SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Growth in export-reliant Singapore suffered a surprise sharp contraction in the second quarter, official data showed Friday, sending a stark warning that US-China trade tensions are hurting the global economy. The city-state’s gross domestic product shrank an annualized 3.4 percent, sharply down from 3.8 percent growth in the first three months of the year and well off forecasts of a slight expansion. On a year-on-year basis, it expanded just 0.1 percent, […]
Tag: Singapore
PHL sends pair of Philippine eagles to Singapore to mark 50th year of diplomatic relations
(Eagle News) — The Philippine goverment has sent a pair of Philippine eagles to Singapore under a Wildlife Loan Agreement (WLA) between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) on Tuesday, June 4, marking the first-ever overseas loan of Philippine eagles. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the pair named Geothermica, a 15-year-old male Philippine eagle, and Sambisig, a 17-year old female eagle, will be provided […]
Singapore reports first case of rare monkeypox virus
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore has reported its first ever case of monkeypox, brought in by a Nigerian man thought to have contracted the rare virus by eating bushmeat at a wedding. Symptoms in humans of monkeypox — which is endemic in parts of Central and Western Africa — include lesions, fever, muscle ache and chills. Transmission is usually via close contact with infected animals such as rodents and monkeys and is limited between people. […]
Singapore’s ‘fake news’ laws upset tech giants
by Theodore Lim Agence France Presse SINGAPORE (AFP) — Tech giants have reacted with horror after Singapore proposed laws against “fake news” allowing authorities to order the removal of content and impose hefty fines, in what critics say is an assault on free speech. The government unveiled a bill last week containing tough measures, including powers for ministers to order social media sites like Facebook to put warnings next to posts authorities believe to […]
Singapore hopeful for China-backed Asia trade pact this year
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Singapore’s trade minister said Wednesday he was hopeful that an Asia-wide trade pact, which is backed by China and excludes the United States, could be sealed by the end of the year. On a visit to Washington, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said that a clearer picture would emerge on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in May after elections in four countries that are part of […]
Singapore hopeful for China-backed Asia trade pact this year
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Singapore’s trade minister said Wednesday he was hopeful that an Asia-wide trade pact, which is backed by China and excludes the United States, could be sealed by the end of the year. On a visit to Washington, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said that a clearer picture would emerge on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in May after elections in four countries that are part of it […]
Singaporean couple jailed for ‘worst of its kind’ maid abuse
Singapore (AFP) — A Singaporean couple was on Monday jailed for abusing a Myanmar maid after the pair force-fed her with a funnel, made her eat her own vomit and threatened to kill her family if she reported the maltreatment. In a case described by Singapore prosecutors as “arguably one of the worst of its kind” in the city-state, the married couple — who were sentenced two years ago over the abuse of another maid […]
Australia, Singapore ban Boeing 737 MAX jets, more airlines ground plane
by Sam Reeves Agence France Presse SINGAPORE (AFP) — Australia and Singapore on Tuesday banned Boeing 737 MAX planes from their airspace and airlines around the world grounded the jets following a second deadly accident in just five months. On Sunday a new Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 went down minutes into a flight to Nairobi, killing all 157 people on board. It came after a Lion Air jet of the same model crashed in […]
Singapore aviation regulator bans use of Boeing 737 MAX in its airspace
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore’s civil aviation regulator Tuesday banned the use of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in its airspace following a deadly Ethiopia plane crash at the weekend. The Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 went down minutes into a flight to Nairobi on Sunday, killing all 157 people on board. It was the same type of jet operated by Lion Air which crashed in Indonesia in October, killing 189 passengers and crew. The […]
Volvo unveils driverless electric bus in Singapore
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Volvo and a Singapore university unveiled a driverless electric bus Tuesday that will soon undergo tests in the city-state, the latest move towards rolling out autonomous vehicles for public transport. High-tech Singapore has become a testbed for self-driving technology and the world’s first driverless taxis went into operation in a limited public trial in the country in 2016. Swedish automaker Volvo Buses and its local partner Nanyang Technological University (NTU) unveiled […]
Trump, Kim optimistic over nuclear talks
by Sebastian Smith US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiled, shook hands and dined Wednesday in Hanoi, expressing optimism that their highly personal brand of diplomacy will lead to a deal on the totalitarian state’s nuclear weapons. At the start of around two hours of talks and dinner at a luxury hotel in the Vietnamese capital, Trump predicted a “very successful” summit, now due to resume Thursday. The two-day get-together […]
Vietnam readying for Kim train arrival next week: sources
Vietnamese authorities are preparing for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to arrive by train next week ahead of his summit with US president Donald Trump, several sources told AFP Friday. The leaders are slated to meet in Hanoi on February 27-28 to follow up on their first meeting last June in Singapore that ended with vaguely worded commitments on dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear program. Sources told AFP that Kim was expected to arrive by train […]





