International news brief: Singapore to decriminalize gay sex, but will limit change and more

International

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Washington,
Aug
22:
Singapore
announced
on
Sunday
it
will
decriminalise
sex
between
men
by
repealing
a
colonial-era
law
while
protecting
the
city-state’s
traditional
norms
and
its
definition
of
marriage.

During
his
speech
at
the
annual
National
Day
Rally,
Prime
Minister
Lee
Hsien
Loong
said
he
believed
it
is
the
“right
thing
to
do
now”
as
most
Singaporeans
will
now
accept
it.
“Private
sexual
behaviour
between
consenting
adults
does
not
raise
any
law
and
order
issue.
There
is
no
justification
to
prosecute
people
for
it
nor
to
make
it
a
crime,” Lee
said.

“This
will
bring
the
law
into
line
with
current
social
mores
and
I
hope
provide
some
relief
to
gay
Singaporeans.” Lee
vowed
the
repeal
will
be
limited
and
not
shake
Singapore’s
traditional
family
and
societal
norms
including
how
marriage
is
defined,
what
children
are
taught
in
schools,
what
is
shown
on
television
and
general
public
conduct.
He
said
the
government
will
amend
the
constitution
to
ensure
that
there
can
be
no
constitutional
challenge
to
allow
same-sex
marriage.

International
news
brief:
IMF
delegation
to
visit
Sri
Lanka
next
week

Japan’s
PM
Kishida
isolates
with
COVID-19,
cancels
travels

Japanese
Prime
Minister
Fumio
Kishida
has
been
diagnosed
with
COVID-19
and
cancelled
his
planned
travels
while
he
isolates
and
recuperates.

Kishida
developed
a
slight
fever
and
cough
late
on
Saturday
and
a
PCR
test
for
the
coronavirus
was
positive,
said
Noriyuki
Shikata,
the
cabinet
secretary
for
public
affairs
at
the
prime
minister’s
office.

“Prime
Minister
Kishida
is
isolated
inside
his
residence,”
he
told
The
Associated
Press
on
Sunday.

The
65-year-old
prime
minister
was
on
summer
vacation
last
week
and
was
scheduled
to
return
to
work
on
Monday.
It’s
not
clear
where
or
how
he
was
infected.

US,
South
Korea
open
biggest
drills
in
years
amid
North
threats

The
US
and
South
Korea
began
their
biggest
combined
military
training
in
years
on
Monday
as
they
heighten
their
defense
posture
against
the
growing
North
Korean
nuclear
threat.

The
drills
could
draw
an
angry
response
from
North
Korea,
which
has
pushed
its
weapons
testing
activity
to
a
record
pace
this
year
while
repeatedly
threatening
conflicts
with
Seoul
and
Washington
amid
a
prolonged
stalemate
in
diplomacy.

The
Ulchi
Freedom
Shield
exercises
will
continue
through
September
1
in
South
Korea
and
include
field
exercises
involving
aircraft,
warships,
tanks
and
potentially
tens
of
thousands
of
troops.

EAM
Jaishankar
unveils
bust
of
Mahatma
Gandhi
in
Paraguay

External
Affairs
Minister
S
Jaishankar
has
unveiled
a
bust
of
Mahatma
Gandhi
in
Paraguay
and
visited
the
historic
Casa
de
la
Independencia
from
where
the
South
American
country’s
Independence
movement
started
more
than
two
centuries
ago.

Jaishankar
arrived
in
Brazil
on
the
first
leg
of
his
six-day
visit
to
South
America
aimed
at
boosting
overall
bilateral
ties
with
the
region.
Jaishankar,
who
is
on
his
first-ever
official
visit
to
South
America,
is
also
visiting
Paraguay
and
Argentina.

”Honoured
to
unveil
a
bust
of
Mahatma
Gandhi
ji
in
Asuncion,
Paraguay.
Appreciate
the
Asuncion
Municipality’s
decision
to
locate
it
at
the
prominent
waterfront
of
the
city.
This
is
a
statement
of
solidarity
that
was
so
strongly
expressed
during
the
Covid
pandemic,” he
said
in
a
tweet
on
Sunday.

Georgia
jury
awards
$1.7
billion
in
Ford
truck
crash
case

Georgia
jury
has
returned
a
$1.7
billion
verdict
against
Ford
Motor
Co.
involving
a
pickup
truck
crash
that
claimed
the
lives
of
a
Georgia
couple,
their
lawyers
confirmed.

Jurors
in
Gwinnett
County,
just
northeast
of
Atlanta,
returned
the
verdict
late
last
week
in
the
yearslong
civil
case
involving
what
the
plaintiffs’ lawyers
called
dangerously
defective
roofs
on
Ford
pickup
trucks,
lawyer
James
Butler
Jr.
said
Sunday.

Melvin
and
Voncile
Hill
were
killed
in
April
2014
in
the
rollover
wreck
of
their
2002
Ford
F-250.
Their
children
Kim
and
Adam
Hill
were
the
plaintiffs
in
the
wrongful
death
case.