Pritam Singh, leader of Singapore’s main opposition Workers’ Party, arrives at its State Courts on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025.Lionel Ng | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesA court in Singapore on Monday found opposition Workers’ Party leader Pritam Singh guilty of two counts of lying to parliament, a verdict that could see him barred from contesting a general election this year.Singh had pleaded not guilty and his sentencing was due later on Monday. The prosecution has asked for a maximum fine of S$7,000 ($5,231) for each charge.If the combined fines amount to more than S$10,000, or if he is jailed for more than one year, Singh would be unable to run in an election, which must be held…
Author: usaeverydaylife
Hostile to Russia ever since Soviet tanks appeared near her childhood home in 1968 in what was then Czechoslovakia, the now grandmother was delighted to have her photograph taken with a soldier who was fighting Russian invaders in Ukraine.“He was a hero to me,” Lucia Stasselova, 66, said of the soldier, whom she met two years ago in Bratislava, the capital of what is now Slovakia. “Everyone wanted a picture with him. I was very happy to get one.”The soldier, a commander of the Georgian Legion, a unit of volunteers fighting for Ukraine from the former Soviet republic of Georgia,…
BEIJING, CHINA – FEBRUARY 6: Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) speaks during a bilateral meeting with Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People on February 6, 2025 in Beijing, China. Andres Martinez Casares | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesChinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at a symposium with prominent entrepreneurs on Monday, according to state media Xinhua, signaling a shift toward renewed support for the private sector.The meeting sends a “very clear signal of top-level support” to the private sector entrepreneurs, Peiqian Liu, Asia economist at Fidelity International told CNBC, “this will likely…
Deepseek’s logo on Jan. 29, 2025.Andrey Rudakov | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesSouth Korea’s data protection authority on Monday said new downloads of the Chinese AI app DeepSeek had been suspended in the country after DeepSeek acknowledged failing to take into account some of the agency’s rules on protecting personal data.The service of the app will be resumed once improvements are made in accordance with the country’s privacy law, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said in a media briefing.The measure that came into force on Saturday aims to block new downloads of the app, the agency said, though DeepSeek’s web…
The Internal Revenue Service building in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 13, 2025Kayla Bartkowski | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesAn Internal Revenue Service employee who is affiliated with the Department of Government Efficiency has accessed an IRS system that houses sensitive taxpayer information, according to an administration official.The employee was granted access to the Integrated Data Retrieval System, which allows IRS employees to access taxpayer accounts.The IDRS allows employees to have “instantaneous visual access to certain taxpayer accounts,” according to the IRS website. The system can be used for “researching account information and requesting returns” and “automatically generating notices, collection documents and other outputs.”IDRS users “are…
Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday offered British troops to help guarantee Ukraine’s security as part of any peace deal, as he and other European leaders rushed to coordinate a response to President Trump’s opening of talks with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine.In an article published in The Daily Telegraph on Sunday, Mr. Starmer wrote that he was “ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees to Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary.”It was the first time Mr. Starmer had explicitly said that he was considering sending British troops to Ukraine. It came…
Professional investors have stayed away from China’s stock markets despite several attempts by the country’s government to revive investment sentiment. An analysis of fund data reveals portfolio managers have steadily lowered their allocation toward China equities since mid-2020 when Beijing intervened in its property sector with the “three red lines” rule to address concerns of a bubble. Many blame Beijing’s repeated interventions — including the stimulus measures that abruptly boost stocks — as a major factor behind their decision to hold back from the world’s second-largest economy’s stock market. Portfolio data from 34 actively managed funds, provided by Morningstar and…
Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025.Aaron Schwartz | Bloomberg | Getty Images In January, U.S. consumers didn’t feel as inclined to open their wallets, causing retail sales for the month to fall more than expected, which might weigh on gross domestic product given the heavy reliance of the U.S. economy on consumer spending.By contrast, in the corporate world, purse strings seem looser. A deal between Intel, Broadcom and TSMC is reportedly in preliminary stages of talks, and might see the storied U.S. chipmaker…
The United States Department of State logo on a smartphone screen.Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesThe U.S. State Department said it has made a routine update to the Taiwan section of its website, after the removal of previous wording saying it did not support Taiwan’s formal independence, among other changes that cheered the government in Taipei.The fact sheet on Taiwan, updated last week, retains Washington’s opposition to unilateral change from either Taiwan or from China, which claims the democratically governed island as its own.But as well as dropping the phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence”, the page added a reference to Taiwan’s cooperation with a Pentagon technology and semiconductor development project and says the U.S. will support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations “where…
It can cost on average of $2,050 to live in Tokyo for a month as a single person, according to Numbeo’s data.Jackyenjoyphotography | Moment | Getty ImagesMoving to a major city often comes with big benefits and opportunities, but it’s important to figure out if it makes sense financially before taking the leap.It may come as no surprise that New York City and San Francisco top the global list for having the highest cost of living when rent is included. That’s according to the 2025 Cost of Living Index (including rent) by online database Numbeo.In New York City, the estimated…
