Singapore PM Wong leads swearing-in of new cabinet after election win

SINGAPORE (Bernama): Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong led the swearing-in of the Cabinet for the new term of government at the Istana on Friday, following the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) resounding victory at the May 3 general election. The ceremony, broadcast live on television and streamed on social media platforms, began at about 8 pm with the national anthem, Majulah...

Future queen of Belgium caught up in Harvard foreign student ban

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Princess Elisabeth, the 23-year-old future queen of Belgium, has just completed her first year at Harvard University but the ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on foreign students studying there could jeopardise her continued studies. The Trump administration revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students on Thursday, and is forcing...

Gold heads for biggest weekly jump in 1-1/2 months on US fiscal worries

Gold prices rose on Friday and were poised for their biggest weekly gain in more than a month, as a softer U.S. dollar and concerns over the country's fiscal outlook boosted bullion's safe-haven appeal. Spot gold was up 1.1% at $3,329.69 an ounce as of 0654 GMT. Bullion has risen 4% this week, its highest since...

Footage of rare snail laying an egg from its neck captured for the first time

The strange reproductive habits of a large, carnivorous New Zealand snail were once shrouded in mystery. Now footage of the snail laying an egg from its neck has been captured for the first time, the country’s conservation agency said. What looks like a tiny hen’s egg is seen emerging from an opening below the head of...

Indonesian military says 18 separatists killed in operation in Papua region

JAKARTA: The Indonesian Military (TNI) has killed 18 Papuan separatists during an operation in its easternmost region of Papua, an official said on Thursday (May 15). The military seized dozens of munitions, including an assault rifle, bows and arrows and an unspecified homemade weapon during Wednesday's operation, TNI spokesperson Kristomei Sianturi said in a statement. It said...

Analysis-Trump’s Qatari 747 may need fighter escorts to serve as Air Force One

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Boeing 747 jet offered to President Donald Trump by Qatar as a temporary flying White House might need fighter jet escorts and could be restricted to flying inside the U.S. unless significant costly security upgrades were made, aviation experts and industry sources said. Even if numerous improvements to the plane's communications and...

Explainer-Is Qatar’s gift of a plane to President Trump allowed under US law?

(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to accept a $400 million airplane from Qatar raises a raft of questions about the scope of laws that relate to gifts from foreign governments and are intended to thwart corruption and improper influence, legal experts said. Below is a look at some of the laws and legal precedents: WHAT...

Trump wants Apple to stop moving iPhone production to India

US President Donald Trump said he’s asked Apple Inc’s Tim Cook to stop building plants in India, taking aim at the iPhone maker’s plans to diversify its manufacturing beyond China. "I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,” Trump said of his conversation with the Apple chief executive officer in Qatar, where he’s on a...

How India and Pakistan pulled back from the brink with U.S.-brokered ceasefire

ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - At 2.09 am on Saturday, Ahmad Subhan, who lives near an air base in the Pakistan military garrison city of Rawalpindi, heard the first explosion that rattled the windows of his house - and took South Asia to the brink of war. As dawn broke, the heaviest fighting in decades between nuclear-armed...