■ Internet
Private lines get hijacked
Consumer watchdogs are warning Internet Web surfers of rogue telephone companies that are hijacking their connections. The rogue companies target surfers on pornographic or gambling Web sites, offering them "special free downloads" that replace the local internet connection with an international connection that is charged collect -- funneling vast amounts of money into foreign bank accounts. The Sao Paulo consumer agency, Procon, said the hijacking happens without the Internet surfer realizing what has happened. The scam was first discovered in August 2002 and in recent months, the number of customers complaining about foreign phone calls they supposedly never made has risen significantly, according to Procon.
■ Economy
Malaysia in a cash crunch
Malaysia, which has run up high deficits, should avoid any major spending spree under a stimulus package expected to be unveiled within the next two months to bolster its economy, analysts say. The package was originally due to be announced late March but it was postponed to early April after war broke out in Iraq and has now been put off until an "indefinite date," a government official said. He said the package has to be finetuned as the war in Iraq dragged on and the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) which sparked a global health scare took its toll on the economy. "The package was based on a short war in Iraq but fighting has entered the 18th day and with SARS in the picture, certain adjustments have to be made to sectors that will be hard-hit," he said.
■ Smoking
Fake cigarettes blasted
Anti-smoking campaigners in New Zealand have urged the government to ban the sale of replica cigarettes and cigars that blow out mock white smoke when puffed, news reports said on Sunday. Green Party Member of Parliament Sue Kedgley wants to stop imports of the Chinese-made toys being sold in a nationwide chain of discount variety stores, saying they were a potential hazard for children and glamourised smoking. "Children are impressionable," she told the Star-Times. "We are training them to become the smokers of the future. And we should be concerned children are inhaling white powder when we don't know what's in them." While some branches of the stores have reportedly stopped selling them, an importers' spokesman said they were part of a "joke range of products" intended for adults.
■ Banking
Singapore ratings stable
The ratings outlook for Singapore banks will remain stable in the medium term but downward pressure on ratings will likely increase over the longer term, US-based Moody's Investors Service said. In its report on Singapore's banking landscape, the evaluator said the island's three lenders were strong enough to deal with the current economic weakness. "Over the medium term, Moody's reports that its stable outlook for Singapore bank ratings reflects the banks' strong balance sheets, steady earnings, conservative management, and strict, but supportive, regulators," it said. "Consequently, Moody's believes that the Singapore banks are well positioned to withstand the prevailing economic sluggishness, although some moderate deterioration in asset quality is likely," it added.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2