HONG KONG (CNN) - March 2008

Hong Kong officials gave kindergarten and primary school kids an early break for the Easter holiday in the midst of a widespread flu outbreak.

Health Secretary York Chow made the decision late Wednesday to call off classes for two weeks, through March 28.

“All primary schools, special schools and kindergartens and child care centers will be closed in the hope of slowing down the spreading of flu and provide a chance for schools to clean up and make a better environment,” Chow said.

The government has ordered an investigation as three children have died in the last week of the outbreak. One of them was seven-year-old Law Ho-Ming, who was admitted over the weekend with flu-like symptoms. He died on Tuesday.

Officials say five of his classmates are sick and hospitalized, while 30 others are displaying similar flu-like symptoms.

By imposing the two-week break from school, health authorities are hoping to slow the spread of influenza.

Click here for the full article.

Computerworld UK - By Siobhan Chapman (28/01/2008)

Biggest fraud in investment banking history

French banking group Societe Generale (SocGen) has reported a £3.6 billion (AU$8.2 billion) loss due to the fraudulent actions of a rogue trader who used his “in-depth knowledge” of the bank’s fraud control systems to circumvent internal checks.

Jerome Kerviel, a Paris-based trader working on the bank’s European equities derivatives desk, used knowledge gained from his previous position in the middle office to take fraudulent positions in 2007…

Ralph Silva, senior analyst at TowerGroup, said: “Fraud prevention is a fundamental aspect of operational risk. SocGen has undergone a failure in their operational risk program. Operational risk lags behind the ability of fraudsters to take advantage of loopholes.”

Click here for the full article.

APRA Media Release of 18 April, 2005

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) today issued prudential standards on business continuity management (BCM) for authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) and general insurers. The new prudential standards aim to ensure that ADIs and general insurers implement a “whole of business” approach to BCM appropriate to the nature and scale of their individual operations.

Key requirements of the prudential standards include:

• the Board of Directors and senior management of an ADI or general insurer must consider business continuity risks and controls as part of the company’s overall risk management framework provided to APRA on an annual basis;
• an ADI or general insurer must identify critical business functions, resources and infrastructure which, if disrupted, would have a material impact on the company’s business operations, reputation or profitability;
• an ADI or general insurer must assess the impact of plausible disruption scenarios on critical business functions, resources and infrastructure and have in place appropriate recovery strategies to ensure all necessary resources are readily available to withstand the impact of the disruption; and
• an ADI or general insurer must develop, implement and maintain through review and testing procedures, a Business Continuity Plan that documents procedures and information which enable the company to respond to disruptions and recover critical business functions.

The two new standards come into effect immediately, but ADIs and general insurers have a 12‑month transitional period in which to identify areas of non-compliance with the new standards and provide to APRA a rectification plan and timetable.

APRA’s Chairman, Dr John Laker, said APRA has identified BCM as an area of the prudential framework requiring further improvement.

“As business operations have become increasingly complex, with a growing reliance on outsourcing activities offshore, it is vital that ADIs and general insurers maintain critical business operations in the event of an external disruption”, said Dr Laker. “The new prudential standards provide a structured framework for addressing BCM on an organisation-wide basis to ensure this important part of risk management is adequately addressed.”

APRA is anticipating the release of a similar standard on BCM for life companies in the first half of 2006.

The prudential standards can be found on APRA’s web site at http://www.apra.gov.au/Policy/Prudential-Standards-Guidance-Notes-for-ADIs.cfm and http://www.apra.gov.au/General/General-Insurance-Prudential-Standards-and-Guidance-Notes.cfm.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is the prudential regulator of the financial services industry. It oversees banks, credit unions, building societies, general insurance and reinsurance companies, life insurance, friendly societies, and most members of the superannuation industry. APRA is funded largely by the industries that it supervises. It was established on 1 July 1998. APRA supervises institutions holding approximately $2.0 trillion in assets for 20 million Australian depositors, policyholders and superannuation fund members.

Sydney Morning Herald of 21 June, 2006

Sydney CBD workers should prepare individual emergency packs, under new guidelines on how businesses can best react to emergencies such as terrorist attacks or fires.The guidelines, launched at a forum in Sydney today, have been drawn up by NSW emergency services and business groups as part of the Sydney CBD Emergency Sub Plan.

The plan - a priority after a gas leak in 2004 shut down the city’s train system - details how emergency services, businesses, city workers and residents should respond to emergencies.

About 450,000 people cram into the city during working hours, and 50-70,000 visit the CBD every night.

“It’s crucial to business that they know what arrangements are in place, what they need to do to keep their people safe,” NSW Fire Brigades Commissioner Greg Mullins, who chairs the emergency response planning committee, said.

“In every building there should be emergency plans, evacuation plans … but that needs to dovetail into this wider plan.”

The guidelines also encourage individual workers to be prepared.

The guidelines suggest people put in place personal emergency plans, including making up emergency packs containing maps, water bottles and additional clothing.

People are also urged to familiarise themselves with safety procedures for city schools and child-care facilities.

“There is an overall plan where people will be asked what to do, but they need to think: ‘Do I have kids at school that need to picked up? Do I have medication needs, mobility needs? Who do I need to contact?’ ” Mr Mullins said.

“Simple things like a bottle of water - if they need to be evacuated, they might have to walk for an hour or stand out in the sun.

“Even a battery radio so they can listen to what is going on.”

Avian influenza - an epidemiology of human H5N1 cases reported to WHO

Part of Weekly Epidemiological Record, published on WHO website (www.who.org) - 30 June 2006

• The number of new countries reporting human cases increased from 4 to 9 after October 2005, following the geographical extension of outbreaks among avian populations.
• Half of the cases occurred in people under the age of 20 years; 90% of cases occurred in people under the age of 40 years.
• The overall case-fatality rate was 56%. Case fatality was high in all age groups but was highest in persons aged 10 to 39 years.
• The case-fatality profile by age group differs from that seen in seasonal influenza, where mortality is highest in the elderly.
• The overall case-fatality rate was highest in 2004 (73%), followed by 63% to date in 2006, and 43% in 2005.
• Assessment of mortality rates and the time intervals between symptom onset and hospitalization and between symptom onset and death suggests that the illness pattern has not changed substantially during the three years.
• Cases have occurred all year round. However, the incidence of human cases peaked, in each of the three years in which cases have occurred, during the period roughly corresponding to winter and spring in the northern hemisphere. If this pattern continues, an upsurge in cases could be anticipated starting in late 2006 or early 2007.

A more standardized collection of epidemiological data by countries and timely sharing of these data are needed to improve monitoring of the situation, risk assessment, and the management of H5N1 patients.

For more information
Epidemiology of WHO-confirmed human cases of avian A(H5N1) infection
30 June 2006, Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER) vol. 81, 26 (pp 249–260)

Wednesday Nov 1 22:59 AEDT - NineMSN

The head of spy agency ASIO says he was shocked by the magnitude of the home-grown terrorist threat facing Australia when he took charge of the organisation.

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director general Paul O’Sullivan said he was alarmed by the number of Australians who were travelling overseas to train as terrorists when he up the job 16 months ago.

“I was surprised to see that we do have a serious problem in Australia,” he told a National Press Club dinner in Canberra.

“It does come as something of a shock to see that there are home-grown people who would like to do us harm in this country.”

Mr O’Sullivan was also asked about the fate of two Iraqi asylum seekers who were the subject of adverse security assessments by ASIO, one of whom is still in immigration detention on the Pacific island of Nauru.

Both men were picked up by the cargo ship Tampa in August 2001.

Mr O’Sullivan said Mohammed Sagar, the man being held on Nauru, was not interested in settling in Australia.

The other man, Muhammad Faisal, was flown to Australia in August to treat his mental illness.

Mr O’Sullivan said Mr Faisal had applied for a new protection visa and would automatically get a new security assessment from ASIO as a result.

In response to a question from the floor, Mr O’Sullivan said the role of ASIO had changed fundamentally since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

Intelligence gathered by the organisation was being used increasingly as evidence in court proceedings and this was changing the way the agency was collecting and recording evidence, he said.

©AAP 2006

By Steven Deare, ZDNet Australia - 12 October 2006

Business continuity planning has become so driven by information systems that many organisations neglect to practise how employees themselves would seek refuge in the event of a disaster.   For the full article, click here.

Justin Norrie and Anne Davies - November 23, 2006

A SMALL grassfire underneath power lines in Sydney’s west blacked out 30,000 homes, plunged Parliament House into darkness twice and triggered major interruptions to the energy grid yesterday as the city sweltered in 40 degree temperatures.

As the afternoon heat caused huge demand for electricity, power failures were felt in dozens of city offices. Computers had to be shut down and some office workers were stranded in lifts for more than an hour.

The events unravelled while a smoky haze from Blue Mountains bushfires smothered the city and pushed temperatures up to 40 degrees at Sydney Airport.

It also halted Parliament just an hour after the Premier, Morris Iemma, insisted his Government had the nation’s best record of reliable supply of electricity.

Figures from the National Electricity Market Management Company show energy demand across NSW spiked just after 3pm, soaring to almost 12,500 megawatts, as thousands of Sydneysiders switched on airconditioners. A spokesman for the company, Paul Price, said while “that figure is very, very high, it’s still a way off the record, which is about 13,160″.

The Kone elevators helpline was inundated with calls from anxious workers who had been trapped in lift shafts across the city, an operator said last night.

The disruptions to the city’s power supply, caused by a grassfire near Rookwood Cemetery, east of Lidcombe, that burnt through power lines, raised questions about the ability of the NSW energy grid to cope with a long hot summer. The weather bureau has forecast temperatures in their mid-30s for the weekend. An EnergyAustralia spokeswoman said the power “dips” were “purely a result of the fire and have nothing to do with how well the system copes with demand”.

Just after 5pm, as Parliament was debating a motion about the Federal Government’s nuclear energy paper, the building was plunged into darkness for about 15 minutes, prompting the Opposition to again criticise the Government’s level of investment in the electricity grid. Meanwhile, The Financial Review obtained a Treasury document outlining plans to take an extra $150 million in dividends over four years from the state-owned electricity companies: EnergyAustralia, Integral, Country Energy and TransGrid.

…

www.smh.com.au - 23 November 2006

February 5, 2004 – www.smh.com.au

Australia’s biggest city was thrown into commuter chaos today when a mysterious gas leak crippled the Sydney CBD’s rail network, forcing stations to be evacuated and dozens of services to be cancelled.

Stations on the city circle line were closed for nearly four hours as emergency workers tried to pinpoint the source of the leak, detected at Town Hall station about 1.45pm.

Sydney’s main transport hub at Central was also closed as growing crowds and a lack of trains threatened public safety.

The closures caused delays throughout Sydney’s rail network and left thousands of commuters stranded as peak hour approached.

The chaos began just hours after Transport Minister Michael Costa indicated that rail services could be cut back and travelling times lengthened to meet safety standards.

Further delays are expected as tough new health standards, introduced after the Waterfall derailment, leave the network short of train drivers.

“I’m sure the public will accept that rail safety is our number one priority,” Mr Costa said.

“There are incompatible goals (safety and reliability) in the current timetable and that is unacceptable from a safety performance management perspective.

“We are very mindful of the fact that a safer system will be a slower system.”

Late today, NSW Fire Brigade spokesman Superintendent Ian Krimmer said emergency services were unable to identify the gas or find its source.

But opposition leader John Brogden blamed today’s rail chaos on government neglect.

“It’s scandalous that a city like Sydney can effectively be shut down because of its decaying, neglected rail network,” he said.

“The system seems to be breaking down one way or another each day and today (Mr Costa is) telling us you can’t have both a safe and reliable rail system.

“Clearly, under Bob Carr, Michael Costa and Carl Scully you can’t.”

Rail services resumed at 5.30pm but lengthy delays continued across the network as the backlog of commuters slowly cleared.

Many opted to avoid the gridlocked roads in and around the CBD by walking home.

A Bridge Climb staff member, who had a bird’s eye view of the solid stream of pedestrian traffic below on the Harbour Bridge, said: “It looks like Pitt Street Mall”.

Anne Davies - September 25, 2006 – www.smh.com.au

Extreme conditions … smoke and embers envelop firefighters at South Maroota yesterday.

WIND gusts of 100kmh brought down power lines and left more than
120,000 people without power yesterday in western Sydney, on the South Coast and in the Southern Highlands.

Some could be waiting until later today for it to be restored.

The gale-force winds sent trees, branches and roofing iron into power lines, causing blackouts. In Bowral, the wind tore the roof off Integral Energy’s base, making it doubly difficult for workers trying to deal with repairs.

“Because of the extreme bushfire conditions, lines have to be manually inspected before power could be turned back on,” said Integral’s manager of corporate affairs, Kate McCue.

She warned there could be lengthy delays before services were restored.

“It’s one of the worst windstorms in the company’s history,” she said. “We’re apologising to our customers on behalf of mother nature.”

Priority was being given to restoring power to villages in the Southern Highlands to ensure traffic lights and emergency services could operate.

Integral established storm centres in Shellharbour, Coniston, Nowra, Hoxton Park, Penrith, Parramatta and Bowral.

A further 30,000 Energy Australia customers were without power, mainly in the Hornsby, Dural and Pennant Hills areas and on the Central Coast, but its network did not seem as severely affected.

A spokesman, Alistair Kingston, said most of the damage was to low-voltage power lines, and that crews were in the area and restoring service as fast as they could.

“As we get reports of power lines down, the first priority is to make safe the lines and then to restore service,” he said.

“The message is stay well clear of any downed power lines.”

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe wind warning for yesterday evening for much of the state, saying it expected widespread, hazardous winds averaging more than 65kmh gusting to 100kmh. By 6pm, that maximum had been exceeded in Penrith, Richmond and Bellambi. Sydney Airport registered a maximum gust of 98kmh.

The State Emergency Service said it had received as many as 2000 calls for assistance before the expected southerly change last night. By 7pm, the Rural Fire Service commissioner, Phil Koperberg, said the worst of it was over.