SINGAPORE (Reuters) -

Cyber security and warfare are on par with a credible nuclear deterrent in the defence priorities of the United States, the U.S. Navy’s top admiral said on Monday, after the Pentagon accused China of trying to hack into its computer networks.

Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations, told Reuters the defence department’s cyber programme had continued unabated despite the political gridlock about the U.S. budget deficit and enforced spending cuts in other areas.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Cyber security and warfare are on par with a credible nuclear deterrent in the defense priorities of the United States, the U.S. Navy’s top admiral said on Monday, after the Pentagon accused China of trying to hack into its computer networks.

Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations, told Reuters the defense department’s cyber program had continued unabated despite the political gridlock about the U.S. budget deficit and enforced spending cuts in other areas.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The parents of Shane Todd, an American engineer found dead in Singapore last year, intend to prove at a coroner’s inquiry that he was murdered over a project they say involved the illegal transfer of sensitive technology to China.

But Rick and Mary Todd told Reuters they would push for an investigation by the U.S. Congress no matter what verdict emerges from the inquiry in Singapore that starts next Monday.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The president of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, said on Tuesday he would urge Myanmar’s leaders to address Buddhist-led violence against Muslims that he said could cause problems for Muslims elsewhere in the region.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s visit to Myanmar on Tuesday and Wednesday comes a month after at least 43 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in four days of violence led by Buddhist mobs in the central city of Meikhtila, 80 miles (130 km) north of the capital, Naypyitaw. That sparked a wave of anti-Muslim violence.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The president of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, said on Tuesday he would urge Myanmar’s leaders to address Buddhist-led violence against Muslims that he said could cause problems for Muslims elsewhere in the region.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s visit later in the day to Myanmar comes a month after at least 43 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in four days of violence led by Buddhist mobs in the central city of Meikhtila, 80 miles north of the capital, Naypyitaw. That sparked a wave of anti-Muslim violence.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – They crammed into an art cafe in Singapore and pulled no punches, deriding authoritarian officials who ruled with an “iron fist” and complaining that government ministers with million-dollar salaries were out of touch.

One woman, a middle-aged professional, got nods of agreement when she said modern Singapore’s founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, had done great things but that new ways were needed from current leaders still practicing a “do-as-I-say style of parenting”.

SINGAPORE, April 22 (Reuters) – They crammed into an art
cafe in Singapore and pulled no punches, deriding authoritarian
officials who ruled with an “iron fist” and complaining that
government ministers with million-dollar salaries were out of
touch.

One woman, a middle-aged professional, got nods of agreement
when she said modern Singapore’s founding father, Lee Kuan Yew,
had done great things but that new ways were needed from current
leaders still practising a “do-as-I-say style of parenting”.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – China’s leaders face daunting domestic problems and would be wary of any foreign entanglement, and the growth of its military was a reflection of its rise as an economic power, Singapore’s foreign minister, K. Shanmugam, said on Tuesday.

President Xi Jinping and other new leaders of China’s 1.3 billion people need to restructure the economy to rely more on consumption, clean up the environment and tackle rising income inequality, he said.

SINGAPORE, March 14 (Reuters) – Singapore is in the “final
stages of evaluating” the F-35 to upgrade its air force, a
process U.S. sources say should turn quickly into orders for
several dozen of the stealthy warplanes that have been beset by
cost overruns and delivery delays.

Singapore, a major business and shipping hub with the
best-equipped military in Southeast Asia, is expected to submit
a “letter of request” soon for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter,
said two U.S. government officials who were not authorized to
speak publicly on the matter.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Progress is being made in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade talks but hurdles remain and Japan is unlikely to be set to join the next round in May, negotiators said on Wednesday, pointing to a tough road for the 11 nations hoping for a deal this year.

If Japan wants to take part, it must first hold bilateral meetings with existing members and be supported by a consensus to “keep up the good momentum” as the countries prepare for the next talks in Peru, said Singapore negotiator Ng Bee Kim.