Singapore founder’s son says he is now a political refugee in UK

Lee Hsien Yang, the estranged brother of former Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, said Tuesday that he’s now a “political refugee” after the UK government granted him asylum from what he described as persecution at home.

The Lee brothers are the sons of Lee Kuan Yew, modern Singapore’s founding father. They have been engaged in a public spat since 2017 over the late patriarch’s family home, and Lee Hsien Yang has accused the Singapore government of persecuting him, his wife and son.

In a Facebook post Tuesday, he said that he sought asylum protection in 2022 “as a last resort”.

“The Singapore government’s attacks against me are in the public record. They prosecuted my son, brought disciplinary proceedings against my wife, and launched a bogus police investigation that has dragged on for years. On the basis of these facts, the U.K. has determined that I face a well-founded risk of persecution and cannot safely return to Singapore,” he said.

“I remain a Singapore citizen and hope that someday it will become safe to return home.”

The Guardian published an interview with Lee Hsien Yang on Tuesday in which he strongly criticised the Singapore government and alleged it facilitated money laundering.

“People need to look beyond Singapore’s bold, false assertions and see what the reality really is like,” he was quoted as saying. “There is a need for the world to look more closely, to see Singapore’s role as that key facilitator for arms trades, for dirty money, for drug monies, crypto money.”

The Singapore government said in a statement there was no basis to the allegations in the British paper’s report. The city-state has a “robust system to deter and tackle money laundering and other illicit financial flows, which is consistent with international standards”, it said.

“In Singapore, no one is above the law. Anyone, including the offspring of the founding prime minister, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, can be investigated and brought before the courts,” it added.

Lee Hsien Yang and his sister, Lee Wei Ling, who died earlier this month, accuse their eldest brother of abusing his power to stop them from demolishing the family home according to the wishes of their father, who died in 2015 after leading Singapore with an iron grip for more than three decades.

The family feud saw Lee Hsien Yang and his wife entangled in official investigations over allegations that the pair provided false evidence in judicial proceedings regarding Lee Kuan Yew’s will.

Lee Hsien Loong stepped down in May after two decades at the helm. He handed power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong, but still holds a Cabinet post as senior minister.

The UK Home Office didn’t immediately comment when asked about Lee Hsien Yang’s asylum status.

Disruptive passenger forces Air New Zealand flight to divert

An Air New Zealand flight bound for Auckland, New Zealand, from Perth, Australia, was forced to divert on Wednesday morning after a passenger became disruptive, the airline said.

The flight landed instead in the Australian city of Melbourne, where police officers awaited the aircraft. The flight continued to Auckland after a 90-minute delay, Air New Zealand said in a statement.

The carrier did not give more details about the episode.

“Our crew managed the incident well, but incidents like this are distressing for our customers and our people and we have zero tolerance for this sort of behavior on our aircraft,” said an airline spokesperson, David Morgan.

The diversion came less than a week after another Air New Zealand flight was held on the tarmac for two hours when it arrived in its destination, Sydney, following what the airline called a security incident. Local news outlets reported there had been a bomb threat.

There was “no threat to the community”, Australian Federal Police said Saturday.

Woman stuck upside down for 7 hours while trying to retrieve phone

A woman in Australia was stuck upside down deep inside a crevice for hours after she fell while trying to retrieve her phone.

Matilda Campbell, 23, was bushwalking with friends when her phone fell into a three-metre-deep crevice in Hunter Valley in New South Wales on 12 October. She bent down to retrieve the phone when she slipped and fell head-first inside the crevice, hanging by her feet.

Her friends initially tried to pull her out of the hole but were forced to trek for reception to call the triple-0 emergency services for help.

Cessnock Volunteer Rescue Association and Rural Fire Service were the first responders to reach the location within an hour of the incident. Shortly after, the police and medics were called in to aide the rescue operation.

New South Wales (NSW) Ambulance paramedics moved boulders using a specialist winch to reach the woman but faced the tricky task of navigating her out from her precarious position.

NSW Ambulance specialist rescue paramedic Peter Watts said he never encountered a “job quite like this” in his decade-long career. “It was challenging but incredibly rewarding,” he said.

The rescue crew had to remove several heavy boulders weighing between 80 to 500kg to gain access to her. “With care, a hardwood frame was built to ensure stability while rescuers worked,” the ambulance team said in a statement.

Once the boulders were removed using a specialised winch, the woman’s feet were finally accessible for the authorities to rescue her.

Mr Watts climbed down into the crevice to bring her back to safety, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

“Everyone had to bounce ideas off each other – we were all like, ‘How did she get down there and how are we going to get her out?'” he said.

“Every agency had a role, and we all worked incredibly well together to achieve a good outcome for the patient,” he added.

The woman was freed seven hours after she fell and sustained only minor scratches and bruises, the authorities said, adding that she was in good spirits despite her predicament.

“She was such a trooper,” Mr Watts said. “… when we were there she was calm, she was collected, anything we asked her to do she was able to do it to help us get her out.”

However, she was unable to save her phone despite the arduous efforts.

“Thank you to the team who saved me,” Ms Campbell said.

“You guys are literally lifesavers … too bad about the phone though.”

Japan’s stab-proof umbrellas aim to safeguard passengers from attacks

Hundreds of blade-resistant umbrellas will be deployed on Japanese trains to enhance passenger safety after a spate of knife attacks.

A Japanese company is introducing around 1,200 stab-proof, lightweight umbrellas on 600 trains in the Kansai region. These umbrellas are about 20cm longer than standard umbrellas, with reinforced canopies and thicker handles for better defence.

The West Japan Railway Co (JR West) initiative follows a series of violent incidents on trains, including an attack in July 2023 that injured three passengers. Japanese police arrested a 37-year-old man for stabbing three people on a train in Osaka last year.

The suspect was carrying three knives when apprehended at Rinku Town station immediately after the attack. The injured included a train conductor in his 20s and two male passengers, aged 23 and 79, all of whom were hospitalised but not critically injured.

According to Mainichi, the blade-proof umbrella is designed to be used like a shield when facing an assailant, extending about 20cm longer than a standard umbrella to create distance between the holder and the attacker.

This extra length is expected to provide time for other passengers behind the shield to escape to safety.

A JR West official said: “The protective shields that have been deployed until now were close-range and heavy. We have devised a shield that is also easy for female employees to use.”

Its umbrella-like shape reportedly makes it more compact, lightweight, and easier to store and use compared to other defence tools like a traditional Japanese weapon called sasumata – a long forked polearm – which was used in defence during an attempted robbery in Tokyo late last year.

JR West president, Kazuaki Hasegawa, said: “They can be operated to some extent inside a carriage and are strong. In the event of an emergency, we want the crew to respond and have the passengers evacuate safely.”

Violent crimes are rare in Japan, but concerns about random knife attacks have prompted train operators to enhance security measures lately, including installing more cameras and conducting safety drills.

“We’ll make additional efforts to improve the safety of our passengers ahead of next year’s Osaka-Kansai Expo,” a JR West official was quoted as saying by The Japan News.

Asian capital launches £250m initiative to eradicate loneliness

Seoul is allocating over £250m to tackle the rapidly rising issue of loneliness in the city, amid the growing number of single-person households and senior citizens living by themselves.

The detailed plan, named “Loneliness-Free Seoul”, is aimed at dealing with the problem at its root and preventing the increasing cases of godoksa (lonely deaths) in the South Korean capital.

According to data released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, there were 3,559 in 2022 and 3,661 lonely deaths in 2023 across the country.

“It seems that lonely deaths among people in their 20s and 30s were attributable to failure in finding jobs or being laid off,” said Noh Jung-hoon, a welfare official from the health ministry.

Over the next five years, the city will invest ₩451.3 bn won (£250.2m) to ensure none of its residents – both Koreans and foreign nationals living in Seoul – feel alone, according to The Korea Herald. The initiative will hinge around the “Smart 24 Platform”, which will include both online and offline ways so all residents can seek help and counselling.

“Social issues like low happiness levels, high suicide rates and depression are all related to loneliness,” Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon said during a press briefing on Monday.

“Loneliness and isolation are not just personal challenges but societal issues we all need to address. We are committed to leveraging all of our administrative resources to create a ‘loneliness-free Seoul,’ ensuring meticulous management from prevention to returning to society and preventing further isolation.”

One of the strategies is the “Goodbye Loneliness 120” helpline, a dedicated 24-hour hotline starting in April 2025, where callers will be connected to trained counsellors. Follow-up support like on-site visits and emergency interventions will also be built into it, as well as be available for friends, family, or concerned neighbours who wish to offer support.

Also included in the plan are the creation of community spaces named Seoul Heart Convenience Stores, to offer lonely people a spot to enjoy simple meals, like instant ramyeon, Korean version of instant ramen. Four such locations are planned for now, to open in 2025 and will offer residents a checklist to assess their social isolation levels and speak to available counsellors.

The government also plans to expand its services aimed at promoting mental health to all residents, as opposed to the existing plans which are only focused at high-risk groups. A city official said whether these services will also be offered in English will be determined once the final plan is released.

Seoul will also launch the 365 Seoul Challenge, which will link major events in the city to a points system that wins participants rewards like tickets to the Seoul Skyway, the Han river camping site, or the Seoul Botanic Park.

In addition, the city will also work with food delivery platforms to identify and assess isolated customers, since single-person households are more likely to stay in and order via delivery services.

According to data, the number of single-person households in South Korea has gone from 7.16 million in 2021 to 7.5 million in 2022 and 7.82 million in 2023.

For older residents, the city will start community-based networking options like cooking classes, exercise classes, or meal box provisions to help them with social isolation.

For elderly residents in South Korea, welfare support is not sufficient, leading many to live in poverty and unable to seek treatment for medical ailments due to the cost. Those within the age group between 50-60 accounted for 54.1 per cent of total lonely deaths in 2022 and 53.8 per cent in 2023.

The government think tank Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA) conducted a study in 2019 and found that three per cent of those aged between 19 and 34 suffered from isolation and reclusion, a more extreme form where people keep themselves completely secluded from society for years. This is around 338,000 people across the country, with around 40 per cent beginning their isolation in adolescence, according to the ministry. This number went up to five per cent in 2021.

Experts believe that South Korea’s extreme isolation in younger generations stems from cultural factors particular to East and Southeast Asia, which promotes a more family and community-centred approach to life where economic prosperity and a family determines their worth in society.

“Parents give everything to their children to ensure them opportunities, and they also expect a lot from their children,” Lee Eunae, the chief director of civic organisation Seed:s told NPR.

“They believe their children must inherit the wealth and social status that they have achieved.”

“The older generation demands the standards, concept, and method of success that they experienced, but working hard alone no longer guarantees comfort in South Korea.”

However, rising cost of living, declining quality of life, focus on traditional gender roles, lack of availability of both stable jobs and a balanced work-life structure have led to younger generations feeling distinctly unfulfilled in their lives.

“The sense of frustration, hurt and shame from feeling useless in this society supersedes their desire for relationships,” said psychology professor Kim Hyewon of Hoseo University.

In 2023, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced that it would provide up to ₩650,000 won (£363.3) per month to isolated youths, in an effort to support their “psychological and emotional stability and healthy growth.”

The measures are also aimed at trying to fix the country’s demographic crisis, which has left South Korea with a rapidly ageing population and a projected birth rate of 0.68 in 2024.

Cockatoo inside Sydney supermarket rescued after four weeks

A sulphur-crested cockatoo that had been living inside a Sydney supermarket for four weeks and surviving on brioche has been captured by wildlife services.

Mickey had been stuck in the Coles supermarket in Campbelltown, New South Wales, for almost a month, with multiple rescue attempts proving unsuccessful as the bird was spooked by people.

New South Wales environment minister Penny Sharpe announced on Tuesday evening that the bird had “been safely captured by wildlife rescuers after spending way too long in Macarthur Square”.

“Mickey is being assessed by experts. We hope Mickey will be flying free by tomorrow,” she said.

The native bird was reportedly trapped inside a store around four weeks ago after flying in through the loading dock of the supermarket.

A concerned wildlife enthusiast named Tom contacted 2GB on Monday after hearing about a plan to shoot the bird as multiple efforts to release it back into the wild had proved unsuccessful, Australian news outlet news.com.au reported.

“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous, I’m just over the fact people don’t use common sense anymore,” the wildlife lover, identified by only his first name, said.

“The common sense and the right answer is so simple and they make it so difficult and make the wrong answer at the end of the day. What’s the harm in catching the bird and releasing it?”

Authorities, however, assured the public that Mickey was never in danger of being shot.

On Monday night, members of the Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife Services had tried to lure the bird outside, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

“The poor bird hasn’t had any dark for over four weeks and has been living on brioche and water [placed] by the night manager – who is very fond of the bird,” the rescue group wrote on social media.

“Two traps left but with so much food in the store, who knows if that will work. Hopefully, we exhausted him so much he will come down to a trap for water.”

Wildlife rescuers had even brought in another cockatoo, Old Lady Doris, to reassure Mickey, but it remained scared. The plan seemed promising at first as Mickey flew down, only to become startled and quickly retreat out of reach.

“He’s really scared because there’s been so many attempts – people trying to catch him,” Feathered Friends bird rescue director Ravi Wasan, who brought in Old Lady Doris, was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

“He’s so scared but the other cockatoo, obviously, is so loving that it really reassured him. We got so close … and then they opened the emergency doors and it spooked him.”

Hours before the bird was finally rescued, Mr Wasan said: “He just needs to chill out, relax and come down without thinking that people are going to try and catch him. The exits where the cockatoo would go out are also the exits for patrons, so he just has to realise that the patrons … aren’t terrifying, which is obviously challenging when he sees everyone as a potential threat.”

A Coles spokesperson confirmed that while the bird was no longer inside the store, it remained within the shopping centre as of Monday afternoon.

“The cockatoo, which has become a friendly fixture in the Macarthur Square shopping centre, is currently not inside Coles but exploring other areas inside the broader shopping precinct,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by NewsWire.

“When the bird entered our store over the past few weeks, our team along with external expert wildlife and bird management organisations have been working extremely hard to safely and importantly, humanely, relocate the cockatoo to where it belongs, in the outdoors.

“We are working hard to balance our responsibility around food safety and animal welfare. While this friendly cockatoo is making himself at home in-store, we want our products to be enjoyed by our customers without any food safety issues.

“The cockatoo is currently not inside Coles, however, if it does return, we will continue to try a number of methods to entice him or her back into the outside world.”

New South Wales premier Chris Minns said on Tuesday: “We don’t want to shoot wildlife. Mickey is everyone in Sydney’s spirit animal at the moment, eating free food.”

A spokesperson for Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service, or Wires, an Australian wildlife rescue organisation, had earlier cautioned against leaving food out for the bird as it could lead to health problems for the animal.

This isn’t the first time a bird has become trapped in a shopping centre. On 12 August, Wires helped rescue another cockatoo that had gotten stuck inside Big W.

A spokesperson said it took several attempts before the bird was finally freed by leaving a back door open. “This is generally the only way we are able to free the birds that regularly fly into the centre via the large sliding opening doors into the complex,” she said.

Ms Sharpe thanked everyone “who rallied to help Mickey, including staff at Coles, Sydney Wildlife Service, Wires and the team at NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service”.

Labor MP for Campbelltown, Greg Warren, said: “I am looking forward to seeing Mickey back in the wild back where he belongs.”

Smallest known dinosaur egg found in China sets new record

Scientists say fossil dinosaur eggs unearthed at a construction site in China are the smallest ever found, providing new insights into the evolution of the extinct reptile.

The six eggs, fossilised into a lump, were discovered in 2021 in China’s Ganzhou region, which boasts one of the richest deposits of fossilised eggs from a range of ancient reptiles including dinosaurs.

But the fossil eggs found previously in the region were relatively large in size.

After three years of analysis, scientists obtained the overall image of the small eggshells found in 2021 and the fossilised creatures inside them.

The analysis, detailed last week in the journal Historical Biology, confirms that the creatures in the eggs are dinosaurs that roamed the region around 80 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous era.

“We report a partial egg clutch with six complete small eggs from the Upper Cretaceous Tangbian Formation of Ganzhou City,” the study says.

The smallest of the eggs is only about 29mm in length. The previously known smallest dinosaur egg was about 45mm by 40mm by 34mm.

The thickness, pores and other features of the eggshells from 2021 are unlike those of any other known for this class of dinosaurs.

This suggests they were laid by a new species from the group of four-legged dinosaurs called theropods. “The egg morphology and eggshell microstructure support it to be the smallest known non-avian theropod egg up to date,” the new study states.

The eggs are now classified in a new category called Minioolithus ganzhouensis, named after the Chinese city they were found in.

“This discovery increases the diversity of dinosaur eggs in Late Cretaceous and is significant for our understanding of the evolution of theropods in the Late Cretaceous,” the study notes.

Researchers plan to continue studying the site where the fossil eggs were found to understand the nature of the dinosaur that laid them as well as how these dinosaurs built their nests.

Who is going to Brics summit in Russia – and who has dropped out

The leaders of the world’s top emerging economies arrived at the western Russian city of Kazan where president Vladimir Putin is hosting the 16th Brics summit, the first gathering of the bloc since its expansion last year.

The three-day summit began on Tuesday and is likely to see participation by 36 countries, with 24 represented at the leadership level, Russian media reported.

Mr Putin, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, was seen shaking hands with multiple world leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping, India’s Narendra Modi, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Iran’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian.

Brics, originally a diplomatic forum comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, sees itself as a counterweight to the Western-dominated G7. It has garnered increased international attention over the years, with the latest summit attracting a level of interest rarely seen since its founding 15 years ago.

Once regarded as a loose association of disparate emerging economies, Brics has taken on a more concrete form in recent years, driven initially by China with added impetus from Russia since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022.

The bloc celebrated its first major expansion last year when Iran, the UAE, Ethiopia and Egypt joined. Other countries have since expressed interest in joining the group, potentially boosting its economic influence.

China will be represented at the Kazan meet by President Xi, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday. Mr Xi will participate in the summit of leaders and a number of expert dialogues, engaging in discussions with fellow heads of state on international matters.

Despite its ongoing economic challenges, China remains the engine at the heart of Brics, making up about 70 per cent of the bloc’s combined GDP in 2022.

“China is ready to work with all parties to strengthen Brics cooperation, ushering in a new era of unity and self-reliance in the Global South, and jointly promoting peace and development worldwide,” said Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the ministry.

India is sending prime minister Modi to the summit. His attendance is seen as a significant moment for Indian diplomacy – since the start of the war in Ukraine, New Delhi has maintained close diplomatic ties with Russia while also working to increase trade connections with the West.

The summit was seen as an opportunity for Mr Xi and Mr Modi to meet amid an ongoing standoff along their countries’ disputed border. A bilateral meeting between the two leaders was confirmed by the Indian foreign ministry after a deal was reached over troop patrols and the disengagement of forces at the border.

The host of the previous summit, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, will lead a large delegation in Kazan, the country’s envoy Mzuvukile Maqetuka said. The envoy called the 2024 summit “highly significant”.

The leaders of Egypt, Ethiopia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Bolivia, Congo, and Laos are also set to attend.

President Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE has already arrived in Russia and met with Mr Putin on the sidelines of the summit.

Apart from the leaders, the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres also participated at the Brics summit, arriving in Kazan on Wednesday, the Russian foreign ministry said.

“As a guest of honour, the Secretary-General was treated to the famous Russian bread & salt,” it said.

His participation drew a sharp response from countries, including Ukraine, which called out Mr Guterres for accepting an invitation from Mr Putin while staying away from a “peace summit” on the war in Ukraine.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, one of the main founding members of Brics, cancelled his trip to Russia citing an emergency medical issue.

Mr Lula’s doctor, Roberto Kalil, said in an interview with the GloboNews TV channel that the president suffered a fall that caused “great” trauma to the back of his head, requiring stitches and resulting in a “small brain haemorrhage”.

He will participate in the Brics meeting via videoconference, his office said.

Mr Lula is scheduled to host the next G20 leaders’ summit later this year – one which Mr Putin is likely to skip in light of the ICC arrest warrant against him.

The expansion of Brics is seen as a win for Mr Xi, who is trying to boost Beijing’s global clout by courting nations that share similar views on the US dominance of world affairs.

While South Africa has backed Mr Xi’s push, India has been hesitant given that a larger and stronger block could give more power to Beijing and enable it to push its own agenda. Brazil has also shown scepticism, maintaining good ties with Western nations.

Speaking at a conference with media organisations from Brics member states, Mr Putin said: “I am absolutely convinced that this [expansion of Brics] will increase interest in the organisation, influence in the world and authority. We are already seeing this.”

According to Mr Putin, at least 34 countries have expressed interest in joining the bloc, with Malaysia, Thailand, Nigeria, Bolivia and even Turkey, a Nato member, on the waiting list.

Turkey’s bid to join Brics is notable as it marks the first time a Nato member and EU candidate has applied to join a group primarily led by Russia and China. This move, observers say, underscores the shifting geopolitical landscape as Turkey, a key player in the West’s most powerful military alliance, seeks to align itself with emerging powers amidst global tensions​.

Pivoting away from the US dollar as a common currency for international trade, commonly referred to as dedollarisation, has been one of the focus areas of the grouping. The summit under Mr Putin’s presidency plans to transform the international monetary and financial system as a priority in order to negate the impact of Western sanctions, like those imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

As the chair of the bloc, Russia has proposed the formation of the Brics Cross-Border Payment Initiative, which will allow members of the organisation to use their national currencies to trade.

Brics members have also suggested creating an alternative messaging system to bypass the SWIFT interbank communication network, which is controlled by the US and therefore susceptible to Western sanctions.