Free Republic

Not all airports are created equal. Some are soulless, clinical spaces with little more than bright blueish lighting and endless corridors. They are but a functional building from which to launch your next adventure. Others, however, can make your vacation experience special from the outset. The world’s best airports go above and beyond. They feature indoor gardens, rooftop terraces with runway views, or even playgrounds to keep the kids happy and occupied. These added luxuries and services have landed 100 airports on the Skytrax World’s Best Airports list this year, with Singapore Changi Airport taking the top spot for 2025....

The baby was between 29 and 33 weeks old. After having unprotected sex with her boyfriend several times, a young girl in Singapore noticed she had missed her period. Suspecting she was pregnant and not ready to become a mother, she purchased abortion pills from an online seller. Believing the foetus had not yet fully formed, she took the pills. A medical abortion is recommended up to 10 to 11 weeks after the last day of a pregnant woman's period. However, the girl later experienced severe abdominal pain and eventually gave birth to a baby girl on the floor of...

Leong Mun Wai, secretary-general of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), has called on the Government to negotiate a new trade deal with the US following the latest imposition of tariffs by President Donald Trump. On Wednesday (April 9), Leong, speaking on behalf of his party, posted a statement on his Facebook page, acknowledging the concerns of Singaporeans. "We should take this opportunity to secure a new trade deal with President Trump and work with the US to address their concerns, which may include making adjustments to internal policies or making strategic investments in the US," he said. He added that...

Indiana University has faced criticism after abruptly firing Professor XiaoFeng Wang on the same day FBI agents executed search warrants at his home. The university also removed the couple’s online profiles, causing concern among academics regarding their due process. Federal authorities have confirmed the investigation is ongoing. Wang has brought approximately $23 million in federal grants to the university. However, Wang was barred from his office and denied access to university resources prior to his dismissal. Veracity IIR president Doug Kouns said, “He’s right there on the cutting edge of this kind of research as far as data privacy, cybersecurity...

Singapore expresses disappointment over U.S. tariffs on its exports despite a free-trade agreement and trade deficit with the U.S. Trade Minister Gan Kim Yong emphasizes diplomacy over retaliation and highlights talks with the U.S. to resolve concerns. Singapore will review economic forecasts due to the escalating issue. In a move that has sparked international economic tension, Singapore's trade minister expressed disappointment over the U.S. imposition of a 10% tariff on its exports, despite a free-trade agreement and trade deficit with the United States Trade Minister Gan Kim Yong, speaking at a press conference, assured that Singapore would not pursue retaliatory...

Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio on Wednesday warned that a significant supply-demand problem regarding U.S. debt could have a profoundly disruptive impact on the global economy. It is the latest in a series of stark warnings about America’s mounting debt from the U.S. hedge fund billionaire, with the country’s national debt currently standing at more than $36.2 trillion. “The first thing is the debt issue, we have a very severe supply-demand problem,” Dalio told CNBC’s Sara Eisen at CONVERGE LIVE in Singapore. ”[The U.S. has] to sell a quantity of debt that the world is not going to want to buy.”...

In just seven short years, Malone Lam Yu Xuan went from being a student in a secondary school in Choa Chu Kang to being dubbed crypto whizz-kid by some in the US in 2023. Many who saw his spending spree were amazed a 19-year-old could afford large mansions, a fleet of expensive cars and luxury clothes. In truth, Lam was living off the millions in crypto he stole from various investors, he later told investigators in the US. This was before August 2024, when he allegedly got involved in the theft of Bitcoin valued at more than US$240 million (S$320...

Singapore has charged three men with smuggling NVIDIA AI GPUs to Chinese firm DeepSeek. The AI servers, supplied by Dell and Super Micro, were allegedly moved from Singapore to Malaysia. Authorities are investigating with US cooperation to determine if export control items were involved. The case highlights scrutiny on AI server sales. AI servers have been used in a fraud case that Singapore announced last week, with NVIDIA AI GPUs that were supplied by US companies like Dell, with banned AI chips from entering China according to a government minister on Monday. Singapore has charged three men with a fraud...

Unwelcome guests have been helping themselves to meals meant for the feathered inhabitants of Bird Paradise at Mandai. Rats have made the various aviaries at Singapore's only bird park their home and have been running amok in the bird enclosures. The pests were observed feeding on food left out for birds and lurking in the undergrowth just feet away from wildlife. Rats were sighted at the park as early as November last year, and their presence was noticeable when CNA visited earlier this week. The park, previously located in Jurong, moved to a 17ha-site at the Mandai Wildlife Reserve in...

Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju capped a stunning ascent to the pinnacle of chess by dethroning China’s Ding Liren to become the youngest ever world champion on Thursday in Singapore. The 18-year-old from Chennai dramatically snatched the decisive victory from a dead-drawn position in the final contest of their best-of-14-games showdown when Ding made one of the worst blunders in the 138-year history of world championship matchplay. The 32-year-old defending champion resigned moments later after a game that lasted 58 moves and just over four hours, sealing Gukesh’s 7½-6½ win in the three-week match and rendering moot the widely expected prospect...

GM Gukesh Dommaraju will have the white pieces against GM Ding Liren for Monday's game one of the 2024 FIDE World Championship after the opening ceremony concluded in the Capitol Theatre in Singapore. At an earlier press conference Ding, who's again accompanied by GM Richard Rapport, said, "I feel peace and with a lot of energy," while Gukesh paid glowing tributes to "huge icon" GM Viswanathan Anand and his coach GM Grzegorz Gajewski, adding, "I’m confident I have all the chances in the world." The main business of Saturday's "media day" of the World Championship was to decide who would...

Indonesia seize luxury yacht Equanimity sought in 1MDB probe: Police JAKARTA (REUTERS) - Indonesia on Wednesday (Feb 28) seized a luxury yacht on the island of Bali sought by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) as part of a multi-billion dollar corruption investigation linked to Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). “We have been inspecting the crew since yesterday and now we are taking action since we have received approval from the court to seize the boat,” Agung Setya, director of economic and special crimes at the Indonesia’s criminal investigation bureau, told Metro TV. Television footage in Indonesia...

He said he can afford to buy his own food but doesn't want to waste food. man has been spotted eating leftovers at Chinatown's People's Park Food Centre. The 84-year-old man, Wang (transliteration), said he's not eating leftovers because he has no money to buy food — but because he thinks it's a waste to throw them away. 'The food is still warm' Shin Min Daily News received a tip-off from a concerned reader, who said the man not only ate leftovers off the table but also went to look for food in the tray return areas. However, when...

The president of Estonia goes on national TV to urge his countrymen to have more children. Russian President Vladimir Putin warns his parliament about "a serious crisis threatening Russia's survival": the nation's low birth rate. The government of Singapore is trying to reverse that country's birth dearth by sponsoring a massive taxpayer-funded matchmaking service. In 1968, Paul Ehrlich published The Population Bomb, panicking the world with dire predictions of a population explosion. By the year 2000, he predicted, the world would be so crowded that hundreds of millions would die of starvation. Although Mr. Ehrlich's prophecies have turned out to...

From blessing babies at the National Stadium to greeting nursing home residents, Pope Francis touched the hearts of many people during his recent visit to Singapore. For one man, exchanging words with the 87-year-old pontiff on Sept 13 was an "unexpected gift". Donning a red tie, Lawrence Chong greeted the Pope as he arrived for an inter-religious dialogue with youths at Catholic Junior College (CJC) on the final day of his visit here. Some netizens later gushed on social media about the images of Chong and Pope Francis embracing while engaged in a warm conversation, which was captured during a...

A three-year-old boy was saved from a flat fire by his nine-year-old brother, who also called the SCDF (Singapore Civil Defence Force) for help. The SCDF said in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Sept 10) that they were alerted to the blaze at a flat in Block 104 Jalan Bukit Merah at about 11.20am that day and extinguished the flames with a water jet. Two persons had evacuated from the unit before SCDF's arrival, and about 35 residents from the 9th to the 11th floors were evacuated by SCDF as a precautionary measure. Speaking to Shin Min Daily News on...

Food donors will be able to donate their excess or unsold food without having to worry about being held liable under strict food safety regulations, after a Bill that aims to reduce food waste and encourage donation was passed on Wednesday (Aug 7). The Good Samaritan Food Donation Bill, which was tabled by Member of Parliament (MP) Louis Ng (PAP-Nee Soon), will protect donors from criminal or civil liability for any death or personal injury resulting from consuming donated food, provided certain conditions to ensure food safety and hygiene are met. Prior to this, Singapore did not offer any liability...

"I have no regrets," said the Singaporean who spent 45 minutes lying under the scorching sun at Pasir Ris beach to get a national flag sunburn on his chest in hopes of winning a chance to score a National Day Parade ticket. Michael Collins, a 25-year-old content creator, was spotted at the Padang yesterday afternoon (Aug 9), all pumped up to celebrate the nation's 59th birthday after successfully pulling off his stunt. Collins and his friend Ng Yi Hui, had in an Instagram video on August 7, addressed local singer Benjamin Kheng who had asked his followers to write a...

A team of scientists from the University of Singapore has announced the creation of a prototype energy-harvesting device that draws usable electricity seemingly out of thin air. Designed to leverage nanoscale spin rectifier technology to capture what the device’s inventors term “waste RF” signals that exist in the air due to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 5G, and traditional radio signals, the novel energy harvesting system can convert those signals into enough usable direct current (DC) electrical energy. Similar RF energy harvesting technologies have been developed in recent years, including one invented by researchers from the University of South Florida. However, the team...

The Chinese grab dredge that desecrated the wrecks of two famous WWII warships off Malaysia has run into trouble with the law once more. The notorious Chuan Hong 68 has been detained by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) again, this time over paperwork violations. Last year, Malaysian authorities detained Chuan Hong 68 off Johor for allegedly crushing and removing the wreckage of the Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse, which were sunk by Japanese forces during the invasion of the Malay .Peninsula in December 1941. Both are protected war graves. In May 2023, local...