Singapore – Faith Matters

Coronavirus: Latest updates from around the world

Faith Matters — Tue, 02 Jun 2020 12:41:12 +0000

Coronavirus has infected more than six million people across the world and killed more than 370,000, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Here are the latest updates on the pandemic from around the world:

INDONESIA

Indonesia’s government has decided not to participate in this year’s hajj pilgrimage because of the coronavirus outbreak, an official said.

Indonesian religious affairs minister Fachrul Razi said Saudi Arabia has not announced it will open the July hajj pilgrimage to other countries, and it is too late to prepare if it does so now.

“The government will not send the 2020 hajj pilgrimage,” Mr Razi said.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, normally sends the largest contingent to the pilgrimage to Islam’s holiest cities, Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. It was expected to send 221,000 pilgrims this year.

PAKISTAN

A leaked government document reveals authorities ignored experts who wanted a month-long lockdown in Pakistan’s Punjab province and who estimated 670,000 might have been infected in the provincial capital of Lahore.

After media published the experts’ report, residents criticised the government for easing the restrictions last month instead of heeding the recommendation.

The report was based on a sample survey done in Lahore, which had 245 deaths through May 15. Since then, Punjab has reported nearly 200 more fatalities related to Covid-19.

The document surfaced hours before prime minister Imran Khan relaxed more coronavirus restrictions implemented in March, saying Pakistanis must learn how to live with the virus since lockdowns do not treat the disease. Pakistan has registered 1,621 fatalities amid 76,398 cases.

SINGAPORE

Singapore has reopened 75% of its economy as part of a three-phase controlled approach to end a virus lockdown in place since early April.

Finance, electronics manufacturing and logistics are among sectors that resumed operations after a two-month closure with strict safety requirements.

Schools will also reopen in stages this month but most retail shops, personal services, dining in at restaurants and social gatherings are still banned.

The affluent city-state has more than 35,000 cases, one of the highest in Asia. More than 90% of cases involved foreign workers living in crowded dormitories and the government says it will only lift further restrictions if infections remain low.

Southeast Asia seek cybersecurity deal with Russia

Faith Matters — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 09:04:51 +0000

Southeast Asian nations hope to strike a joint agreement on cybersecurity in coming days with Russia, accused by the United States of meddling in its elections, after a series of high-profile hacks in the region.

The draft of a document seen by Reuters discusses formalising an agreement with Russia. It is set to be issued by foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the close of meetings underway with other global lawmakers in Singapore.

“We welcome the further strengthening [of] our cooperation in cybersecurity with Russia through the issuance of the statement of ASEAN and Russian foreign ministers on cooperation in the field of cybersecurity,” the draft document said, adding the title would be updated depending on negotiations. It is due to be published on Saturday.

The host of the ASEAN meeting, Singapore, recently suffered its worst ever cyberattack when hackers stole the personal information of about 1.5 million people, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, from a government health database. Earlier this year, Malaysia said it had foiled an attempted cyber heist on its central bank.

Neither country has identified the hackers and neither suggested the involvement of Russia.

U.S. intelligence agencies have said a Russian propaganda arm tried to tamper with the 2016 presidential election by posting and buying ads on Facebook. Moscow has denied involvement.

Facebook said on Tuesday it had identified a new co-ordinated political influence campaign to mislead its users and sow dissension among voters ahead of November’s U.S. congressional elections.

Russia last year appointed a dedicated Ambassador to ASEAN based in Jakarta.

Senior officials from ASEAN and Russia met in March in Jakarta for wide-ranging talks on co-operation in political, security and economic fields among others.

Islamic State of Bangladesh Arrests Made in Singapore

Faith Matters — Wed, 04 May 2016 00:34:55 +0000

Singapore has detained eight Bangladeshi men planning to stage terror attacks in their home country as the Islamic State in Bangladesh (ISB), the city state said on Tuesday, the second group of Bangladeshis investigated in the past six months.

The men, aged 26 to 34, were working in Singapore’s construction and marine industries, the government said in a statement. At least two more members in the group were in Bangladesh, it added.

“ISB poses a security concern to Singapore because of its support for ISIS and its readiness to resort to the use of violence overseas,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said, referring to Islamic State.

The men were detained in April under Singapore’s Internal Security Act, the government said. It was not immediately clear if or when they would be charged or deported. Singapore’s Straits Times called it the first detentions under the act involving a foreign workers’ cell.

The government of wealthy, multi-ethnic Singapore, which has not faced any militant attacks in decades, said investigations showed the ISB had identified several possible attack targets in Bangladesh.

Islamist militants in Bangladesh have targeted atheist bloggers, academics, religious minorities and foreign aid workers in a series of killings that date back to February 2015 and have claimed at least 20 lives. A Hindu tailor was hacked to death on Saturday.

The Islamic State and a group affiliated to al Qaeda have claimed responsibility for most of the attacks. Bangladeshi police said home-grown militant group are responsible.

In January, Singapore said it had arrested 27 Bangladeshi construction workers who supported Islamist groups including al Qaeda and Islamic State and deported 26 of them.

Fourteen of the 26 have since been jailed in Bangladesh on “terror charges”, Bangladeshi police said, but denied they had any link to the Islamic State or al Qaeda.

The Singapore ministry said the eight detained men had intended to join Islamic State as foreign fighters. It provided photographs of the men, a bomb making manual and other documents it said the group had used.

The ministry said the men felt it would be difficult for them to make their way to Syria and focused instead on returning to Bangladesh to overthrow the government by force, and bring it under the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed caliphate, the ministry said.