuck in the 1950s. The restaurant did indeed open in 1953 - as a Hainanese-inflected canteen serving the British military. (ColBar is short for Colonial Bar.) And when you step inside, the décor takes you back to those tropical colonial days, with yellowing photos of British soccer and cricket teams lining the walls. On the counter was that day's dessert: brownies perched on a plastic plate floating in a dish of water to keep away the ants.

A curt woman with a shock of white hair who was wearing an old housedress recommended that my mother and I order the Hainanese pork chops, which are not on the menu, but the locals know to order it. The chops were a little more British than the others we'd tried: There's much less breading, and they come tossed with tomatoes, fried potatoes and large peas in a sweet tomato sauce. The Hainanese curry there, too, was different: The gravy was thicker and sweeter, but the chicken itself was just sheer falling-apart goodness.

As my mother pulled out toothpicks from her purse for us, and we sat back in our chairs thinking of our meal, I couldn't help but be thankful.

The Hainanese may have been the last to arrive, but after having eaten my way through many pork chops, mutton soups and curry rices, I'm certainly glad they made it at all.

Malaysia summons Singapore ambassador over spying concerns

Posted November 27, 2013 04:08:29

Malaysia's government has summoned Singapore's high commissioner for talks, saying it was 'extremely concerned' by reports the city-state helps Western intelligence agencies spy on the region.

Media reports citing documents leaked by former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden put Singapore - a key US ally - at the centre of a spy network that reportedly taps undersea cables.

Citing documents leaked by Mr Snowden, Australia's Sydney Morning Herald said Singapore military intelligence helped US, British and Australian spy agencies harvest data passing through a major undersea cable called SEA-ME-WE 3, which is part-owned by Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel).

The cable connects more than 30 countries, including China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Britain and France.

The newspaper said Malaysia and Indonesia have been key targets for Australian and Singapore intelligence collaboration since the 1970s.

SingTel declined to comment, while Singapore's defence ministry did not respond to queries, and its foreign affairs ministry did not immediately provide a comment.

'If those allegations are eventually proven, it is certainly a serious matter that the Government of Malaysia strongly rejects and abhors,' Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said.

'It cannot be overemphasised that spying against a good friend and neighbour is unacceptable and goes against the true spirit of, and commitment to, good neighbourly relations.'

Last week, Indonesia downgraded diplomatic ties with Australia,a following media reports that Canberra spied on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife.

However, on Tuesday Mr Yudhoyono struck a conciliatory tone after receiving a letter from Mr Abbott.

The letter contained a 'commitment from the Australian PM that Australia will not do anything in the future that will disadvantage or disturb Indonesia', the President said.

But even as tensions calmed with Canberra, they threatened to escalate elsewhere, with Mr Yudhoyono saying his government would summon the South Korean and Singaporean envoys over new espionage claims.

Reuters/ AFP/ Kyodo

Singapore ambassador to Indonesia summoned over reports of spying

Published on Nov 26, 2013 9:55 PM

INDONESIA'S Vice-Foreign Minister Mr Wardana summoned Singapore ambassador to Indonesia Anil Kumar Nayar on Tuesday to clarify reports that Singapore had assisted Australia and the United States in spying on countries in the region, The Straits Times understands.

The meeting came as Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he has instructed Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa to clarify with the ambassadors of Singapore and South Korea reports that their countries assisted Australia and the United States in electronic surveillance of Asian countries.

Dr Natalegawa was in Bahrain on a working visit.

In his remarks, Dr Yudhoyono referred to Singapore and South Korea as 'friends', noting that the allegations of their involvement in monitoring undersea communications were not specific to Indonesia, but in Asia.

His remarks come as Dutch and Australian media over the weekend reported the involvement of both countries in working with 'Five Eyes' intelligence partners, including the US and Australia, based on documents from US intelligence whistle blower Edward Snowden.

These reports also cited the involvement of Australia and Singapore intelligence in accessing and sharing communications carried by major international undersea cables.

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Spying reports: KL and Jakarta call in Singapore envoys

Envoy in KL says S'pore has no interest in doing anything that harms friendship

Published on Nov 27, 2013 7:04 AM

Malaysia and Indonesia called in Singapore envoys yesterday, seeking clarifications to Australian media reports that suggested the Republic's intelligence arms were working with Western nations to spy on their countries.

In Kuala Lumpur, the Singapore High Commission denied knowledge of helping the United States spy on Malaysia, and said it had no interest in harming the friendship between the city-state and its neighbour.

Singapore High Commissioner Ong Keng Yong told Malaysian officials he does not have information about allegations in Australian media that the city-state helped facilitate American-Australian surveillance in the region, including spying on Malaysia.

The summons came after the Australian media reported at the weekend that Singapore was part of the '5-Eyes' intelligence group which had tapped telephones and monitored communication networks in Kuala Lumpur, citing secret documents leaked by former US intelligence contractor turned whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

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Malaysia summons Singapore envoy over spying claims

Malaysia's foreign ministry has summoned a senior Singaporean diplomat over allegations that the city-state helped the US and Australia tap telecommunications links in Asia for espionage purposes.

Singapore's government has not publicly responded to the allegations, which were published on Monday in Australia's Sydney Morning Herald and cite documents from National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The Malaysianforeign minister, Anifah Aman, said in a statement that his ministry was seeking clarification from Singapore's high commissioner to Malaysia.

'If those allegations are eventually proven, it is certainly a serious matter that the government of Malaysia strongly rejects and abhors,' Anifah said. He said spying against a good friend and neighbour was unacceptable.

Anifah's ministry earlier this month protested to US and Australian embassy officials over accusations that their diplomatic missions house surveillance equipment used to collect electronic communications.

The Sydney Morning Herald report said an NSA map published by Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad this week confirmed that Singapore played a role in helping the US and other intelligence partners tap undersea cables.

Similar spying allegations rocked relations between Indonesia and Australia this month, with Jakarta recalling its ambassador, downgrading relations and suspending co-operation on people-trafficking after claims of Australian tapping the phones of Indonesia's president, his wife and eight Indonesian ministers and officials in 2009.

Last Call for the Long Haul From Singapore to Newark

New York TimesLast Call for the Long Haul From Singapore to NewarkNew York TimesSingapore Airlines is reputed to treat its passengers regally, but not like this. Weeks after announcing that the Singapore-Newark route that reigned as the globe's lengthiest nonstop flight would be “retired,” the company was holding a retirement ...

Broken ferry set for Singapore repair job

TIM DONOGHUE

The Aratere could become a slow boat to Singapore by the end of the year.

KiwiRail chief executive Jim Quinn confirmed last night that Singapore loomed as the most likely dry-dock destination for the crippled ferry to have either one or two of its propeller shafts replaced.

Whether it will be towed there by a tug or allowed to go on its one propeller will be determined by classification society Det Norske Veritas and Maritime NZ. Until they are satisfied, it cannot leave port.

Its missing starboard propeller, which broke off outside Tory Channel on November 5, was found and photographed about 120 metres beneath the surface by a remote- controlled underwater vehicle on Saturday.

Once it is raised - which could be several weeks away, depending on the weather - it will be taken to the Transport Accident Investigation Commission workshop in Seaview, Lower Hutt, where it will be examined as part of the inquiry into the accident.

A metallurgist has already been commissioned to look at the broken propeller shaft.

A voyage to Singapore, on one propeller, at a speed of about 24kmh, could take three weeks. The return journey, with two operating propellers, would take about two weeks.

Mr Quinn expected a fully operational Aratere to return from Singapore by late March or April.

'We are getting quotes for two shafts just in case we need them,' he said.

'We are wanting to take the most sensible path and not spend a stupid amount of money.

'A new shaft or shafts could easily be flown to Singapore from anywhere in the world.'

InterIslander officials are currently in Europe looking at possible temporary replacements for the Aratere.

Mr Quinn expected a replacement could be operating on the strait by sometime in January, and he wanted it to remain in service while the Arahura, another of Interislander's ferries, was scheduled for routine dry docking at Devonport next year.

Recovering Aratere's lost propeller could be a risky job, salvage company Seaworks has warned. Executive Steve MacIntyre said the propeller could fall out of the lifting equipment and be lost.

The company would probably use its survey vessel Seasurveyor, the unmanned submarine and another ship in the salvage effort, he told Radio New Zealand.

- © Fairfax NZ News Comments

Malaysia summons Singapore envoy

Malaysia said it will summon Singapore's high commissioner on Tuesday to respond to allegations of spying which risk damaging improved political and business ties between the Southeast Asian neighbours.

Indonesia and Malaysia have been key targets for Australian and United States intelligence cooperation since the 1970s, facilitated in part by Singapore, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Monday, citing documents leaked by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.

Malaysia's foreign ministry said it was 'extremely concerned' and had already acted against earlier claims of espionage by the US and Australia.

'It cannot be overemphasised that spying against a good friend and neighbour is unacceptable and goes against the true spirit of and commitment to good neighbourly relations,' Anifah Aman, Malaysia's foreign minister, said in an e-mailed statement late Monday. 'If those allegations are eventually proven, it is certainly a serious matter.'

Relations between Singapore and Malaysia have improved after half a century of tensions over issues such as water supply and ownership of a railway station, with the neighbours cooperating on real estate projects on both sides of the border and seeking to improve transport links. Malaysia is a party to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks with Singapore and the US.

'Accepted Norms'

Ong Keng Yong, Singapore's High Commissioner to Malaysia, confirmed by phone on Tuesday that he had been called to meet senior foreign ministry officials on Tuesday morning.

The Sydney Morning Herald cited a map from the US National Security Agency and leaked by Snowden showing Singapore forming part of a global network where cable traffic could be tapped. Michele Batchelor, a spokeswoman for Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, declined to comment. SingTel is 52%-owned by Temasek Holdings Pte, Singapore's state-owned investment company.

Malaysia said in a statement last month it had sought clarification from US Ambassador Joseph Y Yun following allegations by Snowden that the US had 90 electronic surveillance facilities worldwide, including at its Kuala Lumpur embassy. Yun said he had received instructions to review the scope of surveillance, it said, without giving details.

'I don't think we should be surprised that these sort of diplomatic statecraft are being practiced, even by the closest of neighbours,' said Eugene Tan, an associate law professor at Singapore Management University. 'The question now is whether some of the intelligence gathering may have crossed accepted norms.'

Indonesia Friction

The reports could also spur friction between Singapore and Indonesia, Tan said. 'The Indonesians would probably be concerned whether the information is also being shared with Singapore intelligence, besides the Australians.'

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has written to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as he seeks to repair relations after claims the phones of Indonesia's leaders were tapped.

Yudhoyono halted cooperation with the Abbott government on asylum seekers and military operations after withdrawing his ambassador from Canberra last week, as tensions between the two countries reached their highest point in 14 years.

Yudhoyono's spokesman Teuku Faizasyah did not respond to a mobile phone message seeking comment.

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Malaysia summons Singapore envoy amid spying claims

Malaysia has summoned Singapore's envoy over reports that Singapore assisted in US spying across Asia.

Singapore and South Korea helped the US and Australia intercept communications across Asia, media reports citing leaked documents said.

Indonesia and Malaysia had been targets for decades, Australia's Sydney Morning Herald added.

Reports of the spying allegations came out from documents leaked by US whistleblower Edward Snowden.

'It cannot be overemphasised that spying against a good friend and neighbour is unacceptable,' Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said in a statement.

Malaysia was 'extremely concerned' over the allegations, he added.

Singaporean High Commissioner Ong Keng Yong confirmed to reporters that he had been summoned to Malaysia's foreign ministry on Tuesday.

Intelligence collaboration

The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported on Monday that Singapore and South Korea were helping the US tap high speed undersea fibre optic cables.

It cited a map apparently leaked by Mr Snowden and published by Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, which appeared to identify a network where underwater telecommunications links were being incepted.

Singapore was listed as one of the locations where information could be accessed.

Australia and Singapore had collaborated on gathering intelligence on Indonesia and Malaysia since the 1970s, SMH added.

There was no immediate comment from the Singaporean government.

Malaysian officials have already sent letters of protest to the US and Australia, but Singapore is a traditional rival, the BBC's Jennifer Pak reports from Kuala Lumpur.

Although Malaysia has improved relations with Singapore in recent years, this latest allegation will put pressure on Prime Minister Najib Razak to send a stronger signal that Malaysia will not tolerate any spying from its neighbours, our correspondent adds.

It is the latest in a series of spying allegations to hit the region.

Indonesia halted military co-operation with Australia and downgraded ties after reports said that Australia spied on the phone calls of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Earlier this month, the Malaysian government also summoned US and Australian envoys in Kuala Lumpur over allegations of a US-led spying network in Asia.

The allegations came from leaked US National Security Agency documents provided by former NSA employee Edward Snowden.

Mr Snowden has been granted temporary asylum in Russia and is wanted in the US in connection with the unauthorised disclosures.

KL to summon Singapore envoy for clarification on spying allegations

Malaysia will summon Singapore's High Commissioner, Mr Ong Keng Yong, today to seek a clarification over reports that allege Singapore is involved in spying activities against Malaysia.

In a statement issued late last night, Malaysia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, said the country was investigating the matter.

'The Malaysian authorities have taken appropriate actions with regard to earlier allegations of spying by the United States and Australia. The Malaysian authorities are now investigating thoroughly the latest media report about the involvement of other countries, in particular Singapore, in the spying activities against Malaysia,' the press statement said.

The statement comes after Australian newspapers claimed that secret documents leaked by former US intelligence contractor turned whistle-blower Edward Snowden had shown that Singapore and South Korea were helping the US and Australia tap undersea telecommunications links in Asia. These articles were picked up by the Malaysian press.

Singapore Airlines stops world's longest flight

THE world's longest non-stop commercial flight ended without fanfare Monday after Singapore Airlines (SIA) flew its last nearly 19-hour service from New York.

Flight SQ 21 landed early Monday in Changi Airport, bringing an end to a nine-year run. A direct service to Los Angeles has also been cancelled as part of a fleet renewal.

'Food and refreshments were served to customers at the airport gate hold rooms in Singapore and Newark. Customers were also presented with commemorative gift sets and certificates,' an SIA spokesman added.

Analysts said the rise in fuel prices since 2004, when the 15,335-kilometre service was launched to cater to business travellers, made it economically unsustainable.

The cancellation of the service was first announced a year ago. Five Airbus A340-500s used by SIA for the service to New York - through neighbouring Newark - are being swapped for Airbus A380 superjumbos, a larger but more fuel-efficient model that is not designed for such distances.

The 100-seat, all business-class service to New York was pricey but passengers flew in comfort and saved hours of travel time by not having to make stopovers.

A Singapore travel agency said the last list price for the New York direct service was Sg$14,000 (AUD$12,220).

'Ultra long-range routes have proven to be uneconomical, making it unlikely there will be a return of flights over 17 hours, which can only be flown by the niche A340-500 or (Boeing) 777-200LR,' the Sydney-based Centre for Aviation said in a commentary in September.

Following the withdrawal of the two direct US services by SIA, three routes will share the distinction of being the longest in terms of duration - Dubai-Houston, Dubai-Los Angeles and Johannesburg-Atlanta - at 16 hours and 20 minutes, the centre said.

In terms of distance, a Qantas flight from Sydney to Dallas will be the longest, but tailwinds enable it to be completed in 15 hours and 20 minutes, it added.

Singapore Airlines announced it will end its non-stop flight between Singapore and Newark last year.

In a statement in October 2012 announcing the shift in its US services, SIA said it was disappointed that it was cancelling the direct flights to Los Angeles and New York but remained committed to the US market.

It now serves New York with a stop in Frankfurt.

A spokesman for Airbus said it was in negotiations 'with a number of potential new operators' for the five A340-500 aircraft previously flown by SIA.

Singapore ready for cloud, but challenges remain

Over the years, Singapore has been focusing on building up its IT infrastructure as part of efforts to support a cloud environment. Businesses are heeding the call, but remain challenged by change management and user education.

Some key government initiatives include the deployment of the country's next-generation nationwide broadband network (NGNBN), commitment to becoming the region's datacenter hub, and opening up the airwaves for local operators to roll out 4G mobile networks.

These were part of the Singapore government's iN2015 10-year blueprint meant to propel the country to be the world's No. 1 in harnessing infocommunication technology and 'add value to the economy and society', according to the website of IT regulator, Infocomm Development Authority (IDA). Other stated goals under the roadmap included a two-fold increase in the value-add of the ICT industry to S$26 billion, as well as a three-fold increase in infocomm export revenue to S$60 billion.

In assessing the government's efforts to provide a comprehensive IT infrastructure on which organizations to capitalize, industry stakeholders told ZDNet Singapore is now ready to support both public and private sector entities to transform their operations to become cloud-enabled.

Info-Tech Research Group defines a cloud-enabled organization as one which IT department has shifted from controlling the procurement and deployment of computing resources, to one that 'enables, integrates, and manages' the utilization of various internal and external cloud-based services and applications.

Public sector leads the way

As with many things, the Singapore government is leading the way in terms of moving public sector agencies toward a centralized mode of IT procurement and deployment. Its private cloud infrastructure, also known as G-Cloud, is an example of how it hopes to pave the way for the sharing of IT resources and applications across the public sector. The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) and Ministry of Education are among the early movers to the platform, with others in line to make similar migrations.

Commenting on this, Clement Teo, senior analyst at Forrester Research, said as far as he knows, Singapore is the only country that has a fully functioning government-led cloud, and its approach is 'quite innovative'. But it is still too soon to determine if the infrastructure will be able to scale to meet the demands of all agencies' IT needs since there are no benchmarks or comparable implementations to compare against, Teo noted.

'The real test is whether it meets what we qualify as a cloud service--automated, elastic, and agile. So far, it looks like it meets those criteria,' he said.

Manish Bahl, vice president of Forrester India, was more definitive in his assessment of Singapore's IT infrastructure achievements. Asked if there were specific gaps within the setup that would hinder the government's cloud adoption, the analyst said: 'For Singapore, I don't think so.'

The move toward enabling the public sector with cloud computing services was also timely, given that both employees and citizens were demanding for such services, Bahl added.

That said, there are still hurdles in moving toward a cloud-enabled public sector. 'The biggest threat to G-Cloud success is the change management of public-sector employees,' he said. 'Educating them to leverage cloud to procure, design, and deliver services will take some time.'

Infrastructure access provides business impetus

Government agencies are not the only ones leveraging Singapore's next-generation IT infrastructure. The local private sector is also looking to tap the availability of such resources to improve their operations with technology.

Tigerair is one such example. Mark Lim, the low-cost airline carrier's head of e-commerce and operations, told ZDNet he has 'no problems' with the IT resources at his disposal, given that there is pervasive, high-speed Internet connection almost everywhere across the island.

This is critical, especially since widespread Web access means enabling consumers to be able to procure tickets online wherever and whenever. Close to 95 percent of its business is done online so Internet connectivity is paramount, Lim said. If anything, the executive said the public Wi-Fi networks in the country could be improved.

Continual education about components and functions will help companies overcome misconceptions of cloud services.

Compared to Malaysia where it is common to see Wi-Fi access available in most retail outlets, public Wi-Fi in Singapore is 'not as ubiquitous' as commonly thought, he noted.

In terms of data center capacity, Lim shared that Tigerair operates three data center sites in Singapore which, given its regional datacenter hub status, was deployed relatively quick. He added, though, that given the city-state's limited land space, the choice of vendors available were not 'as deep and competitive' as he would have liked.

Lim also found that many of the challenges he faced when setting up his cloud-based IT services revolved around regulatory complexities and the administrative 'hoops' he had to jump through.

David Chee, country head of managed services at Fujitsu, also lauded efforts to position the country as a datacenter hub. 'The economic landscape, [lack of] natural disasters, as well as the availability of infrastructure and resources make Singapore an ideal location for data centers, ' Chee said.

Beyond the government's efforts to develop the nationwide infrastructure competency, however, its role in helping companies better understand and be equipped to adopt cloud computing services should also be acknowledged.

Steve Lee, CIO and senior vice president at Changi Airport Group, pointed to the recently launched Multi-Tier Cloud Security Standard for Singapore (MTCS SS), as an example. 'Such standards provide a good guidance to help companies secure and transform [their operations to becoming cloud-enabled ones]', Lee said.

The MTCS SS, also known as SS 584, was developed to help local businesses pick the right cloud service provider by providing insights on the level of information security each vendor offers with their services.

Security is commonly cited as the reason why companies shun cloud services, so the IDA was keen to help the business community move past this hurdle, Steve Leonard, executive deputy chairman at IDA, said during a recent cloud computing conference held in Singapore.

As with the public sector, though, educating users on the benefits and use of cloud computing remains the pressing concern when it comes to spurring more companies to move toward being a cloud-enabled environment.

Albert Tay, Asean general manager at Aruba Networks, said only with continual education about the associated components and functions will companies overcome misconceptions of cloud services, and help companies realize they can safely rely on cloud services for their business operations.