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By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 12 February 2009 1322 hrs SINGAPORE: Singapore will be joining the international community with its anti-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden. Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean told Parliament on Thursday that Singapore will be deploying a Landing Ship Tank, with two Super Puma helicopters for a period of three months this year. The ship will work with the newly-formed multi-national Combined Task Force 151 to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden. The LST will be deployed once the operational arrangements have been made. Minister Teo explained that Singapore's involvement is because as a maritime nation, the country shares the concerns of the international community regarding piracy. It is also committed to supporting international efforts to keep the sea lanes safe and secure. He stressed that it is not possible for any country, including Singapore, to protect its own shipping in all the key sea lanes of the world. Hence all countries have to depend on international cooperation to secure the sea lanes for everyone's use and that means littoral states, user states, and the international community have a role to play. Minister Teo said there was an upsurge of piracy attacks recently in the Gulf of Aden. In the past year, over 100 ships have been attacked by pirates, who have raked in an estimated ransom of US$120 million. And in recent months, NATO, the European Union, the US, as well as countries such as China, India, Malaysia and Russia, have contributed to anti-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden. Other countries, including Japan and Turkey, have announced their intention to send naval vessels.

Geeez, thought only car owners kena this type of situation Typical scenario: You just found out that your 5 yo ride's a/c seemed to go have gone AWOL and after asking around you decided to go to a "recommended" ws since the AD's warranty was up. First the "experienced" mechanic claimed there was insufficient refrigerant so he topped up the gas but still the car interior felt warmed. Then he said oh the piping hardened liao & got cracks so needed a new one so he changed it but still the oven feeling was felt. So he proposed next to flush the entire a/c system but you swear there was still no improvement at all after that. He then scratched his head & suggested the compressor might be faulty so you reluctantly agreed to a re-con one. But the re-con compressor quit on you on day two so you drove back to the ws to seek redress and the fella now tells you look I think its better you buy a new one... From ST Forum: http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Online...ory_769539.html Agony over efforts to plug a leak Published on Feb 23, 2012

Will this help? or it is another form of subsidizing company as long as they sign up since 2005, no significant result and it got worst in some area. But today when i board the bus, the driver greet you, and when we alight he say "Thank you, good bye, and have a nice day", he does it at EVERY stop.

How to controlmotor insurance despite the fact that I have not made any insurance claim for the past 20 years or so but my insurance premium just keeps getting higher and higher http://tankinlian.blogspot.com/ Three years ago, the General Insurance Association, representing the general insurance companies, announced several measures under the the Motor Claims Framework, as an attempt to control claims. I felt at that time that the measures were not practical and did not address the root of the problem. The regulator gave its support for the framework. The insurance leaders proclaimed that the measures would be effective in controlling the fraudulent claims and lower the insurance premiums. It was a pipe dream. The measures actually caused the claims to escalate badly. The premium rates increased by 30% during the next two years. There is a big difference between declaration of intent and producing the actual results. Two years later, the Consumer Association (CASE) formed a joint task force with the insurance association. They approached the problem more holistically. The task force was lead by the president of CASE who was supposed to have the political clout. The joint task force identified the problems and recommended the remedial actions. This time round, it appeared that the measures would be more effective. I read a news report recently, quoting the president of CASE, that seemed to hint of slow progress in stopping the escalation of claims. Are the measures recommended by the joint task force ineffective? Over the years, we hear of countless cases of fraudulent motor claims involving aggravated damages, inflated repair bills, and claims for non-existent injuries. Complaints about fraud were not acted by the police. The insurance companies were supposed to deal with the fraud by rejecting the claims, but they need evidence to justify their rejection. With time, the insurance companies found that it was easier to pay off the fraudulent claims rather than to incur the expense of investigating these claims. Fraud has to be controlled by legislation and enforcement. It cannot be handled by expensive litigation through the courts. The parties that benefited from this unsatisfactory state of affairs are the lawyers, who have the opportunity to earn large fees from litigation work. Someone pointed out that a few members of our parliament or their immediate family members are involved in law firms. Could this be a reason for their reluctance to address this issue of public interest? In the absence of effective action, the consumers have to pay the price through higher insurance premuims. Tan Kin Lian

A CARPARK operator which at first won $3,000 from a motorist who drove off with one of its wheel clamps is now a lot poorer for having pushed its case through the courts. Blenwel Agencies now has to pay up 12 times the sum in legal costs - including $5,000 in costs - for bringing its case right up to the Court of Appeal. The Appeals Court, explaining its reasons in a judgement released last week, reminded lawyers against bringing up such 'hopeless applications' in future. Justifying the $5,000 in costs it put on Blenwel's tab, the court noted that the carpark operator had sought leave to appeal after its application for such leave had already been rejected by a district court and the High Court, and that the tab covered the work done by the motorist's lawyers in preparing for the appeal. Judge of Appeal Andrew Phang, writing on the court's behalf, said Blenwel had already used up - unsuccessfully - two chances to apply for leave to appeal under the law, so lawyers needed to think seriously about 'adverse consequences' before advising their clients to take the route to the Appeals Court. Blenwel's failure in the two lower courts set it back by $1,600 in costs, in addition to some $30,000 in legal fees for court hearings spanning three years. What a Joke !!