Singapore Tonight - Fri 30 May 2025
From business to politics, health to technology, we bring you up-to-date with the latest news on Singapore and analyze how these events may affect you tomorrow.
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CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Palantir defies tech gloom as Trump momentum powers stellar share gains
Palantir Technologies has succeeded where most tech stocks have struggled this year: staying hot in a cooling market. The company's military-grade AI tools along with its deep defense ties and high-level government connections at a time when the U.S. is boosting spending on defense software have helped investors raise the bets on the stock. It has surged more than 70 per cent this year and is the S&P 500's second-best performer - a standout in an otherwise sluggish tech market roiled by investor worries over U.S. tariffs and economic uncertainty. Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel was an early backer of President Donald Trump and has close ties with key Washington lawmakers, including Vice President JD Vance, whom he supported in a 2022 U.S. Senate race. "The relationships that Palantir's with senior members of the Trump administration are helpful for business," D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria said. Palantir in April won a $30 million contract from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to develop an operating system that identifies undocumented immigrants and tracks self-deportations, its largest single award from the agency among 46 federal contract actions since 2011. "They probably benefit a little bit more with Trump because of the impetus on security, border and immigration," said Francisco Bido, senior portfolio manager at Palantir investor F/m Investments. "They're going to get a lot of work out of that." Palantir, however, downplayed the impact of political goodwill. "The politics around it change, so it gets increased visibility but we've been working with ICE since 2010," the company's communications head, Lisa Gordon, told Reuters. Founded in 2003 and listed in 2020, Palantir, which was initially backed by the CIA, has drawn investor interest in its growing AI platform that allows companies to simulate AI-related scenarios, debug code and test large language models. "No other large software company can currently combine that level of growth with high profitability and unique offering," Luria said. But its growth has largely been driven by U.S. government contracts which made up for more than 42 per cent of its revenue in the March quarter. Sales to U.S. businesses accounted for 29 per cent, while commercial sales outside the U.S. were down 5 per cent from a year ago - a slide that some analysts point to Palantir's polarizing political profile and America-first stance. The rally in its stock builds on a 12-fold surge over the past two years that outpaced gains in red-hot companies such as Nvidia and brings with it a valuation premium.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
South Korea presidential election: Analyst Soo Kim on voter concerns, election promises
Vote counting for South Korea's presidential election is underway, with exit polls projecting the Democratic Party's Lee Jae-myung to win by a landslide. Voter turnout rose past 77% and hit a record high as of 7pm local time. Dr Soo Kim, a former CIA Korea analyst and geopolitical risk consultant, discusses key voter concerns and Mr Lee's election promises.
Independent Singapore
2 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
S$5K bounty offered to find cat killer at Nee Soon; petition for stronger enforcement of animal cruelty laws shared
SINGAPORE: After a second cat was found killed in Nee Soon within a short span of time, a bounty of S$5,000 has been put up in the hopes of finding the person responsible for the deaths, CNA reported on Tuesday (Jun 2). The report says that animal welfare groups believe that a serial cat killer could be on the loose, adding that in addition to the bounty, a private investigator has been hired by the community to help solve the killings, and that the Cat Welfare Society intends to do more house visits to determine if a witness can be found. Early in May, a community cat at Yishun Street 51 named King Kong was found dead. Its killing had been particularly horrific, and photos of the cat were shared online showing that it had been cut open and some of its internal organs had been exposed. Moreover, King Kong was believed to have been tortured, as its eyes had been gouged out. See also Litterbug dumps big pile of old clothes at void deck in Nee Soon Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, a Member of Parliament for Nee Soon GRC, described the killing of King Kong in a Facebook post as an act of 'appalling cruelty.' 'What kind of person will do this? This is not who we are as a people,' he added. Some days later, a community cat in Punggol named Shere Khan was discovered with severe injuries near Block 326B Sumang Walk. Despite receiving medical care immediately, Shere Khan, fondly known as Papa Cat, died. 'What happened to him was not just cruel — it was unthinkable,' wrote LUNI Singapore, a group that rehomes and cares for street cats, in a Facebook post. Then, on May 24, another community cat was found dead, wrapped in plastic and paper beside a garbage bin at the void deck of Block 897 Tampines Street 81. The cat, named Sunshine, had been cared for by members of the community over the past decade. CNA reported that the second dead cat was discovered in Nee Soon on Sunday morning (Jun 1) with its hind legs 'in an odd position, suggesting an unnatural death' just a short distance from where King Kong's body was discovered. Meanwhile, a petition for a stronger enforcement of animal cruelty laws has been shared on the platform. 'Community cats in Singapore are increasingly becoming victims of abuse, with more reports of physical harm, poisoning, and neglect surfacing in recent months. These animals, who often rely on the care of volunteers and kind-hearted residents, suffer silently with limited protection. Beyond the cats themselves, caregivers and animal welfare groups are also affected emotionally and financially as they scramble to treat injuries, report abuse, and seek justice within a system that often falls short,' it reads. /TISG Read also: Alert issued after 2 community cats at Toa Payoh suspected to be 'captured, beaten, scalded & drowned'
