Category Archives: Singapore

‘Super app’ Grab to go public in record $40bn Spac merger

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Singapore-headquartered firm offers one-stop shopstyle service, including ride hailing, banking and food delivery

South-east Asian “super app” Grab, which offers services from ride hailing and food delivery to online banking, is to float in the US in a record deal with a so-called Spac investment company that values the business at almost $40bn (£29bn).

Singapore-headquartered Grab, which intends to list on Nasdaq in the US, has struck a $39.5bn merger deal with US-based Altimeter Growth Corp. It is by far the biggest deal to date involving a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) – a so-called “blank cheque” shell company that raises money first and seeks businesses to buy later – which has become the latest trend in global finance over the last year.

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Hidden human rights crises threaten post-Covid global security – Amnesty

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‘Crises will multiply’ if escalating repression by governments under pretext of pandemic ignored, says secretary general

Neglected human rights crises around the world have the potential to undermine already precarious global security as governments continue to use Covid as a cover to push authoritarian agendas, Amnesty International has warned.

The organisation said ignoring escalating hotspots for human rights violations and allowing states to perpetrate abuses with impunity could jeopardise efforts to rebuild after the pandemic.

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Singapore blogger ordered to pay nearly US$100,000 damages to PM for Facebook post

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Blogger argued he had ‘merely shared’ an article without changing content or adding comments

The Singapore high court has ordered a blogger to pay S$133,000 (US$98,825) in damages in a defamation case to the prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong.

Lee sued Leong Sze Hian, a financial adviser, after he shared on Facebook an online news article .

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Australia plans travel bubble with Singapore

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If deal goes ahead Singapore could become a quarantine gateway for vaccinated stranded Australians and other travellers

The Australian government is working on a plan to create a travel bubble with Singapore.

If struck, the deal could also establish Singapore as a quarantine gateway for travellers on their way to Australia, the Age and Sydney Morning Herald report. Deputy prime minister Michael McCormack confirmed the government was working on the plan on the ABC on Sunday morning.

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‘Too good to be true’: the deal with an Isis-linked Australian family that betrayed PNG’s most marginalised

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A sustainable forestry project established to develop some of PNG’s most marginalised communities has become mired in an international corruption scandal

“There is always the stench of corruption around a deal that is too bad to be true or too good to be true,” a full-page advertisement in Papua New Guinea’s Post Courier baldly declared in May 2018.

“Usually, because it’s not true.”

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‘It’s a big deal’: why former protester turned Davos mayor wants WEF back

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Philipp Wilhelm knows local people rely on forum’s revenue – but still thinks world must change

In his youth, Philipp Wilhelm was at the forefront of protests against the World Economic Forum’s annual “extreme capitalism” gathering of the business and political elite in Davos, the Swiss mountain resort where he grew up.

Now, however, Wilhelm is the mayor of the town and his central mission is to ensure the return of the WEF jamboree, which had been scheduled to start next week but was cancelled this year due to the pandemic.

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‘Glamping’ at Singapore airport offers in-tents retail therapy

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Guests grounded by Covid can ‘wake up to the refreshing view of the majestic HSBC Rain Vortex’ or peg a bargain in the shops

Singapore’s Changi airport is charging customers up to $269 per night for the chance to camp in a tent in its retail wing, the latest unusual travel experience aimed at boosting revenue during the pandemic.

Tickets for the “glamping” experience, which have already sold out, offer guests the chance to “wake up to the refreshing view of the majestic HSBC Rain Vortex”, the world’s largest indoor waterfall. Tents are four metres in diameter and come with blankets. Shopping discounts are also included.

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Singapore ‘cruise to nowhere’ ends after passenger tests positive for Covid-19

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The post-pandemic test voyage is open only to city-state residents but 2,000 passengers were confined to their cabins after one contracted the virus

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A passenger on board a “cruise-to-nowhere” from Singapore has tested positive for Covid-19, the operator Royal Caribbean said on Wednesday.

Singapore has been trialling the trips which are open only to the city-state’s residents, make no stops and sail in waters close by. At 2.45 am on Wednesday morning, the captain of the Quantum of the Seas informed the 2,000 passengers that the ship was to return to dock a day early and that they should stay in their rooms, the Straits Times reports.

At 8.10 the captain confirmed that a passenger had tested positive. Breakfast would be served to passengers in their rooms, he said.

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Cabin fever: tickets for meal onboard Singapore parked plane sell out

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Diners paid up to £360 to eat onboard in latest sign of public appetite for aircraft experience

Diners have rushed to pay up to £360 per head to eat a meal on a stationary plane, in the latest sign of public appetite to recreate the onboard experience without travelling.

Singapore Airlines launched a waiting list after tickets rapidly sold out for two weekends of sittings onboard two stationary A380 superjumbos, with meals at seats and the chance to watch a movie, albeit no longer in-flight.

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Singapore launches Covid-secure luxury cruises … to nowhere

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City state follows Qantas in offering jaunts with no destination with ships half full and masks mandatory

Singapore is launching Covid-secure cruise holidays to nowhere, in the latest attempt to offer a long-distance travel experience with no stops.

Australian airline Qantas drew criticism from environmental groups last month after advertising a seven-hour round trip from Sydney including fly-pasts of famous sights including Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef.

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William Norways: a prisoner of war’s sketches on the Thai-Burma railway – in pictures

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British soldier Bill Norways was captured by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore and forced to work on the infamous Thai-Burma railway. During his time as a PoW he created sketches and artworks under appalling conditions

• Families of British prisoner and Japanese guard united by poem 70 years on

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Global report: coronavirus cases pass 20m as WHO points to ‘green shoots of hope’

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US considers blocking infected citizens returning; Australian outbreak trends down; Singapore economy plunges 43%

Nearly five months to the day since the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic, Covid-19 infections have passed 20 million cases. In acknowledging the milestone, the health body’s chief warned against despair, saying if the virus could be suppressed effectively, “we can safely open up societies”.

Global cases reached one million at the start of April. By 22 May, there were 5 million cases. That figure had doubled to 10 million cases by the end of June, and, seven weeks later, it had doubled again to 20 million infections.

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Cramped workplaces, parties … the factors fuelling local Covid-19 spikes

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What have resurgences around the world taught us about how local clusters emerge?

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    • It is not always possible to pinpoint the origin of a local spike in cases, particularly in countries like the UK, where the disease is still circulating at relatively significant levels.

    But in countries where overall caseloads are lower, and with rigorous test-and-trace schemes, it has been possible to pinpoint the factors that have sparked or fuelled local outbreaks.

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    Singapore’s ruling party dominates election but opposition makes historic gains

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    Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong retains overwhelming majority as popular vote slips amid coronavirus pandemic

    Singapore’s governing party has comfortably won the city-state’s general election but faced a setback as the opposition made minor but historic gains.

    The prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, said his People’s Action party (PAP) secured 83 parliamentary seats on Friday, 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 the parliament, increased its seats from six to 10 – the biggest victory for the opposition since independence.

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    No future benefit in Kim’s relationship with Trump, says North Korea

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    Pyongyang says since summit two years ago US has appeared friendly but has instead sought regime change

    North Korea sees no future benefit in maintaining a relationship between its leader, Kim Jong-Un, and Donald Trump, the country’s state media has said on the two-year anniversary of the pair’s first summit.

    US policies prove Washington remains a long-term threat to the North Korean state and its people, foreign minister Ri Son Gwon said in a statement carried by state news agency KCNA.

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    Global report: China hails coronavirus response as world death toll tops 400,000

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    Beijing denies cover-up or delay, while countries easing lockdowns face spike in cases

    The number of confirmed deaths from coronavirus globally has topped 400,000, as the Chinese government released a report lauding its own response to the pandemic that emerged in the city of Wuhan six months ago.

    As more countries prepared to continue easing their lockdowns from Monday, Singapore’s prime minister warned the city-state’s citizens that they were entering a tougher world of slowing demand and travel restrictions for the foreseeable future.

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    Spandau Ballet star comes to Singapore man’s rescue in radio row

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    Tony Hadley answers plea for help from quiz player accused of mispronouncing singer’s name

    A quiz contestant in Singapore has prevailed in a battle with a radio station that denied him a cash prize over his pronunciation of the Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley’s name – after winning support from the celebrity himself.

    Muhammad Shalehan emailed Hadley after being refused the S$10,000 (£5,750) prize on the grounds that he had mispronounced Hadley’s name in a competition in which callers must identify celebrities in a sound clip.

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    Will there be a second wave of coronavirus?

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    As countries ease lockdowns, the worry is that populations remain highly vulnerable

    With more countries planning to loosen restrictions imposed due to coronavirus but the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, concerned about the potential for a resurgence or second wave, here is what we know from the rest of the world about the risk of Covid-19 coming back.

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    Singapore coronavirus surge raises fears of post-lockdown breakouts

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    City state reports 142 new infections as other countries eye ways out of lockdown amid economic fears

    Fears have resurfaced about the ability of coronavirus to surge again after lockdowns are eased, as Singapore confirmed a sharp rise in new infections.

    One of the worst-hit countries when the virus first spread from China in January, Singapore’s strict surveillance and quarantine regime helped slow the outbreak, but recent rises in locally transmitted cases have raised fresh concerns. Singapore reported 142 new infections on Wednesday.

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    Stranded British woman resumes holiday after missing wheelchair part found

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    Gemma Quinn, who is paralysed, can continue trip across Asia after Emirates finds part of her custom-built chair it lost

    A woman who was left stranded in Singapore after part of her wheelchair was lost while travelling with Emirates from Manchester airport can now continue her holiday after the part was found.

    Gemma Quinn, 35, who was paralysed from the neck down in a car accident as a child in 1992, booked a 19-day trip across Asia with her two carers at a cost of more than £15,000.

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