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COVID-19 coronavirus
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Singapore sports round-up (13-19 May): Max Maeder wins 2nd world kitefoiling title, Geylang and Tampines in 4-4 SPL thriller
- Here is a round-up of sports events and developments in Singapore in the past week (13 to 19 May).
The latest from AFP
Stories for you
- NewsAssociated Press
California date palm ranches reap not only fruit, but a permit to host weddings and quinceañeras
Claudia Lua Alvarado has staked her future on the rows of towering date palms behind the home where she lives with her husband and two children in a desert community east of Los Angeles. Lua Alvarado is one of several dozen owners of small ranches that produce dates and double as event venues catering to the Coachella Valley’s predominantly Latino community. “This is what sells our property,” said Lua Alvarado, a 49-year-old fashion designer who bought the 8-acre (3.2-hectare) plot seven years
- EntertainmentAssociated Press
Celine Dion makes musical comeback at Paris Olympics with Eiffel Tower serenade
Celine Dion made a triumphant return Friday with a very public performance: closing out the Paris Olympics' opening ceremony from the Eiffel Tower. Nearly two years after revealing her stiff person syndrome diagnosis, Dion belted Edith Piaf's “Hymne à l’amour” (“Hymn to Love”) as the finale of the roughly four-hour spectacle. The rare neurological disorder causes rigid muscles and painful muscle spasms, which were affecting Dion’s ability to walk and sing.
- NewsReuters
U.S. told Philippines it made ‘missteps’ in secret anti-vax propaganda effort
The U.S. Defense Department admitted that it spread propaganda in the Philippines aimed at disparaging China’s Sinovac vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a June 25 document cited by a former top government official earlier this month. The U.S. response to the Philippines was recounted in a podcast by Harry Roque, who served as spokesman for former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The news agency was able to verify its contents with a source familiar with the U.S. response.
- NewsReuters
How JD Vance's Ohio hometown defied his expectations
In his bestselling 2016 memoir, Republican vice presidential hopeful JD Vance questioned whether rural, white Americans, like those in his native Middletown, Ohio, had the drive to reverse their economic decline. Vance's "Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis" tried to explain the mindset of white Appalachian voters at a time when many Americans were baffled by the popularity of Donald Trump, who would win the presidential election later that year. The Yale-educated Ohio
- PoliticsAssociated Press
Barack and Michelle Obama endorse Kamala Harris, giving her expected but crucial support
Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have endorsed Kamala Harris in her White House bid, giving the vice president the expected but still crucial backing of the nation’s two most popular Democrats. The endorsement, announced Friday in a video showing Harris accepting a joint phone call from the former first couple, comes as Harris builds momentum as their party’s likely nominee after President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid and endorse his second-in
- NewsAssociated Press
Sri Lanka will hold presidential election on Sept. 21, its first since declaring bankruptcy in 2022
Sri Lanka will hold a presidential election on Sept. 21 that will likely be a test of confidence in President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s efforts to resolve the country’s worst economic crisis. Wickremesinghe is expected to run while his main rivals will be opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and Anura Dissanayake, who is the leader of a leftist political party that has gained popularity after the economic debacle. The election is largely seen as a crucial vote for the island nation’s efforts to con
- BusinessAssociated Press
Automakers hit 'significant storm,' as buyers reject lofty prices at time of huge capital outlays
Investors are punishing automakers' stocks this week after second-quarter earnings reports exposed industrywide issues of slowing sales and high prices, just as the companies are having to spend huge sums to make new electric and gas vehicles. Ford Motor Co., which reported a drop in second-quarter earnings due electric-vehicle losses and persistently high warranty costs, led the declines. Carlos Tavares, CEO of Jeep and Ram maker Stellantis, said a significant auto-industry storm he's been wa
- NewsAssociated Press
Biden signs bill strengthening oversight of crisis-plagued US Bureau of Prisons after AP reporting
President Joe Biden signed into law on Thursday a bill strengthening oversight of the crisis-plagued federal Bureau of Prisons after reporting by The Associated Press exposed systemic corruption, failures and abuse in the federal prison system. The Federal Prison Oversight Act, which passed the Senate on July 10 and the House in May, establishes an independent ombudsman to field and investigate complaints in the wake of sexual assaults and other criminal misconduct by staff, chronic understaffi
- NewsAssociated Press
US viewers' Olympic interest is down, poll finds, except for Simone Biles
On the heels of low ratings for the coronavirus pandemic-marred Tokyo and Beijing Olympics, Paris may not do much better among U.S. viewers, a poll from Gallup released Thursday found. Simone Biles and women's gymnastics are poised to be a bright spot, with those surveyed selecting it as their most anticipated sport. Gallup did not measure viewing intentions for the Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed a year.
- NewsAssociated Press
Four detainees stabbed during altercation at jail in downtown St. Louis
Four detainees at a downtown St. Louis jail were injured when they were stabbed during a fight — the latest of several instances of violence at the jail. A guard sent out a distress call about a disturbance around 1:20 p.m. Wednesday at the City Justice Center, spokesman for the St. Louis Department of Public Safety, Monte Chambers, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The injured detainees were taken to a hospital.
