Singapore

Singapore court dismisses appeals by two Malaysians on death row

SINGAPORE, Aug 14 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Two Malaysian inmates on death row failed in their appeals for a stay of execution pending a probe on allegations that “brutal and unlawful methods” used in judicial executions in the republic.

“We dismiss the appeals,” according to judges of Singapore’s Apex Court, Andrew Phang, Judith Prakash, and  Woo Bih Li in their written judgment released in the Supreme Court’s website.

A. Gobi and K. Datchinamurthy were convicted for drug-related offences and sentenced to the death penalty.

ByteDance censored anti-China content in Indonesia until mid-2020, say sources

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Chinese tech giant ByteDance censored content it perceived as critical of the Chinese government on its news aggregator app in Indonesia from 2018 to mid-2020, six people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The sources said that local moderators were instructed by a team from ByteDance’s Beijing headquarters to delete articles seen as “negative” about Chinese authorities on the Baca Berita (BaBe) app.

Saudi Arabia may cut September crude oil prices to Asia: survey

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia may cut its September official selling price (OSP) for crude sold in Asia, tracking falling Middle East benchmarks and weak refining margins, according to industry sources.

Five sources from Asian refineries on average expect the September OSP for flagship Arab Light crude to fall by 61 cents a barrel, though forecasts range from a cut of $1 to 20-30 cents, a Reuters survey showed.

Singapore spy case reawakens fears China recruiting on island state

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The case of a Singaporean caught spying for China in the United States has reawakened fears over China recruiting intelligence assets on an island state which has won trust among Western governments while keeping on good terms with Beijing.

Jun Wei Yeo, a 39-year-old academic who also goes by the name Dickson Yeo, pleaded guilty in a U.S. court on Friday to acting as an illegal agent of Chinese intelligence. He will be sentenced in October and faces up to 10 years in prison.

Singapore’s ruling party holds on to power but faces setback

SINGAPORE (AP) — Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s long-governing party comfortably won Friday’s general elections as expected amid the coronavirus pandemic, but faced a setback as the opposition made minor gains.

Lee said his People’s Action Party secured 83 parliamentary seats, retaining its overwhelming majority with 89% of the total seats, but its popular vote dipped to 61%. The Workers’ Party, the only opposition with a presence in Parliament, increased its seats from six to 10 — the biggest victory for the opposition since independence.

Mediacorp to broadcast live two debates in run-up to Singapore election

SINGAPORE, July 1 (NNN-BERNAMA) —  Mediacorp will broadcast ‘live’ two General Election 2020 political debates in English and Mandarin on Channel 5 and Channel 8 respectively this evening.

Mediacorp has invited the four political parties fielding the most number of candidates in the General Election – the People’s Action Party (PAP), Progress Singapore Party (PSP), Worker’s Party (WP) and Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) – to send a candidate to each of the debates.

Singapore To Permit Resumption Of Tourism Businesses

SINGAPORE, June 29 (NNN-CNA) – The Singapore Tourism Board (STB), said on Sunday that, tourism businesses in Singapore will be permitted to resume operations, at stages, from July 1, beginning with 13 attractions.

The authority said, this is part of the resumption of activities in Phase 2, after the Circuit Breaker, which was imposed by the government from Apr 7 to June 1, to reduce COVID-19 transmission.

Former S’pore PM Goh Chok Tong retires from politics

SINGAPORE, June 25 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has decided to retire from politics, according to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Lee noted that “with sadness” he has accepted Goh’s letter informing him of his retirement, which also means the former prime minister will not be running for the upcoming General Election after 44 years of being a member of parliament. 

“We have worked alongside each other for nearly 40 years,” wrote Lee on his latest Facebook update which was appended with a photo of him and Goh, Thursday.

Singapore to hold general election on July 10: PM

SINGAPORE, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday that he has advised President Halimah Yacob to dissolve the parliament and issue the Writ of Election.

He made the remarks in a live address to the nation.

According to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office, the president, on the advice of Lee, has dissolved the parliament on Tuesday and issued the Writ of Election.

Lee also advised the nomination day to be on June 30 and the president has agreed, said the statement.

The polling day would be on July 10, it said.

Singapore goes to the polls

SINGAPORE, June 23 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Singapore today dissolved Parliament for a general election on July 10, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong saying the country can a hold “a proper and safe election” as the COVID-19 situation was “relatively stable”.

Nomination has been set for June 30, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

President Halimah Yacob, on the advice of Lee, had dissolved Parliament and issued the writ of election.

Soon after the dissolution of Parliament, the Elections Department announced that polling will be on July 10.

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