Singapore News Blog

Google uses trade tactic in censorship fight

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 15:58:14 +0000

International adoptions reach far and very near

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 15:58:14 +0000

MANSFIELD -- International adoption has touched Hollywood while grabbing our neighbors.

It attracted Madonna, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Mia Farrow.

Malaysia's cities, beaches and peaks draw tourists

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 15:58:14 +0000

This multiracial nation's tourism tagline is "Malaysia, truly Asia," and true to its slogan, it is home to a potpourri of Asian cultures - Malay, Chinese and Indian - along with many indigenous groups on Borneo island.

Malaysia is one of the most pleasant, hassle-free countries to visit in Southeast Asia. Aside from its gleaming glass towers, it boasts some of the most superb beaches, mountains and national parks in the region.

Malaysia is also launching its biggest-ever tourism campaign in an effort to lure 20 million visitors this year. More than 16 million tourists visited in 2005, the last year for which complete statistics were available. While the majority of them were from Asia, mostly neighboring Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, China, Japan and India, a growing number of Western travelers are also making their way to this Southeast Asian tropical paradise. Of the 885,000 travelers from the West, 240,000 were from the United Kingdom, 265,000 from Australia and 150,000 from the U.S.

Rally for biotech

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 15:58:14 +0000

The good news is that we have been successful with nominal budgets, but one has to wonder how much more we could achieve with adequate economic development funding and common goals and strategies.

The bad news is that the state of California has woefully failed to provide the dollars and incentives necessary to compete for this booming industry. It has been put on the shoulders of cities and regional entities, such as Solano Economic Development Corp., to shoulder the financial burden.

With such phenomenal financial returns for local communities, it is no

Students top robotics competition

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 15:58:14 +0000

Michael Murrish, 17, of Troy and Andrew Wallis, 15, of Rochester Hills took first place in the 2007 World Robofest Championships, senior division, held recently at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield.

The students attend Berean Homeschool Academy in Rochester Hills. Both have been homeschooled exclusively in grades K-12 and are planning on taking undergraduate engineering studies.

U.S. investors looking abroad for real estate holdings

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 15:58:14 +0000

Investing in real estate once meant owning rental property or buying shares in a U.S.-based real estate investment trust. Today, it increasingly means putting money in a REIT trading in Singapore or buying a pied-a-terre in a refurbished medieval village in northern Italy.

These days, real estate investing is an international proposition. Nearly a score of global real estate mutual funds have launched in the United States in the last two years, more than doubling in number. They now manage some $16.8 billion collectively, with more than $5.8 billion in new money flowing in this year alone, according to investment researcher Morningstar Inc.

Earlier this month, the American Stock Exchange listed its second international real estate exchange-traded fund in the last six months, the WisdomTree International Real Estate fund. And last summer, private bank Northern Trust Corp. launched the first international real estate index fund, Northern Global Real Estate Index, which now has more than $1 billion in assets.

Airbus confirms sky-high number of commitments

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 08:23:28 +0000

PARIS -- The Paris Air Show brought Airbus 425 bookings worth tens of billions of dollars, a welcome distraction from troubles at the plane maker and its parent company, European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co.

While U.S. rival Boeing Co.'s performance at the industry's biggest gathering paled in comparison, the U.S. company went into the show at an advantage and still has the more popular airplane, the 787 Dreamliner. Boeing's CEO said the company may boost production facilities to keep up with demand for the jet.

Many of Airbus' 425 orders were not from new customers but were confirmations of previous commitments to buy its planes.

Buyers turn off digital music players

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 08:23:28 +0000

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Saturday, June 23, 2007.

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SAN FRANCISCO - As financial reports this week from two major U.S. electronics retailers made clear, there has been an across-the-board slowdown in sales of digital music players.

CEO: Asia will drive Coca-Cola's growth

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 08:23:28 +0000

SINGAPORE --Asia will be the biggest driver of Coca-Cola's growth over the next 10 years, the head of the world's biggest beverage company said Sunday, adding that the company had lost out by not investing enough in the region in the past.

"Asia is at the core," Neville Isdell, the chairman and chief executive of the Atlanta, Georgia-based Coca-Cola Co., said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"Because we haven't been making sufficient investments, we have underperformed the opportunities that are present in Asia," he said in Singapore on the sidelines of the two-day World Economic Forum on East Asia conference, which brought together some of the world's most influential industry leaders.

GAME REVIEW

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 08:23:28 +0000

Last summer, there wasn't an officially licensed console game for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." This summer, Disney Interactive makes up for lost time in terms of story, squeezing the plots of the second film and the new "At World's End" into one gaming experience that spans about 12 hours.

Although fans of all three films probably will get a kick out of the game, at least on next-generation consoles, there's not a lot of depth in these waters. To be fair, At World's End is fun to play if only to step into the boots of Capt. Jack Sparrow, Will Turner or Elizabeth Swann.

At times, the game requires you to play all three at once, which can be frustrating given the lack of artificial-intelligence defenses to ward off undead enemies.

Google seeks beltway help in Web censorship

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 08:23:28 +0000

Online search giant seeks international trade barrier changes

June 23, 2007 - 11:20PM

WASHINGTON Once relatively indifferent to government affairs, Google Inc. is seeking help inside the Beltway to fight the rise of Web censorship worldwide.

Google seeks federal support to fight Web censorship abroad

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 08:23:28 +0000

A study shows that 25 of 41 countries surveyed block some content on the Internet.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Once relatively indifferent to government affairs, Google Inc. is seeking help inside the Beltway to fight the rise of Web censorship worldwide.

Google wrangling with foreign censors

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 08:23:28 +0000

WASHINGTON Once relatively indifferent to government affairs, Google Inc. is seeking help inside the Beltway to fight the rise of Web censorship worldwide.

The online search giant is taking a novel approach to the problem by asking U.S. trade officials to treat Internet restrictions as international trade barriers, similar to other hurdles to global commerce, such as tariffs.

Google sees the dramatic increase in government Internet censorship, particularly in Asia and the Middle East, as a potential threat to its advertising-driven business model, and wants government officials to consider the issue in economic, rather than just political, terms.

Moguls descend on Sun Valley

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 08:23:28 +0000

For most of the year, this state is known more for its potatoes than its financial firepower.

But for a few days each summer, Idaho gives Wall Street a run for its money as the nation's capital of capitalism, thanks to a crop of billionaires who jet in from all over the country to attend a media and technology summit held at an exclusive mountain resort.

This year's powwow, which began Wednesday with a series of closed-door meetings, is expected to attract 18 billionaires with a combined net worth of $140 billion -- exceeding the individual gross domestic products of more than 170 countries, including the likes of Morocco, Singapore and New Zealand.

MP3 players still sell, just not like hotcakes

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 08:23:28 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO -- As financial reports last week from two major U.S. electronics retailers made clear, there has been an across-the-board slowdown in sales of digital music players.

After a period of phenomenal sales growth, nearly one in four U.S. households now own one of these devices. The relatively high percentage means digital music players are nearing a saturation point.

Music player sales also are being cannibalized by surging interest in cell phones with music players, says Ross Rubin, director of consumer technology industry analysis at the NPD Group.

Study Links Blood Sugar to Newborn Risks