SINGAPORE
Lee to step down on May 15
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) is to relinquish his office on May 15 and hand the post to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), his office said yesterday. Lee, 72, is to formally advise the president to appoint Wong, who is currently deputy prime minister and finance minister, to succeed him, his office said in a brief statement. Wong, who has the unanimous support of People’s Action Party (PAP) lawmakers, is to be sworn in at the national palace later the same day, it said. Lee has served as prime minister and head of the PAP since August 2004. He announced in November last year that he would retire this year and has already named Wong as his designated successor.
PHILIPPINES
Marcos limits US access
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday said the US would not be given access to more Philippine military bases. “The answer to that is no. The Philippines has no plan to open or to establish more EDCA [Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement] bases,” Marcos said in response to a question at a forum with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines. Manila last year announced the locations of four more military bases it is allowing the US military to use on top of the five agreed on under the 2014 EDCA. The deal allows US troops to rotate through and store defense equipment and supplies. The four additional bases include sites near the disputed South China Sea and another not far from Taiwan.
UNITED STATES
Girl killed in shooting
Eleven people standing outside a family gathering on Saturday night were shot, including a young girl who was killed in what Chicago police believe was gang-related violence on the city’s South Side. Four victims were children, police said on Sunday. An eight-year-old girl was fatally shot, while a one-year-old boy and an eight-year-old boy were each shot multiple times and listed in critical condition. A nine-year-old boy also was injured with a graze wound to his finger and hospitalized. The department’s Sunday statement updated the number of shooting victims to 11 from eight and gave new ages for the victims. As of Sunday, no one was in custody. “This was not a random act of violence. It was likely gang-related,” Department Deputy Chief Don Jerome told reporters. “The offenders’ actions, make no mistake, are horrific and unacceptable in our city.”
AUSTRALIA
Magpie, dog reunited
Authorities yesterday issued a license allowing a magpie called Molly to reunite with a pet dog, after sparking public outrage by keeping the unlikely friends apart. A Queensland couple’s pictures of the bird cozying up with their Staffordshire bull terrier Peggy drew an audience of hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram. However, the Gold Coast couple, who took the magpie in as a nestling in 2020, had to surrender the bird more than six weeks ago to the Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation. Under state law, magpies and other protected wildlife can only be cared for by people with a license to show they have the needed skills. The couple’s Instagram page was deluged with outraged reactions to the separation, and an online petition titled “Don’t Break Their 4-Year Bond” garnered more than 150,000 signatures. The department said it has issued a “specialized license” to the couple after they agreed to undergo wildlife carer training and make no commercial gain from the bird or its image. The bird was returned home, it said.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles. It might sound apocalyptic, but a newly detected asteroid nearly the size of a football field now has a greater than 1 percent chance of colliding with Earth in about eight years. Such an impact has the potential for city-level devastation, depending on where it strikes. Scientists are not panicking yet, but they are watching closely. “At this point, it’s: ‘Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
CHEER ON: Students were greeted by citizens who honked their car horns or offered them food and drinks, while taxi drivers said they would give marchers a lift home Hundreds of students protesting graft they blame for 15 deaths in a building collapse on Friday marched through Serbia to the northern city of Novi Sad, where they plan to block three Danube River bridges this weekend. They received a hero’s welcome from fellow students and thousands of local residents in Novi Said after arriving on foot in their two-day, 80km journey from Belgrade. A small red carpet was placed on one of the bridges across the Danube that the students crossed as they entered the city. The bridge blockade planned for yesterday is to mark three months since a huge concrete construction
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