Faishal Ibrahim says govt understands how community feels about Palestine; $8.5b in GST collected in 2024: Singapore live news
Faishal Ibrahim recently sat down with the media for the first time in his new role of Acting Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs. Faishal, who has not shied away from discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the past, weighed in on the topic once more.
Singapore Customs collected $8.5 billion in goods and services tax (GST) in 2024 – an increase of more than $1 billion from the amount collected in 2023. The GST collection figures for 2024 are made available by Singapore Customs in its annual publication for the year.
Read more in our live blog below, including the latest local and international news and updates.
Faishal Ibrahim, Singapore's new Acting Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs, says the government is aware of the public's strong feelings regarding the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
"We understand how the community feels," Faishal was quoted as saying by Mothership. "And it is natural for the community to feel that these are not right. I think they want peace. They don't like killings, and they want people to respect the people's rights to live where they should."
Faishal, who was speaking to the media on 4 June, also said that the government has been "very principled and consistent" in how they look at the Israeli-Palestinian issue. This includes advocating for a negotiated two-state solution.
And last month, Faishal said he agreed with former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza.
Singapore Customs collected $8.5 billion in goods and services tax (GST) in 2024. The figure was an increase of more than $1 billion from the $7.2 billion collected in 2023.
This is the highest amount of GST collected by the agency to date, according to statistics from open government data portal Data.gov.sg.
Imported goods made up almost all of the GST amount collected.
Singapore's GST rate was increased in two stages – from 7% to 8 in 2023, and from 8% to 9% in 2024. The government has previously said there will be no need to raise the GST again until 2030.
The GST collection figures for 2024 were made available by Singapore Customs in its annual publication which also reported on significant increases in cases involving tobacco and liquor offences.
Faishal Ibrahim, Singapore's new Acting Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs, says the government is aware of the public's strong feelings regarding the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
"We understand how the community feels," Faishal was quoted as saying by Mothership. "And it is natural for the community to feel that these are not right. I think they want peace. They don't like killings, and they want people to respect the people's rights to live where they should."
Faishal, who was speaking to the media on 4 June, also said that the government has been "very principled and consistent" in how they look at the Israeli-Palestinian issue. This includes advocating for a negotiated two-state solution.
And last month, Faishal said he agreed with former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza.
Singapore Customs collected $8.5 billion in goods and services tax (GST) in 2024. The figure was an increase of more than $1 billion from the $7.2 billion collected in 2023.
This is the highest amount of GST collected by the agency to date, according to statistics from open government data portal Data.gov.sg.
Imported goods made up almost all of the GST amount collected.
Singapore's GST rate was increased in two stages – from 7% to 8 in 2023, and from 8% to 9% in 2024. The government has previously said there will be no need to raise the GST again until 2030.
The GST collection figures for 2024 were made available by Singapore Customs in its annual publication which also reported on significant increases in cases involving tobacco and liquor offences.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
3 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Israeli military kills at least 95 people in Gaza as the body of a Thai hostage is recovered
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel said Saturday it retrieved the body of a Thai hostage abducted into the Gaza Strip during the Hamas-led attack that sparked the war, as Israel's military continued its offensive, killing at least 95 people in the past 24 hours, according to Gaza's health ministry. Nattapong Pinta had come to Israel to work in agriculture. Israel's government said he was seized from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed early in the war, which began on Oct. 7, 2023. Thailand's foreign ministry said the bodies of two other citizens were yet to be retrieved. Thais were the largest group of foreigners held captive. Many lived on the outskirts of southern Israeli kibbutzim and towns, the first places overrun in the attack. Forty-six Thais have been killed during the war, according to the foreign ministry. Israel's defense minister said Pinta's body was retrieved from the Rafah area in southern Gaza. The army said he was seized by the Mujahideen Brigades, the small armed group that also took two Israeli-American hostages, Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai, whose bodies were retrievedon Thursday. Israel's military later said it killed the head of the Mujahideen Brigades, As'ad Aby Sharaiya, in Gaza City on Saturday. Fifty-five hostages remain in Gaza. Israel says more than half are dead. Families rallied again Saturday evening in Israel, calling for a ceasefire deal to bring everyone home. Hamas issued an unusual warning about another hostage, Matan Zangauker, saying Israel's military had surrounded the area where he's held and that any harm that came to him during a rescue attempt would be Israel's responsibility. Israel's military didn't immediately comment. 'The decision to expand the (military) ground maneuver is at the cost of Matan's life and the lives of all the hostages,' Zangauker's mother, Einav, told the rally in Tel Aviv. A strike in Gaza City killed six members of a family, including two children, according to the Shifa and al-Ahli hospitals. Israel's military said the strike targeted the Mujahideen Brigades leader. 'This is the real destruction,' a man said as he carried the body of a small boy from the scene. Four Israeli strikes hit the Muwasi area in southern Gaza between Rafah and Khan Younis. In northern Gaza, a strike hit an apartment, killing seven people including a mother and five children. Their bodies were taken to Shifa hospital. 'Stand up, my love,' one weeping woman said, touching the shrouded bodies. Israel said it was responding to Hamas' 'barbaric attacks' and dismantling its capabilities. It said it takes all feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm. Staff at Nasser hospital, which received the bodies of six people over the past 24 hours, said they were killed while on their way to get food aid. Much of Gaza's population of over 2 million relies on aid after widespread destruction of agriculture as well as a recent Israeli blockade. Experts have warned of famine. Israel's army has warned that the aid distribution area is an active combat zone during nighttime hours. It said several suspects attempted to approach troops operating in the Tel al-Sultan area overnight 'in a manner that posed a threat.' The army said troops called out, then fired warning shots as the suspects advanced. An army official who couldn't be named in line with military procedures said the shots were fired about a half-mile from the distribution site. Over the past two weeks, shootings have occurred frequently near the new hubs where thousands of desperate Palestinians are being directed to collect food. Witnesses say nearby Israeli troops have opened fire, and more than 80 people have been killed, according to Gaza hospital officials. Israel's military has said it fired warning shots or, in some instances, at individuals approaching. The hubs are run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a new group of mainly American contractors. Israel wants it to replace a system coordinated by the United Nations and aid groups. A GHF spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with the group's rules, said it didn't feed Gaza residents on Saturday and blamed Hamas threats. There was no immediate Hamas response. Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid under the U.N.-led system. The U.N. and aid groups deny there's significant diversion of aid to fighters and say the new system — which they have rejected — allows Israel to use food as a weapon, violates humanitarian principles and won't be effective. The U.N says it has been unable to distribute much aid under its system because of Israeli military restrictions on movements and insecurity. Separately, Palestinians lined up at a soup kitchen in Gaza City for handouts on the second day of Eid al-Adha. 'I have been standing here for more than an hour and a half. I feel I have a sunstroke, and I am in need,' said Farida al-Sayed, who said she had six people to feed. 'I only had lentils, and I ran out of them.' Hamas-led fighters killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages. Most were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages and recovered dozens of bodies. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants. The offensive has destroyed large parts of Hamas-run Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly 2 million Palestinians.
San Francisco Chronicle
6 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Thousands of demonstrators march through Rome to call for an immediate end to the war in Gaza
ROME (AP) — Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of Rome on Saturday against the war in Gaza in a protest called by Italy's main opposition parties, who accuse the right-wing government of being too silent. Protesters held a banner reading 'Stop the massacre, stop complicity!' at the start of the march, which moved peacefully through the center of Rome amid a massive display of rainbow, Palestinian and political party flags. The protest attracted a diverse crowd from across the country, including many families with children. According to organizers, up to 300,000 people participated in the rally organized by the leftist opposition to ask the government for a clear position on the conflict in Gaza. 'This is an an enormous popular response to say enough to the massacre of Palestinians and the crimes of (Israeli leader Benjamin) Netanyahu's government,' the leader of Italy's center-left Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, told reporters at the march. 'There is another Italy that doesn't remain silent as the Meloni government does," she said, referring to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Meloni was recently pushed by the opposition to publicly condemn Netanyahu's offensive in Gaza, but many observers considered her criticism too timid. '(The Italian government) is not reacting despite an abnormal massacre, despite an absolutely cruel and inappropriate reaction. The (Italian) government remains silent,' said Nadin Unali, a Tunisian demonstrator at the march. Earlier this week, the Italian premier urged Israel to immediately halt its military campaign in Gaza, saying its attacks had grown disproportionately and should be brought to an end to protect civilians. Israel faces mounting international criticism for its offensive and pressure to let aid into Gaza during a humanitarian crisis. Gaza has been under an Israeli blockade for nearly three months, with experts warning that many of its 2 million residents are at high risk of famine. The war broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 hostages. They are still holding 56 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive. Since then, Israel has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians in its military campaign, primarily women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures. ___
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Abbott calls Starmer's immigration comments ‘fundamentally racist' at rally
Backbench Labour MP Diane Abbott has criticised Sir Keir Starmer's comments on immigration as 'fundamentally racist' at a protest rally, suggesting the Government was copying the rhetoric of Reform UK. Thousands of trade unionists, campaigners and activists gathered to 'send a message' to the Government at a demonstration over spending cuts and welfare reform in central London on Saturday. Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and Ms Abbott were among those who gave speeches at the rally outside Downing Street following a march. Organisers The People's Assembly accused the Government of making spending cuts that target the poorest in society. The Prime Minister said the UK risked becoming 'an island of strangers' when he unveiled plans for tighter controls on immigration in a major speech last month, leading to a mixed reaction from different parties. Addressing the protest crowd in Whitehall, Ms Abbott – who was previously suspended by Labour in 2023 before being allowed to run in last year's general election – said there was an international struggle to 'fight the rich and the powerful (and) to fight the racists', including in her own party. The Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP said: 'I was very disturbed to hear Keir Starmer on the subject of immigration. 'He talked about closing the book on a squalid chapter for our politics – immigrants represent a squalid chapter. 'He talked about how he thought immigration has done incalculable damage to this green and pleasant land, which, of course, is nonsense – immigrants built this land. 'And, finally, he said we risk becoming an island of strangers. 'I thought that was a fundamentally racist thing to say. It is contrary to Britain's history. 'My parents came to this country in the 50s. They were not strangers. They helped to build this country. 'I think Keir Starmer is quite wrong to say that the way that you beat Reform is to copy Reform.' Reform's leader Nigel Farage previously said his party 'very much enjoyed' Sir Keir's speech, as it showed he was 'learning a great deal' from them. Representatives from the National Education Union, Revolutionary Communist Party, Green Party and the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union could be seen at the demonstration's start point in Portland Place. The large crowd then set off towards Whitehall shortly before 1pm. Many of the protesters were holding placards that read 'Tax the rich, stop the cuts – welfare not warfare'. Other signs being held aloft said 'Nurses not nukes' and 'Cut war, not welfare'. Mr Corbyn, who also criticised Sir Keir's 'island of strangers' comments, told protesters at the rally: 'As the wars rage around the world – the killing fields in Ukraine and Russia, the abominable, deliberate starvation of children in Gaza and the genocide that's inflicted against the Palestinian people continues – surely to goodness we need a world of peace. 'We need a world of peace that will come through the vision of peace, the vision of disarmament and the vision of actually challenging the causes of war, which leads to the desperation and the refugee flows of today.' The Independent MP for Islington North urged protesters to 'go forward as a movement of hope, of what we can achieve together (and) the society we can build together'. The People's Assembly said trade unionists, health, disability, housing and welfare campaigners with community organisations came together for the protest under the slogan 'No to Austerity2.0'. A spokesperson said: 'The adherence to 'fiscal rules' traps us in a public service funding crisis, increasing poverty, worsening mental health and freezing public sector pay. 'Scrapping winter fuel payments, keeping the Tory two-child benefit cap, abandoning Waspi women, cutting £5 billion of welfare by limiting Pip and universal credit eligibility, and slashing UK foreign aid from 0.5% to 0.3% of GDP, while increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, are presented as 'tough choices'. 'Real tough choices would be for a Labour government to tax the rich and their hidden wealth, to fund public services, fair pay, investment in communities and the NHS.'
