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The government's latest Town Council Management Report cardgave its sole “red” grade to Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council in the category of collecting service and conservancy charges (S&CC). The three-constituency town council, run by the opposition Workers' Party, was slapped with the red banding because "more than 5 per cent of their households had S&CC arrears overdue for three months or more," read the report. "Also, more than 50 per cent of their monthly S&CC collectible are overdue for three months or more,” it added. It also showed a white "pending" field under corporate governance, a phenomenon that, like the town council's "red" banding, occurred in the Ministry of National Development (MND)'s last report as well. The report, released Thursday at noon, measured the performance of Singapore's 15 town councils in the year ending March 2013 — contrary to four previous versions of the report, which graded the town councils' performance on a half-yearly basis. The town councils were measured for cleanliness, maintenance, lift performance, service and conservancy charge arrears and corporate governance. All the town councils scored "green" bandings for cleanliness and lift performance, but nine were banded "amber" for maintenance. These nine apart from the AHPETC were: Chua Chu Kang, East Coast, Holland-Bukit Panjang, Jurong, Marine Parade, Pasir Ris-Punggol, Tampines and West Coast. Potong Pasir Town Council was also given an "amber" banding for its conservancy charge arrears management. Yahoo Singapore has asked the Workers' Party town council management for their comments on the report's findings and is awaiting the response. http://sg.news.yahoo.com/town-council-run-by-workers--party-gets--red--grade-for-conservancy-arrears-in-govt-report-050611452.html

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/10/31/msia-sees-biggest-mobile-data-breach-over-46-million-subscribed-numbers-at-risk-from-scam-attacks-an/ M’sia sees biggest mobile data breach Tuesday, 31 Oct 2017 By Royce Tan and Sharmila Nair PETALING JAYA: The personal details of some 46.2 million mobile number subscribers in Malaysia are at stake in what is believed to be one of the largest data breaches ever seen in the country. From home addresses and MyKad numbers to SIM card information, the private details of almost the entire population may have fallen into the wrong hands. Malaysia’s population is only around 32 million, but many have several mobile numbers. The list is also believed to include inactive numbers and temporary ones bought by visiting foreigners. With this leak, Malaysians may be vulnerable to social engineering attacks and in a worst-case scenario, phones may be cloned. It is also said that 81,309 records from the Malaysian Medical Council, Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) and Malaysian Dental Association were also leaked. The leak of the mobile data was reported earlier this month on online forum and news site lowyat.net, which reported that it was thought to originate from a massive data breach in 2014. Yesterday, the site “confirmed” that 46.2 million mobile numbers were leaked online. Lowyat.net founder Vijandren Ramadass told The Star that all information it received on the matter was handed over to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). Asked what sort of action would be needed, he said: “Telcos need to admit that this breach actually happened and should inform all their customers what should be done.” It is believed that the MCMC and police are collaborating on the investigation. Network and security strategist Gavin Chow said the most common social engineering attack examples were phone and messaging scams. “Scammers pretend to be someone calling or texting from the telco since they can prove they have the target’s personal details,” said Chow, who is with cybersecurity and malware protection company Fortinet. He added that the scammers would then try to trick the victim in various ways. These include transferring funds into their accounts and installing “telco applications” containing malware or spyware, which will be used to exploit the target in future. “The devices would likely not be hacked directly, but anyone with the data dump information and a little creativity may convince unsuspecting victims to install malware on their devices. “Users need to be alert when receiving calls and messages from strangers. Do not get tricked into sharing more personal details, transferring funds or installing apps,” he said. Technology strategist Dinesh Nair said there was not much that consumers could do, but they should change their SIM card, for starters. “Your name, address, phone number, the IMSI (international mobile subscriber identity) and the IMEI (international Mobile Equipment Identity), which are tied to your device are all out there. “I’m sure my data is there as well. People with really good technical skills will be able to clone someone’s phone and that’s the worst-case scenario,” he said. Dinesh added that while no one knew where the breach occurred, the fact that the details were out there pointed to a leak of some sort. “How it happened, we can’t tell but with so much released from different telcos at the same time, it must come from a single source,” he added. Bar Council cyber law and information technology committee co-chairman Foong Cheng Leong said assuming that the leak was after the enforcement of the Personal Data Protection Act 2010, there might have been a breach of the Act’s Security Principle by the data users. “The Security Principle requires data users to process personal data securely, but there is not much customers can do other than file a complaint with the Personal Data Protection Commissioner,” he said. Digi said in a statement that it prioritised the privacy of its customer data. “The authorities are looking into the matter and we’ll continue to support them,” the statement read. Celcom Axiata Bhd said it was “collaborating closely with the authorities to assist in the investigation”, a sentiment echoed by Maxis Bhd, which also said it “fully supports the investigation”. Representatives from U Mobile declined to speak about the leak, while representatives of TuneTalk could not be contacted for comments at press time. MMA president Dr Ravindran R. Naidu said a police report was lodged more than a week ago when news of the leak surfaced. “Of course, no system is unhackable. Even the US Department of Defence has been hacked. “However, we have been in the process of upgrading our IT system for the last year or so and the new servers will be more secure. “We will also be upgrading our operational security measures and introducing a new SOP for our staff to minimise the risk of a repeat of this episode,” he said. Related story: Data breaches nothing new, says expert

The average premium collected for motor insurance dipped slightly last year, even as the sector saw a 17.3 per cent increase in underwriting profit to $59.1 million. At its annual results briefing on Tuesday, the General Insurance Association (GIA) said the average motor premium collected last year was $1,250, down from $1,280 in 2012. The association attributed the slight dip to more insurers entering the marketplace, and said this trend is likely to continue. As a whole, the motor insurance sector collected $1.22 billion in gross premiums, a 2 per cent drop from 2012. Said GIA president AK Cher: "The GIA will continue to work with our various stakeholders to ensure that motor claims are effectively managed and premiums continue to stabilise." Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/motor-insurance-sector-sees-rise-profits-general-insurance-industry-gr

This foreigner sees another side of Singapore Letter from Gordon Reid (TODAY 7 Apr 2012) As a foreigner who has lived and worked here, I wanted to experience Singapore from an angle that did not include a theme park, shopping, entertainment or commercial experience. Visiting one of the tourist visitor centres for ideas was an experience in itself. I asked about the outdoors and walks I could find. I was met by a confused look and was told:

As above. At a lost about how to pacify the dog since she seems stressed out with the introduction of infants into our lives. Her barks and bbs cries almost drove wifey up the wall. Is there a win-win way out? Currently dog with my in-law place...

ChannelNewsAsia SINGAPORE: A man from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has been found dead in his apartment unit on the campus. 24-year-old Zhou Zheng, a Chinese national, was an Infocomm Project Officer at the university's School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering. He was found hanging in the balcony in his apartment at Block 101C Nanyang Heights, where staff and graduate students reside. Police said Saturday they received a call at around 10.30pm on Friday night and when they arrived, the body had already been brought down to the floor. The man was pronounced dead at 10.55 pm. In a statement released Saturday, NTU said professional counsellors and senior university officers were activated on site to offer support. The man's parents have since been notified. NTU has found temporary accommodation for the Zhou

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20081028/tap-...ee-231650b.html ""There are some one million credit card holders in Singapore in June 2008. Of these, nearly four in 10 roll over their credit payment, meaning they pay a minimum amount of their outstanding bill each month."" Four in ten roll over their credit?? Is it really this bad??? I think 40% is a very high figure !!! This 40% really have no money to pay or they just refuse to pay on time??? I wonder ?? 40% is really !!!! Anyone here care to shed some truth ?? Or the news is really the truth ???

Wed Dec 12, 2007 2:59am EST By Kevin Krolicki DEARBORN, Michigan (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) expects a new generation of more powerful batteries to be on the road in hybrid vehicles in the next three to five years, a senior Ford engineer said on Tuesday. Ford and its major rivals are all working to adapt the lithium-ion battery technology now widely used in consumer electronics for use in hybrids as a way to boost the fuel economy of vehicles still in the development stage. "I think within three to five years you'll see lithium-ion hybrid electric vehicles out there in some volume," Ford's chief hybrid engineer, Sherif Marakby, said on Tuesday. The auto industry's race to develop the new battery technology has drawn close scrutiny because it is expected to open the door to a new market for electric vehicles and allow automakers to meet tougher U.S. fuel economy standards. Current hybrids, including Toyota Motor Corp's (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research) market-leading Prius, run on nickel-metal hydride batteries. That battery technology is seen as approaching the end of its usefulness because of chemical limits on how much power it can store and the cost of the metals it requires. General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is the only mass-market automaker to have committed to a timetable for rolling out a next-generation lithium-ion powered electric car. GM has said it will launch the rechargeable Chevy Volt in late 2010 using lithium-ion batteries the automaker plans to buy from one of two vendors now competing for the high-profile contract. Toyota executives have said they do not expect lithium-ion batteries to be ready for use in the next generation of the Prius hybrid by GM's 2010 timetable. For its part, Ford will use nickel-metal hydride batteries in new hybrid sedans slated to go into production next year, the Ford Fusion, the Mercury Milan and the Lincoln MKZ. But Marakby said subsequent Ford hybrid models -- such as a hybrid variant of the Ford Edge crossover -- could be equipped with the next-generation batteries. "I think we're still looking at those options," he said, speaking on the sidelines of a Ford briefing on its research into rechargeable electric cars, commonly known as plug-ins. Marakby said it would take longer to ready lithium-ion batteries for commercial use in plug-in vehicles, which can be recharged at a normal outlet and can run on battery power alone for short trips. Ford has been testing a fleet of plug-in versions of its Ford Escape hybrid with one of the nation's largest power utilities, Southern California Edison (SCE_pe.A: Quote, Profile, Research). Marakby said it would likely be five to 10 years before plug-in hybrids were sold widely, in part because of the technical challenge of building lithium-ion batteries designed to be frequently drained of all their power. The expensive battery packs required for a plug-in vehicle are also as much as much as six times larger than the briefcase-sized batteries Ford expects to deploy in its first lithium-ion powered cars. In conjunction with the SoCal Edison, Ford is studying ways to cut the cost of the lithium-ion battery packs for consumers. Marakby said that included studying whether consumers would be able to lease the components for the term of their ownership and then have them recycled to power other kinds of equipment. (Reporting by Kevin Krolicki, editing by Richard Chang)