TR EMERITUS

From our Correspondent It was revealed lately that Temasek Holdings' portfolio had declined by at least $40 billion (= $40, 000, 000, 000), or more than a fifth, in the year 2008 to March 2009. (Source: Reuters) Now, what can this sum of money do for Singaporeans if it is not lost? To put things in perspective: - Each Singaporean will receive $1,3333 in cash or top ups in medisave (assuming the number of citizens to be 3 million) - It will take an average Singaporean earning a median pay of $4,000 83,3333 years to earn this amount of money. - It will provide 4,000 families on Public Assistance Scheme $41, 700 a month for the next 20 years or - 8,000 retrenched Singaporeans $20, 850 a month for the next 20 years till they find a job. - It can build 80 Khoo Teck Puat hospitals to cater to residents in every corner of Singapore. - Free upgrading for all the HDB estates in Singapore (inclusive of lift upgrading). - Pay for the tuition fees for 800, 000 university students (assuming $50,000 per student) for their entire course of study. - Buy 200,000 3-room HDB flats for 200,000 poor, destitute and homeless Singaporeans (assuming cost of $200,000 per unit). - Waival of the S&C charges of 555,555 households for a period of 100 years (assuming $60/month per head). - Waival of all income taxes for a year ($29.1 billion dollars was collected by IRAS in 2007) How can a country which can afford to lose $40 billion dollars in less than a year not able to provide more welfare for its citizens? Well, this is hardly surprising when the person responsible for the loss is re-appointed to lead Temasek again!  Read More →

Iranian riot police armed with batons and belts clashed with mourners staging a defiant graveside commemoration on Thursday for protesters killed in post-election violence, witnesses said. It was the first major violence between security forces and demonstrators in three weeks in Iran, where tensions are still running high over President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election last month. And the stage was being set for another confrontation in central Tehran as 3,000 people gathered at a major prayer venue, flashing victory signs and burning bins as police on motorbikes tried to disperse them, witnesses said. At the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery south of Tehran, an estimated 2,000-strong crowd shouted "death to the dictator" and "government of the coup: resign, resign" as some hurled stones at hundreds of police, witnesses said. Police forced the main opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi to leave the graveyard just minutes after his arrival and surrounded fellow campaigner Mehdi Karroubi, witnesses said. "Today is a mourning day. Loyal Iranians are the mourners today," shouted the crowds. Iranians were marking the 40th day since the death of Neda Agha-Soltan, a young woman who came to symbolise the public uprising over Ahmadinejad's June 12 victory which the opposition charges was rigged. A graphic Internet video of Neda bleeding to death on a Tehran street on June 20 was seen around the world and triggered an outcry over the sometimes brutal crackdown on demonstrators. Crowds gathered around Neda's grave which was decorated with candles and flowers as police used sticks, batons and belts and arrested several mourners, including prominent film director Jafar Panahi and his family, a witness said. "Mousavi... was immediately surrounded by anti-riot police who led him to his car," a witness said as people chanted "Ya Hossein! Mir Hossein!". Karroubi protested at the heavy-handed police action for a peaceful commemoration of the "martyrs," but he was able to give graveside readings from the Koran before leaving. Mousavi and Karroubi, who have waged a defiant campaign since losing to Ahmadinejad, had decided to visit the cemetery after the authorities banned another memorial ceremony at the Grand Mosalla in central Tehran. Despite the ban, 3,000 people gathered at the venue as hundreds of motorists sounded their car horns, a tactic regularly used by Mousavi supporters. "Protesters were raising their arms and flashing victory signs as police tried to disperse them," a witness said. "Some protesters also set fire to roadside rubbish bins while anti-riot police, on motorbikes rode into the crowds in an attempt to disperse them," he said. "Police also smashed window panes of several cars." The foreign press remains banned from covering such demonstrations as part of tough restrictions imposed in the post-election turmoil. Mousavi, a prime minister in the post-revolution years who was Ahmadinejad's main challenger, has consistently refused to acknowledge his rival's victory, saying it was a "shameful fraud." Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets after the election and in the ensuing violence about 30 people were killed, scores wounded and several thousand arrested, Iranian officials say. Despite the crackdown, the opposition is still pushing for a new election and the crisis has driven deep rifts among the Islamic republic's ruling elite. Ahmadinejad has also come under fire even from his own supporters over a series of controversial political decisions and he has been warned to obey supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei or face the consequences. In recent days, the authorities have made gestures towards the opposition, including releasing about 140 protesters and promising to free more of the some 250 still behind bars. But former president Mohammad Khatami said just releasing the protesters was not enough. "Illegal and un-Islamic acts have been committed against the people... Lives have been lost," he said on his Baran foundation website. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday said it was "imperative" for Iran to release political prisoners, adding that their detention showed "the political situation inside of Iran has not yet resolved itself." Twenty "rioters" are to go on trial from Saturday on charges including attacks on government and military offices and contact with "enemies" including exiled opposition group the People's Mujahedeen. Source: AFP  Read More →

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Britain and the United States on Wednesday vowed a sustained effort in Afghanistan, despite growing public skepticism over the war after the deadliest month since it began in late 2001. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, in Washington for talks on Afghanistan, said it was a "tough phase" for all nations with troops in Afghanistan but he believed the British public supported the mission. "I think the British people will stay with this mission, because there is a clear strategy and a clear determination on behalf of the United States and other coalition members to see this through," Miliband said at a joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. British troops just ended a five-week offensive named "Panther's Claw" aimed at clearing the Taliban out of population centers in southern Afghanistan ahead of August 20 presidential and provincial elections. Miliband said Afghanistan was the "incubator" for attacks such as the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and the British people understood this. Clinton also underscored what she said was the strong commitment and resolve of both nations in Afghanistan. "We will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder," she said. The number of British troops killed in Afghanistan has surpassed those who perished in the Iraq war, a statistic that has soured public support for the effort. This month alone as British and U.S. forces launched major offensives, 22 Britons were killed, bringing the toll to 191 since the war began. So far 39 U.S. troops were killed there this month. An opinion poll in Britain's Independent newspaper this week found 52 percent of people thought troops should be withdrawn immediately. U.S. opinion polls show about half of Americans, weary after the Iraq invasion, support the war. "This has been a very challenging period for American and British forces alike, and for the American and British people, who are standing behind them," said Clinton. 'SIGNIFICANT GAINS' But she said the mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan was very much in the interests of both the American and British people "as hard as it is." Clinton said early reports from commanders showed "significant gains" from the military operations in the south but much more had to be done to dismantle and defeat al Qaeda and its allies in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. "We know that this is a challenge that is not going to be easily resolved in a short period of time," she said. Miliband repeated the need for Afghanistan's government to take the lead in securing the country. "The biggest increase in troop numbers in the next few years is not going to be Brits or Americans. It's going to be Afghans. And the heart of the strategy is to build up the Afghan security forces," he said. Speaking separately to reporters, U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, said boosting Afghan forces would be a big focus after the August 20 election. Asked about prospects for the election being fair, Holbrooke said he had heard complaints "from every side" during his visit last week but was not "unduly upset." "It's an extraordinary thing to hold an election in the middle of a war, and this is the first contested election in Afghanistan in history." Source: Reuters  Read More →