EnComm Aviation says the firm’s action has cut off vital support for crisis-hit countries including South Sudan and the DRC

Britain’s biggest weapons manufacturer, BAE Systems, is facing a £120m lawsuit after scrapping support for aircraft used to deliver aid to some of the world’s neediest countries.

EnComm Aviation, a Kenya-based aid cargo operator, claims the decision forced the cancellation of humanitarian contracts and reduced supplies to South Sudan, now threatened by famine, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), among others.

Lawmakers agree 45-day extension but Republican and Democratic critics urge reform of surveillance program

The US Congress has passed a 45-day extension of a law that grants US intelligence agencies warrantless spying powers.

Bitter infighting over section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in the Republican wing of Congress has repeatedly tanked conservative leaders’ plans to renew the controversial surveillance law for multiple years. The deadlock continued on Thursday, as the Republican House speaker Mike Johnson refused to include key reforms pushed by hardliners in his party and progressive Democrats.

TAIPEI, May 1 — US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet in Beijing next month for a summit where China is likely to try and make the issue of “Taiwan independence” a major part of the agenda.

Below ‌are some questions and answers about what is meant by the term “Taiwan independence”.

What is Taiwan’s history and formal name today?

Previously known as Formosa, the island has been home to indigenous people for thousands of years, before the Dutch and Spanish briefly ruled parts of it in the 1600s.

The Qing dynasty incorporated Taiwan as part of Fujian province in 1684 and only declared it a separate ‌Chinese province in 1885.

Following the Qing’s defeat in a war with Japan, it became a Japanese colony in 1895. In 1945, it was handed over to the Republic of China government at the end of World War Two.

In 1949 after being defeated by Mao Zedong’s Communist forces, the Republic of China government fled and moved its capital to Taiwan, and Republic of China remains the island’s formal name.

Mao set up the People’s Republic of China, and claimed it was the only legitimate Chinese government for the whole of China, including Taiwan, as the Republic of China’s successor state.

What is Taiwan’s international status?

For decades, the Republic of China in Taipei also claimed to be the legitimate Chinese government, but in 1971 Beijing took over the China seat at the United Nations from Taipei.

Currently only 12 countries maintain formal ties with Taipei, mostly small developing nations such as Belize and Tuvalu.

Most major Western countries and US allies maintain close unofficial ties with Taiwan by recognising the Republic of China passport and having de facto embassies in each other’s capitals. Taiwanese citizens can freely travel to most countries using their Taiwanese passports.

The US severed official ties with Taipei in 1979 but is bound by law to provide the ‌island with the means to defend itself. The US officially takes no position on Taiwan’s sovereignty under Washington’s “One China” policy.

China says it will not renounce the use of force ⁠to bring Taiwan under its control. Beijing has offered Taiwan a “one country, two systems” model ⁠similar to Hong Kong, which promised the city a high degree of autonomy, though no major political party in Taiwan supports ⁠that.

Opinion polls in Taiwan have repeatedly shown most ⁠Taiwanese wish to maintain the current status ⁠quo in relations with China.

China also says that United Nations Resolution 2758, passed in 1971, means the world legally recognises Taiwan belongs to China. The resolution states that the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government of China.

The government in Taipei says that is nonsense given the resolution made no mention of Taiwan or its status. Last year, the US ⁠State Department said China was intentionally mis-characterising the resolution as part of broader “coercive attempts to isolate Taiwan from the international community”.

The Presidential Office Building of Taiwan stands among residential and commercial buildings in Taipei on March 17, 2026. — AFP pic

Is Taiwan already an independent country?

Taiwan, whose people elect their own leaders and whose government controls a defined area of territory with its own military, passport and currency, enjoys de facto independence even if that is not formally recognised by most countries.

Taiwan’s government says the Republic of China is a sovereign state and that Beijing has no right to speak for or represent it given the People’s Republic of China has no say in how it chooses its leaders and has never ruled Taiwan.

Could Taipei declare a “Republic of Taiwan”?

It would be very difficult and require ⁠parliamentary approval of a constitutional amendment and then a referendum, rather than a simple declaration by President Lai Ching-te.

At least 75 per cent of lawmakers would need to pass that amendment, and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and main opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT) currently have an equal number of seats.

The DPP, which has ⁠been in power since 2016, has not made an attempt to change the constitution. The KMT strongly opposes any attempts to change the name of Republic of China.

Since taking office in 2024, Lai has said on several occasions that the Republic of China and People’s Republic of China are ‘not subordinate to each other’, which Beijing says means he believes the two are separate countries ‌and so he is therefore pushing an independence narrative. — AFP pic

What does Taiwan’s president ⁠say about independence?

China ⁠detests Lai and calls him a “separatist”. Before Lai was elected president he made comments about being a “practical worker for Taiwan independence”. Lai maintains he simply meant Taiwan is already an independent country.

Since taking office in 2024, Lai has said on several occasions that the Republic of China and People’s Republic of China are “not subordinate to each other”, which Beijing says means he believes the two are separate countries ‌and so he is therefore pushing an independence narrative.

Does China have a legal framework to prevent formal Independence?

In 2005, China’s largely rubber-stamp parliament passed the Anti-Secession Law that gives the country the legal basis for military action against Taiwan if it secedes or if the “possibilities for a peaceful reunification should be completely exhausted”, but the law is vague and does not give details. — Reuters

SINGAPORE: A 23-year-old Malaysian man named Yap Ching Gun was convicted on Wednesday (April 29) for his involvement in an investment scam of an elderly victim. 

Yap, who has been sentenced to seven months’ jail and one stroke of the cane, is the first person in Singapore to receive a caning for the offence of being a money mule in a scamming scheme.

The Public Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force said in a statement on Wednesday evening that Yap was convicted of one count of being concerned in an arrangement to facilitate another person’s control of benefits from criminal conduct under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 (CDSA) for his role in cash from an elderly victim of an investment scam in Singapore.

The Police added that Yap had been recruited through a Telegram message by an individual who was unknown to him. This person asked him to collect money from the elderly victim, who had been deceived into handing cash over to a mule as part of an investment scam. 

After he collected the money from the victim, Yap, in turn, gave the money to another man he did not know.

The victim had been told that the money would be deposited as investment capital into a fictitious investment brokerage company named “Maplerock.” 

According to the police, Yap was responsible for the losses of the elderly person, which amounted to at least JPY1,000,000 (around S$8,198.)

“Yap’s conviction marks the first instance of caning being imposed on accused persons convicted of money laundering offences related to scam activities under the amended CDSA. This follows the introduction of discretionary caning for scam money mules under the legislative amendments that took effect on 30 December 2025,” the Police noted.

The amendments said that scammers, as well as members or recruiters of scam syndicates, would face a mandatory caning of a minimum of six strokes up to a maximum of 24 strokes. 

Additionally, people who act as scam mules, who enable scammers by laundering scam proceeds, would face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes, including certain money-laundering offences under the CDSA. 

“The Police take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law,” the SPF added. /TISG

Read also: S$13M lost to 411 scammers and money mules in over 1,500 cases

This article (Malaysian man, 23, first to receive caning in SG for money mule role in elderly victim scam) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

Phuket – Provincial leaders, security agencies, and foreign representatives gathered today at the Sarasin Conference Room, Phuket Provincial Hall, to discuss strategies for managing and regulating the behavior of international tourists in the province. The meeting was chaired by Governor Nirun Pongsitthithavorn, with senior officials from the military, police, immigration, tourism, and local administration in […]

Phuket Authorities Convene to Address Bad Tourist Behavior
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Media tycoon honoured in absentia as critics decry his 20-year sentence under national security law

The jailed media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai has been awarded Deutsche Welle’s freedom of speech award for his contribution to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement.

The German public broadcaster said on Thursday that Lai would be presented in absentia with the 12th iteration of the award on 23 June at the DW Global Media Forum in Bonn.

Interim report contains 14 recommendations, after inquiry examined agencies’ actions before the attack in which 15 people were killed

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Sydney’s Jewish community told police of a “high” threat of an attack at December’s Chanukah by the Sea festival at Bondi beach, but New South Wales police appeared not to have completed a comprehensive risk assessment for the event, an interim royal commission report has found.

The interim report of the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion, established in the wake of December’s terror attack, found no gap in current laws that could have prevented the shooting. But it did call for greater coordination of policing at Jewish festivals and events.

Actor and presenter broke his hip, right leg, pelvis and ribs when he gave a talk at CogX festival at O2 Arena in 2023

Stephen Fry is suing two companies that organised a tech conference where he was injured in 2023 after falling off the stage, high court documents show.

The actor and presenter broke his hip and had multiple breaks in his right leg, pelvis and ribs when he attended the CogX festival at the O2 Arena, where he delivered a talk on artificial intelligence on 14 September 2023.

Sophie Corcoran challenging 10,000 Interns Foundation, which works with people from under-represented groups

An influencer is taking a charity that organises internships for black and minority ethnic people to court because they do not organise schemes for white people.

Sophie Corcoran, a GB News commentator, applied to a programme the 10,000 Interns Foundation was running with the Bar Council. She said she was “shocked to discover that the scheme is restricted to applicants of a particular racial background”.

Meta was charged by European Union (EU) regulators with breaching landmark tech rules after failing to prevent children under 13 from accessing Instagram and Facebook.

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Campaigners saying public spaces protection orders also being used to criminalise wide range of everyday activities

One in five local councils have banned swearing under new “busybody” orders, up from one in 20 councils in 2022.

A new report by the Campaign for Freedom in Everyday Life has found that public spaces protection orders (PSPOs) – originally intended to tackle serious anti-social behaviour – are being used by councils in England and Wales to criminalise a wide range of everyday activities, including standing in groups, shouting and picking up stones.