Free Republic

For years, the World Health Organization has considered the Nipah virus to be a “priority pathogen” because it has the potential to cause a worldwide pandemic. Thankfully, up to this point that has not happened, but now an outbreak in India is making headlines all over the globe. Two victims have already died, and there are four others that have tested positive. A five kilometer containment zone has been established around the homes of the two men that died, and schools and businesses in the region are being forced to shut down. Authorities are hoping that such extreme measures will...

For years, the World Health Organization has considered the Nipah virus to be a “priority pathogen” because it has the potential to cause a worldwide pandemic. Thankfully, up to this point that has not happened, but now an outbreak in India is making headlines all over the globe. Two victims have already died, and there are four others that have tested positive. A five kilometer containment zone has been established around the homes of the two men that died, and schools and businesses in the region are being forced to shut down. Authorities are hoping that such extreme measures will...

They are clearly not afraid of heights. A condominium resident was astonished to be visited by monkeys even though she lives on the 15th storey. Stomp contributor Ong shared a video of about five of the primates hanging out around her balcony on Aug 18 at about 9.30am. "I just wanted to share a rare sight in our estate yesterday," said the Stomp contributor, who lives at Sant Ritz condo in Potong Pasir. "We were astonished that the monkeys could actually climb this high as we are living on the 15th floor." A day later, videos were also posted on...

By now, just about everyone and their mother’s brother’s uncle’s sister’s cousin twice removed has heard the phrase, “go woke, go broke.” And while it’s been a most excellent catchphrase, the truth of it has been somewhat of a mixed bag. Until this year. Thanks to the boycott of Bud Light in the wake of its partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, along with the rejection of Democrats and progressives’ constant efforts to force twisted views of sexuality — as with drag queen story hours — down the throats of children across the country, people are voting with their wallets....

A mom is missing after she fell off a Royal Caribbean cruise ship Monday during a voyage from Malaysia to Singapore, officials said. Reeta Sahani, 64, was vacationing with her husband Jakesh Sahani, 70, on the Spectrum of the Seas when he woke up in the middle of the night and noticed his wife was missing from the cabin, the Strait Times reported. The vessel’s overboard detection system revealed that something had gone overboard and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre was notified about 7:50 a.m. Monday that a passenger “had fallen overboard in the Singapore Strait,” according to the Maritime...

Singapore City: Human Right Advocates have shared that Singapore will be executing a woman for the first time in 19 years. The Singaporean national was found guilty of drug trafficking and will be facing capital punishment for her crime tomorrow - July 28, 2023. Saridewi Djamani, 45, was found guilty of trafficking around 30g (1.06oz) of heroin in 2018. Djamani is the second drug convict to be executed in the past three days. Before her, Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, 56, was executed at Singapore's Changi Prison and has been buried by the authrauthorities. He was sentenced to death in 2018...

At 23, the most people would expect to go through is heartbreak — but this woman had an unexpected bout of heart failure which nearly took her life. On April 22, Kang Ziying felt a sudden pain in her chest alongside dizziness and vomiting which prompted her to seek medical help. Kang, a student at Republic Polytechnic, was immediately warded as her condition quickly became life-threatening. Kang's electrocardiogram showed that she had an accelerated heart rate. Her breathing also became more laborious, and the last thing she could recall was being wheeled off into an operating theatre. According to the...

(Australian Space Agency) A massive metal object found drifting off the shore of a remote beach in Western Australia is awash in mystery as officials try to figure out where it came from. Police have been guarding the mysterious thingamajig since it was discovered by baffled locals this last weekend about 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Perth. The object appears to be human-made, although it has clearly fallen into disrepair. About 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) wide and nearly 3 meters long, the cylinder's sides are covered in barnacles, its base a mess of fragmented metal. On the white sandy...

The grass ain't always greener on the other side. It took a month-long trip to the US and Canada for TikTok user Sophieonggg to fully grasp that life in Singapore is actually pretty good. It seems the difference between some of her North American adventures and what she would experience back home was pretty stark. On Monday (July 10), Sophieonggg posted on TikTok a diary of some of the more unpleasant experiences she had during the trip. She labelled it as "super different" before noting that Singapore will always be her home. Dirty, in every sense of the word While...

The gruesome sight of a monitor lizard eating a dead cat has left netizens heartbroken. Taking to Facebook on the Wildlife @Pasir Ris & vicinity page on Wednesday (June 21), Warren Seah shared that he took the photos of the incident at Tampines Eco Green on April 20. "The cleaner pointed out this monitor lizard feasting on the carcass of a black cat," the man said, adding that the cat's head can still be seen in the photos. Seah did not share how the cat had ended up as the monitor lizard's meal. The Facebook post has garnered almost 200...

Malaysian police said they would ask Interpol to locate Ms Chia, as they investigate her for incitement and offensive online content. Ms Chia - who grew up in Singapore - called involving Interpol "ridiculous". Interpol has not responded to questions from the BBC on whether it would act on the request for assistance from Malaysian police. Ms Chia had joked in a viral video that Malaysian jets "cannot fly", referring to the Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared in 2014 - a sensitive topic in the country. Ms Chia mentioned MH370 in the context of the long-running rivalry between Singapore and...

There's some monkey business going on at this goreng pisang stall in Changi Village. A monkey was recently caught stealing bananas from the hawker, leaving the stallholder feeling helpless after its "friends" came back for more. A TikTok video shared on June 2 showed the primate stealthily grabbing a banana, climbing up to a beam and enjoying the fruit of its "labour", even when it was surrounded by pigeon repellents. "Respect the hustle," said the TikTok user who posted the clip, which has since garnered over 200,000 views. Several netizens appeared to be tickled by this monkey heist. But it...

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he tested Covid positive for a second time on Thursday morning. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has tested positive for Covid-19 again, just weeks after he caught the disease. "I feel fine but I am afraid I have turned Covid-19 positive again," he said in an Instagram post on Thursday (June 1) morning. "My doctors say it is a Covid rebound, which happens in 5-10 per cent of cases. It is still infectious although the risk is not high compared to the initial infection." PM Lee said that the doctors have advised him to...

With COVID-19 becoming endemic, people need to exercise practical reason when deciding how best to live with the lurking presence of the virus, just like they do with dengue and influenza, says respiratory specialist Dr Ong Kian Chung.The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday (May 5) declared that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency. For three years, Singapore, along with the rest of the world, battled a disease that has killed 6.9 million people globally. That is more than the total population of Singapore. WHO’s lifting of the emergency alert is a sign of the progress that nations...

Singapore on Wednesday executed a man convicted of drug trafficking, a representative for his family said, despite pleas from his relatives and activists for clemency. Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, had been convicted for abetting the trafficking in 2013 of more than 1 kg (2.2 pounds) of cannabis, double the threshold for the death penalty in the city-state, which is known for its tough laws on narcotics. Kokila Annamalai, a Singapore-based rights activist representing the family, confirmed Suppiah had been executed by hanging after the president had rejected pleas for clemency on the eve of the execution.

The early bird gets the worm, or so they say. And when Texas Chicken gave out chicken bags on Sunday (April 16) morning to celebrate its 13th anniversary in Singapore, people started swarming the fast food chain's outlets for the freebies. This, however, took a toll on one employee, who had to inform disappointed diners that the free item was out of stock. Customers who purchased a meal deal — or Chick Deal as they called it — for $13.90 each from 11am onwards on Sunday can redeem the chicken bag. A TikTok video shared by Usman Choo showed a...

The term toxic masculinity is a hot topic these days. But what are considered red flags in a guy? In a video posted on TikTok on March 29, user and YouTuber AimRun took to the streets to find out what Singaporean women had to say on the issue. One woman claimed that there are "many" toxic men in Singapore. When asked why girls date guys who exhibit toxic masculinity, she revealed that she always dates bad guys. "I have dated a nice guy before, but it's very boring," she quipped. In an expanded YouTube version of the video, the woman...

SINGAPORE: The death of a 28-year-old man 21 days after his COVID-19 vaccination has been ruled a medical misadventure, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (Feb 17). It is the first death related to COVID-19 vaccination locally, MOH said in a press release. The Bangladeshi national received his first dose of the Moderna/Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine on Jun 18, 2021, and died on Jul 9 after collapsing at his workplace earlier that day. The State Coroner on Wednesday certified the man's cause of death as myocarditis, said MOH.

(Singapore) Lim Shi Yue had dreamed of having her own nail salon for the longest time. So, one can imagine how excited she was when she finally found a suitable unit at Far East Plaza. Her dream, however, turned into a nightmare of sorts after this 29-year-old and her business partner said they lost over $20,000 in that venture. Lim told AsiaOne that she and her partner Barry Tay, 32, had come across an advertisement for the shop unit on Carousell in December. Excited about their find, they expressed their interest to the owner of that shop, a Thai woman...

On Jan 1, the Republic’s women’s tchoukball team made history by overtaking powerhouses Chinese Taipei to become world No. 1 for the first time, but for nearly a month, neither the players nor officials knew about the achievement. Delane Lim, Tchoukball Association of Singapore president, found out through a post on the International Tchoukball Federation’s Facebook page only on Jan 27. He then told one of the players Angie Ng, who is also his colleague. Upon confirming their ranking, Ng let out a scream of “oh my god!” in the office with Lim. The rest of the team were then...