Singapore
22 Feb
Missing Chinese investment banker Bao Fan was preparing to move some of his fortune from China and Hong Kong to Singapore in the months leading up to his disappearance, according to four people with knowledge of his plans.
4 Dec 2022
Parliament scrapped a rarely enforced colonial-era law criminalizing sex between men. However, it introduced a constitutional amendment that stands in the way of marriage equality.
23 Aug 2022
Disrupted supply chains, skyrocketing food prices and shortages: Singapore is feeling the consequences of the pandemic and the Ukraine war.
5 May 2022
In Singapore, the fate of two Malaysian men on death row has sparked local mobilisation and attracted international attention. On April 25th, Nagaenthran Dharmalingam was hanged. With an IQ of 69, which is recognized as a disability, his execution could amount to a breach of international law. The next day, 36-year-old Datchinamurthy Kataiah won a last minute reprieve from Singapore's top court, thereby suspending his execution. We talk to journalist and anti-death penalty activist Kirsten Han.
1 May 2022
For years, Singapore has been considered a skilled practitioner of hedging between the world's superpowers and not taking sides. Now it is one of the few Asian countries to openly condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
6 Nov 2021
The book about censorship was banned over "offensive images" containing cartoons depicting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. The cartoons were the same ones published in the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in 2015.
7 Oct 2021
Singapore has trialled patrol robots that blast warnings at people engaging in "undesirable social behaviour", adding to an arsenal of surveillance technology in the tightly controlled city-state.
19 Sep 2021
Singapore's new wildlife forensics centre aims to help in the fight against smuggling networks by analysing seized body parts from endangered animals to determine where they originated from.
16 Sep 2021
Two fluffy white terriers wearing tartan berets pant quietly as their owner waves a treat and snaps a photo for the dogs' tens of thousands of Instagram followers. They are among a growing number of pet influencers on social media in Singapore, a trend fuelled by a rise in online shopping and pet ownership during the coronavirus pandemic.
5 Sep 2021
A layer of green foliage blankets a red tower in the heart of Singapore's business district, a feature that helps keeps the building cool as the densely-populated tropical city battles rising temperatures. The Oasia Hotel Downtown, in the heart of Singapore's business district, was designed to stay cool with the help of more than 20 species of creeping plants growing on its bright red aluminum facade. Its facade is 10 to 20 degrees Celsius cooler compared to nearby buildings, according to architecture firm WOHA, which designed the building. The 27-story structure houses over ten times the amount of greenery found on the site before its construction, and its large open terraces allow natural ventilation and lighting and reduce energy use. In an effort to reduce emissions, Singapore aims to green 80 percent of its buildings by 2030. Buildings account for over 20 percent of the city-state's carbon emissions.
18 Aug 2021
A panda bred via artificial insemination has been born in Singapore's zoo, the first cub to be born in the city-state. Jia Jia, the zoo's 12-year-old female giant panda, gave birth to the cub after she was artificially inseminated with frozen semen from 13-year-old Kai Kai.
11 Aug 2021
Giant pumps whir deep underground at a plant in Singapore that helps transform sewage into water so clean it is fit for human consumption.