Australia

Former Leighton Holdings CEO faces trial in Sydney over alleged bribery by Singapore-based Leighton Offshore

Former Leighton Holdings CEO faced trail in Sydney for alleged improper payments made by Singapore-based Leighton Offshore.

The company allegedly funneled bribes through entities associated with UAB businessman and Unaoil to secure a $US1.46 billion contract.

In 2016, Australian media investigations uncovered Unaoil’s engagement in bribery activities allegedly aimed at assisting Keppel in securing contracts.

Unaoil considered Keppel an attractive client due to its purportedly lenient anti-corruption measures compared to Unaoil’s other multinational partners.

Additionally, Unaoil believed Keppel possessed connections with allegedly corrupt officials in the Kazakh government.

Keppel refuted these allegations in April 2016.

Singtel’s ‘culture’ blamed for Optus woes, founder of Boost Mobile calls for sale

Peter Adderton, founder of Boost Mobile, blames Optus’ recent troubles on cultural clashes with Singaporean owners, Singtel.

He calls for a change in ownership, highlighting the cultural gap and advocating for a consumer-focused CEO. Singtel’s handling and the Optus board’s perceived lack of responsibility during crises are questioned.

Optus CEO’s resignation triggers debate on accountability among Singaporean and foreign executives

Singapore netizens are discussing the resignation of Optus CEO amid widespread disruptions in Australia, viewing it as an act of ‘taking full responsibility’ for the outage. However, some are questioning her accountability, considering that Optus is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Singaporean telecommunications company, Singtel.

A recent report by an Australian media outlet has linked the extensive 16-hour disruption of Optus services to a network operated by Singapore Telecom (Singtel). Interestingly, this is the same network used by Optus for its service provision.

Channelnews, citing a source claiming to be a senior executive from a company closely associated with Optus, reported that Singtel was managing the network at the time of the outage.

Insiders claim Optus service disruption linked to Singtel-operated network, Australian media reports

A recent revelation from an Australian media outlet indicates that the prolonged 16-hour outage of Optus services may have been associated with a network managed by Singapore Telecom (Singtel)—the very network Optus relies on for its services.

Allegations suggest that senior Optus network executives, including CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, bore responsibility to shield the Singaporean entity which owns the second largest Australian Telco.

Malaysian killer freed from Australian immigration detention: lawyer

Malaysian ex-bodyguard Sirul Azhar Umar, convicted in Altantuya Shaariibuu’s 2006 murder, released from Australian immigration detention due to a High Court ruling affecting around 80 immigrants. Umar alleges the murder was ordered by unidentified “important people.”

Telecoms outage cuts off millions of Australians

A widespread telecommunications outage in Australia disrupted services for over 10 million people, including emergency lines, electronic payments, and transportation in Melbourne. The cause was unknown, and it highlighted the need for network redundancy in the country.

Optus network outage paralyzes Australian communications

A nationwide Optus outage disrupted mobile and internet connections for millions in Australia, creating a cascade of disruptions.

The wholly-owned subsidiary of the Singaporean telecommunications company Singtel, acknowledged the network fault on its website early Wednesday and assured customers that engineers were addressing the issue.

Australia fines Musk’s X over child abuse content concerns

Australia’s internet safety watchdog fined Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) for failing to adequately address child sexual abuse content, imposing a fine of Aus$610,500 (US$385,000). A formal warning was also sent to Google.

China frees Australian reporter after three years

China has released Australian journalist Cheng Lei after over three years of detention, reuniting her with her young children in Melbourne. The case strained Australia-China relations.