Singapore Prepares for Presidential Vote Singaporeans will head to the polls on Friday to choose between the three presidential candidates who have met the stringent criteria to run for the position. It comes amid a spate of political scandals, a rarity in the country. Politics
Singapore: Third Person Recently Executed on Drug Charges Singapore has executed its third citizen in a little over a week for drug trafficking. The city-state hanged a 39-year-old citizen Thursday for trafficking 1.9 ounces of heroin — four times the threshold at which the city-state imposes the death penalty. Social issues
Singapore Executes First Woman in 20 Years According to authorities, Singapore hanged Saridewi Djamani on Friday in what was the country's first execution of a woman in nearly 20 years. Social issues
Malaysia Asks Interpol to Investigate Comedian Who Made MH370 Joke A US-based comic is under investigation by Malaysian authorities over a joke she made about the 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. Police chief Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said Interpol will be asked to help find the location and full identity of the comic. Social issues
Singapore GDP Growth Slows in Q1 Singapore has reported a Q1 year-on-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 0.4%, beating expectations. However, the GDP contracted by 0.4% on a quarter-on-quarter basis, falling short of the 0.1% growth recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022. Singapore
Singapore Executes Man Over 2.2 Lbs of Cannabis On Wednesday, 46-year-old Tangaraju Suppiah was executed at Singapore’s Changi prison complex, having previously been arrested for the intention to smuggle approximately 2.2 lbs of cannabis. World
India: Court Seeks Govt Reply in Comedian Case The Bombay High Court on Tuesday asked the Indian government to respond to an appeal submitted by comedian Kunal Kamra challenging recent changes to the country's Information Technology rules, which empowers the government to prevent social media companies from hosting information it deems fake.... Ukraine
Malaysian Parliament Moves to End Mandatory Death Penalty Malaysia's House of Representatives on Monday approved a parliamentary bill abolishing the mandatory death penalty and lifelong imprisonment, after years of the government seeking to make such punishment optional in the country.... Singapore
UK Joins Trans-Pacific Trade Pact On Friday, the UK announced it has agreed to join an 11-country trans-Pacific trade deal, named the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) — a step PM Rishi Sunak's office called the biggest trade deal since Brexit.... Iran
TikTok Hearing: US Lawmakers Question CEO During Testimony In his first appearance before Congress on Thursday, TikTok CEO Shou Chew was questioned by US lawmakers concerned about the platform's suspected ties to China, users' privacy, and its impact on children.... China
Canada Bans TikTok From Government Devices Canada announced Monday that it's banning TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices following growing Western concerns surrounding the security of the video-sharing social media app.... Metaculus
China: Retirees Protest Plan to Cut Health Benefits Hundreds of Chinese retirees in Wuhan and the northeastern city of Dalian demonstrated for a second time on Wednesday to protest government cuts to their medical benefits. This comes weeks before the annual National People's Congress, which will result in the PRC's new leadership.... China
Crypto Giant Genesis Files for Bankruptcy Genesis Capital, a cryptocurrency lender, filed for bankruptcy in New York late on Thursday, after being charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with illegally selling crypto Money
Singapore Tightens Rules on Death Row Inmates Filing Last Minute Appeals On Tuesday, Singapore's Parliament passed the Post-Appeal Applications in Capital Cases Bill, which makes it mandatory for death row inmates to get the Court of Appeal’s permission before filing post-appeal applications to challenge their death penalty. World
Singapore To Decriminalize Gay Sex Singapore's PM Lee Hsien Loong announced on Sun. that the nation is set to decriminalize sex between men. However, the reforms will stop short of legalizing marriage between homosexual couples. World