Digital space a new battleground in war against Wuhan virus

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the city-state has one of the world's highest mobile phone penetration rates with over nine million mobile phones for a 5.3 million population (including children and babies).

the propensity of some segments of society to believe what they come across online can lead to rash and disproportionate reactions.

The victims are of all ages and educational profiles, highlighting the vulnerability of our mobile-phone-savvy, highly connected society to the so-called Drums (distortions, rumours, untruths, misinformation and smears)

This "kiasi" (literally fear of death) mindset leaves them even more open to all sorts of online rumours.

Competing narratives will take root if one does not own the narrative. In a pandemic, the last thing you want is mass hysteria to break out due to an information lag.

how pseudoscience can be framed in convincing language. The anti-vaccine movement grew in the face of a mountain of clinical evidence. Diseases once nearly eradicated have made a comeback as some parents refuse to vaccinate their children. 
another danger - the fuelling of racial and xenophobic sentiments online as part of a blame game.

the possibility that hostile elements might weaponise fear and hatred online to destabilise the country.

Will Benin Bronzes ever go home?

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This hugely complex initiative - organised through the Benin Dialogue Group, which first convened in 2010 - is being celebrated as a chance for people in Nigeria to see part of their cultural heritage. "I want people to be able to understand their past and see who we were,"

Qn: ‘Works of art which have been removed from their country of origin should be returned.’ Discuss. (Cam. 2018)

Firefighters set themselves alight in fiery Paris protest

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One of the main reasons for the ongoing protests in Paris is the president's decision to reform the national pension scheme which is deemed to be unsustainable, esp with the ageing population. Relate this to 2018 AQ on Youth and Politics where it is claimed that politicians now focussed on the elderly and ignore the youth....
Compare this with Singapore's Pioneer & Merdeka Generation Package...note the govt's emphasis that these two schemes are funded by money from the national coffers/reserves (i.e. existing money) and not from future taxation on youth, hence burden not added to youth...

France has been gripped by protests and strikes since last month over President Emmanuel Macron's controversial pension reform plans

Singapore port must stay shipshape as year-round Arctic shortcut looms

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A local example of how economic growth and environmental concerns are tied together....

.        Qn: In your society, how well are the demands of the economy and the environment balanced? (Cam. 2015)

Singapore's growing generation gap: Divide between young and old along social and political lines

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If you're doing the 2018 GP AQ on youth's interest in issues and causes, this article is a good read...

baby-boomer generation (born between 1944 and 1964) ....millennials (1980-1995)...Generation, or "Gen", Z (1996-2000s).

The gap on LGBTQ issues also seems to be growing....felt that gay marriage was not wrong...in 2018, the figure for the younger cohort, aged 25 to 29, had doubled to 49 per cent. But the corresponding figure for the older cohort (60 to 64 years old) only inched up three percentage points to 14.7 per cent.

physical interconnectivity, such as the availability and frequency of overseas travel, has helped expose younger generations to global ideas...Mobility and access, now at their peak, combined with much higher levels of tertiary education among millennials, could account for more liberal attitudes

young people are exposed to a wider range of ideas from more diverse sources because of social media and the Internet

the affluence and comfort that younger Singaporeans today generally enjoy may also increase their capacity to engage with "higher order" issues of social justice.

A 19-year-old may be more concerned about social justice issues, including climate change, rights and inequality.

"To strengthen this trust (between the Government and people), especially among younger Singaporeans, it is no longer enough to promise future performance based on (the Government's) past track record, but requires additionally convincing Singaporeans that their views will be heard,

wanted a more consultative over a paternalistic government. .. 77 per cent wanted alternative voices in Parliament.

The country's fourth-generation political leaders seem aware of the shift in the political landscape, with many making public speeches in the past few months that emphasise the Government's willingness to partner Singaporeans in decision-making - especially young people.

To encourage youth involvement in a more targeted manner, Mr Baey's ministry has been spearheading initiatives like the SG Youth Action Plan, which has engaged more than 40,000 young people since May last year to help articulate a vision for Singapore in 2025.

paying "lip service" will not be enough and that real platforms and opportunities for engagement and change are needed.

realistically speaking, those 30 and below will not have much sway for one simple reason: They form only a fraction of the voting bloc....But while "majority wins" may work for politics, this may not be the case for society as a whole.The rift in views about issues like same-sex marriage, for example, seems like it will only widen... the needle on such issues is moving, but slowly.

One challenge is that the use of social media by younger people can widen the gap on such issues, creating online "echo chambers"...Similarly... social media can amplify selective views and sentiments. "People can get trapped within certain ways of thinking,"...An obvious solution is to go offline and have different generations spend more time with each other in real life...

Wuhan virus: Uproar in Malaysia over outbreak takes on racial, xenophobic tones

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Relate to how a crisis/adversity sometimes bring out the worst in human nature; the reverse is also true where the best in human nature can be triggered....

Aceh's female flogging squad in action

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public whipping remains a common punishment for scores of offenders, for a range of charges including gambling, adultery, drinking alcohol, and having gay or premarital sex.

Aceh officials insist that caning deters crime. Patrols often scour public places and establishments - or act on tip-offs - to monitor residents' behaviour.

Last year, Aceh made headlines for issuing a fatwa, or religious edict, against online game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, and for opposing a national women's football league because it did not have a stadium where only female players, match officials and spectators would be present.

But this rough justice can take a toll. Floggings can be so severe that people pass out or are hospitalised, with the most serious crimes - including gay sex and having relations with a minor - earning as many as 150 lashes.

"We're not aiming to hurt people by whipping them," Mr Safriadi said. "The most important thing is the shaming effect on violators and spectators so they don't do it again."

For qns on pros and cons of religion...and whether the state should intervene in the private affairs and behaviour of individuals...

Wuhan virus: Swift action on any falsehoods on virus to prevent panic, says Iswaran

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useful local examples of fake news:

1)the Pofma Office issued a correction direction to online forum HardwareZone to correct a fake post that someone had died in Singapore from the virus.

2)Last Saturday, a thread of messages on HardwareZone said Singapore repatriated more than 100 Wuhan tourists to China, leading to Facebook clarifications by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority that roundly refuted this as untrue.

While information can help to inform, educate and build trust, it can be abused to spread falsehoods and create anxiety, alarm and panic, and this was being seen in the Wuhan virus situation

Impeachment of US President: John Bolton bombshell raises the pressure on Trump

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Good example to show that aid comes with strings attached...useful for any qns that involve foreign aid as a solution to problem...


Qn: 'Science is the only answer to global hunger.’ Discuss. (Cam. 2019)

Non-profit group feeds hungry and is fodder for MBA minds

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The idea here is that hunger may not be due to lack of food supply, but to wastage. Technology in the form of app can be used to match demand and supply here so that excess food can be channeled to where people are starving....but note that technology is not quite science here....
Technology, helmed by non-profit voluntary organizations, can be the answer to global hunger....

An Indian non-profit group that collects excess food from restaurants to feed the hungry...Called the Robin Hood Army.... all they wanted was to take food from a place of plenty to a place of shortage.

India has the largest absolute number of hungry people in the world but also wastes about 40 per cent of the food it produces.

Qn: 'Science is the only answer to global hunger.’ Discuss. (Cam. 2019)

Globalisation with local characteristics

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There is general agreement among elites that globalisation benefits national economies by expanding the global pie. In several analyses, this occurs because globalisation promotes foreign direct investment, provides a stimulus for technological innovation because of greater competition, and creates economies of scale that lower costs and prices.

globalisation can favour rich nations and people, deepening inequality among and within nations.

particularly in countries and among workers whose economic systems and work skills may not be sufficiently strong to protect them from economic displacement. .... in the United States, disgruntled blue-collar workers provided a solid base for the political ascendancy of President Donald Trump and his promise to protect American jobs. At least some of the impetus for Brexit likewise stemmed from a popular desire to take back British economic sovereignty from the European Union...

The danger lies in throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Globalisation per se is not at fault but that some systems fail to equip their citizens for its challenges and therefore deprive them of the opportunity to benefit from it

The state must help them make those adjustments, through skills upgrading schemes for example, and not leave them to fend for themselves.

Qn: Is globalisation to be welcomed or feared today? (Cam. 2019)

Moral leadership in a fragmenting world

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Article by our ex-minister George Yeo....he always has something insightful to share, so this article is worth a read, esp from the Section "Mass manipulation by the new masters of the universe" onwards....

MHA refutes Malaysian NGO's allegations on Singapore executions

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local example of fake news....really ludicrous, if I may say so......exactly the kind of situation where pofma is entirely justified....note that such fake news is not just out of mischief but has an agenda.

LFL said in a statement that Singapore prison officers were instructed to kick the back of a prisoner's neck with great force to break it, if the rope breaks during a hanging, and that the Singapore Government approved of "unlawful methods" that are used to cover up an execution if the rope breaks.

Facial recognition used to shame pyjama wearers

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A situation of how tech can be abused....

Link also to how tech is used to influence behaviour...

Gambling site blocked after actor promotes it

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Useful local example on celebrity influence went wrong.....and the responsibility of celebrities....

"It's still gambling no matter how you beautify it, and is a negative way to promote to the young the idea of getting what you want even if you don't have much money,"

"The young are impressionable, and YouTube and the online world is a big thing for them, so they will follow what these influencers tell them,"...."These online personalities have a lot of influence on the young and need to have some form of responsibility, but clearly they don't."

Qn: ‘Most young people today are obsessed with fame and imitating celebrities.’ What are your views? (Cam. 2019)

Billionaires richer than 60 per cent of the world's population: Oxfam

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Useful stats for BANG! --
The world's billionaires have doubled in the past decade and are richer than 60 per cent of the global population

Qn: To what extent should income equality be a goal in your society? (Cam. 2019)

Tech revolution could worsen global inequality: WEF report

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Qn: To what extent should income equality be a goal in your society? (Cam. 2019)

Everybody is talking but nobody is doing anything, says Greta

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Any dishy quote from Greta (see title), and the usual colourful rejoinder from Trump ('foolish')....use it also as a point on political inaction or the lack of political will due to denial from politicians on climate change....

Qn: Assess the view that attempts to control climate change can never be truly effective. (Cam. 2017)

Fans want Exo member to leave band after marriage announcement

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A useful example to remind us that celebrities are normal human beings too who have their own private lives to lead....

Qn: "Celebrities should be treated differently from ordinary people." Do you agree?

2 Indonesian islands vanish; more at risk

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Interesting nugget of info for ur opening and closing BANG on climate change qns...use it to signal the urgency of climate change / global warming situation....

Two small islands in South Sumatra have disappeared as a result of rising sea levels driven by climate change...have submerged and are currently sitting 1m and 3m below sea level, respectively

Qn: Assess the view that attempts to control climate change can never be truly effective. (Cam. 2017)

China a key player in Myanmar's future

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Note both China and Myanmar are examples of countries having poor human rights record. You can use them separately for the qn below...

Note the economic and political benefits and motivations for China reaching out to Myanmar and vice versa....Beyond their own national interests, there's another argument towards the end of the article that makes for a good point:
Fairly or not, China has gained a reputation among some of being self-serving or even predatory in its relations with poorer countries. The hope is that beyond infrastructural projects, Mr Xi will also put China's considerable influence to good use in ending the Rohingya refugee crisis. That will truly be the mark of effective regional leadership and an act of friendship with Myanmar.

Qn: How far should countries have relations with others whose human rights record is poor? (Cam. 2019)

Can Singapore really transit to a post-oil economy?

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Policies fashioned by green ideology will lead to Singapore collapsing economically first before it may drown in sea level rise.

It is not a question of whether we should be greener, but how green we want to be and at what pace.

Energy transitions are not sudden revolutionary advances. It took 100 years of the 19th century for coal to account for 50 per cent of global energy production, replacing mankind's earliest "poor man" fuels such as foraged wood, animal dung and agricultural waste.

And from its early beginnings in the 1870s, it took another 100 years for oil to come up to its current share of roughly a third of global primary energy consumed. It also took almost a century for natural gas to account for about a fifth of global primary energy demand by the 1980s, from its beginnings in the early 20th century.

But countries should be allowed to go green at a pace desired by their citizens, and at a price they can afford.

Qn: Assess the view that attempts to control climate change can never be truly effective. (Cam.2017)

[MUST-READ!] Why stargazing beats GPS

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As the saying "use it or lose it" goes, AI could trigger a massive loss of skills in many aspects of modern living, and introduce significant risks. 

But skill decay in, say, airline pilots could be disastrous. Already, up to 85 per cent of flight time is controlled by the autopilot system, possibly giving pilots insufficient exposure to manual operations.

The United States Navy's reintroduction of celestial navigation to its officer training curriculum in 2017 is another momentous attempt to bring back the old stuff. Celestial navigation is an ancient Polynesian practice of determining one's location on the planet by reading the stars and constellations. The navy stopped teaching celestial navigation in the 1990s because of increased reliance on electronic technologies such as the Global Positioning System and radar. But these systems are increasingly at risk of being hacked and their signals jammed, and stargazing has now become a viable backup for navigation.  

     Qns:
     1.To what extent has technology had a negative impact on the skill levels of people? (Cam. 2010)
     2. To what extent is artificial intelligence replacing the role of humans? (Cam. 2019)

Hurdles still stand in the way of pay parity, say experts

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The adjusted gender pay gap between men and women narrowed from 2002 to 2018...The gap for 2018 came in at 6 per cent,

the way society views female-dominated occupations as being of less value is a primary reason why the gap persists.

one of the key reasons for unequal pay between men and women has to do with the perception that women are less productive than men

the gender pay gap is driven by traditional ideas that men should get more as they are breadwinners and that caregiving falls under the women's domain.

For gender and equality qns...

Malaysia hit as India restricts imports of palm oil

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India imposed curbs on refined palm oil and palm olein imports yesterday, a move sources said was retaliation against top supplier Malaysia after its criticism of Indian actions in Kashmir and a new citizenship law.

Sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government is seeking to target Malaysia, after its Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad criticised New Delhi.

Tun Dr Mahathir said in October that India "invaded and occupied" Kashmir, a disputed Muslim-majority region also claimed by Pakistan. And last month, he said India was stoking unrest with its new citizenship law, which critics say undermines the country's secular foundations.

"This move will punish Malaysia and help local refiners," said a Mumbai-based refiner.

For qns on telling the truth....realise that telling the truth about how/what u really feel about what other governments are doing can  hurt diplomatic relations, resulting in economic retaliations, as in the case here....

China reports first death from mystery Wuhan virus

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there are fears the mass movement raises the chance of people serving as carriers and spreading the virus.

For qns on air travel, globalization and migration

Robots can't replace human touch for Japanese businesses

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The robot's camera sensors were not sensitive enough to identify every eye. While human hands can roll a potato in every direction, the robot could rotate the vegetables on only one axis, and so failed to dig out many of the blemishes that are toxic to humans. Other perfectly good pieces were carved away. "Fundamentally, it could not do the work to the standard of humans,"

Japan, the world's third-largest economy, hopes that robots and other types of automation will help solve its demographic problems and impending labour shortage.

Robots can "perform simple tasks but not tasks that require judgment or the ability to evaluate a change in a situation"

Looking to robots allows Japan to avoid hard choices about immigration, a delicate topic in a country reluctant to let in many outsiders. But it is also a good cultural fit.

Workers peel pumpkins, for example, because some skin enhances the flavour of stew. A robot cannot determine just how much skin to shuck off.

A hotel staffed by androids in southern Japan ended up laying off some of its robots after customers complained that they were not as good at hospitality as people.

During a trial of self-driving buses in Oita City, also in southern Japan, one bus crashed into a kerb, and officials realised that autonomous vehicles were not quite ready to cope with situations like traffic jams, jaywalkers or cars running red lights.

Travellers flying in from Wuhan to be screened at Changi

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For other examples, think of SARS, MERS, H1N1, measles, Ebola, Zika.....

Qns:

1. How effectively is public health promoted and managed in your society? (Cam. 2015)

2. Air travel should be discouraged, not promoted. To what extent do you agree? (Cam. 2008)

Recycling, new tech a good fit for Uniqlo

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Relate to the concept of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) practised by big firms -- it typically involves the welfare of the environment as well as society.

With rising sea levels and climate change, sustainability is becoming a vital part of how companies do their business. Some big brands in Singapore have put sustainability front and centre - and have found that people, planet and profit all go together.

replacing the Singapore stores’ plastic bags with recyclable paper bags from March.

Uniqlo has a recycling programme where people can return used Uniqlo clothes to stores. The items go to refugees and displaced people under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other non-governmental organisations. 

Other partnerships allow Uniqlo to use recycled materials to make its products.

Uniqlo will be introducing items in its 2020 spring and summer range that incorporate high valueadded polyester fibres derived from reclaimed plastic bottles. The clothing range next year will include jeans that save up to 99 per cent of water during the production process.

Besides being more environmentally friendly, Uniqlo’s sustainable creed extends to helping members of the community in the countries where it operates. It has hired 29 people with disabilities among its staff in Singapore, which on average is about one person per store.

Qns: 

1. How far can technology play a role in protecting the planet?

2. 'Profit is the sole objective in doing business.' Discuss.

Room for heroes, legends to grow

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A common argument here is how 'repurposed' heritage buildings often sitting awkwardly or even insultingly with its history, i.e. the preserved facade is at odds with the new function within -- think ACS original shophouse building now being a nightclub, or an old church in the UK now transformed into a pub, with the altar within now the spot where the bartender dispenses the drinks!


Controversies erupting over repurposed historic buildings are not new in Singapore, where land scarcity and the desire to retain landmarks have led to a pragmatic compromise where heritage buildings often house commercial businesses

Managers of heritage buildings should be allowed some room to experiment with ways to bring new life into the space. Otherwise, the buildings may become tombs for history rather than lively destinations for new generations.

Qns:
1. Assess the view that traditional buildings have no future in your society. (Cam. 2016)
2. Only modern architecture and modern art have a place in today’s world. How far is this true of your society? (Cam. 2011)

What if all that flying is good for the planet?

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An excellent rebuttal to the oft-cited argument that we have to wean off air travel to cut carbon emissions to save the planet:

OV: air travel harms the envmnt by adding on to the carbon footprints
Rebuttal SV: air travel actually helps to preserve the envmt 'coz:
a) new-tech airplanes emit less carbon
b) air travel fuels eco-tourism, which indirectly protects the envmt (any carbon emitted is offset by the consequent forests and wildlife that are saved, not to mention the forests saved act as a carbon sink that will absorb the carbon emitted)

The tourism industry depends on air travel, and increasingly, saving nature is directly linked to tourism's economic clout. 

aviation accounts for approximately 2.5 per cent of human-induced carbon dioxide emissions. By contrast, deforestation, according to some estimates, contributes nearly 20 per cent, about as much as all forms of transportation combined. If we want to truly take a clean sweep at reducing global greenhouse gases, then we must stop clear-cutting the world's forests. [this can be used to show how carbon emissions attributed to air travel (2.5%) can be more than offset by the forests which are protected (20%) due to air travel]

if, in their understandable concern for climate change, travellers stop booking trips to go on a wildlife safari to Africa or decide to forgo that bucket list vacation to South America. Conservation and poverty alleviation will suffer twin blows.

By 2030, tourism to Africa is projected to generate more than US$260 billion (S$354 billion) annually. Subtract that from Africa's economy and not only will it plunge an entire continent into more poverty (millions of Africans rely on tourism as their economic lifeline)

Some tour operators are directly protecting millions of acres of endangered species habitat, among the last strongholds for rhinos and elephants. Others are helping to fund conservation work to save lions, leopards and cheetahs. There is also a strong argument to be made that a key reason the mountain gorilla is not yet extinct is that tourists are willing to fly to Africa and pay handsomely for the chance to see one in the wild, proving to governments and local communities the importance of protecting them.

Take that income away, and the vast plains would most likely be transformed into cattle ranches - raising beef is already among the most significant contributors to carbon emissions.

Tourism could be what saves this unique biodiversity from damaging industries such as mining, which is already active there.

When local communities benefit from tourism, they become partners and allies in saving nature.

we also have the tools to start flying green class - like developing synthetic jet fuels and designing electric planes.

Qn: Air travel should be discouraged, not promoted. To what extent do you agree? (Cam. 2008)

Philippines may reap gains from SEA Games despite hiccups

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The government is spending over 7.5 billion pesos (S$202 million) to put together the 11-day event.

The build-up to the Games had been mired in controversy over allegations of spending irregularities, unfinished venues and poor treatment of athletes.

Social media was abuzz with images of visiting athletes sleeping on the floor or on airport benches, transport hiccups and handwritten fixture lists, shortage of drinking water and food unfit for athletes.

Clark, itself, will be the biggest winner. The former US airbase, two hours north of the capital Manila, is hosting the athletics and swimming events. A brand new track-and-field complex modelled after Singapore's National Stadium, an aquatics centre and an athletes' village were built there just for the Games....The government is building a 9,450ha "smart, green city" in Clark, with help from Singapore company Surbana Jurong.

In the short term, the biggest impact will be on tourism receipts. Tourism officials said the Games should generate at least 894 million pesos in revenue for hotels

Qns: 
1. Considering the money involved, should developing countries be allowed to host major sporting events? (Cam. 2016)
2. ‘There is no such thing as bad publicity.’ To what extent is this true? (Cam. 2015)
3. Hosting major sporting events creates more problems than benefits. Do you agree? (Cam. 2005)

Ex-terror convict behind London Bridge attack

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A useful example for qn below...

Usman Khan, 28, had been out of jail "on licence" since last December, which meant he had to meet certain conditions or face recall to prison....He was attending a prisoner rehabilitation conference when he launched the attack just metres from the site of a deadly 2017 van and knife rampage on London Bridge.

Qn: ‘Rehabilitation, not punishment, should be the purpose of the justice system.’ Discuss. (Cam. 2017)

Changing attitudes of women Till death do I stay single: #NoMarriage women of S. Korea

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"I've always felt that, as a woman, there are more disadvantages than advantages to being married,"

nation's radical feminist movement "4B" or the "Four Nos": no dating, no sex, no marriage, and no child-rearing.

Marriage rates are plummeting in South Korea, where wives are expected to work, raise children, and care for ageing in-laws with little state or community help.

well-educated friends hitting barriers at work and experiencing problems at home after having children.

A growing number of women are turning their backs on the traditional expectations of South Korea's male-dominated society, where working wives spend four times more time on domestic chores than their husbands.

These groups are emerging against a backdrop of anger over South Korea's spycam porn epidemic, whose victims are mostly women, and cases of sexual misconduct uncovered in the global #MeToo movement.

"The four categories - marriage, motherhood, dating and sex - often put women in subordinate position to men... and what is represented in 'corset' is also similar - that women need to look certain ways to please men,"

South Korea's total fertility rate dropped to 0.98 in 2018, far below the 2.1 needed to keep a population stable.

For qns on gender and traditions, marriage....

Qn: Should both parents take equal responsibility for raising their children? (Cam. 2019)

Santa Claus and other white lies

For qns on telling the truth or lies....

Officials rebut Bloomberg, SCMP reports on Pofma

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To the often-cited criticism of pofma that it will stifle free speech, not the govt's rebuttal here that pofma only serves to correct 'fake news' but does not require the 'fake news' to be taken down....in that sense, 'free speech' is still present....
But the main contention of pofma is still that the govt remains the final arbiter of what constitutes 'fake news' (views and opinions about facts lie outside pofma)

the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) was used to issue correction directions. This allows the public to access both the original posts and corrections, and decide for themselves which is true..."No information or view has been suppressed"

Chinese state media rebuts NYT article on Xinjiang

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Beijing tries to wrest control of the media narrative on its policy to build re-education camps, which it calls vocational training centres, in its far-western region..... an interviewee said her 10 months in an "education centre" had helped her perfect her Mandarin and pick up sales knowledge [compare this with our ITE?]

a New York Times article last Saturday that said the ruling Chinese Communist Party had placed nearly half a million children from the region into boarding schools to "assimilate and indoctrinate them from an early age"

the Times said, noting that as many as a million ethnic Uighurs and Kazakhs have been held to date

Political observer Jo Kim said Chinese officials have found it perplexing and frustrating as to why the United States and European Union countries largely sympathise with the Uighur separatist movement and seldom address the terrorist attacks that China has suffered at the hands of extremists, such as the Urumqi riots in 2009 and another in Kunming in 2014.

Relate also to qns on treatment of minority races...Note the Uighurs are muslims (different from the majority Han Chinese of mainland China) and have been fighting for independence from China much like Tibet.
Regarding treatment of minorities, compare this with Singapore, India (controversial new citizenship law), Myanmar (Rohingyas), Malaysia (recent controversy to introduce Jawi writing in non-islamic schools)

Qns:
1. To what extent does the media influence our perception of reality?
2. Is regulation of the press desirable? (Cam. 2017)

3. How far should countries have relations with others whose human rights record is poor? 
(Cam. 2019)

China jails scientist who genetically edited babies

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He Jiankui, who shocked the scientific community last year by announcing the birth of twins whose genes had allegedly been altered to confer immunity to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), was also fined three million yuan (S$580,000)

He announced in November last year that the world's first gene-edited babies - twin girls - had been born that same month after he altered their DNA to prevent them from contracting HIV, by deleting a certain gene under a technique known as CRISPR.

China's Health Ministry issued regulations in 2003 prohibiting gene-editing of human embryos, though the procedure is allowed for "non-reproductive purposes".

They had acted "in the pursuit of personal fame and gain"

Qn: To what extent can the regulation of scientific or technological developments be justified? (Cam. 2014)

HDB aims to more than double solar capacity by 2030

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Incidentally, our minister had commented earlier that 'half of all hdb rooftops will have solar panels by 2020' [see HERE]