NewsLite

A 70-year-old man's decomposing body was found in his Bukit Merah HDB flat on Thursday (April 25) after a neighbour had noticed a pungent smell emanating from the unit.

When a Shin Min Daily News reporter visited the ninth floor of the block at about 5pm on Thursday, it was reported that a foul stench lingered in the corridor.

Jiang added that the man had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar.

Other neighbours whom Shin Min spoke to said they had occasionally smelled something rotting but did not think much of the smell.

BEIJING — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken snapped up a Taylor Swift album along with one by classic Chinese rocker Dou Wei during an unexpected detour to a Beijing record store on Friday (April 26) after talks in China meant to ease superpower tensions.

In the Beijing record store, he described mega pop star Swift, whose hits include Bad Blood from her fifth album in 2014, as a successful American export.

In 2019, Swift's album Lover broke a new record for an international artist in China as it surpassed one million combined total streams, downloads and sales within a week of its release.

The combined total made it China's most-consumed full-length international album ever in such a short space of time.

SEOUL — North Korea accused the US on Saturday (April 27) of politicising human rights in the East Asian country, denouncing what it called political provocation and conspiracy.

The spokesperson cited a special envoy on human rights in the administration of President Joe Biden.

The envoy on North Korean human rights issues, Julie Turner, visited Seoul and Tokyo in February to discuss North Korea.

An annual report this week by the State Department described "significant human rights issues" in North Korea.

One downside is that access to the nearest MRT Station is not the most convenient as the project is largely surrounded by vast verdant spaces.

As it sits on a high floor, the apartment enjoys unblocked views overlooking Chestnut Nature Park in the direction of the Central Catchment Area.

Situated at the junction of Clementi Road and Bukit Timah Road, KAP Residences is an interesting mixed-use development that is surrounded by several key landmarks.

As this apartment sits on a very high floor, the apartment enjoys unblocked views of the Bukit Timah skyline and Bukit Timah Hill can be sighted on a clear day.

Defence department officials have not spoken to any Chinese officials since last year, Teodoro said in a statement.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than US$3 trillion (S$4.1 trillion) in annual ship commerce.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague said China's claims had no legal basis, a decision Beijing rejects.

"The narrative that unnamed or unidentified Chinese officials are propagating is another crude attempt to advance a falsehood," he said.

WASHINGTON — US and South Korean officials outlined respective visions for a new agreement on sharing the cost of keeping American troops in South Korea in talks this week and will continue to consult as necessary, the chief US negotiator said on Friday (April 26).

More than 28,000 American troops are stationed in South Korea as part of efforts to deter nuclear-armed North Korea.

South Korea began shouldering the costs of the deployment, used to fund local labour, the construction of military installations and other logistics support, in the early 1990s.

According to the US Government Accountability Office from 2016 through 2019, the US Defence Department spent roughly US$13.4 billion in South Korea to pay military salaries, construct facilities, and perform maintenance, while South Korea provided US$5.8 billion to support the US presence.

SYDNEY — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hailed as a hero Pakistani security guard Faraz Tahir, killed in Sydney while trying to stop a mass stabbing attack, in remarks delivered on Friday (April 26) at a funeral attended by hundreds.

"Running toward danger, to protect people he had never even met, without doubt, he helped save lives that day," Albanese said.

Tahir arrived in Australia as a refugee from Pakistan, according to the Ahmadiyya Muslim community of Australia, to which he belonged.

Fellow security guard Muhammad Taha, injured while trying to stop the attacker, attended in a wheelchair after being released from hospital for the ceremony.

AMSTERDAM — The Dutch government on Friday (April 26) said it would consider resuming funding for the UN agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) in Gaza if the agency implements recommendations to strengthen its neutrality.

The Colonna-led review of the agency's neutrality concluded Israel had yet to back up its accusations that hundreds of UNRWA staff were operatives in Gaza terrorist groups.

The Dutch government said it had already given its yearly donation to UNRWA in January, before the accusations against the agency came to light.

It said it did not foresee any additional donations in the near future, but would consider UNRWA as a potential partner if requests for aid were made.

He stressed to Shin Min that he had gotten angry due to the other party's alleged unfriendly attitude.

Staff members of Aileen TCM said that this was the first time they were burning joss paper at their shop.

In response to this issue, Yang said that she was not targeting anybody by burning joss paper.

"It's my first time burning joss paper since moving in and I did so at my own shop.

CAIRO — Hamas said it had received on Saturday (April 27) Israel's official response to its latest ceasefire proposal and will study it before submitting its reply, the group's deputy Gaza chief said in a statement.

After more than six months of war with Israel in Gaza, the negotiations remain deadlocked, with Hamas sticking to its demands that any agreement must end the war.

Hamas fighters stormed into Israeli towns on Oct 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing 253 hostages.

Israel has sworn to annihilate Hamas in an onslaught that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians.