Netanya-who? Benny Gantz conceded defeat to his electoral rival Benjamin Netanyahu over the hotly contested Knesset (Israel’s unicameral legislature) on 11 April. This came after more than 99% of the votes were counted and indicated that Netanyahu’s Likud party won 65 out of the…
TAN CHENG BOCK’S NEW POLITICAL PARTY GETS APPROVED IN-PRINCIPLE
What Happened? On 18 January 2019, former presidential hopeful Tan Cheng Bock announced on his Facebook page his intention to return to politics after a 13-year hiatus. He also announced the formation and registration of a new political party called the “Progress Singapore Party”…
CALLS FOR A STRONGER AMERICA IN TRUMP’S THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
What happened? On February 5, President Trump opened his State of the Union address by saying, “The agenda I will lay out this evening is not a Republican or a Democrat Agenda. It is the agenda of the American People”. If you were wondering…
EAST COAST ELECTORAL DIVISION NOW INCLUDES PEDRA BRANCA
What happened? You heard that right. Pedra Branca, population: 0, is now part of the East Coast electoral division. The decision to include the island east of Singapore was announced on February 1 by the Electoral Department Singapore on the electronic Government Gazette. Pedra…
SINGAPORE’S NEXT TOP PAP MEMBERS
Who’s in and Who’s out of the CEC? In the biennial PAP conference held at the Singapore Expo on November 11th, approximately 2,000 party cadres gathered to vote for candidate that would form the PAP’s next Central Executive Committee (CEC). The CEC is the…
CHILD-ABUSE LIVE STREAMING EXPANDS IN THE PHILIPPINES
What happened? The International Justice Mission (IJM) reported that the number of cybersex trade-related rescue and arrest operations in the Philippines went up from 17 in 2015 to 51 in the first nine months of 2018. What’s worse is that the age of the…
TENCENT’S AI ACCELERATES DIAGNOSIS FOR PARKINSON’S
Chinese firm Tencent and their Medical AI lab collaborated and used smartphone technology developed by Medopad, a London firm, to diagnose Parkinson’s Disease using AI. A camera is used to capture the movements of the patient’s hands to determine the severity of their symptoms.…
MOE TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF EXAMS AND ASSESSMENTS STUDENTS HAVE
What happened? In efforts to reduce the emphasis on school grades, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced that it will remove mid-year examinations for Primary 3 and 5, as well as Secondary 1 and 3 students over the next three years. Primary 1 and…
I.T. LAPSES AND STAFF TARDINESS CONTRIBUTED TO SINGHEALTH CYBERATTACK
What happened? The largest data breach to have occurred on our shores took place between June 27 and July 4. The cyber attack on SingHealth’s database saw personal particulars; like NRIC numbers, names and addresses of 1.5 million patients copied and exported unlawfully (remember…
SCDF NSF DROWNED IN A RAGGING INCIDENT
What happened? On May 13, Corporal (CPL) Kok Yuen Chin drowned in a pump well after being pushed in by his squad mates to celebrate his ORD. CPL Kok was to ORD in three days’ time on May 16. At that time, the 12-metre-deep…