As the challenges stack up, the two sessions could provide indications of potential government action to come.
“Many are looking forward to stimulus packages for the economy. Reinvigoration of post-Covid recovery will be given importance,” NUS’ Dr Lim told CNA.
Still, another observer does not expect the economy to be singled out for special mention.
“If you focus too much on it to the detriment of other areas, it basically sends a signal that maybe the central authorities recognise that there are indeed problems in the economy,” said Dr Hoo.
“I don't think they would want to over hype all these risks, because by doing so it's sending negative market sentiment.”
DEVELOPING "NEW PRODUCTIVE FORCES"
Either way, analysts expect a fresh push for productivity and innovation to be made at the two sessions amid the economic troubles.
Specifically, the development of “new productive forces” or “xin zhi sheng chan li” in Chinese, which state media have termed “a recent catchphrase in China’s policy making”.
The phrase was first mentioned by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September last year, during an inspection and research trip in Northeast China.
“It basically means new industries to drive China's development … like high-end semiconductors, AI, big data, the next Internet,” Dr Hoo told CNA.
He linked it to China’s pursuit of self-reliance and high-quality development, pointing out how this can be seen as a response to external trends such as decoupling - or de-risking as it’s known in Western parlance.
Official data showed that annual foreign investment flows into China shrank for the first time in over a decade last year. Overseas companies invested 1.13 trillion yuan (US$157.1 billion) in China in 2023, an 8 per cent drop on-year.
The value of announced US and European greenfield investment into China dropped to less than US$20 billion in 2022, from a peak of US$120 billion in 2018, according to US-based research firm Rhodium Group.
Israel disputed the account provided by health officials in Hamas-run Gaza, which has been bombarded by Israeli forces for months in a war that began after the Palestinian militant group's deadly rampage in southern Israel on Oct 7.
An Israeli military official said two separate incidents had occurred as the convoy of trucks passed into northern Gaza from the south along the main coastal road.
In the first, he said aid trucks were surrounded by hundreds of people and, in the confusion, dozens were injured or killed, by being trampled or run over.
As the trucks left, he said, some of those who had rushed the convoy approached Israeli forces including a tank, which then opened fire.
"The soldiers fired warning shots in the air and then fired towards those who posed a threat and did not move away," he told journalists. "This is what we understand. We're continuing to review the circumstances."
He said he did not believe the death toll provided by the Palestinian authorities but provided no Israeli estimate, saying: "It was a limited response".
The first day of the legislative session on Tuesday will get more attention, when Premier Li Qiang will deliver his maiden government work report in front of nearly 3,000 National People’s Congress deputies.
Premier Li Qiang will deliver his first work report on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua
Li will outline how the economy has performed in the past year, including the closely watched GDP growth rate, and set out the new growth target, policy agenda and budgets for the year ahead.
In the days that follow – it is not yet known how long the meetings will run for – the work report, budget and other bills in the legislative session will be deliberated and generally rubber-stamped.
Other events to watch will be the foreign minister’s press conference, President Xi Jinping’s speech to wrap up the event, and the premier’s news briefing after the closing ceremony.
GDP and the budget
The premier made an early and unexpected disclosure at the World Economic Forum in January when he revealed that China’s gross domestic product grew by 5.2 per cent in 2023 – the target was 5 per cent.
Li was seeking to boost confidence in the world’s second-largest economy after a choppy year of recovery from the pandemic that has seen property developers defaulting on debt, sluggish domestic consumption and weak overseas demand.
China also faces an ageing population and a shrinking workforce as a result of the notorious one-child policy from the late 1970s, and a low birth rate, even after the policy was relaxed in 2016.
The world’s second-largest economy has had a choppy year of recovery from the pandemic. Photo: AP
Analysts are expecting China to set a similar target growth rate of 5 per cent for the coming year. But which policy tools the government uses to achieve this – such as fiscal stimulus or structural reform – remains to be seen.
Neil Thomas, a Chinese politics fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Centre for China Analysis, said this year’s two sessions would be significant.
“China’s trajectory has never seemed more uncertain during the Xi era, so people inside and outside the country are looking to the leadership for reassurance that they understand China’s economic problems and know how to solve them,” he said.
The premier’s report is likely to talk about boosting “new productive forces” – a term used by the leadership to refer to home-grown innovations in technology and services that it believes could boost the economy and self-reliance.
Li will also hand down the budget. Annual financial reports are usually deliberated on the first day of the NPC and released later in the week.
Defence spending will be closely watched at a time when tensions are soaring over self-ruled Taiwan and the South China Sea. The People’s Liberation Army has stepped up its military activities in the region and the 2027 target to achieve its modernisation goals is not far off.
Analysts expect steady growth in the defence budget in line with economic growth and last year’s increase of 7.2 per cent.
What about Li?
Li will wrap up his first year as premier with a policy address and press conference that will give more insight into his role and style.
A tally of Li’s inspection trips and meetings found that his focus has been more on domestic issues than foreign affairs compared to his predecessor.
And Li’s say on economic affairs within the party-state system appears diminished compared with previous premiers, according to Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
That was especially the case after China’s cabinet amended its work rules to focus on the “implementation” of party decisions, Wu said, adding that Li’s role “is actually not comparable to his predecessors”.
He expects Li to deliver a shorter work report than previous premiers.
Foreign affairs
The focus of the two sessions is largely domestic, but the foreign minister’s briefing will set the tone for diplomacy.
Thomas from the Asia Society Policy Institute said Beijing could be expected to “avoid antagonism” ahead of key elections in the West.
He said the foreign minister was also likely to “emphasise stability” as Beijing seeks to improve the business confidence of foreign investors.
The briefing could also touch on relations with the US, which have improved since last year’s meetings that took place soon after the US shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon.
Wang Yi could be replaced as foreign minister during the two sessions. Photo: AFP
There is also the matter of who will be the next foreign minister. Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, went back to the role in July after Qin Gang – who has been absent from public view since June – was abruptly dismissed from the job without explanation.
Liu Jianchao, head of the ruling Communist Party’s International Liaison Department, is seen as the leading contender to replace Wang and it could happen during the two sessions if Beijing opts for a high-profile announcement.
Military purge
There are other uncertainties, and announcements could be made during the legislative meeting.
The third plenary session of the Central Committee – the party’s biggest decision-making body – usually takes place in autumn, shedding light on the economic direction and key appointments ahead of the two sessions.
But it has not been held this year and observers suggest that could be because there are decisions pending over a purge of military officials and the foreign minister’s sacking.
Li Shangfu was removed as defence minister without explanation in October, and nine generals were ousted from the legislature in December. They were accused of “violations of discipline and law”, a euphemism for corruption.
Li Shangfu was removed as defence minister in October. Photo: EPA-EFE
Dong Jun has been named the new defence minister but he has yet to be appointed as a state councillor – a title usually also given to the foreign minister.
A “dismissals and appointments” bill was approved during a meeting of the NPC Standing Committee this week, but no further details were given, though it did confirm that Qin had resigned as a member of the legislature.
For now, Qin and Li Shangfu both remain full members of the Central Committee.
The agency is also looking into large language models that have led to an increase in “potency and proliferation of phishing scams”, said Ms Cheryl Tan, deputy director of sense-making and surveillance centre of expertise at HTX.
Cybersecurity firms CNA spoke to have also adopted AI to defend against increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks.
An example is the analysis of behaviour patterns to detect anomalies that can indicate potential attacks, said Mr Johan Fantenberg, a Principal Solutions Architect APJ at Ping Identity.
Another cybersecurity firm, Infoblox, also makes use of AI to help security teams detect threats.
“On an average day, security teams could look at anywhere from 500,000 to a million security reports, varying from false positives to serious threats,” said Mr Paul Wilcox, Vice President of Infoblox Asia Pacific and Japan.
Infoblox uses AI-driven analytics to help distil the number to a much more manageable figure, allowing security teams to concentrate their attention on these.
AI in cybersecurity is “increasingly critical” to protecting online systems, said cybersecurity firm Fortinet. If used correctly, AI systems can be trained to detect threats automatically, identify new strands of malware and protect sensitive data, it added.
“However, organisations also need to be aware that cyber criminals adjust their methods to resist new AI cybersecurity tools,” said Fortinet in an article on its website.
While some governments in the region are establishing rules to deal with the potential misuse of AI, these may not be enough to deter criminals, Mr Wilcox from Infoblox noted.
“Proactive early detection for crime prevention is far more effective than responding to cyber threats only when it happens,” he added.
Still, having AI rules is still better than none, analysts pointed out, highlighting a regional guide on AI governance and ethics that was launched this month.
Despite being voluntary, the guidelines by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are likely to be influential on organisations as well as policymakers, pointed out Mr Benjamin Wong, a lecturer at the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Law.
Mr Wong added that the endorsement of the AI guidelines by ASEAN member states shows that governments are aware of the risks, and are aligned on principles including transparency, security, privacy and data governance.
Analysts say the government's hardline stance may play well for them ahead of legislative elections set for Apr 10.
"If the government were to back down now, they would perceive it as a major setback ahead of the upcoming general elections," Kim Jae-heon, the secretary general of an NGO advocating free medical care, told AFP.
But doctors "believe that stepping back at this point would result in their own disadvantage. It seems the current standoff will continue for a while".
Proponents of the reform say doctors are mainly concerned the changes could erode their salaries and social status. The government says South Korea has one of the lowest doctor-to-patient ratios among developed countries.
Polling shows up to 75 percent of the public support the reforms, and President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has taken a hard line on the striking doctors, has seen his approval ratings tick up.
Kim Sung-ju, head of the Korean Cancer Patients Rights Council, told AFP that patients' lives were being held "hostage".
"If the entire system comes to a halt simply because (junior doctors) have left, it truly highlights the shortage of doctors," he said.
"It is astonishing that they are... using patients' lives as leverage to further their own interests."
The mass work stoppage resulted in the cancellation and postponement of surgeries, chemotherapy and C-sections, with the government raising its public health alert to the highest level.
Kim Tae-hyeon, the head of the Korean ALS Association, said the striking doctors were "worse than organised criminals."
"In hospice wards and intensive care units, (patients) are struggling to stay alive," he added.
KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian appeal court on Wednesday (Feb 28) reinstated charges of abuse of power against opposition leader and former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, state news agency Bernama reported.
A Kuala Lumpur high court had thrown out the four charges and acquitted Muhyiddin in August, ruling those had not detailed his alleged offences. Muhyiddin, who led Malaysia for 17 months between 2020 and 2021, had pleaded not guilty and had called the charges politically motivated.
However, a three-member Court of Appeal bench on Wednesday unanimously ruled that the case against Muhyiddin be returned to a sessions court for further action, Bernama reported. The court found the charges were unambiguous and there was no necessity to give further details on the alleged offences.
Muhyiddin's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision.
The former premier and his party have faced graft investigations since Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's coalition come to power in November 2022.
Muhyiddin, who leads Malaysia's conservative, Malay-centric opposition bloc, is also charged with two counts of money laundering and has been accused of receiving bribes worth RM232.5 million (US$48.77 million), which he has denied.
Muhyiddin has accused Anwar of orchestrating a political vendetta, which the premier has rejected.
NEW YORK: US President Joe Biden said Israel has agreed not to engage in military activities during Ramadan in Gaza, where it is at war with Hamas militants, and said the Jewish state risked losing support from the rest of the world as Palestinians die in high numbers.
Biden, who made his remarks during an appearance on NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers, said Israel had committed to making it possible for Palestinians to evacuate from Rafah in Gaza's south before intensifying its campaign there to destroy Hamas.
Biden, whose remarks were recorded on Monday and broadcast on Tuesday (Feb 27), said there was an agreement in principle for a ceasefire between the two sides while hostages were released.
"Ramadan is coming up, and there’s been an agreement by the Israelis that they would not engage in activities during Ramadan, as well, in order to give us time to get all the hostages out," he said.
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan is expected to begin on the evening of Mar 10 and end on the evening of Apr 9.
CEASEFIRE SETS PATH TO TWO-STATE SOLUTION
Biden said a temporary ceasefire would ease relationships with Israel's neighbours and jumpstart a process for Palestinians to have their own state.
"That gives us time to begin to move in directions that a lot of Arab countries are prepared to move in. For example, Saudi Arabia is ready to recognize Israel. Jordan is. Egypt - there are six other states. I’ve been working with Qatar," Biden said.
"If we get ... that temporary ceasefire, we’re going to be able to move in a direction where we can change the dynamic and not have a two-state solution immediately but a process to get to a two-state solution, a process to guarantee Israel’s security and the independence of the Palestinians," he said.
Biden said on Monday he hoped to have a ceasefire in the conflict by the following Monday. However, there has been little indication of progress in line with that pace from Israel, Hamas or the countries mediating between them, Qatar and Egypt.
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron triggered a shockwave in Europe on Tuesday (Feb 27) by refusing to rule out the dispatch of Western ground troops to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.
Macron had hosted a conference of European leaders on Monday - just over two years to the day after Russia invaded Ukraine - seeking to rally greater support for Kyiv, which faces increasing battlefield challenges and dwindling munition stocks.
He painted a grim picture of Russia under President Vladimir Putin, arguing there had been a "change of posture" even in the last months that had seen a hardening of its stance both domestically and in Ukraine.
"Nothing can be excluded to pursue our objective: Russia cannot and must not win this war," Macron said after the conference gathering leaders including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish President Andrzej Duda that ended with a midnight press conference.
While there was "no consensus" on the sending of Western ground troops to Ukraine, "nothing should be excluded. We will do whatever it takes to ensure that Russia cannot win this war", Macron added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov offered a muted initial reaction on Tuesday, saying that sending Western troops to Ukraine was "absolutely not in the interests of these countries, they should be aware of this".
"CAN'T RULE OUT ANYTHING"
Macron had refused to say more about France's position, citing the need for "strategic ambiguity" but saying the issue was mentioned "among the options".
"We are convinced that the defeat of Russia is indispensable to security and stability in Europe," Macron said.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, accused by critics of being too cosy with Moscow, said after the meeting that there was disunity on the issue at the meeting.
"There are countries that are ready to send their own soldiers to Ukraine, there are countries that say never - Slovakia is among them - and there are countries that say that this proposal should be considered," he said.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden, which is set to join NATO, poured initial cold water on the idea, saying "it's not on the cards at all for the moment".
"For the moment, we're busy sending advanced (military) equipment to Ukraine," Kristersson said.
TOKYO: DNA analysis has confirmed that a 70-year-old man who confessed on his hospital deathbed last month to being one of Japan's most-wanted fugitives was indeed the suspect, police said Tuesday (Feb 27).
Satoshi Kirishima, a former member of a Japanese radical leftist group behind deadly bomb attacks in the 1970s, was wanted for nearly 50 years, with his bespectacled, smiling mugshots almost omnipresent outside police stations across Japan.
The saga took a sudden twist last month when a terminally ill man hospitalised near Tokyo declared on his deathbed that he was Kirishima - prompting hospital staff to alert police - only to die a few days later.
Through subsequent DNA analysis, "the person who died at the hospital on Jan 29 was confirmed to be Satoshi Kirishima himself", a Tokyo police spokesman told AFP on Tuesday.
With his identity now verified, "we sent five case files (involving him) to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office today", the spokesman said.
In one of those five cases, Kirishima allegedly helped plant a homemade bomb that blasted away parts of a building in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district in April 1975.
While interrogated by police shortly before his death, Kirishima recounted details about his family and the extremist group that only he could have known, according to local media.
A young Kirishima was a member of the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front, which in the 1970s orchestrated a series of fatal bomb attacks on corporate behemoths, including one at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries that killed eight people.
"I want to meet my death with my real name," he reportedly told staff at the hospital before his death.
US and Israeli officials discussed a ceasefire proposal last week with Qatari and Egyptian mediators at a meeting in Paris. Delegations from Hamas and Israel are both in Qatar this week for so-called proximity talks, held in the same city through mediators.
Biden, who is running for re-election, told NBC there was an agreement in principle for a ceasefire between the two sides while hostages were released, adding that he hoped to have a ceasefire in the conflict by the following Monday.
"There are too many innocent people that are being killed. And Israel has slowed down the attacks in Rafah," Biden said, adding that Israel had committed to make it possible for Palestinians to evacuate from Rafah in Gaza's south before intensifying its campaign there to destroy Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected as "delusional" Hamas' last offer for a ceasefire, during which all hostages would go free, Israel would withdraw its troops from Gaza and an agreement would be reached on an end to the war.
On NBC, Biden said that a temporary ceasefire would jumpstart a process for Palestinians to have their own state. Netanyahu, however, has rejected a two-state solution.
The new proposal now being weighed by Hamas included some of Hamas' initial demands for a ceasefire, and limited the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages to a ratio of 10 to one, the senior source close to the talks said.
The draft states Hamas would free 40 Israeli hostages including women, children under 19, elderly over 50 and the sick, while Israel would release around 400 Palestinian prisoners and will not re-arrest them, the source told Reuters.
Mediators have ramped up efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, in the hope of heading off an Israeli assault on the Gaza city of Rafah where more than a million displaced people are sheltering at the southern edge of the enclave.
After Hamas killed 1,200 people and captured 253 hostages on Oct 7, Israel launched a ground assault on Gaza, with nearly 30,000 people confirmed killed, according to Gaza health authorities.
SEOUL: A woman in her 60s went into cardiac arrest and died after falling from a bungee jumping platform on Monday (Feb 26), officials said.
The victim, whose name and exact age were withheld, jumped from the platform, only to plummet 8m below onto a concrete floor at a sports facility at around 4.20pm, according to Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police.
The facility, located at Starfield Anseong Mall in Gyeonggi Province, just south of Seoul, offers various experience facilities such as bungee jumping and climbing.
The woman was taken to hospital after emergency services performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her, but she did not survive.
Police believe the bungee rope sprang loose due to a faulty carabiner clip, which connects the cord with a beam or a crane. They plan to further investigate the matter.
The bungee jumping platform has become one of the most popular attractions since the mall opened in 2020. - The Korea Herald/ANN
Many South Koreans support the plan, which has been spearheaded by President Yoon Suk Yeol.
A recent Gallup Korea poll showed about 76 per cent of respondents approved of the plan, regardless of their political affiliation and a separate opinion poll by Realmeter released on Monday showed that Yoon's approval rating had risen to 41.9 per cent, the first time in eight months it has topped the 40 per cent level.
In a package of policy plans to improve medical services, the government said it will increase the number of new medical students by 2,000 a year and expand legal protection against malpractice suits and prosecution.
It also plans to give incentives for doctors to practice in essential disciplines such as paediatrics and general surgery and in regional areas where shortage of doctors is more serious.
Some doctors, however, say the government's plan is aimed at winning more votes in the April general election. In a statement, medical professors at Seoul National University, which runs one of the top medical schools in the country, called on the authorities to postpone discussing the plan until after the elections.
Gaza’s humanitarian crisis has spiralled since the war began, with the UN World Food Programme reporting “unprecedented levels of desperation”.
PHOTO: AFP
SINGAPORE - Former president Halimah Yacob on Feb 26 called for the world to “stand on the side of humanity”, questioning the morality of the ongoing situation in Gaza as the Palestinian death toll reaches almost 30,000.
In a Facebook post, Madam Halimah highlighted the dithering on efforts to reach a ceasefire, stating that “international laws and international bodies are rendered irrelevant”.
“The consensus built after the horrors of WW 2 (World War II), to protect the innocents during wars, has been severely compromised. The world is forever changed,” she said.
Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam shared Madam Halimah’s post on his Facebook page with a single sentence: “Our ex-president Madam Halimah has spoken powerfully, and I agree with her.”
In her Feb 26 post, she also noted the death toll – made up mostly of women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry – as well as the destruction of hospitals, homes, power grids, schools, roads and other civilian infrastructure.
“There’s nowhere to go. They are bombed from the land, sea and air in Rafah in southern Gaza. Earlier, they were told to leave northern Gaza, which they did, only to be killed later.”
Madam Halimah lamented the “degradation of the human soul”, listing anecdotes of Israel Defence Forces soldiers revelling amid the destruction, and proud public declarations of “grandmothers and mothers” that they would not allow aid to reach those in need, which include many children.
“Our natural instincts are to protect the weakest and most vulnerable amongst us. What’s happened to the human soul?” she asked.
“After this is over, will the same people be able to live with their consciences knowing that they contributed to the deaths and destruction of thousands of innocent lives?”
The post had garnered nearly 800 reactions and over 300 shares and comments at the time of publication of this article.
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Gaza’s humanitarian crisis has spiralled in the five months since the war began, with the United Nations World Food Programme reporting “unprecedented levels of desperation” – some residents have resorted to eating scavenged scraps of rotten corn, animal fodder, the meat of slaughtered horses, and even leaves from trees.
At the Group of 20 foreign ministers’ meeting on Feb 21 and 22 in Rio de Janeiro, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Maliki Osman reiterated Singapore’s support for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to facilitate the urgent delivery of aid to affected civilians, and called for the safe, immediate and unconditional release of all civilian hostages.
On Feb 16, the UN’s International Court of Justice said it did not see the need for additional emergency measures to protect Palestinians’ rights.
The court said the “perilous situation” in the Gaza Strip and in Rafah particularly “demands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures” per its order on Jan 26, and “does not demand the indication of additional provisional measures”.
It will be hearing arguments from more than 50 states following a request by the UN General Assembly in 2022 to issue a non-binding opinion on the legal consequences of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The hearings are part of a Palestinian push to get international legal institutions to examine Israel’s conduct.
Humanitarian aid organisations such as the Singapore Red Cross and Humanity Matters have also sent relief supplies worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to humanitarian workers who are helping civilians caught in the war. A fund raiser to provide aid for communities in Gaza raised more than $4 million in November 2023.
An attack by Hamas militants against Israel on Oct 7 killed 1,400 people and saw more than 200 others taken hostage, with Israel launching a series of retaliatory strikes and imposing a blockade on the Gaza Strip, which is about half the size of Singapore.
The Palestinian death toll has since reached almost 30,000, according to a Reuters report citing Gaza medical officials.
The former president employed similar tactics to try to force Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, out of the race. Trump highlighted his overwhelming advantage in endorsements in Florida to fuel the narrative that he was the runaway favorite to win the nomination. DeSantis ended his campaign in January.
"DESIGNED FOR MAXIMUM IMPACT"
A much sought-after endorsement was that of Tim Scott, one of South Carolina's US senators and a onetime presidential rival to Trump who dropped out of the race in November.
Scott had been appointed to his Senate seat in 2013 by Haley when she was governor, so securing his endorsement over the woman who sent him to the US Senate was a big prize, several donors and operatives close to both Trump and Haley said.
Trump had maintained a relationship with Scott for some time. In 2020, he called Scott's mother on her birthday, a source close to Scott said. Towards the end of his presidency, Trump invited Scott and his mother to ride aboard Air Force One.
Trump called Scott shortly after the senator dropped out of the race, a person close to Trump said, while Trump allies kept talking to Scott about an endorsement.
One person close to Haley said she exchanged text messages with Scott after he dropped out, but never verbally discussed an endorsement. It is unclear why they never directly discussed the matter, but Scott and Haley's relationship deteriorated over the course of a campaign during which both camps took jabs at one another, said the person.
At a rally in New Hampshire on Jan 19, four days before the primary election there, Scott endorsed Trump, a big blow to Haley and her hopes in South Carolina.
Trump's team made sure Scott was standing prominently alongside the former president at his New Hampshire victory rally on Jan 23. Trump appeared triumphant, suggesting to Scott he "must really hate" Haley. Scott replied: "I just love you!"
Haley was not deterred.
Fueled by donor money she persisted with her insurgent campaign even as she seemed to acknowledge she faced certain defeat to Trump in her home state.
Trump and his allies hoped that a loss on home ground would finally persuade Haley to quit the race, but she said on Saturday night she was not giving up and would continue her presidential campaign.
CHARLESTON: Donald Trump cruised to a decisive victory on Saturday (Feb 24) in the South Carolina Republican primary, blitzing rival Nikki Haley in her home state and continuing his march to the nomination and a White House rematch with Joe Biden.
Trump completed a sweep of the first four major nominating contests, converting a year of blockbuster polls into a likely insurmountable lead going into the "Super Tuesday" 15-state voting bonanza in 10 days.
While Haley repeatedly questioned the 77-year-old former president's mental fitness and warned another Trump presidency would bring "chaos", her efforts appeared to do little to damage his standing among Republicans.
The margin of victory was not immediately clear but it was expected to be significant, with major US networks calling the race within seconds of the polls closing.
Haley, a popular governor of South Carolina in the 2010s and the only woman to have entered the Republican contest, was looking to outperform expectations in her own backyard and ride into Super Tuesday with wind her sails.
But she was never able to compete in a battleground that preferred Trump's brand of right-wing "America first" populism and personal grievance over the four indictments and multiple civil lawsuits he faces.
Trump had already won Iowa by 30 points and New Hampshire by 10, while a dispute in Nevada led to the real estate tycoon running unopposed in the official contest.
The margin of Trump's victory was always the main question in South Carolina, with analysts arguing that Haley managing to whittle the gap to 15 points or less would have counted as a good night.
Trump aides have been clear however that they want to see off Haley long before the Republican National Convention in July - and are expecting the party to coalesce around the front-runner ahead of the first of his criminal trials on Mar 25.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg urged Ukraine and its allies not to "lose heart" and von der Leyen praised Ukraine's "extraordinary resistance" as she arrived in the Ukrainian capital.
Ukraine's military chief Oleksandr Syrsky said he was confident of victory "because light always conquers darkness".
Kyiv signed security agreements with Ottawa and Rome, with Canada saying it would provide a total of US$2.2 billion in financial and military support in 2024.
"We will stand with Ukraine with whatever it takes, for as long as it takes," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also visited Ukraine, arriving from Moldova and touring the southern port of Odesa alongside her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, according to an AFP reporter travelling with Baerbock.
Speaking at the Palanca border crossing as the two ministers walked into Ukraine, Baerbock said: "We could say this is a next step to European integration and into the European Union."
The European Union in December last year opened accession negotiations with Ukraine, which is also hoping to join the NATO military alliance.
"WAR IS OUR LIFE"
But the overall picture remains bleak for Ukraine due to the US Congress blocking a vital US$60 billion aid package, on top of delays in promised European deliveries.
Russia is attacking hard in the east after capturing the heavily fortified town of Avdiivka on Feb 17.
In the east Ukraine city of Pokrovsk - a gathering point for civilians fleeing fighting - troops sent a clear message to the foreign leaders gathered in Kyiv.
"Give us artillery, drones, counter-battery, shells," said a 31-year-old Ukrainian soldier, who identified himself as Woodie.
"Our infantry, armed with assault rifles and grenades, were facing artillery, aircraft, and tanks," added a 39-year-old serviceman from Kyiv, who has been fighting for two years.
Russia has kept up its barrage of devastating drone and missile attacks on Ukraine's cities.
In the latest strikes, Ukrainian authorities said three civilians were killed in Dnipro and Odesa in the night between Friday and Saturday.
Mr Azfarul Zainol (left) said the message written on the note by Ms Nur Hidayah Mohamad (centre) had left him moved as she had to use it despite its sentimental value.
PHOTOS: TUAH LIM/FACEBOOK
Malaysian news outlet Sinar Harian reported that cashier Nur Hidayah Mohamad, 25, received the note from Mr Azfarul Zainol on Feb 23.
The note carries a significance for Ms Hidayah as it was the last time she had received money from her father, who died in 2020 after kidney problems.
On it, she had scrawled a message in Malay that read “Dad’s last money given to me, 11/5/20”, along with “Al-Fatihah”, a Quranic chapter commonly recited for those who have passed.
But several months after her dad’s passing, Ms Hidayah found herself in the situation where she had to use the note as it was the only cash she had in her wallet.
“I had to use it, and at that time, in my heart, I thought, God willing, I can get it back later,” she told Sinar Harian.
The note had gone to Mr Azfarul from the money he withdrew from an ATM in Kuantan on Feb 19.
He was touched by the message on the note and posted a photo of it the next day on his Facebook account, where he goes by the username Tuah Lim, looking for its owner.
His post was shared over 12,000 times, and received nearly 9,000 likes. It was ultimately how Ms Hidayah found the note.
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She contacted Mr Azfarul on Facebook after seeing the post, and they arranged to meet on Feb 23.
Mr Azfarul said that four other individuals had contacted him claiming to be the note’s owner, but he verified that Ms Hidayah was the rightful one, based on her social media posts which confirmed the date of her father’s passing.
Said Ms Hidayah: “I will take care of it as best as I can from now on because it is the last spending money given by my late father, and holds a lot of memories for me.”
Mr Azfarul, who posted a photo of their meeting on Feb 23, said he was relieved and grateful to be able to return the money to its owner, and thanked netizens for their help.
He said: “Thankfully, everything has come to an end and the owner has been found.”
Neither side has given numbers for military deaths and injured, while both claim to have inflicted huge losses.
In August 2023, The New York Times quoted US officials as putting Ukraine's military losses at 70,000 dead and 100,000 to 120,000 injured.
Leaked US intelligence in December indicated that 315,000 Russian troops had been killed or wounded.
On the eastern front, morale is low as outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian troops are ceding ground to Russian forces.
"We are running out of shells and the Russians keep coming. Lots of our comrades are injured - or worse. Everything is getting worse and worse," said one soldier near Bakhmut, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Moscow has massively ramped up its arms production and received drones from Iran, while Kyiv says it has confirmed Russia's use of North Korean missiles.
Zelenskyy said in December the military wanted to draft up to 500,000 more troops. A Bill to broaden mobilisation has caused wide public fear.
The conflict has thrown Russia into even greater isolation from the West, with the United States and its allies imposing a slew of sanctions.
But Putin has brushed off the fallout and hailed the troops as "true national heroes".
He has used the war years to rally patriotism and mount an even harsher crackdown on dissent, with few daring to voice opposition to the war.
The death in prison of opposition leader Alexei Navalny has removed Putin's arch-foe, and he is set to extend his term in office in elections next month.
On the streets of Moscow, most people told AFP they back the soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
More than four months into Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip, the Group of 20 leading economies voiced "virtual unanimity for the two-state solution as the only possible solution" to the crisis, Brazil's top diplomat Mauro Vieira told journalists.
The meeting also touched on Russia's war in Ukraine - which enters its third year on Saturday - and the need to reform global institutions like the United Nations, which have struggled to respond to mounting conflicts, crises and polarisation.
Mr Vieira said "various countries" had reiterated their condemnation of Russia's invasion. But there was little sign of diplomatic progress.
Calling the current geopolitical landscape "very worrying", Dr Maliki said countries should avoid returning to the Cold War where the world was split, warning that the relations between major powers have political and economic implications.
“Comprising major players from all regions, the G20 under Brazil’s leadership needs to demonstrate that it is able to work collectively to galvanise support and build consensus towards de-escalating tensions around the world,” he said.
“This includes urging all parties to refrain from taking actions that may have dire, unintended long-term consequences.”
He added that countries, especially those with the most influence, must be open to negotiations with support from the rest of the international community, and that the outcomes of such negotiations must be based on international law.
Meanwhile, Japan is also courting the foreign market following a shift in the country's security policy, which opened its local defence industry to the global market.
It is eyeing Asia, where defence spending is on the rise due to economic growth and China’s military expansion.
Japan’s defence ministry has set up a booth at the Singapore Airshow for the first time, showcasing its capabilities from aircraft manufacturing to communications. It has also brought along 13 Japanese companies with the aim of supporting sales to other countries.
Both Japan and South Korea are the United States’ most important allies in Asia.
“For the case of Japan and Korea especially, they are very integrated into the Western supply chain. They're interoperable with western systems,” said Aviation Week Network’s Asia Pacific senior correspondent Chen Chuanren.
“And I think more importantly is that given what's happening around the world, many countries are looking to get military equipment fast and urgently, and (Korea, in particular,) has the capacity and the capability to generate and produce military equipment very easily for these countries.”
Social welfare officers were shocked to find the man can get up to RM500 (S$140) a day by just begging and is the owner of a SUV.
PHOTOS: JKM MARAN/FACEBOOK
A Malaysian man said he receives up to RM500 (S$140) a day by just begging for a few hours, and he owns a sport utility vehicle (SUV).
The shocking find came to light when officers from the Social Welfare Department in the Maran district of Pahang were conducting checks to eradicate begging activities at the Sri Jaya night market on Feb 21.
The department did not say why the particular night market was targeted, but said its officers spotted the man, dressed in a grey robe and a Muslim skull cap, begging for money.
“He was holding a paper bag, soliciting sympathy from passers-by. Both of the man’s hands appeared small unlike those of a normal humans,” the department said in a Facebook post, adding that there was money in the bag.
The officers questioned the man, but he did not answer, leading the officers to assume he may be deaf and mute.
The officers, however, persisted in their questioning, including asking him to produce his identity card, and they were surprised to hear the man speak, saying that he left the document in his car.
A second surprise awaited them when the car turned out to be a Proton X70 premium SUV, which retails at between RM123,800 and RM128,800.
The unnamed man revealed to the welfare officers that he can get up to RM500 from just four to five hours of begging at night markets.
The man, who lives in the neighbouring east coast state of Kelantan, has been receiving RM450 monthly allowance from the welfare department for his disability since 2001.
The welfare officers did not take stern action against the man – letting him go with only a verbal warning since “this is his first offence” in the Maran district.
