World Archives - The Singapore Post

The ‘Paranoid Style’ Pathology of American Politics Is in Full Bloom

11Nov

By Joanne SerriehNo Comments

The ‘Paranoid Style’ Pathology of American Politics Is in Full Bloom

A lot of the current political paranoia is an outcome of the deindustrialisation of the US that has given substantial strength to its right wing by creating economic anxieties that its populist politicians exploit. For Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, the victory of Zohran Mamdani in New York seems to be a fusion of several conspiracy theories – the immigrant “takeover” of America, the Soros-funded promotion of radicals, and the Islamist and communist conspiracies to destroy the US. American history tells us that once every thirty or forty years or so, the US goes through a political or social churning that decisively shapes the country’s future. While some of this churning can be political or religious, it is often triggered by conspiracy theories that have profoun

Beijing rebukes EU over Taiwan vice-president’s visit to Parliament

11Nov

By Grace TsoiNo Comments

Beijing rebukes EU over Taiwan vice-president’s visit to Parliament

Beijing has condemned the European Parliament for allowing Taiwan’s vice-president, Hsiao Bi-khim, to address lawmakers in Brussels last week, calling the move a violation of the “One China” principle. Hsiao’s visit to the European Parliament was kept confidential and not announced in advance. She spoke on 7 November at the annual summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), which this year brought together lawmakers and experts from across the world. “Despite China’s strong opposition, the European Parliament allowed leading ‘Taiwan independence’ figures to attend the summit and carry out separatist activities,” China’s mission to the EU said in a statement. The mission said the move “undermines China’s core interests … and seriously erodes political mutu

Art of the deal meets great power politics: Trump 2.0’s approach to China

8Nov

By Grace TsoiNo Comments

Art of the deal meets great power politics: Trump 2.0’s approach to China

The US president is prioritizing economic and technology concerns over any strategic China policy, says George Yin. Whether this will strengthen his hand remains to be seen. With much anticipation, US President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Busan, South Korea, on October 30, 2025. After the meeting, Trump hailed it as a success, declaring, “On a scale of zero to ten, with ten being the best, I’d say the meeting was a twelve.” While observers may not share Trump’s optimistic assessment, the Busan meeting nonetheless marks the first real test of the new Trump administration’s approach to China: a transactional drive for quick solutions to pressing issues that happen to involve China, rather than a China strategy in

Government shutdown latest; Trump administration will partially pay for SNAP benefits

4Nov

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Government shutdown latest; Trump administration will partially pay for SNAP benefits

The Trump administration said Monday it will send out partial payments to the tens of millions of Americans who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits – but not all of the normal funds for families relying on the resource. The administration said in a court filing that it would "fulfill its obligation to expend" funds during an emergency, using a reserve to cover "50% of eligible households’ current allotments." As the showdown over the essential program played out over the weekend, President Donald Trump called on Democrats to abandon a push for expanded health care subsidies and vote for GOP-backed legislation to reopen the government. Voting for the short-term Republican bill, which would continue spending at current levels whil

The X factors that could end the shutdown

4Nov

By Joanne SerriehNo Comments

The X factors that could end the shutdown

It’s Election Day 2025. And the results in New Jersey, Virginia and elsewhere Tuesday could be some of the most significant dominoes to fall in the federal government shutdown, which is set to become the longest in history on Wednesday. But the election isn’t the only X factor in the monthlong shutdown that’s evolving even as we speak. Let’s check in on a number of key variables and sources of potential leverage in the shutdown and how they’re playing. Election Day 2025 The big ones to watch here are the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia. (The New York City mayor’s race and a redistricting ballot measure in California are fascinating for other reasons, but less instructive when it comes to Republican vs. Democrat power dynamics.) The blue lean of th

Government shutdown could become longest ever as Trump says he ‘won’t be extorted’ by Democrats

3Nov

By Grace TsoiNo Comments

Government shutdown could become longest ever as Trump says he ‘won’t be extorted’ by Democrats

The government shutdown is poised to become the longest ever this week as the impasse between Democrats and Republicans has dragged into a new month. Millions of people could lose food aid benefits, health care subsidies are set to expire and there are few real talks between the parties over how to end it. President Donald Trump said in an interview aired on Sunday that he “won’t be extorted” by Democrats who are demanding negotiations to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of the year for millions of Americans. Echoing congressional Republicans, the president said on CBS’ “60 Minutes” he’ll negotiate only when the government is reopened. Trump’s comments signal the shutdown could drag on for some time as federal workers, including air traffic control

Five ways US government shutdown is hurting – and why it’s about to get worse

31Oct

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Five ways US government shutdown is hurting – and why it’s about to get worse

The US government shutdown has entered its fifth week and there is no clear end in sight. With Democrats and Republicans deadlocked over passing a spending plan that would reopen federal agencies, millions of Americans are feeling economic pain that could soon grow worse. The fiscal fight means millions of Americans may not receive food aid, thousands of troops could have to work without pay, and millions may go without heat. Here’s how the shutdown has affected everyday people. Food assistance More than 40 million Americans use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) to feed themselves and their families. While that programme had enough funding to survive the first four weeks of the shutdown, the Trump administration has said the money will run out on 1

Russia Deploys Missile in Ukraine Sparking U.S. Withdrawal From Nuclear Treaty

31Oct

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Russia Deploys Missile in Ukraine Sparking U.S. Withdrawal From Nuclear Treaty

Russia has used a ground-launched cruise missile in Ukraine whose secret development prompted the United States to withdraw from a landmark nuclear arms control treaty in 2019, according to Ukrainian officials. The revelation raises concerns that Moscow is employing weapons once banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and escalating the risks for European security as efforts intensify to negotiate an end to the war. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told Reuters that Russia had fired the 9M729, known by NATO as the SSC-8, at targets in Ukraine in recent months — the first confirmed use of the missile in combat. “Russia’s use of the INF-banned 9M729 against Ukraine in the past months demonstrates President Vladimir Putin’s disrespect to the United Stat

Mamdani signals a shift in American politics. And how immigrants see themselves in it

31Oct

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Mamdani signals a shift in American politics. And how immigrants see themselves in it

Naysayers are employing the same old playbook against the outsider, fear dressed up as caution, prejudice disguised as concern. Growing up in India, I often heard that democracy was where the silenced finally found a voice. And now New York City seems to be finding a new voice. The capital of capitalism might soon elect a socialist as its mayor. Whatever one thinks of Zohran Mamdani—the 34-year-old state assemblymember once dismissed as an outsider—his rise marks an extraordinary turn in American politics. For the Democratic Party, and for the city that defines so much of America’s identity, his potential victory isn’t just another election result. Some are already calling it the most significant breakthrough for socialism in modern US history. Mamdani’s campaign speaks to the e

30Oct

By Grace TsoiNo Comments

How China really spies on the UK

It is a question that successive governments have struggled with: what kind of threat does China really pose to the UK? Trying to answer it may have contributed to the high-profile collapse of the case in which two British men, Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, were accused of spying for China and charged under the Official Secrets Act. Both deny wrongdoing - but when charges were dropped last month, it sparked political outcry. Prosecutors and officials have since offered conflicting accounts about whether a failure or unwillingness to label China as an active threat to national security led to the withdrawal of the charges. And yesterday Lord Hermer, the attorney general, blamed "out of date" legislation for the case's collapse. But this all raises the qu...