Tokyo recognises same sex partnerships from November

Tokyo will start recognising same-sex partnerships from November, making it the largest city in Japan to do so. The move comes amid growing calls in Japan for equality for sexual minorities. But they still cannot get legally married. What this means is same-sex couples in the country’s most populous area will be issued certificates to…

12 May 2022 2 mins read

SMU calls the bluff of assistant professor, academic fraud discovered

She applied for a position with the Singapore Management University (SMU) and her appointment as an assistant professor of finance with the Lee Kong Chian School of Business was even announced in the institution’s newsletter. But 11 months after working there, Ms Margaret Zhu is gone. Her profile had been deleted from the official SMU…

6 May 2022 4 mins read

Global community continues to plead for clemency for Malaysian drug trafficker

(UPDATED on 27 April 2022) Malaysian drug trafficker Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, 34, was hanged at Changi Prison at dawn on Wednesday, 27 April. The news of his execution was confirmed by his sister Sarmila. Nagaenthran’s brother Navin Kumar told Reuters news agency that the body would be sent back to Malaysia where a funeral would be held…

25 Apr 2022 2 mins read

The fate of the world’s first made-in-Singapore floating resort

Mention Hotel Haegeumgang and many would say “ where?”. But did you know that it started out as a floating resort built in Singapore? South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on April 20, that the once five-star resort that was abandoned in North Korea, is being demolished by its government, and that there will no…

20 Apr 2022 4 mins read

Singaporean cult leader dies in prison in Britain

Singaporean cult leader Aravindan Balakrishnan, who was known for having raped two of his followers and kept his daughter a “slave” for 30 years, has died in prison on Friday, 8 April. He was 81. Balakrishnan, known as Comrade Bala, brainwashed his cult into believing he had God-like powers and could read their minds, and…

11 Apr 2022 2 mins read

Singapore’s pioneer gynaecologist Oon Chiew Seng dies

Dr Oon Chiew Seng, one of Singapore’s first obstetricians and gynaecologists and co-founder of Apex Harmony Lodge, Singapore’s first nursing home for dementia residents, died on 31 March. She was 106. The youngest in a family of 10 children, Dr Oon’s career in medicine started in 1937 when she became a nurse at the age…

2 Apr 2022 3 mins read

Action star Bruce Willis draws attention to a little known condition called Aphasia

Aphasia affects an estimated 3,000 adults in Singapore every year. Yet, it is an invisible disability that can happen to anyone regardless of age, race, gender, and profession. It is also a disorder difficult for most people to understand as it affects language, not intellect. The condition was brought to light when the family of…

1 Apr 2022 3 mins read

Local designer called out for remarks against minority women 6 months later

She claimed that Chinese women are more progressive as compared to their Malay and Indian counterparts. She even claimed that she had done her research on the emancipation of Asian women. So those were the reasons why founder and designer of local womenswear label Ong Shunmugam Priscilla Shunmugam, 40, justified her preference of designing cheongsams…

25 Mar 2022 3 mins read

Retired Chief District Judge Richard Magnus dies

Retired Chief District Judge Richard Rokmat Magnus died on Monday morning (14 March) after suffering a heart attack. He was 76. The lawyer who wanted “to do something which was useful to society” Born in Perak, Malaysia, the 10th of 13 children. Mr Magnus’ parents ran an export business. He went to Anglo-Chinese School in…

14 Mar 2022 3 mins read

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