CNA938 Rewind - Rain, risk, resilience for Singapore's climate
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CNA938 Rewind - Rain, risk, resilience for Singapore's climate
In line with Singapore International Water Week, Andrea Heng and Susan Ng take a look at Singapore's flood prevention measures and find out what more can be done in this ever-changing climate. For that, they speak with Professor Vladan Babovic, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, National University of Singapore.
15 mins
CNA938 Rewind - US enters the Israel-Iran war
Iran has struck Israel in retaliation for the US bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites in what's seen as America's biggest foreign policy gamble. President Donald Trump says Tehran must now end its fight with Israel or face a force far greater than what was witnessed. Andrea Heng and Susan Ng assess the latest developments with Alex Vatanka, Senior Fellow, Middle East Institute.
16 mins
CNA938 Rewind - Stock take today: US strikes on Iran, crude oil forecast
On the daily markets analysis on Open For Business, Andrea Heng and Susan Ng speak with Heng Koon How, Head of Markets Strategy, Global Economics and Markets Research, UOB.
12 mins
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Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Iran weighs retaliation for U.S. strikes as Trump raises idea of regime change
A boy rides a scooter near a damaged car at an impact site following Iran's strike on Israel, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Haifa, Israel, June 22, 2025. REUTERS/Florion Goga Satellite image shows an overview of Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center, before it was hit by U.S. airstrikes, in Isfahan, Iran, June 16, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS A U.S. Air Force B-2 stealth bomber returns after the U.S. attacked key Iranian nuclear sites, at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, U.S. June 22, 2025 in a still image from video. ABC Affiliate KMBC via REUTERS People attend a protest against the U.S attack on nuclear sites, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Tehran, Iran, June 22, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS A satellite view shows an overview of Fordow underground complex, after the U.S. struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran June 22, 2025. MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/Handout via REUTERS ISTANBUL/WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM - Iran and Israel traded air and missile strikes as the world braced on Monday for Tehran's response to the U.S. attack on its nuclear sites and U.S. President Donald Trump raised the idea of regime change in the Islamic republic. Iran vowed to defend itself on Sunday, a day after the U.S. joined Israel in the biggest Western military action against the country since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, despite calls for restraint and a return to diplomacy from around the world. Commercial satellite imagery indicated the U.S. attack on Saturday on Iran's subterranean Fordow nuclear plant severely damaged or destroyed the deeply buried site and the uranium-enriching centrifuges it housed, but the status of the site remained unconfirmed, experts said. In his latest social media comments on the U.S. strikes, Trump said "Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran." "The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!" he wrote on his Truth Social platform. Trump earlier called on Iran to forgo any retaliation and said the government "must now make peace" or "future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier." The U.S. launched 75 precision-guided munitions including bunker-buster bombs and more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles against three Iranian nuclear sites, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, told reporters. The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said no increases in off-site radiation levels had been reported after the U.S. strikes. Rafael Grossi, the agency's director general, told CNN that it was not yet possible to assess the damage done underground. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow had been moved elsewhere before the attack. Reuters could not immediately corroborate the claim. Tehran, which denies its nuclear programme is for anything other than peaceful purposes, sent a volley of missiles at Israel in the aftermath of the U.S. attack, wounding scores of people and destroying buildings in Tel Aviv. But it had not acted on its main threats of retaliation, to target U.S. bases or choke off the global oil shipments that pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Attempting to strangle the strait could send global oil prices skyrocketing, derail the world economy and invite conflict with the U.S. Navy's massive Fifth Fleet based in the Gulf. Oil prices jumped on Monday to their highest since January. Brent crude futures were up $1.52 or 1.97% to $78.53 a barrel as of 0503 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude advanced $1.51 or 2.04% to $75.35. Iran's parliament has approved a move to close the strait, which Iran shares with Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Iran's Press TV said any such move would require approval from the Supreme National Security Council, a body led by an appointee of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Caine said the U.S. military had increased protection of troops in the region, including in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. State Department issued a security alert for all U.S. citizens abroad, calling on them to "exercise increased caution." U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China to encourage Iran to not shut down the strait, telling Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo" show it would be a "terrible mistake." "It's economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries' economies a lot worse than ours," he said. The Israeli military said on Monday about 20 jets had conducted a wave of strikes against military targets in western Iran and Tehran overnight. In Kermanshah, in western Iran, missile and radar infrastructure was targeted, and in Tehran a surface-to-air missile launcher was struck, it said. A missile launched from Iran in the early hours of Monday was intercepted by Israeli defences, it said. Air raid sirens blared overnight in Tel Aviv and other parts of central Israel. Iranian news agencies reported air defences were activated in central Tehran districts to counter "enemy targets", and that Israeli air strikes hit Parchin, the location of a military complex southeast of the capital. Israel's state broadcaster reported that an Israeli Hermes drone was shot down in Iranian territory, the fourth to be shot down in the area since the start of the campaign. REGIME CHANGE In a post to the Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump raised the idea of regime change in Iran. "It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!" he wrote. Trump's post came after officials in his administration, including U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, stressed they were not working to overthrow Iran's government. Israeli officials, who began the hostilities with a surprise attack on Iran on June 13, have increasingly spoken of their ambition to topple the hardline Shi'ite Muslim clerical establishment. As Tehran weighed its options, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is expected to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday. The Kremlin has a strategic partnership with Iran, but also close links with Israel. Speaking in Istanbul on Sunday, Araqchi said his country would consider all possible responses and there would be no return to diplomacy until it had retaliated. Russia's foreign ministry condemned the U.S. attacks which it said had undermined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and warned of conflict spreading in the Middle East. The U.N. Security Council met on Sunday to discuss the U.S. strikes as Russia, China and Pakistan proposed the 15-member body adopt a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council the U.S. bombings in Iran marked a perilous turn in the region and urged a return to negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme. Commercial airlines were weighing how long to suspend Middle East flights after the U.S. struck Iran. The Middle East route has become more important for flights between Europe and Asia but flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed empty space on Sunday over Iran, Iraq, Syria and Israel. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Indonesian fugitive Paulus Tannos contests extradition in Singapore's State Courts
SINGAPORE: The hearing into the extradition of Indonesian fugitive Paulus Tannos began at the State Courts on Monday (Jun 23) with Tannos' lawyers objecting to the admission of certain documents. Tannos, a Singapore permanent resident, is wanted by the Indonesian authorities for his role in a corruption case linked to the Indonesian government's electronic ID card project that is said to have caused the state about 2.3 trillion rupiah (US$140 million) in losses. Also known as Tjhin Thian Po, he appeared at the dock dressed in a white shirt as the case proceeded. The 70-year-old holds a diplomatic passport from West African country Guinea-Bissau and has been living in Singapore since 2017. He was arrested by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) on Jan 17 and has remained in remand after his application for bail was rejected. Before the current committal hearing, Tannos was repeatedly asked by the court if he wished to consent to his surrender to Indonesia. He repeatedly declined to be surrendered. Since he did not consent to his surrender to Indonesia, a committal hearing was fixed for Jun 23 to 25, where the court will hear evidence to determine whether he is liable to be surrendered to Indonesia under the Extradition Act and Extradition Treaty. The court will consider the evidence presented, including the formal extradition documents provided by Indonesia, as well as Tannos' own evidence. START OF HEARING Tannos is represented by lawyers Bachoo Mohan Singh from BMS Law, as well as Suang Wijaya and Hamza Malik from Eugene Thuraisingam, while the Singapore authorities are represented by State Counsels Vincent Leow, Sivakumar Ramasamy, Sarah Siaw and Emily Zhao from the Attorney-General's Chambers. The state counsels will argue that Tannos is liable to be surrendered and his extradition is not prohibited. They said on Monday that Tannos is wanted by Indonesia to stand trial on one charge of corruption. Court documents showed that the offence carries life imprisonment or a jail term of between four and 20 years and a fine. Before the first witness was called, Tanno's lawyer, Mr Singh, argued against the admission of certain documents, which were fresh affidavits from the Indonesian police. Mr Singh said these affidavits were recorded only after his client's arrest and were "manufactured". He argued that there were original documents, which comprised the formal request on his side, filed in March this year. These were a bundle of documents consisting of more than 1,600 pages tied in red ribbon as part of a formality. However, the affidavits were not part of these. These affidavits were ready in April and sent to the defence counsels only on Jun 12 this year, Mr Singh added. He also said that he wanted to raise this matter because the additional documents were put together with the original documents "without any explanation". One of his objections will also be on the quality of the evidence. Mr Singh will be arguing that the evidence is not reliable because it was taken some 15 years only after the alleged events in 2010 or 2011. Due to these inadequacies, the court should throw out the documents and not order the extradition since the documents did not comply with formal requirements, he said. Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan allowed the proceedings to continue with objections to be raised as the hearing continued. The state then called its first witness, CPIB's chief special investigator Alvin Tang, who first arrested Tannos on Jan 17 this year. Under examination by the state counsel, Mr Tang told the court that he applied for a warrant of apprehension before arresting Tannos at his residence at about 12.30pm. Mr Tang also said that in April, investigators from the Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi, which is the Corruption Eradication Commission of Indonesia, submitted supplementary affidavits the same month. Mr Suang, another of Tannos' lawyers, then objected to the series of documents being admitted on the basis that they did not comply with the requirement for overseas documents to be authenticated. For Tannos' arrest warrant, Mr Suang said the original document, in Bahasa Indonesian language, was not placed before the court. Pointing to two affidavits submitted by the Indonesian authorities, Mr Suang also highlighted "defects" in the documents that formed the basis of the defence's objections. These included how the official seals on the documents were not translated and how the signatures of the witnesses were not authenticated.
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
What is the Strait of Hormuz, and could Iran block it?
The United States bombed Iran's three main nuclear sites in a major escalation of this month's conflict in the Middle East. Tehran said it will reserve all options to defend itself. This US move has stoked speculation that Iran's leadership may reach for another way to pressure its enemies to relent - blocking or effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. This narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf handles about a quarter of the world's seaborne oil trade. So if Iran were able to deny access to the giant tankers that ferry oil and gas to China, Europe and other major energy consuming regions, it would send oil prices shooting higher and potentially destabilise the global economy. Iran has targeted merchant ships traversing the choke point in the past, and has threatened to block the strait over the years. Before the US strikes, oil shipping from the region and Hormuz, had been relatively unscathed by the conflict. Shipments from Iran itself have surged, and oil tanker activity through the Strait of Hormuz remained largely steady. However, Greece's shipping ministry on Sunday advised the nation's vessel owners to review the use of the strait. WHERE IS THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ? The waterway connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, with Iran to its north and the United Arab Emirates and Oman to the south. It's about 161km long and 33.8km wide at its narrowest point, with the shipping lanes in each direction just 3.2km wide. Its shallow depth makes ships potentially vulnerable to mines, and the proximity to land - Iran, in particular - leaves vessels open to attack from shore-based missiles or interception by patrol boats and helicopters. The strait is essential to the global oil trade. Tankers haul about 16.5 million barrels of crude and condensate a day from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Iran through the strait in 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The strait is also crucial for liquefied natural gas, or LNG, with more than one-fifth of the world's supply - mostly from Qatar - passing through during the same period.
