3 h. ago Singapore’s Leader of the Opposition debate draws comparisons with Westminster system

A peculiar gridlock has settled on Singapore’s political scene with the position of Leader of the Opposition (LO) vacant after Pritam Singh was removed from the post by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, with public discourse now centred on the constitutional basis, or lack thereof, for the role. Created in 2020 by then prime minister Lee Hsien Loong after Singh’s party won a record 10 seats in parliament, the non-statutory position contrasts sharply with its counterpart in Westminster systems, where...

Politics

8 h. ago Trump’s Greenland bid might force EU to stop placating him and fight back

US President Donald Trump’s fixation on Greenland offers an ice-cold reminder to leaders in Europe and abroad: no deal is ever final. Trump announced a 10 per cent tariff, rising to 25 per cent in June, on eight European nations, including Denmark, for saying they would undertake token Nato military exercises in Greenland in response to US sabre-rattling. While the tariffs are not certain to take effect, the threat was a brazen escalation and insult to close US allies, trampling over the US-EU...

Politics

18 h. ago Trump hits Denmark and other Nato allies with tariffs to force Greenland sale

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would charge a 10 per cent import tax starting in February on goods from eight European nations, all Nato members, because of opposition to US control of Greenland. He said in a social media post that Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland would face the tariff, which would be raised to 25 per cent on June 1 if a deal was not in place for “the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland” by the...

Politics

18 h. ago Trump hits Denmark and 7 other Nato allies with tariffs to force Greenland sale

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would charge a 10 per cent import tax starting in February on goods from eight European nations, all Nato members, because of opposition to US control of Greenland. He said in a social media post that Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland would face the tariff, which would be raised to 25 per cent on June 1 if a deal was not in place for “the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland” by the...

Politics

44 h. ago Fierce Pharma Asia—AbbVie’s bispecific play, Illumina’s China import efforts and pharma execs’ JPM comments

Fierce Pharma Asia—AbbVie’s bispecific play, Illumina’s China import efforts and pharma execs’ JPM comments  Fierce Pharma

Politics

45 h. ago Uganda election: Bobi Wine under house arrest amid violence claims, Museveni nears 5th term

Uganda’s opposition said its leader Bobi Wine was under house arrest on Friday, after an election that also saw a member of parliament accuse security forces of killing 10 people at his home. President Yoweri Museveni, 81, is seeking to extend his 40-year rule of the east African country and has been accused of “brutal repression” of the opposition. Uganda’s Electoral Commission said on Friday that Museveni was on 75.4 per cent to Wine’s 20.7 with close to 60 per cent of votes counted. Final...

Events

49 h. ago Canada to remove 100% tariffs on Chinese EV imports: prime minister

Canada will remove the additional 100 per cent in tariffs it had imposed on Chinese electric vehicle (EV) imports, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday during a state visit in Beijing. In place of the higher duties, Carney said, Canada will cap import volume and retain a standard tariff rate of 6.1 per cent to shipments within the 49,000-unit limit. Canada’s additional tariffs, covering all EVs made in China, took effect in October 2024, following a similar move from the United States. “In...

Politics

52 h. ago China’s US envoy says world faces ‘stark choice’ as 2026 opens with instability

China’s top diplomat in the United States delivered a sharply worded rebuke on Thursday over US President Donald Trump’s tumultuous approach to global relations, laying out a stark choice between a world informed by China-led stability and one battered by Washington. Chinese ambassador Xie Feng’s comments to the 1,000-member China General Chamber of Commerce come two weeks into Trump’s second year of his latest term in the White House. The past fortnight has already seen the Trump administration...

Politics

60 h. ago Venezuela’s Machado says she ‘presented’ her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday even as he has questioned her credibility to take over her country after the US ousted leader Nicolas Maduro. The Nobel Institute has said Machado could not give her prize to Trump, an honour that he has coveted. Even if it the gesture proves to be purely symbolic, it was extraordinary given that Trump has effectively sidelined Machado, who has...

Politics

67 h. ago ‘Hong Kong lawyers should not aim just to compete but specialise in Greater Bay Area’

Hong Kong lawyers should not think of competing head-on with mainland counterparts in the Greater Bay Area, but instead position themselves as common law specialists and collaborators in cross-border legal teams, Hong Kong Bar Association chairman Jose-Antonio Maurellet has said. His comments came during a fireside chat on the sidelines of the China Conference: Greater Bay Area event hosted by the South China Morning Post in Shenzhen on Thursday. Recent policy measures allow Hong Kong lawyers to...

Politics

67 h. ago Hong Kong lawyers urged to specialise, not just compete, in Greater Bay Area

Hong Kong lawyers should not think of competing head-on with mainland counterparts in the Greater Bay Area, but instead position themselves as common law specialists and collaborators in cross-border legal teams, Hong Kong Bar Association chairman Jose-Antonio Maurellet has said. His comments came during a fireside chat on the sidelines of the China Conference: Greater Bay Area event hosted by the South China Morning Post in Shenzhen on Thursday. Recent policy measures allow Hong Kong lawyers to...

Politics

69 h. ago Chinese firms to incur higher costs for deploying advanced AI chips from US: analysts

Chinese companies are expected to shoulder higher costs for deploying advanced chips from the US, owing to a new 25 per cent tariff imposed by Washington on select high-performance semiconductors, according to analysts. The administration of US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the new import duties on advanced artificial intelligence chips covered Nvidia’s H200 and Advanced Micro Devices’ MI325X graphics processing units, as well as their equivalent products and derivatives. According to...

Economics

3 d. ago Singapore’s PM Lawrence Wong removes Pritam Singh as Leader of the Opposition

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has stripped the Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh of his role as the city state’s first Leader of the Opposition following Singh’s conviction for lying under oath to a parliamentary committee. Singh assumed the official role in 2020 following the general election where his party secured a record 10 elected seats in parliament. Then prime minister Lee Hsien Loong announced during a press conference that Singh would be provided with staff and...

Politics

4 d. ago Singapore’s Pritam Singh debate: MPs trade barbs over bid to remove opposition leader

Singapore’s parliamentarians on Wednesday debated Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh’s suitability as Leader of the Opposition following his court conviction for lying to a committee, with his opponents questioning his integrity and leadership, while supporters suggested there was a political agenda against him. The discussion, which is ongoing and has extended into the evening, centred on Leader of the House Indranee Rajah’s motion calling on parliament to consider that Singh’s “conviction and...

Politics

4 d. ago Singapore’s MPs vote to remove Pritam Singh as opposition leader

Singapore’s parliamentarians on Wednesday voted Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh unsuitable as Leader of the Opposition following his court conviction for lying to a committee, with his opponents questioning his integrity and leadership, while supporters suggested there was a political agenda against him. The heated discussion in Singapore’s typically sterile parliament, which saw WP MPs repeatedly calling points of order, centred on Leader of the House Indranee Rajah’s motion calling on...

Politics

4 d. ago Singapore’s parliament backs motion deeming Pritam Singh unfit to be opposition leader

Singapore’s parliamentarians on Wednesday voted Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh unsuitable as Leader of the Opposition following his court conviction for lying to a committee, with his opponents questioning his integrity and leadership, while supporters suggested there was a political agenda against him. The heated discussion in Singapore’s typically sterile parliament, which saw WP MPs repeatedly calling points of order, centred on Leader of the House Indranee Rajah’s motion calling on...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump says countries that trade with Iran will face 25 per cent tariffs from US

US President Donald Trump on Monday announced sweeping new tariffs targeting nations maintaining commercial ties with Iran. Effective immediately, the US will impose a 25 per cent tariff on all goods and services imported from any country that “does business” with Iran, Trump said in a social media post. The president characterised the order as “final and conclusive”. While the order is global, it is expected to hit major economies, specifically China and India, the hardest, given their...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump says China and countries that trade with Iran will face 25 per cent tariffs from US

US President Donald Trump on Monday announced sweeping new tariffs targeting nations maintaining commercial ties with Iran. Effective immediately, the US will impose a 25 per cent tariff on all goods and services imported from any country that “does business” with Iran, Trump said in a social media post. The president characterised the order as “final and conclusive”. While the order is global, it is expected to hit major economies, specifically China and India, the hardest, given their...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump says China and other countries trading with Iran to face additional 25% tariffs

US President Donald Trump on Monday announced sweeping new tariffs targeting nations maintaining commercial ties with Iran. Effective immediately, the US will impose a 25 per cent tariff on all goods and services imported from any country that “does business” with Iran, Trump said in a social media post. The president characterised the order as “final and conclusive”. “Effective immediately, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a tariff of 25% on any and all...

Politics

5 d. ago China’s US embassy decries ‘coercion’ after Trump slaps 25% tariffs on Iran trade partners

US President Donald Trump on Monday announced sweeping new tariffs targeting nations maintaining commercial ties with Iran. Effective immediately, the US will impose a 25 per cent tariff on all goods and services imported from any country that “does business” with Iran, Trump said in a social media post. The president characterised the order as “final and conclusive”. “Effective immediately, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a tariff of 25% on any and all...

Politics