SINGAPORE: Singapore plunged into mourning and world leaders united in tribute after the death of Lee Kuan Yew, the iron-fisted politician who forged a prosperous city-state out of unpromising beginnings.
His son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, issued a statement before dawn announcing the passing of his 91-year-old father at Singapore General Hospital following a long illness.
“He fought for our independence, built a nation where there was none, and made us proud to be Singaporeans. We won’t see another like him,” he said in an emotional TV address.
US President Barack Obama led foreign leaders in hailing Lee, who turned a small territory lacking natural resources into a world player in finance, trading, high-tech industries and shipping — all the while with a heavy political grip that was long decried by rights campaigners.
The ethnic-Chinese Lee’s mix of economic reform allied with political authoritarianism was of particular appeal to communist China as it opened up in the 1980s.
President Xi Jinping praised Lee as an “old friend of the Chinese people” and said he was “widely respected by the international community as a strategist and a statesman.”
After news broke of Lee’s death, hundreds of Singaporeans, some weeping, visited the gates of the Istana state complex to leave flowers and cards, and sign a condolence board.
Some chanted “Mr Lee, Mr.Lee” as a hearse carrying his body drove in for a two-day private family wake, after which his coffin will be borne on a gun carriage to lie in state at Parliament House.
A tearful Sharon Tan, 39, and her five-year-old son Ryan Mackay were among the first to arrive.
“I brought Ryan here to share an important part of Singapore’s history to him and also to help him understand why mummy is so sad,” she said.
A state funeral service will be held at the National University of Singapore on Sunday before Lee is cremated, ending seven days of national mourning.
Lee, whose health rapidly deteriorated after his wife of 63 years, Kwa Geok Choo, died in 2010, was in hospital for nearly seven weeks with severe pneumonia.
Despite growing anticipation of his death, sales manager June Tay Mae Sann, 37, said “it was still very different when it happened.”
Lee served as prime minister from 1959, when colonial ruler Britain granted self-rule, to 1990, leading Singapore to independence in 1965 after a brief and stormy union with Malaysia.
Singapore now has one of the world’s highest per capita incomes and its residents enjoy near-universal home ownership, low crime rates and first-class infrastructure.
The opposition Workers’ Party, whose leaders were among those harried for years by Lee, joined the rest of the nation of 5.5 million people in mourning him.
On the diplomatic front, Lee’s counsel was often sought by Western leaders, particularly on China, as well as on more volatile neighbors in Southeast Asia.
Singapore-based political analyst Derek da Cunha said “Lee Kuan Yew gave Singapore an international profile completely disproportionate to the country’s size.”
But the Cambridge-educated lawyer was also criticized for jailing political opponents and driving his critics to self-imposed exile or financial ruin as a result of costly libel suits.
Singapore strictly controls freedom of speech and assembly. While it has become more liberal in recent years, it still uses corporal punishment and ranks 150th in the annual press freedom ranking of Reporters Without Borders — below Russia and Zimbabwe among others.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, acknowledged Lee’s economic legacy but said “it also came at a significant cost for human rights.”
He said it may now be time for a national “conversation” on greater political liberalization.
In a sign that things may not change soon, the government Monday designated Singapore’s only free-speech zone, known as Speakers’ Corner, as a place for honoring Lee.
Permits for protests and other gatherings will not be granted in the meantime.
Lee stepped down in 1990 in favor of his deputy Goh Chok Tong, who in turn handed the reins to the former leader’s eldest son Lee Hsien Loong in 2004.
The People’s Action Party (PAP), co-founded by the elder Lee, has won every election since 1959 and holds 80 of the 87 seats in parliament.
Lee retired from advisory roles in government in 2011 after the PAP suffered its worst poll result since it came to power, getting only 60 percent of votes cast amid public anger over a large influx of immigrants, the rising cost of living, urban congestion and insufficient supply of public housing.
In his last book “One Man’s View of the World,” published in 2013, Lee looked back at his career and concluded: “As for me, I have done what I had wanted to, to the best of my ability. I am satisfied.”
Singapore in mourning as first PM Lee Kuan Yew dies
Singapore in mourning as first PM Lee Kuan Yew dies
Italy demands security guarantees for its troops in Lebanon
Italy has troops deployed in the UN peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL and in a separate mission known as MIBIL which trains local armed forces. There are over 1,000 Italian troops in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
The UN Security Council expressed concern on Monday after several UN peacekeeping positions came under fire in southern Lebanon and urged all parties — without naming them — to respect the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and premises.
“We believe that the attitude of the Israeli forces is completely unjustified,” Meloni said, describing it as a “blatant violation” a UN resolution on ending hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.
In an address to Italy’s Senate, she said Israel’s actions were not acceptable and that she had expressed this position to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Asked whether she was considering a trip to Lebanon, Meloni told reporters: “Yes.”
Netanyahu has denied Israeli troops deliberately targeted UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon and wants the peacekeepers withdrawn from combat zones.
Italy has protested to Israel and joined allies in condemning the attacks on the peacekeepers.
Meloni said Hezbollah had also violated the UN resolution and sought “to militarise the area under UNIFIL’s jurisdiction,” adding that Italy wanted to strengthen the capabilities of UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces.
She also said Rome had not forgotten the attack by Hamas militants on Israeli communities on Oct. 7 last year that sparked the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, and that Italy’s thoughts were with the more than 100 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.
Hundreds of Afghan ex-special forces set for UK relocation
- Ministry of Defense review overturns position of previous British government
- Many operatives and their families were forced into hiding after Western withdrawal
LONDON: Hundreds of former members of Afghanistan’s special forces and their families will be resettled in the UK after ministers overturned a decision by the previous government, The Independent reported.
Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard on Monday said 2,000 applicants for relocation, previously rejected by the UK, will have their paperwork reviewed once more following a Ministry of Defense review.
Many of the former special forces operatives and their families were placed at great risk of Taliban reprisal following the Western withdrawal from Afghanistan, with many forced into hiding.
About 25 percent of the 2,000 applications are expected to be overturned amid the release of new evidence demonstrating direct payments from the UK government to Afghan special forces units.
Pollard told the House of Commons: “Officials have now confirmed that there’s evidence of payments from the UK government to members of Afghan specialist units … and for some individuals this demonstrates a direct employment relationship.
“This is evidence that goes beyond previously identified top-up payments and reimbursements for operational expenses, which don’t demonstrate such an employment relationship in themselves.
“This is, of course, contrary to the position reported to Parliament by the previous government that no such evidence of direct employment existed.”
Pollard said the previous government’s position was not a “conscious effort to mislead,” but was part of a “failure to access and share the right digital records … across departmental lines.”
Some former Afghan soldiers who demonstrated ties to the UK in the wake of the Taliban takeover have been housed for years in military bases across Britain. Ministers have said they will soon be moved to appropriate accommodation.
Indonesia’s Prabowo courts largest party for coalition, meets candidates for govt posts
- The absence of any opposition in the parliament would mean that an eight-party alliance could ensure smooth passage of Prabowo’s legislative agenda
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s incoming president Prabowo Subianto met candidates for senior government posts for a second day on Tuesday, as he seeks to bring the country’s biggest political party into his already dominant parliamentary coalition.
If Prabowo can reach a deal with Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) there would be no opposition parties in parliament, an unprecedented situation since Indonesia began holding direct presidential elections in 2004.
Prabowo, who will be sworn in as president on Oct. 20, summoned over 40 people on Monday who said they had been asked to join the next government, including current finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.
On Tuesday, Prabowo summoned dozens of potential deputy ministers, his top aide Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said.
While no lawmakers from the PDI-P had arrived at his house by early afternoon, Prabowo’s party officials have said that he plans to meet PDI-P chief Megawati Sukarnoputri to discuss a possible political alliance.
The timing of a meeting is unclear.
The absence of any opposition in the parliament would mean that an eight-party alliance could ensure smooth passage of Prabowo’s legislative agenda, but it would likely heighten fears about a lack of meaningful checks on Prabowo’s power in a country with a history of authoritarian rule.
Seven of the eight parties in parliament have already joined Prabowo’s coalition, securing him a parliamentary majority.
PDI-P, which won the most seats in the February election, had nominated Prabowo’s predecessor, President Joko Widodo, for president in 2014. But the relationship soured over Widodo’s tacit support for the president-elect during his campaign run.
Widodo’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is the incoming vice president.
In his second five-year term, Widodo was also supported by most parties in parliament, with only two opposing parties.
Widodo leaves office facing criticism he has tried to change laws to benefit his family, and co-opt state bodies to control his opponents. He denies any impropriety, and has said democracy was thriving and he respects the country’s institutions.
Analysts say they fear what they see as that democratic backsliding may continue under Prabowo, a member of the old elite that previously ruled Indonesia. Prabowo is an ex-special forces commander who was dismissed from the military amid speculation of human rights abuses, assertions he has denied.
In March, Prabowo described democracy as tiring, costly and messy, and said there was room for improvement.
Greek, Turkish foreign ministers to meet on Nov. 8, sources say
ATHENS: Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis will meet his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Athens on Nov. 8 to discuss bilateral issues including the demarcation of an exclusive economic zone, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.
Greece and Turkiye, NATO allies but historic foes, have been at odds for decades over matters ranging from airspace to maritime jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean, energy resources and ethnically split Cyprus.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said last week he believed relations with Greece were improving and that the Gerapetritis-Fidan meeting was aimed at finding solutions to issues such as maritime zones and airspace.
The foreign ministers have been tasked with exploring whether conditions were favorable to initiate talks on the demarcation of the continental shelf and economic zone, Gerapetritis said last month.
An agreement on where their maritime zones begin and end is important for determining rights over possible gas reserves and power infrastructure schemes.
A high-level cooperation council, at which the countries will assess progress, is expected to take place in Ankara in January.
Separately, the leaders of estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriots were expected to meet informally with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York on Tuesday.
Cyprus was split decades ago in a Turkish invasion after a brief Greek-inspired coup, and preceded by years of sporadic violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Reunification talks collapsed in mid-2017 and have been at a stalemate since.
Kenya court to rule on bid to stop deputy president’s ouster
- In a historic move last week, the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, voted overwhelmingly to impeach Gachagua on 11 charges including corruption
NAIROBI: A Kenyan court is due to rule Tuesday on a last-ditch case seeking to stop a Senate debate and vote on the impeachment of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
In a historic move last week, the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, voted overwhelmingly to impeach Gachagua on 11 charges including corruption.
The 59-year-old has denied all allegations and will continue to serve in his role until the Senate decides whether to approve his removal.
Gachagua filed the court challenge to stop the upper house’s proceedings set for Wednesday and Thursday, arguing that his impeachment had been unfair and fast-tracked.
High Court judge Enock Chacha Mwita will rule on the case at 2:30 p.m. (1130 GMT).
It is one of more than two dozen court cases that have been filed against the impeachment, the first of its kind against a deputy president since the possibility was introduced in Kenya’s revised 2010 constitution.
On Monday, the Chief Justice Martha Koome empanelled a three-judge bench to hear and determine a case consolidating six of the petitions.
Gachagua, a powerful businessman from Kenya’s biggest tribe, the Kikuyu, weathered previous corruption scandals to become deputy leader as President William Ruto’s running mate in a closely fought election in August 2022.
But in recent weeks, he has complained of being sidelined by the president and had been accused of supporting youth-led anti-government protests that broke out in June.
Gachagua, who is accused of threatening a judge among his impeachment charges, on Sunday said he pinned his hopes on the judiciary.
“I am a believer in the independence of the judiciary. I am certain that the courts will exercise judicial authority and protect and uphold the constitution and the will of the people,” he told a church service in central Kenya.
Ruto has not commented publicly on the impeachment.
The ouster will require the support of at least two-thirds of senators to pass.
