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
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...What have resurgences around the world taught us about how local clusters emerge?
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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Disney removes clip to avoid censor giving film higher age rating
A scene showing a lesbian kiss has been cut from the Singaporean version of the Star Wars film The Rise of Skywalker.
The country’s media regulatory body said Disney removed the clip to avoid the film being given a higher age rating. It is PG13, which means parental guidance is advised for children under 13.
Continue reading...Tokyo may be the most ‘overworked’ city – but there are ways to measure how hard a city works other than simply totting up the overtime
In July 2013, 31-year-old Miwa Sado, a reporter for Japan’s national broadcaster NHK, was found dead in her Tokyo apartment. She had died from heart failure. It was later revealed that Sado had logged 159 hours and 37 minutes of overtime at work in the month before her death. Sado’s death was officially designated as a “death from overwork”.
So common are cases of people dying from overwork in Japan that the country has a special term for it, karoshi. The first case of karoshi was recorded in 1969; according to government data, Japan had 190 deaths from overwork in 2017.
Continue reading...Ambitious export plan could generate billions and make Australia the centre of low-cost energy in a future zero-carbon world
The desert outside Tennant Creek, deep in the Northern Territory, is not the most obvious place to build and transmit Singapore’s future electricity supply. Though few in the southern states are yet to take notice, a group of Australian developers are betting that will change.
If they are right, it could have far-reaching consequences for Australia’s energy industry and what the country sells to the world.
Continue reading...Acting US defence secretary Patrick Shanahan warns stability in the region is under threat, including the South China Sea
The United States will no longer “tiptoe” around Chinese behaviour in Asia, with stability in the region at threat on issues ranging from the South China Sea to Taiwan, acting US defence secretary Patrick Shanahan has said.
Shanahan did not directly name China when making accusations of “actors” destabilising the region, but went on to say on Saturday that the United States would not ignore Chinese behaviour, the latest acerbic exchange between the world’s two biggest economies.
Continue reading...Iran reforms drive 90% fall in death penalty worldwide, but report warns hardline approach to minor cases violates human rights
Global efforts to abolish the death penalty are in danger of being undermined by anti-drug governments that use capital punishment to enforce a zero-tolerance approach, experts have warned.
The caution comes even though the number of people sentenced to death for drug offences around the world has actually fallen by nearly 90% over the past four years, according to a study by Harm Reduction International, with 91 known deaths last year compared with 755 in 2015.
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