CHINA POLICE SEARCH FOR ORIGIN OF QUAKE RUMOUR

Rumoring at its worst!...

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BEIJING - Police in northern China yesterday hunted for the origin of an earthquake rumour that prompted tens of thousands of terrified people to flee outdoors over the weekend.

Word that an earthquake was imminent began spreading by phone, Internet and text message through parts of Shanxi province on Saturday afternoon.

City residents spent the freezing night in the streets or in their cars, while panic-stricken rural villages used public address systems to broadcast warnings, according to The Beijing News newspaper.

Officials responded overnight, deploying radio, television and text messages to broadcast a provincial earthquake bureau bulletin telling residents not to believe or spread the earthquake rumour.

"Only the provincial government is authorised to issue earthquake forecasts. No other body or individual has that right," said the notice, posted on the bureau's website.

Spreading rumours in China is punishable with a fine and detention for not more than 10 days.

Shanxi government spokeswoman Wang Laying said the panic may have been prompted by a misunderstanding over earthquake survival drills being conducted by the local authorities. AP

From TODAY, Tuesday, 23-Feb-2010

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EMPHASIS ON OLDER, LOW-WAGE WORKERS

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SINGAPORE - As the Government invests in continuing education, it will place "additional emphasis" on older, low-wage workers, said Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam yesterday.

This will be done through a new Workfare Training Scheme (WTS), and enhancements to the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme.

Under the three-year WTS, employers will be given 90 to 95 per cent funding for absentee payroll and course fee outlays. Workers who complete skills upgrading training will be given up to $400 a year in cash grants.

Those with very low skills, including the unemployed, can also sign up for a structured training programme.

The scheme seeks to help older workers, even though it is open to all eligible WIS recipients, who are 35 and above, said Mr Shanmugaratnam.

The WIS itself will see two enhancements. First, WIS will be extended to workers earning up to $1,700 per month, up from the current limit of $1,500.

Secondly, the maximum payouts for the WIS will be increased by between $150 to $400, with more going to older workers. Workers who have worked at least three months in any six-month period in the year, now get between $180 and $2,400.

With the higher WIS payout, a 60-year-old will get $400 more, bringing his total annual WIS payment to $2,800. Likewise, a 55-year-old earning $1,000 monthly will receive an additional 18-per-cent top-up to his pay through the WIS.

Mr Shanmugaratnam called this a "significant intervention".

The enhanced WIS will cost an additional $100 million annually, and will benefit about 400,000 low-wage earners.

Mr Tim Hird, managing director of Robert Half Singapore, said both schemes would help employers retain experienced and valuable employees, while Food Drinks and Allied Workers' Union general secretary Tan Hock Soon said the Government support will "put more workers at ease" about going for training.

But the owner of Crusade Cleaning Services, Mr Peter Ko, said while the schemes are encouraging, "older workers have no motivating factor to upgrade themselves".

However, he is more than willing to send keen younger workers for English-language courses, having previously paid for them out of his own pocket.

Mayor for South West District Amy Khor said the "mental barriers" that employees cannot spare the time for upgrading, or fear they are not educated enough can be overcome "with time". She noted that the WTS funding would "encourage employers", and while the $400 cash grant "is not a huge sum, it is significant for many lower-income families".

From TODAY, Tuesday, 23-Feb-2010

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REDUCED TAX 'FANTASTIC' FOR ENTERTAINMENT SCENE

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Those who are already earning millions are gaining so much from this tax relief; how much more to a lowly father like me?

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SINGAPORE - The entertainment industry could soon see more performances and bigger acts coming to Singapore's shores.

To attract these internationally-rated acts, the Government will reduce the tax companies have to pay when they bring in a non-resident performer, said Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

The withholding tax rate of non-resident public entertainers will drop from 15 per cent to 10 per cent for five years.

"Singapore's entertainment scene is emerging as an important part of our appeal as a global city," said Mr Shanmugaratnam.

Mr Ross Knudson, owner of LAMC Productions, which has brought in international acts such as Muse and Lady Gaga, described the news as "fantastic".

Organising a show at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, he said, could cost more than a million dollars. "It would really increase the viability of bringing in more shows ... and bigger acts," he said. "We don't have many sponsors in this market ... so anything which helps us reduce risk is a tremendous help." And being able to bring in more shows has its benefits, from attracting more tourists to having more locals hired to work on the productions, said Mr Knudson. "It generates a lot of revenue in and around the shows." Alicia Wong

From TODAY, Tuesday, 23-Feb-2010

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