Singapore tells foreign firm like Google, Facebook not to back Singapore gay rights rally

Singapore has warned Google, Facebook and Goldman Sachs not to interfere in the conservative city-state’s internal affairs after they and other multinational corporate giants sponsored a gay rights rally at the weekend.

The government “will take steps to make it clear that foreign entities should not fund, support or influence such events held at the Speakers’ Corner”, the interior ministry said in statement, referring to Singapore’s only legal protest area.

The warning against foreign involvement with the annual Pink Dot rally comes as Singapore’s government is taking an increasingly conservative stance against gay rights.

The ministry said it had released the statement on Sunday in response to media queries about whether foreign companies can legally provide sponsorship for the event, which was held this year on June 4 and also sponsored by Twitter, BP and major banks Barclays and J.P. Morgan.

“The Government’s general position has always been that foreign entities should not interfere in our domestic issues, especially political issues or controversial social issues with political overtones,” said the statement.

“These are political, social or moral choices for Singaporeans to decide for ourselves. LGBT issues are one such example,” it added.

In a separate statement released on Thursday, the ministry said that no action will be taken against foreign companies that sponsored the event this year.

Pink Dot’s organisers defended their choice of sponsors, saying they had done all they could to comply with Singapore’s laws.

“Our Corporate Sponsors that have supported us over the years are all registered and incorporated in Singapore,” Pink Dot said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.

Google spokesman said the company had supported the event since 2011, but declined to elaborate further. Other major companies who sponsored the event could not be reached for comment.

Started in 2009, the rally has grown despite a backlash from social and religious conservatives in the multi-racial nation of 5.5 million.

More than 28,000 attended last year’s event but organisers said they did not keep track of attendance this year.

Gay rights movements in the wealthy city-state have grown steadily in recent years, helped by changing social norms among the younger generation and a large influx of tourists and expatriates.

However, in 2014 Singapore’s top court upheld a law that criminalises sex between men, and children’s books with gay themes were moved to the adults section in public libraries.

In an interview with journalists last year, Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said the country was not ready to legalise same-sex marriage, but added that the local gay community is not harassed or discriminated against.

The Chosen media have a short interview with Opposition Pioneer SMC Candidate Mr Elvin Ong of National Solidarity Party (NSP) on GE2015. He agrees and supports Mr PM Lee and government strong and firm stand of the government. He believes that majority Singaporeans are not against the LGBT community and have accepted them as part of Singapore and respect their choice of lifestyle. He also believes Singaporeans are strongly still against amendment of constitution for pushing the limit of same-sex marriage, where Pink dot denial initially, but later admit this truth through constant pressure by Singapore community. He added the supports of stopping foreign intervention of Pink Dot by cutting off foreign finance support and influence for such rally, to protect Singapore pro-family national culture, which is one of the most important parts of our national building foundation. We should continue to uphold it at a national basis, regardless of any political and religious believes.

China Is Anger About the Pentagon’s Latest Report on Its Military Activity

China is angry about latest Pentagon report, claiming that they have condemned it as a deliberate distortion that exaggerates Chinese military activity and their ramped up activities in the hotly contested South China Sea.

In its annual report to Congress on Chinese military activity, released Friday, the US Department of Defense said that China’s “investments in military and weaponry operations continue on a path to increase its power projection.”

Abraham M. Denmark, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia, said in a Pentagon statement that “China continues to focus on preparing for potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait,” referring to a strait in the highly contentious South China Sea which separates the island of Taiwan from the Asian mainland. “Additional missions such as contingencies in the East and South China seas and on the Korean Peninsula are increasingly important to the [People’s Liberation Army].”

“This report documents the kind of military that China is building,” Denmark said. “It lets the facts speak for themselves.”

Denmark said that China’s official military budget ballooned between 2006 and 2015 — growing on average about 9.8 percent each year in inflation adjusted terms, noting that the disclosed budget omits a number of important spending categories such as research and development.

China’s Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun expressed “strong dissatisfaction” and “firm opposition” to the Pentagon report, saying it had “severely damaged” mutual trust.

The report “hyped up” China’s military threat and lack of transparency, “deliberately distorted” Chinese defense policies and “unfairly” depicted Chinese activities in the East and South China seas, Yang was quoted as saying.

“China follows a national defense policy that is defensive in nature,” Yang said, adding that the country’s military build-up and reforms are aimed at maintaining sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and guaranteeing China’s peaceful development.

It is the United States that has always been suspicious and flexing its military muscle by frequently sending military aircraft and warships to the region, Yang said.

Despite its calls for freedom of navigation and restraint for peace, the US has pushed forward militarization of the South China Sea with an “intention to exert hegemony,” Yang added.

The Pentagon report said the planned addition of military infrastructure would give China long-term “civil-military bases” in the contested waters. It estimated that China’s reclamation work had added more than 3,200 acres of land on seven features it occupied in the Spratly Islands in the space of two years. The Spratly Islands are a disputed archipelago which lies off the coast of Malaysia and the Philippines.

The report said China had completed its major reclamation efforts in October, switching focus to infrastructure development, including three 9,800 foot-long airstrips that can accommodate advanced fighter jets.

Yang, the spokesman, defended the construction, saying it serves mostly civilian purposes and helps fulfill China’s international responsibilities and obligations by providing more public goods.

The Pentagon report comes at a time of heightened tension over maritime territories claimed by China and disputed by several Asian nations. Washington has accused Beijing of militarizing the South China Sea while Beijing, in turn, has criticized increased US naval patrols and exercises in Asia.

Last week, China scrambled fighter jets on Tuesday as a US Navy ship sailed close to a disputed reef in the South China Sea, a patrol China denounced as an illegal threat to peace which only went to show its defense installations in the area were necessary

The US contends that those patrols are intended to emphasize that the waters of the South China Sea are international, and that all countries are entitled to freedom of navigation.

The US report also dredged up old grievances against China’s government and military for cyber attacks against US. government computer systems — a charge Beijing denies. The Pentagon said that attacks in 2015 appeared focused on intelligence collection.

China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Brunei hold sometimes conflicting claims over the waters. Countries seek control over the South China Sea because of its rich fishing grounds and the estimated $5 trillion of trade that passes through it each year.

In addition to fishing, the areas surrounding the uninhabited and disputed island archipelagos are believed to be rich in minerals, but until now have been largely unexplored.

The question of which nations have rightful claim to the South China Sea is currently under consideration by an international court in The Hague. The matter was brought before the international court by the Philippines. Beijing has vowed to ignore the ruling, which is expected later this month or in early June.

Lightning strikes that kill 50 in Bangladesh

More than 50 people across Bangladesh have died after being struck by lightning in the past two days, police say.

Many of the dead were farmers who were killed as they worked in their paddy fields.

Bangladesh is prone to electrical storms but this year they have been particularly severe.

Experts suggest a general rise in temperatures and deforestation may be factors.

Other victims included two students in the capital, Dhaka, who were struck as they played football, and a teenage boy who died when he went to collect mangoes.

About 90 people have been killed by lightning since March, compared to a total of 51 people in the whole of 2015.

The head of Bangladesh’s disaster management body Mohammad Riaz Ahmed told VoA he was “indeed concerned” by the rise in the number of deaths.

He said further thunderstorms were predicted for later this month.

Strong tropical storms regularly hit Bangladesh ahead of and during the monsoon season, which runs from June to September.

Singapore reports first imported case of Zika virus

Singapore has reported the first imported case of Zika virus in the country. The Ministry of Health (MOH) and National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Friday a 48-year-old man who returned from Sao Paulo in Brazil was diagnosed with Zika symptoms.

“The patient is a 48-year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident who had travelled to Sao Paulo, Brazil from Mar 27 to May 7. The patient developed fever and rash from May 10 and was admitted to Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital on May 12 and isolated,” a joint statement by the agencies said.

The patient is recovering fast and is isolated to prevent the spread of the virus in the community.

The patient hails from Watten Estate, which is not considered as an active cluster in terms of Aedes mosquito population. However, the health agencies are screening his household members.

“We advise residents of Watten Estate, Casa Perla, Hillcrest Arcadia, The Arcadia and Watten Hill Condominium to monitor their health,” the agencies added in a statement.

Channel News Asia said the news spooked the residents in the area. One resident, a 3-month pregnant woman, told the channel: “I’m also four months pregnant so I’m quite worried about this, but there are only so many precautions I can take.”

Her husband said the Watten Rise and Shelford Road areas teemed with mosquito population. “There are a lot of mosquitoes in this area. One walk around the nearby park, and you get 20 bites in one minute,” he said.

Aedes mosquito also transmits dengue. Singapore diagnoses hundreds of dengue cases each month.

Zika virus spread panic in southern America by causing brain damage in infants known as microcephaly. In February, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the rise in cases of brain damage in newborn babies caused by Zika virus a global public health emergency.

The virus doesn’t spread directly from person to person. Vaccines are not available to counter the disease and there is no specific treatment for it. Meanwhile, scientists in the US, who likened Zika outbreak to the Ebola crisis, said it could be years before a vaccine is publicly available.

Singapore’s Health Minister Amy Khor warned last month that Zika virus will “inevitably” come to Singapore.

Zika facts

You get the disease when bitten by the infected Aedes mosquitoes.

Usually only one in five people infected with the virus gets sick.

According to WHO, the symptoms of Zika fever consist of mild fever, rash (mostly maculo-papular), headaches, arthralgia, myalgia, asthenia, and non-purulent conjunctivitis, occurring about three to twelve days after the mosquito vector bite.

Most cases are mild but the disease develops complications in certain cases, especially in pregnant women and newborn babies.

In Singapore, medical experts have said the country is extremely vulnerable to Zika virus.

In Southeast Asia, Cambodia and Thailand have reported Zika virus and the disease has historically occurred in southeast Asia.

The disease has spread to Europe with a Danish resident being diagnosed with the virus. The patient had traveled to Central and South America.

In Germany and Portugal too Zika virus has been found in people who returned from South America. As many as six cases have been reported in UK, Public Health England has said.

Europe building up defense shield, protecting themselves from ballistic missiles

United States (U.S.) latest addition to its Ballistic Missile Defence System looks out of place surrounded by mile after mile of flat Romanian farmland.

The building at Devesulu, which houses radar and 12 interceptor missile tubes, appears remarkably similar to the “sensors and shooters” that have already been placed on US Aegis warships.

It has even been painted in the same battleship grey and is manned and operated by US Navy personnel who will rotate on six-month tours as if they were at sea. They might as well be, because there are few signs of human life nearby.

Devesulu is the first land-based ballistic interceptor system to be set up in Europe. At a ceremony attended by Romanian, US and Nato leaders on Thursday it was declared “operational”.

It is now able to fire “a bullet at a bullet”: the interceptor missile tries to hit a ballistic missile on re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere.

Work is now starting on building a second base in northern Poland. Together with four US Aegis warships, these Aegis Ashore sites will provide a network that can identify, track and shoot down ballistic missiles fired towards Europe.

Turkey already has an early warning radar that activates the Aegis system and will eventually be joined by one in the UK.

Dutch and Danish warships are also being fitted with sensors that will plug into the system.

It will all be controlled from the US base in Ramstein, Germany. Ostensibly under Nato control, in reality it is the US that is largely driving and funding this programme.

Where is the threat?

So where does the threat come from? Nato’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, says “many countries are seeking to develop or acquire their own ballistic missiles”.

The Middle East region is often mentioned but US officials have been more specific in naming Iran as a potential aggressor.

Despite the recent agreement on Tehran’s nuclear programme, it is pressing ahead with its own ballistic missile programme.

Still, it seems odd to ramp up the pressure on Iran so soon after it’s made concessions to the West. As for other “threats from the Middle East” it is all rather vague.

Strangely, the clearest language from both Nato and US officials is about what the system is not. “It’s not about Russia” is the prefix to any description of the system.

At the Deveselu ceremony the US Deputy Defence Secretary, Robert Work, said: “I want to make clear – this site, nor the site going into Poland – will have the capacity to undermine Russia’s strategic (nuclear) deterrent.”

Mr Stoltenberg insisted: “The interceptors are too few and located too far south to intercept Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles.”

The language, though, appears to be deliberately precise. There is no mention of Russian short and medium range ballistic missiles.

Nor is there any denial that the sensors will be able to look into Russian territory. Few would argue the two nations housing the land-based interceptors, Romania and Poland, are more worried about say Iran or North Korea’s actions than their biggest and nearest neighbour.

There are, of course, plenty of good reasons to play down any potential impact on Russia as tensions are already high.

Russia has been flexing its military muscle near to Nato’s borders and the Alliance has responded by stepping up its own military exercises.

It is easy to see why the reassurances have not worked.

Moscow says the system is a threat to its own security, even if it is a defensive measure. And given recent history it is hard to see how this system, which will be upgraded through its lifetime, has “nothing to do with Russia”.

Russia has a track record of being misleading and worse – not least over its intervention in both Ukraine and Syria.

But on missile defence, Nato and the US may also risk being accused of not telling the whole truth.

Finance minister collapses during Cabinet meeting, suffered a stroke. Opposition leaders wishing him speedy and well Recovery.

Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat suffered a stroke today and has been hospitalised at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), where doctors are attending to him.

Heng, 55, collapsed during a Cabinet meeting at 5.34pm (0934 GMT) Three doctors who were present attended to him immediately and an ambulance was called, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. “Hope Swee Keat will be alright ― he is a valuable member of my team,” said Lee.

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen wrote on Facebook that Heng was resuscitated after he collapsed. “We managed to resuscitate him but he and his family will now need all our prayers and support as he undergoes critical procedures and treatment for the stroke,” said Dr Ng. “Let us together hope earnestly for his recovery.”

At the hospital, a CT scan showed that Heng had suffered a stroke. “Doctors are attending to him now,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, issued close to 7pm. Member of Parliament (Tampines) Baey Yam Keng tweeted that he had seen Heng, who is also MP for Tampines GRC, during lunch. “He was his usual self,” said Baey. Wishing Heng a speedy recovery, Baey said the Tampines Group Representation Constituency (GRC) team “will look after residents of Tampines Central”

National Solidarity Party (NSP) lead by their president Mr Sebastian Teo and Secretary-General Lim Tean contest him on General Election 2015 at Tampines, posted on NSP facebook sending their concern of he’s condition and he’s family, wishing him well and speedy recovery.

Taiwan convicted subway killer executed

Taiwan on Tuesday (May 10) executed a former college student who killed four people in a random stabbing spree on a subway two years ago, in an attack which horrified the generally peaceful island.

Cheng Chieh, 23, was anaesthetised then shot three times by a firing squad at a jail outside Taipei a little before 9.00 pm, deputy justice minister Chen Ming-tang told reporters.

“Death was the only way to show publically that justice had been served and to relieve the sorrow and pain of victims’ families,” he said.

Cheng was sentenced to death last year for killing four people and injuring another 22, in the first fatal attack on the capital’s subway system since it launched in 1996.

His execution surprised many, however, as it came less than three weeks after the supreme court upheld the death sentence despite last-ditch efforts by rights groups.

Among the victims of the attack in May 2014 was a man named Hsieh Ching-yun. His mother said she was “glad” Cheng had been executed.

“Losing my son is a pain that will last forever, for the rest of my life,” she told the TVBS cable news network.

Prosecutors sought the death penalty for Cheng, saying psychological evaluations showed that he was not suffering from any mental disorder when he committed the crime.

Cheng, who pleaded guilty to the charges, was expelled by his university after the attack and was described by prosecutors as “anti-society, narcissistic, immature and pessimistic”.

Local media said he had been obsessed with gory online games and had written horror stories.

Cheng’s parents had asked for him to be sentenced to death, calling their son’s actions “unforgivable”.

The incident shocked Taiwan, otherwise proud of its low levels of violent crime, and resulted in several minor injuries as edgy commuters fled trains over false alarms in the following week.

There are currently 42 prisoners on death row in Taiwan, all of whom will face a firing squad when they are executed.

Court sentences rapist nearly 17 years’ jail with 22 strokes

Rapist, Lim Choon Beng Photo

A 30-year-old man who, in 20 minutes, raped a woman at three locations along a stretch of public road in 2013 was yesterday sentenced to 16 years, 10 months and two weeks in jail, and 22 strokes of the cane.

In sentencing Lim Choon Beng, Judicial Commissioner Foo Chee Hock said: “The idea that one can walk safely on the public road in Singapore at any time of the day was shattered by the shocking and brazen acts of the accused on that morning.” He said a clear message must be sent that those who commit such offences will be punished with “the full force of the law”.

Prosecutors had sought at least 17 years’ jail and the maximum 24 strokes of the cane for Lim, pointing to the “audacity” of his repeated rapes of the woman, a stranger.

Lim initially pleaded not guilty to raping the woman, then a 24-year-old nightclub singer from China, who was walking home alone in the wee hours of Feb 9, 2013.

The woman, now 27, returned to Singapore to give testimony on how Lim, who was then drunk, had raped her along Martin Road outside the Watermark condominium, then outside the Robertson 100 condominium, and finally near lamp post number 16 along River Valley Close.

A day after the trial started, Lim decided to plead guilty to two charges of rape, one charge of sexual assault and one charge of aggravated outrage of modesty.

The court heard that the woman begged Lim to let her go but he threatened to beat her if she resisted. After the third rape, she escaped.

Lim was arrested after the victim returned to River Valley Close and pointed him out to police, who had been called in by a security guard.

 

Former NATO Leaders says UK Should Stay In EU

Clockwise from top L: Scheffer, Solana, Rasmussen, Robertson and Carrington

Five former secretaries general of NATO have published a letter supporting Britain’s continued membership of the EU.

Lord Carrington, Javier Solana, Lord Robertson, Jaap De Hoop Scheffer and Anders Fogh Rasmussen have written to say: “Given the scale and range of challenges to peace and stability we collectively face, the Euro-Atlantic community needs an active and engaged United Kingdom.

“At a time of such global instability, and when NATO is trying to reinforce its role in Eastern Europe, it would be very troubling if the UK ended its membership of the European Union.

“While the decision is one for the British people, Brexit would undoubtedly lead to a loss of British influence, undermine NATO and give succour to the West’s enemies just when we need to stand shoulder to shoulder across the Euro-Atlantic community against common threats, including on our doorstep.”

The letter, which was distributed by Downing Street, comes a day after David Cameron gave a speech defending Britain’s membership of the EU asking: “Can we be so sure that peace and stability on our continent are assured beyond any shadow of doubt?

“Is that a risk worth taking?

“I would never be so rash as to make that assumption.”

But senior Conservative Dr Julian Lewis, the chairman of the Defence Select Committee, has accused the Prime Minister of entering “some sort of Alice Through The Looking Glass world”.

“The real deterrent to an outside aggressor is very clear: it is the United States belonging to NATO.

“What the European Union is trying to do by building a common foreign and defence policy is trying to duplicate NATO without the involvement of the United States and that is highly dangerous.”

Last month, in an interview with Sky News, the current NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: “A strong UK at the heart of Europe is good for NATO.

“It’s good for our security and a fragmented Europe is bad for security.”

The letter is the first time so many former secretaries general have written together.

Between them they led the alliance during the Cold War and following the 9/11 attacks.

North Korea Crowds Cheer For Newly Promoted Kim Jong-Un

Hundreds of thousands have attended a massive rally and parade to mark the end of North Korea’s first ruling Workers’ Party congress in 36 years.

Crowds cheered, waved flowers and fanatically applauded Kim Jong-Un as the 33-year-old leader looked down on his people.

The Pyongyang spectacle also featured floats adorned with patriotic slogans, a military band and marchers waving flags and pom-poms.

Journalist reporters says”People are chanting ‘long live Kim Jong-Un’ as a gun salute goes on in the background.

What it is really all about is this man – the veneration of Kim Jong-Un.

“He has been formally promoted from first secretary to chairman of the ruling Workers’ Party, but in reality his power was already absolute.

“His predecessors – his father, Kim Jong-Il, and grandfather, Kim Il-Sung – were worshipped as deities here.

“What you are seeing is the growth of Kim Jong-Un. He is cementing his power, his authority, his popularity.

“All the while people here are being told that he is the defender of the nation and that his pursuit of nuclear weapons is the only way to preserve the dignity and sovereignty of this country.

“Most of the rest of the world would say that in fact his pursuit of nuclear weapons is bringing sanctions to this country, actively making people’s lives here harder – but that is not what people here are being told.

“The complete control of information, what they hear here, is the version of reality according to Kim Jong-Un.

“These are the images they want our cameras to shoot – the people here are happy, almost absurdly so.

“They say this has not been so much a congress, as a coronation.”

Kim Jong-Un’s predecessors keep their posthumous titles after his ‘promotion’.

His grandfather, North Korean founder Kim Il-Sung is still “eternal president” and his father Kim Jong-Il remains “eternal general secretary”.