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WASHINGTON • Addressing reporters from the White House lectern, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made a startling claim shortly after President Donald Trump fired then Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director James Comey two years ago. “I’ve heard from countless members of the FBI that are grateful and thankful for the President’s decision,” she said, […]

In a bid to encourage more people to have families, the Government wants Singaporeans to share their views on marriage and parenthood over the next few months. “We want you to tell us what’s been going on, what suggestions you have, so that we can work on things that make a difference to you,” said […]

WASHINGTON • Book versions of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report were occupying the top spots of Amazon’s US bestseller list yesterday, despite being available for free online. Publishers are hoping to cash in on the intense interest in Mr Mueller’s long-awaited report on Russian tampering in the 2016 presidential election and Mr Donald Trump’s campaign. […]

The National University of Singapore (NUS) said yesterday it will convene a committee to review its disciplinary and support frameworks, after a female undergraduate accused it of not doing enough to punish a fellow student who had filmed her showering. Ms Monica Baey, 23 and a third-year NUS communications and new media undergraduate, said the […]

RIVERSIDE (California) • A California couple who tortured 12 of their 13 children, starving and beating them, depriving them of sleep and sometimes shackling them to their beds with chains, were sentenced on Friday to 25 years to life in prison. Some of their children gave statements at the sentencing hearing in Riverside, California, saying […]

Over the next few months, the Government wants to hear from Singaporeans what they think about marriage and parenthood. Manpower Minister Josephine Teo said that the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) has set up a section on the Heybaby.sg website for people to submit suggestions on how to better support young families. The website […]

KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysia is putting its defence spending on the back burner as the government is channelling more than RM20 billion (S$6.56 billion) to bail out two key Malay institutions, Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu has said. The Pakatan Harapan government is pumping money into Muslim pilgrimage fund Tabung Haji and landowners under the government’s […]

By 2021, PCF Sparkletots, the largest pre-school operator here, will have 38 centres that admit younger children aged up to four. These Early Years Centres, first announced in 2017, are part of the Government’s efforts to raise the quality of pre-school standards in children’s early years and meet the growing demand for full-day childcare places. […]

KOTA BARU • The Crown Prince of Kelantan, Tengku Muhammad Faiz Petra, has married Swedish national Sofie Louise Johansson, 33. The solemnisation ceremony was conducted on Thursday night at the main Istana Balai Besar, in the state capital Kota Baru. Malaysian media had reported that the couple have known each other since Tengku Muhammad Faiz, 45, […]

The Early Years Centre in Punggol North is currently one of the few pre-schools run by PCF Sparkletots still using a food caterer for its meals, as it does not have sufficient kitchen space to feed 1,000 children at full capacity. But PCF chief executive Victor Bay said the centre will be building bigger kitchen […]

Patients at some nursing homes here are being tagged and their movements tracked round the clock, in a controversial practice that has drawn mixed reactions. At least three nursing homes and a senior care centre in Singapore have been tracking the movement of seniors within their facilities by tagging them with radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, […]

The fragile newborn weighed just 870g – less than the weight of a regular milk carton – when he was born here to a holidaying British couple, some 15 weeks before the due date. Baby Lorcan had to be rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where he was kept in an incubator with […]

Virtual reality (VR) devices seem the preserve of young, switched-on techies, but they are having a transformative effect on some elderly folk like Mr Ho Chee Kiong. When Mr Ho, who has dementia, first entered a senior daycare centre at Ayer Rajah a few months ago, he shunned the activities. Instead, he stood at the […]

SAN ANTONIO, Texas • It should have been one of the happiest moments of Ms Priscilla Maldonado’s life but, instead, the 25-year-old mother was terrified. It was New Year’s Day and she had just delivered her newborn son, Ja’bari. She said she heard her son’s soft cries – and then the hospital room fell silent. […]

WASHINGTON • The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned governments not to rock the boat with trade wars and other disruptions at a time when the global economy is already sailing through choppy waters. “We see downside risk and that means one has to be very careful,” IMF first deputy managing director David Lipton told […]

JOHOR BARU • Johor ruler, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, has accepted the resignation of Datuk Osman Sapian as the state’s Menteri Besar (chief minister). A new Menteri Besar is expected to be appointed today, a working day in Johor, said State Secretary Azmi Rohani in a statement yesterday. It was learnt that Bukit Kepong assemblyman […]

The operators of Singapore’s two integrated resorts (IRs), which this month injected $9 billion in fresh investment, are also itching to place their bets on Japan in the race to enter the world’s largest untapped casino gambling market. Las Vegas Sands Corp and Genting Singapore, which run Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa respectively, […]

PETALING JAYA • Malaysian police have pieced together the money trail behind the purchase of a pink diamond that allegedly used funds from scandal-plagued 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). The federal police’s Anti-Money Laundering division chief, Senior Assistant Commissioner Khalil Azlan Chik, said police had obtained evidence that the pink diamond, worth US$23 million (S$31 million), […]

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, along with a number of other Singapore leaders, joined some 3,500 Singaporeans living, working and studying across China at Century Park in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai yesterday to enjoy a slice of home at Singapore Day. Participants were treated to Singapore fare such as carrot cake, Indian […]

Even on their wedding night, he had beaten her up. Unhappy that they could not get a hotel room at short notice as all were fully booked, David shoved Susie (not their real names) to the ground and trod all over her back. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Learn […]

It looks like a typical temple dedicated to Guanyin, but behind the altar of the goddess are living quarters for women. The Little India shophouse unit at 19 Cuff Road has been home to a low-profile group of “vegetarian aunts” and their adopted daughters since it was established in 1954 by a Hakka woman. Please […]

Every eighth day of the lunar month, Fengzhu Gu (not her birth name), who wears her hair in a neat bun, prays from 6am till noon. The 80-year-old flips through a book with neatly catalogued pink slips of prayer requests from devotees, and recites scriptural prayers on their behalf. Their prayer needs range from pleas […]

It was a make-or-break moment to sway undecided voters when President Joko Widodo and his challenger Prabowo Subianto rounded off their campaigning with a final debate last night. Together with their running mates, they sparred over issues ranging from the economy and social welfare, to finance, investment and industry. Mr Joko, 57, who is running […]

Incumbent President Joko Widodo’s final campaign rally yesterday was not a plain vanilla event, it was “hijacked” by rock stars, a music conductor, comedians and others who turned it into a free concert. Yesterday was the last official day of campaigning for Wednesday’s presidential polls, in which Mr Joko, who is seeking re-election for a […]

It was a vintage performance by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who, at his final campaign rally yesterday, showed why he has been dubbed the “people’s president” with polls showing he remains the favourite to win Wednesday’s national election. Mr Joko began his address to supporters packed into the Gelora Bung Karno stadium with a reminder […]

Fake news has made some companies lose business, jeopardised relationships and even put some in harm’s way. These victims of falsehood could soon get faster relief, with the proposed expansion of the courts’ powers to order publishers, Internet platforms and third parties to rectify untruths by taking them down, issuing corrections or disabling access to […]

WASHINGTON • The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned policymakers that the global economy is not out of the woods yet, and that actions such as trade wars risk upsetting the apple cart. IMF first deputy managing director David Lipton said on Friday that the global financial institution sees a downside risk to economic growth […]

A group of academics has said it cannot accept the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) assurances that the proposed law against online falsehoods will not affect their work. The 83 academics from around the world, including Singaporeans based at home and overseas, made clear in a press release yesterday that they wanted the assurances to be […]

Multi-award-winning architect Moshe Safdie says he expects Jewel Changi Airport to become a powerful icon for Singapore. Mr Safdie, 80, who also designed Marina Bay Sands, said he did not expect MBS to become a landmark symbol of Singapore, possibly exceeding the status of the Sydney Opera House. “I do predict now, though, that Jewel […]

Ms May Liu’s halal-certified yong tau foo stall at Westgate mall was open for just six months when it was rocked by fake news alleging that it sold a pork dish. Someone had snapped a picture of her stall in a way that suggested it was advertising a pork belly dish, when, in fact, the […]