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Straits Times
01-08-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
El Salvador scraps presidential term limits, opening door for another Bukele term
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Representatives take part in a session of the Salvadoran congress to discuss reforms to the constitution, in San Salvador, El Salvador July 31, 2025. REUTERS/ Jose Cabezas SAN SALVADOR - El Salvador's ruling party on Thursday passed a bill to overhaul how elections are run in the Central American nation, opening the door for President Nayib Bukele to serve another term. Bukele won a second term last year despite a clear prohibition in the country's constitution. El Salvador's top court, filled with Bukele-backed judges, ruled in 2021 that it was the leader's human right to run again. The constitutional amendment passed on Thursday by Bukele's New Ideas party, which dominates Congress, will allow indefinite presidential re-election, extend terms from five years to six and scrap run-offs. After his re-election last year, Bukele told reporters he "didn't think a constitutional reform would be necessary," but evaded questions on whether he would try to run for a third term. The bill passed 57-3 as Congress prepares to break for recess. The overhaul will also shorten the president's current term to synchronize elections in 2027, as presidential, legislative and municipal elections are currently staggered. Consolidating the voting schedule would likely favor the ruling party across the board. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump modifies reciprocal tariffs ahead of deadline; rate on Singapore likely to remain at 10% Singapore 'For one last time, let's go home': Tears, laughs as last scheduled Jetstar Asia flight touches down Singapore Over half of job applications by retrenched Jetstar Asia staff led to offers or interviews: CEO Singapore No entry: ICA to bar high-risk, undesirable travellers from boarding S'pore-bound ships, flights Business More new homes are coming up in northern Singapore Business OCBC Q2 profit drops 7% to $1.82b as interest rates fall, to pay lower interim dividend Asia Thailand seeks neutral venue for border talks with Cambodia Singapore 'Switching careers just as I became a dad was risky, but I had to do it for my family' "This is quite simple, El Salvador: only you will have the power to decide how long you wish to support the work of any public official, including your president," said lawmaker Ana Figueroa, a New Ideas member who proposed the bill for the constitutional changes. "You have the power to decide how long you support your president and all elected officials." The few non-ruling party lawmakers in Congress opposed the proposal over concerns it will entrench one-party rule in the country. "Today, democracy has died in El Salvador," said legislator Marcela Villatoro of the opposition Republican National Alliance (ARENA). Bukele remains one of the most popular leaders in the region, largely due to his across-the-board crackdown on gangs that has caused homicides to plummet, despite an outcry from human rights groups, which say innocent people have been caught up in the dragnet. "The day before vacation, without debate, without informing the public, in a single legislative vote, they changed the political system to allow the president to perpetuate himself in power indefinitely and we continue to follow the well-traveled path of autocrats," said Noah Bullock, executive director of rights group Cristosal. The group recently left El Salvador, declaring itself in exile due to Bukele's drive to consolidate his grip on power and crack down on critics and humanitarian organizations. REUTERS
Straits Times
01-08-2025
- Straits Times
Man charged with kicking woman's face in Teck Whye Lane flat, leading to her death
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox SINGAPORE - A man who allegedly kicked a woman's face, causing her to suffer a head injury leading to her death, has been charged. Abu Talib Johari, 55, was first charged on July 4 with one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to Madam Rupiah Buang, 59. He allegedly did so between 6pm and 7pm on June 29, inside an HDB flat at Block 9 Teck Whye Lane. The charge sheet did not state the relationship between Talib, a Singaporean, and Madam Rupiah. Court records show that after Talib was charged, he was remanded at Changi Prison Complex Medical Centre for medical examination. When the case was heard again on Aug 1, a police prosecutor said they had received an Institute of Mental Health report on Talib. The police prosecutor asked for six weeks' adjournment to complete investigations, and for no bail to be offered to Talib. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump modifies reciprocal tariffs ahead of deadline; rate on Singapore likely to remain at 10% Singapore 'For one last time, let's go home': Tears, laughs as last scheduled Jetstar Asia flight touches down Singapore Over half of job applications by retrenched Jetstar Asia staff led to offers or interviews: CEO Singapore No entry: ICA to bar high-risk, undesirable travellers from boarding S'pore-bound ships, flights Business More new homes are coming up in northern Singapore Business OCBC Q2 profit drops 7% to $1.82b as interest rates fall, to pay lower interim dividend Asia Thailand seeks neutral venue for border talks with Cambodia Singapore 'Switching careers just as I became a dad was risky, but I had to do it for my family' This was because he had allegedly committed a serious offence, which was unprovoked and targeted a vulnerable part of the victim's body, said the prosecutor. The prosecutor added that as two of Talib's children witnessed the alleged crime, there would be concerns of witness tampering if he was released on bail. Talib, who did not have a lawyer, attended court via video link while in remand. He remained stoic as the prosecutor spoke. When asked if he had anything to say in response, Talib said via a Malay interpreter: 'I'm pleading with Your Honour's leniency to allow me to return home, as I need to settle a lot of things, including utility bills.' District Judge Eugene Teo replied: 'All those matters will now have to wait. 'I agree with what the prosecution in this case said, that bail should not be offered given the nature of the charge.' If convicted, Talib can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined and caned. His case will be mentioned again on Sept 12.
Straits Times
01-08-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Gaza hunger presents Trump with moral test familiar to past presidents
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Images of malnourished Palestinians in the war-ravaged enclave have disturbed US President Donald Trump enough to take action. WASHINGTON – As the Gaza Strip tips into famine and images of starving children trigger new demands for action, US President Donald Trump faces a test all too familiar to his predecessors. Time after time, American presidents have found themselves watching suffering in faraway countries with the knowledge that they could act to save innocent lives. Images of death and misery in places such as the Balkans, Rwanda, Darfur and Syria, to name a few, haunted their consciences – sometimes moving them to act, but often leading to excuses. The desperation in Gaza has emerged as such a test for Mr Trump. By his own account, images of malnourished Palestinians in the war-ravaged enclave have disturbed him enough to take action. 'I mean, some of those kids are – that's real starvation stuff,' Mr Trump said in Scotland on July 28. 'I see it, and you can't fake it. So we're going to be even more involved.' It was unclear what Mr Trump meant by getting 'more involved'. Days earlier, he had withdrawn his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, from talks between Israel and Hamas in pursuit of a ceasefire to end the war in Gaza. Mr Witkoff travelled to Israel on July 31 to discuss Gaza , and Israeli news outlets reported that he might even visit a food distribution centre in the territory. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump modifies reciprocal tariffs ahead of deadline; rate on Singapore likely to remain at 10% Singapore 'For one last time, let's go home': Tears, laughs as last scheduled Jetstar Asia flight touches down Singapore Over half of job applications by retrenched Jetstar Asia staff led to offers or interviews: CEO Singapore No entry: ICA to bar high-risk, undesirable travellers from boarding S'pore-bound ships, flights Business More new homes are coming up in northern Singapore Business OCBC Q2 profit drops 7% to $1.82b as interest rates fall, to pay lower interim dividend Asia Thailand seeks neutral venue for border talks with Cambodia Singapore 'Switching careers just as I became a dad was risky, but I had to do it for my family' Mr Witkoff's change of plans comes as aid groups say hunger in Gaza is reaching crisis levels. One UN-affiliated group said in a report this week that a worst-case famine scenario is unfolding, and Gaza health officials say that dozens of Palestinians, including children, have died of starvation in recent weeks. Those grim facts have been driven home by gut-wrenching images of skeletal toddlers and people fighting for food. Israeli officials reject responsibility for food shortages in Gaza, which they say are exaggerated and caused by Hamas. 'There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Hamas 'robs, steals this humanitarian aid and then accuses Israel of not supplying it', he added. But Hamas denies that, and Israeli military officials privately say they have found no evidence that Hamas systematically steals aid. Such protests have not defused global anger. France announced this week that it would recognise an independent Palestinian state at the United Nations in September , and Britain said it would follow suit if Israel did not agree to a ceasefire with Hamas . And in Washington this week, one of Mr Trump's fiercest Republican allies in Congress, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, condemned Israel's actions in Gaza as 'genocide'. Mr Trump has few good options. The United States supplies Israel, its close partner, with billions in annual military aid. Even if Hamas is the main obstacle to aid delivery, Mr Trump lacks influence over the militant group. His only real hope is to insist that Israel, which controls Gaza's borders, does more to clear roads and protect aid convoys. A long-term solution may require leveraging American aid to force Mr Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire on terms short of his long-time demands. Dr Stephen Wertheim, a senior fellow in the American Statecraft Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the quandary is a familiar one for US presidents. 'President Trump's excuse-making over Gaza resonates with a long line of presidents who were pressured to address humanitarian catastrophes,' Dr Wertheim said. That pressure comes from a sense of moral duty in the country's DNA, dating as far back as John Winthrop's 1630 'City on a Hill' sermon, in which he told Puritan Massachusetts colonists that 'the eyes of all people are upon us'. As the United States grew in power and wealth, so did its sense of obligation to people in need everywhere. Before he became a free-market Republican president, Herbert Hoover ran a federal foreign aid programme that sent food to famine-stricken Soviet Russia in 1921. 'Whatever their politics, they shall be fed!' he declared. Cold War competition for global influence with the Soviet Union reinforced the instinct, on strategic grounds. Many conservatives argue that America is not a charity, and should help people abroad only when it advances the national interest. Mr Trump has made that argument explicit in his America-first foreign policy, his deep cuts to foreign aid spending and his dismantling of the US Agency for International Development. Displaced Palestinians waiting for food at a charity kitchen in Gaza City on July 23. PHOTO: SAHER ALGHORRA/NYTIMES Mr Stephen Pomper, the chief of policy at the International Crisis Group, noted that a president who preaches an America-first foreign policy has undermined an international system built over decades to prevent foreign atrocities. The United States 'looks increasingly like it rejects or is indifferent to the founding principles of the order that it helped create', he said. Still, the crisis in Gaza has echoes of past humanitarian crises that left presidents wringing their hands over how to respond. President Bill Clinton took office in 1993 as a champion of human rights and international institutions. But when machete-wielding Hutu militias started to slaughter ethnic Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994, he rejected calls for US action. Scarred by the deaths of 18 American soldiers on a peacekeeping mission in Somalia, Mr Clinton feared that even modest steps could escalate dangerously. Unchecked, Hutu killers carried out the genocide of an estimated 800,000 Tutsi. Mr Clinton later said he regretted not doing more to stop it. Mr Clinton also hesitated as Serbian forces slaughtered civilians in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the mid-1990s, rebuffing direct pleas from the likes of Elie Wiesel by saying the problem did not warrant risking American lives. The 1995 massacre of 8,000 men and boys at a UN-declared 'safe area' in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica finally moved Mr Clinton to act. A US-led bombing campaign against Serbian forces led to a peace deal credited with stabilising the region. Stopping mass killings in the Darfur region of Sudan in the early 2000s became a campaign for activists and celebrities, including Angelina Jolie and George Clooney. But even after the US State Department formally declared the atrocities there a 'genocide' in 2004, president George W. Bush refused calls to deploy US troops to stop it. He cited, among other things, concern about intervening 'in another Muslim country' at the time of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. By the time Mr Barack Obama became president, activists and scholars – fuelled by the American failure in Rwanda – had developed new legal theories to support cross-border intervention to protect victims of atrocities. Among them was Ms Samantha Power, an influential national security aide to Mr Obama, who helped engineer a 2011 presidential directive on the subject. 'Preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States,' it declared. Palestinians carry aid supplies which entered Gaza through Israel in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on July 27. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG Mr Obama put that idea into practice in 2011, when he ordered airstrikes in Libya against government forces preparing to crush a rebellion in the city of Benghazi. Mr Obama said he acted to avert 'a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world'. But that supposedly limited intervention expanded into a months-long Nato bombing campaign, and Libya collapsed into violent anarchy, leaving Mr Obama regretting the experience. So when he was pressured again to intervene in Syria's civil war against the country's brutal regime, he rejected pleas for airstrikes from top officials, including US Secretary of State John Kerry. Mr Obama did, however, order limited airstrikes in Syria in 2014 against Islamic State group fighters, in part to save thousands of Yazidi people trapped on a mountain in Iraq and at risk of genocidal massacre. 'Earlier this week, one Iraqi cried that there is no one coming to help,' Mr Obama said in an address to the nation. 'Well, today America is coming to help.' Gaza presents Mr Trump with an especially difficult case, as it did for former president Joe Biden. Mr Biden faced withering questions about his support for Israel's military campaign, and was shouted down at public events by protesters accusing him of complicity in genocide. But while Mr Biden often harangued Mr Netanyahu to allow more aid into Gaza – usually with limited and temporary results – he never risked a full break with the Israeli prime minister over the matter. One reason, Mr Biden's officials say, was intelligence showing that Hamas responded to signs of a potential split between the United States and Israel by hardening its negotiation position in ceasefire talks. Mr Biden felt enough of a responsibility – and also perhaps political vulnerability – that he resorted to dramatic displays of support for hungry Palestinians, sending military planes to airdrop supplies and ordering the construction of a US$230 million (S$299 million) pier to allow aid delivery by sea. Critics dismissed both measures as made-for-TV substitutes for putting decisive pressure on Mr Netanyahu. Ultimately, Dr Wertheim said, America's real problem in Gaza is itself. 'It's not that other parties are engaged in atrocities and the question is whether the United States will use its righteous power to stop,' he said. 'In this case, the issue is that the United States is complicit in Israel's conduct.' NYTIMES
Straits Times
01-08-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
In Canada, ghosting job candidates could cost a company as much as $94,000
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Similar legislation is currently under consideration in the Unite States, where almost two-thirds of job applicants have reported receiving no response after an interview. NEW YORK – After a job interview, many candidates never hear back about whether they got the job. Now, lawmakers in Ontario, Canada, are stepping in to stop that. Starting Jan 1, companies in Ontario with at least 25 employees will have to inform candidates about their application status within 45 days of a job interview. Employers also will have to disclose whether a vacancy is actively being filled and whether artificial intelligence is being used to screen and select candidates. Ontario's Labour Minister David Piccini told the Toronto Star in 2024, when the legislation was first introduced, that it is simply common courtesy to let applicants know when they do not get the job. Employers who fail to comply may be fined as much as C$100,000 (S$94,000), according to Mr Daryn Jeffries, an employment lawyer in Toronto, though first offences probably will result in warnings or lower fines. The move is part of a broader push to bring transparency to a hiring process many applicants say is broken – and one that may reshape how companies advertise jobs, manage candidate pipelines and use AI. Some employers warn the regulatory burden will increase costs. Almost two-thirds of job applicants in the United States have reported receiving no response after an interview, according to a July workplace report by hiring platform Greenhouse. And 27 per cent said they never heard back after a final-round interview. Similar legislation is currently under consideration in the US. A proposal in the New Jersey state legislature would fine employers up to US$5,000 (S$6,500) for repeatedly failing to give interviewed candidates a clear decision timeline. They also would have to remove job listings within two weeks of filling the role and disclose when they post ads for roles that do not exist, often referred to as a 'ghost job'. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump modifies reciprocal tariffs ahead of deadline; rate on Singapore likely to remain at 10% Singapore 'For one last time, let's go home': Tears, laughs as last scheduled Jetstar Asia flight touches down Singapore Over half of job applications by retrenched Jetstar Asia staff led to offers or interviews: CEO Singapore No entry: ICA to bar high-risk, undesirable travellers from boarding S'pore-bound ships, flights Business More new homes are coming up in northern Singapore Business OCBC Q2 profit drops 7% to $1.82b as interest rates fall, to pay lower interim dividend Asia Thailand seeks neutral venue for border talks with Cambodia Singapore 'Switching careers just as I became a dad was risky, but I had to do it for my family' Companies often keep such listings to maintain a steady candidate pool for times they need to hire quickly, said human resources consultant Anessa Fike. State lawmakers in Kentucky and California have introduced bills to ban ghost jobs. While the Kentucky bill failed to gain traction, the California bill is currently under committee review. Roughly one in five listings posted on Greenhouse is a ghost job, according to December 2024 analysis. In Canada, roughly 14 per cent of job listings in the second quarter of 2025 fell into that category. Ms Fike said that ghosting is often a symptom of overwhelmed, understaffed recruiting teams. Many companies have downsized these teams in recent years, she said, leaving candidates in the dark. The prevalence of ghosting adds to a widespread disillusionment with the job search process, particularly among younger candidates, and that has led lawmakers to push for change. Mr Eric Thompson, 53, co-founded an advocacy group pushing for federal legislation after noticing how many friends were confronted with the same wall of silence after applying for jobs. Since he was laid off from a cyber-security start-up nine months ago, he has submitted – and meticulously tracked – more than 3,000 job applications. Of those, just five led to interviews and only 167 led to any sort of response, he said. 'If I'm applying for 40 jobs a week and half of them are ghosts, then I've wasted 20 hours of work a week,' Mr Thompson said. BLOOMBERG
Straits Times
01-08-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Irish court rejects Conor McGregor appeal in civil rape case
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Irish UFC fighter Conor McGregor has lost his appeal against a civil jury's finding that he raped a woman in 2018. DUBLIN – Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Conor McGregor on July 31 lost his appeal against a civil jury's finding that he raped a woman in a hotel room in 2018, with Ireland's Court of Appeal rejecting his appeal in its entirety. The plaintiff, Nikita Hand, alleged that McGregor sexually assaulted her on Dec 9, 2018. A jury in Ireland's High Court last November found in favour of Hand and ordered McGregor to pay her nearly €250,000 (S$370,000) in damages. McGregor, 36, denied the allegation and said that he had 'fully consensual sex' with Hand. He also denied causing bruising to the plaintiff. In the appeal heard earlier in July, lawyers for McGregor said that the judge erred in directing the jury to decide whether he 'assaulted' rather than 'sexually assaulted' the victim. Judge Brian O'Moore said on July 31 that the appeal court had no doubt the overall effect of the trial judge's charge was to tell them the central allegation by Hand against McGregor was that he had raped her. 'The jury found as a fact that Mr. McGregor had assaulted Ms Hand by raping her,' O'Moore said, reading out the ruling. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump modifies reciprocal tariffs ahead of deadline; rate on Singapore likely to remain at 10% Singapore 'For one last time, let's go home': Tears, laughs as last scheduled Jetstar Asia flight touches down Singapore Over half of job applications by retrenched Jetstar Asia staff led to offers or interviews: CEO Singapore No entry: ICA to bar high-risk, undesirable travellers from boarding S'pore-bound ships, flights Business More new homes are coming up in northern Singapore Business OCBC Q2 profit drops 7% to $1.82b as interest rates fall, to pay lower interim dividend Asia Thailand seeks neutral venue for border talks with Cambodia Singapore 'Switching careers just as I became a dad was risky, but I had to do it for my family' McGregor's legal team had also argued that the judge should not have allowed a line of questioning during cross-examination regarding McGregor's 'no comment' responses in a police interview. That ground was also rejected. Hand embraced a number of people beside her after the appeal court ruling. 'To every survivor out there I know how hard it is but please don't be silenced... You deserve to be heard, you also deserve justice. Today, I can finally move on and try to heal,' Hand said in a statement outside the court. Hand told the high court in November that she and a friend made contact with McGregor, whom she knew, after a work Christmas party. She said they were driven by McGregor to a party in a penthouse room of a Dublin hotel where drugs and alcohol were consumed. She said McGregor, who was not in court on July 31, took her to a bedroom in the penthouse and sexually assaulted her. Hand's lawyer told the jury that when she was referred to a sexual assault treatment unit the day after the alleged assault, a doctor was so concerned that he directed that photographs be taken of her injuries. REUTERS
