First batch of Su-35s to arrive in China 2017-2018

China is likely to receive the first batch of Su-35 fighters from Russia between 2017 and 2018, if the contract can be signed this year, according to Kanwa Defense Review, a Chinese-language military magazine based in Canada.

The first Russian unit to receive the Su-35 was the air force training center located at Lipetsk Oblast. Like Russia, China is likely to equip the tactical training center of the People's Liberation Army Air Force in Guangzhou with Su-35 fighters. Three frontline units of the PLA Air Force will likely receive Su-35 fighters due to their experience of operating the Su-30Mkk fighters.

They are the 9th regiment of the 3rd Division, the 85th Regiment of the 29th Division and the 54th Regiment of the 18th Division according to the article. Due to their proximity to the disputed East China Sea and Taiwan Strait, the 9th Regiment stationed in Wuhu, Anhui province is likely to be the first among those three units to get Su-35 fighters. As for the 85th and 54th Regiments, their mission is to defend the Chinese interest over the disputed South China Sea from the Guangzhou Military Region.

Russia has decided to sell only 24 Su-35 fighters to China. Since some of those fighters will be deployed to the tactical training center in Guangzhou, the article claims that fewer than 24 Su-35 are going to serve with frontline units of the PLA Air Force. At the same time, Su-30MKKs from those three regiments are likely to be transferred to other air force units. With more advanced Russian-built fighters, the fighting capability of the PLA Air Force will improve gradually.

3 Money Regrets Only Singaporeans Have

1. Losing the HDB flat

While some people do approve of the social engineering tactics employed by the HDB, there’s no doubt that the eligibility rules for the purchase of an HDB flat have left many a broken-up couple crying over more than just their relationship.

In a worst case scenario, a couple forced to pull out of an HDB flat purchase stands to lose anywhere between $10,000 to $30,000 of their hard-earned money if they break up after signing the agreement for lease on a BTO flat or collecting the keys on a resale flat

Now, I know there are many people out there who believe that the HDB is justified in giving married couples priority. But for most couples forced to give up their flats, it often feels like they’re being punished for not being able to force themselves into marriage.

Benson, a 32-year-old entrepreneur, had already collected the keys to a resale flat and begun renovations when his fiancée broke up with him. The couple lost more than $20,000.

One of his biggest regrets is taking for granted that the relationship would work out before trying to purchase a flat.

“At that time I was quite stressed out about money, work and the renovations, and I wasn’t the best partner,” he admits. “But I thought we could always work out our issues after the flat was settled.”

“I understand that the HDB wants to stop people from applying for flats when they’re not ready to get married. But sometimes you really can’t plan this sort of thing,” he says. “You already have to wait for such a long time, especially if you are buying a BTO flat. A lot of things can happen during that time. Do they expect us to get just married and then later end up divorced?”

Belinda, a 32-year-old entrepreneur, broke up with her fiancé a month before her wedding and lost not only the downpayment on their resale flat but also the booking fee for their wedding banquet venue.

“To this day, I still think back to that period with a twinge of guilt. I should have faced up to my fears earlier instead of waiting until we got the flat. That would have saved us a lot of money and heartache,” she says.

2. Having too much or too little money in their CPF account

With so many Singaporeans unable to get hold of their CPF savings for pressing needs such as medical expenses and family emergencies, it’s no surprise that many of their money regrets involve CPF.

Arnold, a 32-year-old entrepreneur, has been self-employed on and off for almost ten years, but only recently started making contributions to his CPF account in order to make qualifying for a home loan easier.

“If I knew they were going to raise the minimum sum, I would have paid more money into my CPF account, especially when I was younger and didn’t need to spend so much money. Instead, I spent most of my money having fun.”

On the other hand, Janice, a 29-year-old editor based overseas, regrets the three years she spent as an employee in Singapore. “I don’t have much money in my CPF account, and as I’m working overseas now it looks like I’ll never be able to arrive at the minimum sum,” she says.

“If I had known I would be leaving Singapore, I would probably have made the effort to leave earlier, so as not to let too much money accumulate in my CPF account. I see the merits of saving for retirement, but I’d prefer to have some control over my own money.”

3. Relying on Medisave and Medishield

There’s a whole lot that Medisave doesn’t cover, and anyway there are so many restrictions to its use that even if yours doesn’t get wiped out you’re still going to have to fork out a considerable sum out of pocket.

And there are so many conditions surrounding Medishield claims, such as having to pay high deductibles before you can get at the money, that falling is ill is turning out to be just marginally better than dying.

Arnold was involved in an accident many years ago when a bus collided with his motorcycle. He didn’t have a private insurance policy in force at the time.

“At first, I thought I was going to die,” he says. When I finally made it to the side of the road, some passers by wanted to call an ambulance for me. But I didn’t want to pay for the ambulance. I was just a student and had barely anything in my Medisave account even if they would have allowed me to make a claim. So instead I hailed a cab and went to a doctor covered in blood.”

“Now I have a health insurance policy. Too bad I didn’t have one back then. But I’m hoping I won’t have to use mine in future,” he adds.

Arnold is much luckier than the many Singaporeans suffering from serious chronic ailments. Those stories about people going bankrupt when a family member falls ill could happen to you, so do yourself a favour and get some insurance.

French co-pilot flying AirAsia jet before crash - investigators

The French first officer of an AirAsia passenger jet that crashed into the sea last month was at the controls just prior to the accident, Indonesia's lead investigator said on Thursday.
Data from the black box flight data recorder has provided the accident probe with a "pretty clear picture" of what happened in the last moments of AirAsia Flight QZ8501, but officials offered few details.
The Airbus A320 vanished from radar screens in bad weather on Dec. 28, less than halfway into a two-hour flight from Indonesia's second-biggest city of Surabaya to Singapore. All 162 people on board were killed.
"The second-in-command, popularly known as the co-pilot, who usually sits to the right of the cockpit. At the time, he was flying the plane," said head National Transport Safety Committee (NTSC) investigator Mardjono Siswosuwarno, referring to first officer Remi Plesel.
"The captain, sitting to the left, was the pilot monitoring."
Captain Iriyanto, 53, was believed to have taken over control of the aircraft from Plesel when it started to ascend and then descend sharply, officials said.
The cause of AirAsia's first fatal crash, which occurred around 40 minutes into the flight, was still unknown.
Investigators said the cockpit voice and flight data recorders showed that the plane had been cruising at a stable altitude before the accident. The aircraft was in sound condition when it took off, and all crew members were properly certified, they said.

"The plane was flying before the incident within the limits of its weight and balance envelope," Mardjono said. "While the flight crew had valid licences and medical certificates."

Indonesia has previously said the aircraft climbed abruptly from its cruising height and then stalled, or lost lift, before plunging out of control into the sea.
NTSC chief Tatang Kurniadi told the same Jakarta news conference that Indonesia had submitted its preliminary report on the crash to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on Wednesday, as required under global aviation rules.
The report, which has not been made public, was purely factual and contained no analysis, he said, adding that the full, final report would take at least 6-7 months to complete.
On Wednesday Indonesia said the search for dozens of victims still unaccounted for could end within days if no more bodies were found.
A multinational search and recovery operation has found 70 bodies in the Java Sea and had hoped to find more after finding the fuselage of the plane. But days of rough weather and poor underwater visibility hampered navy divers' efforts.

Facebook outage makes users in Taiwan moan elsewhere for an hour

Facebook was back online shortly after 3 pm Tuesday after a nervous 50 minutes that left social media users in Taiwan confused and isolated from their online community.

Users began to report being denied access to the site around 2:18 pm, with the page showing an error message: "Sorry, something went wrong. We're working on it and we'll get it fixed as soon as we can."

Media reports from around the globe confirmed that Facebook was inaccessible for nearly an hour. The website was back to normal around 3:08 pm.

In Taiwan, people turned to PTT, the most popular bulletin board system, to vent their frustrations and try to find answers.

"I thought (my account) had been hacked," one user wrote, and nother commented that: "Facebook lost control, sending shockwaves around the world."

"Facebook is down and I don't know where to go to complain about it," a web user wrote on another forum.

The cause of the downtime remained unknown at 3:50 pm, and Facebook had made no responses or comments on the incident

Weaker euro offers mixed blessings for China

Chinese students studying in Europe and shoppers are happy about the falling value of the euro but experts hold opposing views on the weakened single currency's impact on the Chinese economy, China's Global Times reports.

The People's Bank of China set the daily reference price of the euro for foreign exchange trade at 6.9795 yuan on Jan. 23, following the European Central Bank's announcement of a quantitative easing program.

The newspaper noted that with the euro breaking through the 7 yuan level for the first time in history, the currency has fallen 19% against the yuan during the past eight months.

"The euro's depreciation will usher in a spring for vendors selling imports in China," said Zhang Yan, a Chinese woman living in Hamburg, who sources German goods for Chinese online shoppers. Zhang expects an increasing number of people to join her business following the decrease in prices in yuan for infant formula, cosmetics and shoes.

Shen Kaiming, a student at Humboldt University of Berlin, said the weakening euro has helped reduce the costs of living and studying in Germany from around 100,000 yuan (US$16,000) to less than 90,000 yuan (US$14,400) per year.

However, not all Chinese living in Europe will be happy about the falling euro, the newspaper said. Ding Yifan, deputy director of the Institute of World Development under the State Council's Development Research Center, said Chinese nationals working in France and remitting their pay home will see their earnings shrink.

Meanwhile, the newspaper cited the German weekly Die Zeit, which said German companies exporting goods to China expect to see profits increase by 20% due to the change in the exchange rate.

Li Jianjun, a financial analyst at Bank of China's International Finance Research Institute, advised that China should seize the opportunity created by the weak euro to buy high-tech products produced in Europe to push for an upgrade of Chinese industries.

Chinese companies should also consider expanding their investments in Europe to take advantage of the weaker currency, Li added.

However, Tan Yaling, head of the China Foreign Exchange Investment Research Institute, cautioned the public against the negative impact of the stronger yuan on the Chinese economy, which posted lower-than-expected trade growth in 2014. The capital outflow brought about by increasing investment in Europe may also pose risks to the Chinese economy if it takes place on a large scale, Tan noted.

Although the stronger yuan will hurt China's exports in the short term, a recovery of the European economy will drive demand in the continent and Chinese exports in the medium to long term, said Xu Gao, chief economist at Everbright Securities in Beijing.