International

Deputy Secretary of State of the United States of America John J. Sullivan has stated that ASEAN countries and the U.S. jointly believe that international law ought to be followed in disputes surrounding the South China Sea instead of “a unilateral decision by one country”. Speaking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial Meeting at Lotte New York Palace …

Singaporean luxury hotelier Ong Beng Seng was accused of being involved in what was dubbed by reporters of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) as “an orgy of corruption” in the Maldives. Ong, who is the co-founder and managing director of Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), which owns the Four Seasons and Hilton hotels in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the United …

Following a protest by Reuters journalists and editors outside their Asia-Pacific headquarters at 18 Science Park Drive on Monday (3 Sep), Singapore Police Force (SPF) has issued a warning to the public regarding organising and/or participating in a public assembly without a police permit, stressing that doing so would be illegal. Persons who are found guilty of organising a public …

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 has hit Hokkaido, an island in the northernmost prefecture of Japan, around 2 a.m. Singapore time today (6 Sep). According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the earthquake had struck at a depth of 40km at around 3 a.m. local time. NHK World announced that “two people have been confirmed dead, 140 are …

Former United States Defense Secretary and CIA director under President Barack Obama’s administration, Mr Leon Panetta, has expressed his lack of confidence in US President Donald Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in Singapore in June regarding the looming nuclear threat, stating that it was “doomed to failure from the beginning”. “I’m very worried about the situation because frankly, I …

A UN backed fact finding mission, mandated by the Human Rights Council to investigate allegations of abuse of the Rohingya in Myanmar, have called for the leaders of Myanmar’s military to be prosecuted for genocide in the Rakhine state as well as for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Rakhine and northern Myanmar. The group of investigators issued the …

In a landmark Constitutional Court ruling on 28 June this year, South Korean authorities were ordered to impose substitutes to military conscription against conscientious objectors in the Republic’s national service, nearly 65 years post-Korean War. However, the court remained steadfast in its decision to uphold the imprisonment of able-bodied South Korean men between the age of 18 to 35 who …

Singaporean documentary maker, Jason Soo and Co-Founder and Patron of British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians and widow of Singapore exile Francis Khoo, Dr Ang Swee Chai, were among the 22 multi-national activists on board of the al-Awda (“The Return”) Freedom Flotilla that was intercepted by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) yesterday. According to the Israel Navy, the vessel’s journey …

It has been over a year since the battle between the Islamic State (IS) group and the Iraqi forces had officially ended in Mosul, according to Al Jazeera. Yet, the health system is still in ruins and struggling to cope as thousands of people continue to return to the city, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on 9 July. …

Letter from Dr Ang Swee Chai Dear Friends and Family, I am due to join the al-Awda (The Return) Freedom Flotilla to Gaza next week on its last leg from Europe to Gaza. She has started her journey from Norway on the 70 Anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba and this journey is highly symbolic. The Nakba is the Arabic word …