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A large majority of Singaporeans are aware of the seriousness of race and religious issues, and feel the Government has done enough to manage these divisions. But fault lines have emerged on class, immigration and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights, where more Singaporeans, especially younger ones, want to see greater state involvement and public discourse. These emerging issues, if mismanaged, are also seen to affect Singaporeans' trust in the Government the most, compared with race and religion. These and other findings from a study of public opinion on fault lines in Singapore, carried out by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), were released yesterday. Based on a survey of about 4,000 citizens and permanent residents last year, the study noted that about a third of the respondents identified race and religion as having the potential to result in violence in Singapore if not managed properly - significantly more so than class, immigration and LGBT issues. ... » Learn More about Majority now aware of race, religious issues, but study flags new fault lines

FILE–Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III. (Henzberg Austria/Senate PRIB) MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Saturday he will raise issues on pork importation to President Rodrigo Duterte when he gets the chance to meet with the Chief Executive. In an interview with DWIZ, Sotto said Duterte previously expressed willingness to have a meeting with him and House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco. Asked if he will take this opportunity to talk to the President about the pork importation issues being discussed in Senate hearings, Sotto said, “Oo. Magpapasintabi ako sa kanya. Babanggitin ko kung okay sa kanya na i-take up namin.” (Yes. I will ask him if we can take up the issue.) Sotto said he had also advised Senator Christopher “Bong” Go to inform him on when the President would want to have a meeting with him. “The other day noong kausap ko si Sen. Bong Go, sinabi ko sa kanya, ‘Bong, sabihan mo lang ako anytime kung gusto ng Presidente makipag-usap kasi ... » Learn More about Sotto says to raise pork importation issues to Duterte when given the chance

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine banks will soon be required to guard against risks to their reputation and immediately report adverse events—like operational disruptions, liquidity problems, cyber hackings or even problems that explode on social media—that could lead to wider systemic problems in the local financial system. The new rules were mandated recently by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) after its policy making Monetary Board approved guidelines on the expectations for supervised financial institutions. The guidelines cover the identification, assessment, and management of reputational risks commensurate to their size, nature, operational complexity, overall risk profile and systemic importance. “As the financial sector continues to evolve and face challenges arising from digital disruption and stiffer competition, financial institutions must be increasingly sensitive to, and vigilant in addressing potentially more damaging reputation events,” BSP Governor Benjamin ... » Learn More about BSP to require ‘reputational risk’ reports from banks

Keann Johnson (right) with best friend Jane de Leon In spite of Jane de Leon’s status as an “It Girl,” the actress, who is set to play the latest version of the Pinoy superheroine Darna, still winds up in the “friend zone.” This is as far as actor Keann Johnson is concerned. Keann, however, stressed that Jane’s isn’t unrequited love at all. It’s just that he and Jane went through a lot together, “from moments at work to the really personal ones, that’s why I can confidently say that what we have is a very platonic relationship,” he declared. Keann, who played Luke in Dolly Dulu’s romantic film “The Boy Foretold by the Stars,” recently announced on his Facebook account that he got included in the newly formed group of ABS-CBN talents called “Squad Plus.” On the same Facebook post, Keann also thanked Jane, whom he described as his “best friend.” This got their supporters intrigued and began romantically pairing the two. “We knew each other even before we had managers in the ... » Learn More about Why no romance between Jane de Leon and Keann Johnson despite ‘love, affection for each other’

SINGAPORE - Jonathan Chan is the first Singaporean diver to qualify for an Olympic Games. National head coach Li Peng is hoping he will not be alone come July. At an open training session before seven of the Republic's divers depart for the Fina Diving World Cup in Tokyo from May 1-6, Li said he believes "one or two" others could join Chan in securing their berth for the July 23-Aug 8 Summer Games, which will also be staged in Tokyo. The divers will be the first Team Singapore athletes to compete in the Japanese capital this year. "From the 2019 SEA Games up till now, we had nearly 15 months (without) an international competition," Li noted in a media session at the OCBC Aquatic Centre on Saturday (April 17). "It was quite boring, but I think it's good for our divers too because there is plenty of time to prepare for (the World Cup)... we are ready for this competition." The biennial World Cup, originally slated for April 2020, was postponed by a year owing to the coronavirus ... » Learn More about Diving: Coach Li hopeful as Team Singapore head for Tokyo World Cup in search of Olympic berths

The first signs that young voters might have been crucial in the outcome of last Friday's general election came early on Saturday morning as the results were still sinking in. Asked at the People's Action Party's (PAP) press conference if the ruling party had lost the youth vote, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said young people have "very significantly different life aspirations and priorities". He had just seen a nearly nine-point vote swing against his party, with a record 10 opposition candidates winning seats in Parliament. From analysts to politicians, many have since portrayed the swing against the PAP - almost every win came with a reduced share of the vote - as an indication of the need to better incorporate younger perspectives. Former MP Inderjit Singh, in a Facebook post on Sunday, said millennials were the group who most likely voted against the PAP. He estimated that more than half of young voters had cast their ballot for the opposition. A day earlier, Law and ... » Learn More about Singapore GE2020: Signs of young voters’ crucial role in election outcome

A $106 billion Unity Budget was unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Feb 18. Along with strategies to tackle immediate and long-term challenges were measures to help Singapore’s youth face a secure future with confidence. Key takeaways are: 1. Building a future-ready workforce As global competition intensifies in a fast-changing economy, Singaporeans will need to learn new skills or risk falling behind. To that end, the Government will provide every Singaporean aged 25 and above in 2020 with a one-off $500 SkillsFuture credit top-up to boost industry readiness. The top-up, which can be used from Oct 1, will expire at the end of 2025. This is in addition to the initial $500 SkillsFuture credit that was introduced in 2015 with no expiry date. Mr Heng, who is also Finance Minister, explained that the five-year deadline is to “encourage Singaporeans to take action early to learn new skills, and to make the best use of this period of economic slowdown”. Will it ... » Learn More about 5 things Singapore’s youth need to know

SINGAPORE - Many young people today hope that in six years, Singapore society will be inclusive, compassionate and respectful. They also hope that people will live sustainable lifestyles and enjoy better work-life balance. These hopes were raised at a three-hour dialogue session on Saturday (May 18) called Youth Conversations. More than 100 young people aged between 16 and 40 participated in the event at The Red Box in Somerset. Members of a new panel that will lead efforts to articulate young people's vision for Singapore in 2025, and to come up with an action plan to get there, were there to take in their views. The formation of the SG Youth Action Plan panel was announced on Saturday by Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Sim Ann, who is co-chair of the panel together with Mr Edward Chia, music and lifestyle company Timbre Group's co-founder and chief executive. The other 14 members of the panel include entrepreneurs, musicians and civil society ... » Learn More about Panel formed to articulate youth vision for Singapore in 2025 and create action plan to get there

KOTA TINGGI (Bernama): Malaysia has not entered the fourth wave of Covid-19 as the number of cases in the third wave has not shown a significant decline, says Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba (pic). A fourth wave would have considered to have occurred if domestic transmissions drop to "baseline" or zero cases in the third wave before the number increases sharply the next day, he told Bernama when met at Surau As-Syakirin here on Saturday (April 17). Dr Adham said Malaysia could experience a fourth wave of Covid-19 if there is a decline in compliance with standard operating procedures (SOP) among the public, resulting in the emergence of new clusters. He said among the factors causing the increase in cases this time were social activities in early April, including weddings and gatherings, as well as sending children to schools and universities in different states. The number of new daily cases rose to 2,551 on Friday (April 16) and there were 2,331 on Saturday. On July ... » Learn More about No fourth wave: Malaysia still handling the third wave of Covid-19 infections, says Dr Adham

KUALA LUMPUR: The enhanced movement control order will be imposed in multiple areas nationwide that have recorded a spike in Covid-19 cases. The areas concerned are Kampung Tengah in Betong, Sarawak; Taman Mesra Bako in Kuching, Sarawak; SM Agama in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, SM Sains Machang in Kelantan; three localities in Lahad Datu (Kampung Bikang, Kampung Kadumu, Taman Khazanah Indah) and three housing areas in Tawau, Sabah (Taman Hilltop, Taman Bukit Bintang and Taman Berkley). Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the EMCO would be in effect from Sunday (April 18) to May 1. "The EMCO will allow Health Ministry personnel to conduct targeted screenings," he said in a statement on Saturday (April 17). Ismail Sabri also said the movement control order imposed on the Keningau district in Sabah would end as scheduled on Sunday. Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the number of active Covid-19 cases in the area was declining. ... » Learn More about EMCO to be imposed in multiple areas nationwide from April 18-May 1