International
Singapore closes the Lee era with the investiture of Lawrence Wong as prime minister
Lawrence Wong was sworn in on Wednesday as Prime Minister of Singapore, which puts an end to Lee Hsien Loong’s two-decades in office and closes the era in power of this popular dynasty, which turned the island into one of the most prosperous countries on the planet.
Wong, until now vice prime minister, today became the fourth leader in the history of the small Southeast Asian nation in an investiture ceremony at the Istana Palace of Singapore, officiated by the country’s president, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, which began around 7:00 p.m. local time (11.00 GMT).
“I swear to protect and defend the Constitution of Singapore,” Wong stressed during the ceremony, broadcast live.
The appointment of Wong, 51, is a before and after in the Asian city-state, since it is the first time that the country does not have any Lee on the political scene, dominated by the family since the mandate of Lee Kuan Yew (1959-1990), “father” of the homeland and the predecessor of the new prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong.
At 72 years old, the firstborn of the deceased Lee Kuan Yew left the position today, as he announced last month, after two decades in power and after having anticipated for years that he would delegate the position to someone younger.
Lee participated in the ceremony and today swore in a ministerial position in Wong’s cabinet, which maintains the heavyweights of the former leader, as he announced this week.
“I am deeply honored (…) I am looking for your trust and support. My team and I will do everything in our man,” Wong said first in English when he got on the stand already as prime minister, and then pronounce a few words in Chinese, Malay and Tamil, the official languages of Singapore.
“Today we are living a milestone. I am the first leader born after independence (1965),” Wong stressed, while praising the legacy of his predecessors and appealing to national unity.
Although Wong, a member like Lee of the formation that has ruled Singapore since its independence, the People’s Action Party (PAP), is expected to adopt a continuist policy with respect to Lee, the current situation suggests that he will have to undertake some changes.
The also Minister of Finance will have to face greater friction between China and the United States and a decline in liberalization, the basis of Singapore’s success, dependent on exports.
“We are facing a world of conflict and rivalries and protectionism (…) We must be friends with everyone while defending our interests,” Wong proclaimed in his speech.
Likewise, Wong, a former official who officially entered politics in 2011 as a deputy, will have to face greater discontent among the population in the face of the high cost of living and the increase in inequalities.
The new leader of Singapore, who went from being a fishing island to one of the countries with the highest GDP per capita following Lee Kuan Yew’s road map – a combination of economic apertourism and control of freedoms – will also have to manage demographic problems and immigration avoiding friction.
The local population (75% ethnically Chinese, 14% Malaysian and 9% Indian) demands more job opportunities in a country that has depended heavily on immigration (about 1.7 million of the total of 5.6 million inhabitants) and that currently has one of the lowest fertility rates on the planet (0.97 in 2023).
“We will fight for a fairer society,” Wong emphasized today, adding that we will have to take “new paths and (take) new solutions.”
Wong will also have to show that the PAP can win electorally without the Lees, when the country has to hold the next general elections before November 2025.
International
China shows at the UN its “condemnation” of Israel for the “violation of Iran’s sovereignty”
The Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, Fu Cong, showed the “condemnation” of his country against the “violation of the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Iran” after the air attack launched by Israel against multiple targets in that country, the official newspaper Diario del Pueblo reports this Saturday.
That media echoes Fu’s speech to the UN Security Council on Friday, in which he demanded that Israel “immediately stop all its military actions.”
“China (…) opposes the expansion of conflicts, and is deeply concerned about the serious consequences that may arise from Israel’s actions. The intensification of regional tensions does not interest any of the parties involved,” said the Chinese emissary.
Beijing called on Tel Aviv and Tehran to “resolve their disputes through political and diplomatic means, and maintain peace and stability at the regional level jointly.”
In Fu’s view, the Israeli attack will have a “negative impact” on the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program: “China has always been committed to the peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue through dialogue and consultations, and opposes the use of force, illegal unilateral sanctions and armed attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities.”
This Friday, China had already expressed its willingness to “play a constructive role” to curb the escalation of tensions and facilitate conciliation, in line with its traditional position of active neutrality in the region’s conflicts.
The Israeli attack, which according to Tehran caused dozens of deaths, including senior military commanders and at least six nuclear scientists, targeted key facilities such as the uranium enrichment plant in Natanz. Numerous civilian casualties were also reported.
Israel justified the offensive by claiming that the Iranian regime is secretly developing a program to manufacture nuclear weapons.
For his part, Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, promised a “severe response” and assured that the attack would reveal the “evil nature” of Israel.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also expressed concern about the bombing, at a time when Iran and the US The United States is holding talks about the Iranian nuclear program.
International
Donald Trump’s government pauses its program of indiscriminate raides against migrants
The government of US President Donald Trump has decided to pause its campaign of discretionary roundings against migrants in certain areas due to its apparent concern about the growing unpopularity of these methods, according to The New York Times newspaper on Friday.
According to an email to which the newspaper has had access and the confirmation of US officials, the Executive has ordered the Immigration and Customs Control Service (ICE) to pause the beatings that affect the agricultural industry and the hospitality industry.
The spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, confirmed in a statement that “the president’s instructions” will be obeyed and the portfolio will also continue to “work to get the worst illegal foreign criminals out of the streets of the United States.”
The decision points out that this campaign of discretionary arrests to try to deport large-scale immigrants is harming industries and electoral constituencies whose support Trump wants to retain for next year’s legislative elections.
The new instructions were transmitted to ICE in an email sent last Thursday asking that “all investigations/law enforcement operations be suspended in work centers in the agricultural sector (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and hotels.”
These new guidelines come in turn after more than a week of intense protests in Los Angeles against this immigration policy and that Trump himself admitted that the raids seem to be affecting the agricultural sector, which in states like California, where beatings have intensified, depend almost exclusively on immigrant labor.
Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has implemented an aggressive policy of hard hand against immigration and as a sample of his Cabinet officials recently held a meeting with the ICE leadership to order them to carry out 3,000 arrests a day, a mandate that seems to be behind the intensification of the raids.
International
Trump says he knew “everything” about the attack on Iran and assures that the dialogue remains open
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington “known everything” about the Israeli attack on Iran and that the dialogue on Tehran’s nuclear program “is not dead.”
“We knew everything and I tried to avoid Iran all this humiliation and death. I tried hard to avoid it because I would have loved to see an agreement,” Trump said in an interview with Reuters.
The US president insisted on what he wrote today about the attack on social networks, where he said he gave an ultimatum of 60 days to Tehran to reach an agreement.
“We knew practically everything. We knew enough to give Iran 60 days to reach an agreement and today it is already 61 days,” he explained in the interview, in which he said he did not know what the current situation of the Iranian nuclear program is after the attack launched by Israel, which also ended the lives of key military leaders of the Persian country.
Regarding the dialogue between the US and Iran about the nuclear program of the ayatollahs, Trump assured that “he is not dead”, that “an agreement is still possible” and also recalled that on Sunday a sixth round of dialogue is scheduled in Muscat (Oman) that they consider is now in the air.
“We have a meeting with them on Sunday. Now, I’m not sure if that meeting will take place, but we have a meeting with them on Sunday,” he said.
The United States and Iran have held five rounds of talks on the Iranian nuclear program since April, with Washington demanding that Tehran discard its capabilities both to manufacture an atomic bomb and to enrich uranium, something that the ayatollahs considered unacceptable.
Both Israel and Trump himself had warned of possible preventive attacks on the Persian country due to this refusal by Iran.
First woman elected president in the Americas, Violeta Chamorro, dead at 95
Nicaraguan exile coalition urges Costa Rica to receive U.S. deportees fleeing Ortega regime
China shows at the UN its “condemnation” of Israel for the “violation of Iran’s sovereignty”
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
International5 days agoDefense Secretary: National Guard deployment aims to preempt unrest nationwide
-
Central America5 days agoPanama begins reverse migration by sea for 109 stranded migrants
-
International4 days agoOne survivor confirmed after Air India flight crashes with 242 on board
-
International5 days agoMexico apologizes to Guatemala for police incursion after armed clash
-
International4 days agoShark attacks child in Florida
-
International5 days agoMiguel Uribe remains critical but shows progress following assassination attempt
-
International4 days agoOver 200 dead after London-Bound plane crashes in India
-
International5 days agoProposed U.S. tax threatens Mexico’s record remittance inflows
-
International4 days agoUncle Sam used in DHS poster calling for public to report immigrants
-
International3 days agoICE under fire for detaining undocumented teen from Florida foster care
-
International4 days agoAt least five others involved in attack on Miguel Uribe Turbay
-
International4 days agoHegseth dodges lawmakers’ questions on potential U.S. invasion plans for Greenland, Panama
-
International5 days agoMexico sees 13.5% increase in international tourists in April 2025
-
International2 days agoChina shows at the UN its “condemnation” of Israel for the “violation of Iran’s sovereignty”
-
International4 days agoArgentine government says Cristina Fernández sentence was fair and free of political influence
-
International5 days agoNoboa extends emergency rule—but prisons and mining hub excluded by court
-
International3 days agoIsrael warns of retaliation after iranian missiles hit civilian areas
-
International4 days agoEight Killed in Gaza as Hamas allegedly attacks Israel-Backed aid group
-
International2 days agoTrump says he knew “everything” about the attack on Iran and assures that the dialogue remains open
-
International2 days agoDonald Trump’s government pauses its program of indiscriminate raides against migrants
-
International2 days agoRight and far right leaders aspire to win the next elections in Latin America
-
International5 days agoCuban and chinese officials agree to expand cooperation amid official visit
-
International3 days agoCalifornia sues Trump over deployment of military forces in immigration arrests
-
International2 days agoMore than 2,000 protests in the US will condemn Donald Trump’s “authoritarianism” this Saturday
-
International2 days agoCriticism of ICE in Florida for arresting a minor from Honduras and taking him away from a foster family
-
Central America12 hours agoNicaraguan exile coalition urges Costa Rica to receive U.S. deportees fleeing Ortega regime
-
Central America12 hours agoFirst woman elected president in the Americas, Violeta Chamorro, dead at 95