World
Lawrence Wong set to take centre stage as Singapore’s new prime minister
Singapore – For the first time in 20 years, Singapore will inaugurate a new prime minister, Minister for Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who will take the reins of power in a ceremony on Wednesday, May 15.
The 51-year-old will replace Lee Hsien Loong – the eldest son of the country’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew – who has been in the job since August 2004.
Wong is only the fourth leader in Singapore’s 59-year history as an independent nation. Like his predecessors, he is a member of the People’s Action Party (PAP), co-founded by the elder Lee and the only ruling party Singaporeans have ever known.
The stage is now set for a general election in the city-state of 6 million people, which observers say could be held as early as this year, although the term of the current government does not expire until 2025.
At the last election in 2020, the PAP secured more than 61 percent of the vote, losing just 10 seats in the 98-member parliament to the opposition, but this was considered a sub-par performance given the opposition had won only six seats in the previous parliament.
The stakes are higher now, and a new leader is traditionally expected to gain a strong mandate from voters. Wong will be tasked with maintaining the dominance of the PAP in the face of an increasingly demanding electorate who want a greater say in governance and eschew the knuckleduster tactics and paternalistic politics of previous governments.
They are also tiring of the rat race, which Wong himself has acknowledged.
Among the most pressing issues on his plate: tackling the rising cost of living, an ageing population, a slowing economy and immigration. The PAP has also been rocked by a rare corruption scandal.
In addition, Wong must navigate the ever-present China-United States rivalry as the tiny island is a key ally to both superpowers.
Who is Lawrence Wong?
The mild-mannered Wong was selected by his peers among the “4G”, or fourth generation of leaders in Singapore’s political jargon, to be a successor to 72-year-old Lee in April 2022.
Something of a compromise candidate, he was not their first choice.
That was former central bank chief and Minister for Education Heng Swee Keat, 63, who had been appointed to succeed Lee in 2018. In a country renowned for its political stability, Heng sparked a mini political crisis by stepping aside two and a half years later, citing his age and admitting that he had not felt up to the task from the start.
Unlike many of his PAP peers, Wong did not come from the island’s establishment or attend its top schools. Going to university in the US on a government scholarship, he started out as an economist in the trade and industry ministry before entering politics in 2011.
After stints as a minister in less glamorous portfolios such as national development, he was not considered a potential prime minister, but the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything.
As co-leader of the country’s COVID-19 task force, Wong emerged as the public face of the government’s pandemic response, adroitly fielding questions from foreign media outlets in televised news conferences. Such events are a rarity in a country that performs dismally in the annual World Press Freedom rankings – Singapore was ranked 126th out of 180 countries and territories this year.
“Mr Wong is seen as a technocrat, [who is] friendly and approachable. He delivered well for the COVID-19 crisis, so he can be viewed as competent,” said former PAP lawmaker Inderjit Singh, who served alongside Lee in his central Ang Mo Kio ward for two decades.
Noting that Wong was only chosen two years ago after a period of political uncertainty, he added: “Anyone in his position will have his work cut out to show that he is indeed the right leader. He has a big task to quickly show that he is indeed the right person who can deliver.”
Leadership succession
Historically, leadership succession in Singapore has been a well-oiled process, with the heir apparent announced well in advance and groomed for years. This has been facilitated by a sterling record of governance, the PAP’s longstanding parliamentary supermajority – at its peak, there were no opposition lawmakers – and its dominance of key institutions.
Heng’s sudden departure was therefore unprecedented. Wong will also have the shortest runway of all – he became Lee’s deputy just two months after being anointed his successor. By comparison, the younger Lee served as deputy prime minister for 14 years before taking over the top job.
This perhaps explains Minister of Law and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam’s prickly response to what he termed a “sneering” commentary in The Economist last month, which labelled Wong a compromise candidate and the Singapore media “docile”. Weeks later, the United Kingdom weekly conducted a wide-ranging interview with Wong where he stressed that as prime minister, he would not shy away from making unpopular decisions.
“Wong comes across as being very personable. He doesn’t portray the image of a hardliner,” said former newspaper editor PN Balji, who interacted extensively with Wong’s predecessors. While he is optimistic that Wong will come to prove himself, he added: “If you look at the leadership from Lee Kuan Yew till now, the quality of leadership has declined somewhat.”
Perhaps this is why Lee Hsien Loong is not going away – he will remain in the cabinet with the title of senior minister, just as his predecessors did.
“Given the short runway, I think Wong will benefit from [Lee’s] presence, especially in helping keep [good] external relations,” said Singh.
What do Singaporeans think of him?
Despite his increased profile during the pandemic, the guitar-playing, dog-loving, social media-friendly Wong remains something of an unknown quantity to Singaporeans.
According to a recent YouGov poll, just more than half of respondents considered him competent, with less than a third agreeing that he was a strong leader. Some 40 percent said he seemed trustworthy, a number that was significantly higher among Gen Z respondents. A fifth felt hopeful about Wong’s appointment, while 36 percent stated indifference.
Many also indicated high expectations for the incoming prime minister, perhaps reflecting the fact that Singapore’s government leaders are the world’s highest-paid, with the prime minister taking home 2.2 million Singapore dollars ($1.6m) a year including bonuses.
“Wong’s biggest challenge in the short term will be to articulate an easy-to-understand, inclusive, and progressive political vision that will draw widespread support for his government in the upcoming elections,” Elvin Ong, an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore’s political science department, told Al Jazeera.
Wong, who has stressed that he did not seek out the role or expect to become leader, is certainly working hard to win over the electorate. “Every ounce of my energy shall be devoted to the service of our country and our people,” he said in a post to his 200,000-odd Instagram followers after the handover date was announced. “Your dreams will inspire my actions.”
Calling Singapore the “improbable, unlikely nation”, he told The Economist: “My mission is to keep this miracle going for as long as I can.”
World
How Sheila the three-wheeler dodged danger on a record 14,000-mile journey to tip of South Africa
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Englishman Ollie Jenks remembers when his friend first pitched the idea to him.
“It was so ridiculous I couldn’t say no,” Jenks said.
The proposal by Canadian buddy Seth Scott, a fellow lover of cars and crazy adventures, was for them to drive a decades-old British-made Reliant Robin car from London to the southern tip of Africa — a 14,000-mile (22,500-kilometer) journey through 22 countries — to set a record for the longest trip in a three-wheeled vehicle.
Reliant Robins have cultlike status in the U.K. as humble three-wheelers that, in Jenks’ words, were designed to go to the shops and back in 1970s Britain. They went out of production in the early 2000s but remain loved in British culture, especially after a Reliant appeared as the Trotter brothers’ trusty but battered yellow van in the hugely popular sitcom “Only Fools and Horses.”
Yet you couldn’t find a less suitable vehicle to take thousands of miles through tropical jungles, mountain ranges and deserts down the west side of Africa. And that’s precisely why Jenks went for the absurd plan.
Sheila the three-wheeler
Sheila, the silver three-wheeler — one of the last Reliant Robins to be built — was acquired specifically for the adventure. Jenks and Scott set off in October with a can of fuel and a few essential supplies strapped to Sheila’s small roof, and a large amount of blind hope that they would somehow make it to Cape Town, South Africa, near the bottom of the world.
“No power steering, no air con, and it doesn’t do well up hills or down them. It is the most unsuitable car for probably any journey,” Jenks said in an unkind assessment of Sheila’s abilities. “We made friends with the designer of this car, and he’s scared to take it any more than 20 miles.”
Jenks and Scott ignored all the advice and took Sheila on the epic journey over four-and-a-half months that cost in the region of $40,000 to $50,000, Jenks said. They had help from sponsors and crowd funding, and documented the journey on an Instagram page that pulled in nearly 100,000 followers under the title: “14,000 miles, 3 wheels, 0 common sense.”
Attempted coups and airstrikes
They arrived in Benin during an attempted coup. They skirted through northern Nigeria as the U.S. launched airstrikes on Islamic State targets. They were given a military escort for about 300 miles (480 kilometers) through a region of separatist violence in Cameroon.
“Imagine this car in a military convoy,” Jenks said.
And there were many brushes with traffic-related danger, including when an overtaking bus almost flattened Sheila against a cliff face in Congo.
True to form that Reliants are sometimes not so reliable, there were also countless breakdowns on the punishing roads.
Sheila needed her wheel springs replaced in the first two weeks. The gearbox broke in Ghana, leaving them with only fourth gear. In Cameroon, there were clutch and distributor problems and then the big one: the engine blew up.
Through all the technical problems, the kindness of strangers and the intrepidness of Jenks and Scott kept them going. One man got a new gearbox shipped to Ghana. Reliant enthusiasts in the U.K. helped find a new engine to send to Cameroon.
After one breakdown, people helped load Sheila onto a cattle truck so she could be taken to a garage. Mechanics across the continent screwed, hammered and welded Sheila to keep her together, sometimes shaking their heads at the madness of it all.
Where no Reliant Robin has gone before
But there were also majestic moments, the kind that Jenks and Scott had envisioned to make it all worth it.
Sheila cruised through stunning mountain ranges and vast deserts — where surely no Reliant Robin has gone before. She went on safari, driving alongside galloping giraffes, spotting endangered rhinos, and posing for a picture next to a giant elephant.
More than 120 days after setting off, she rattled into Cape Town last month on an engine that began badly overheating in the Namibian desert and had been touch and go for about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers).
“This is a great underdog story,” said Graeme Hurst, a South African car lover who followed them on Instagram and came to see Sheila. “I see the farcical kind of comical nature of it … but also the sheer admiration. I mean, they have utter tenacity.”
In South Africa, Sheila was put on temporary display in a showroom for high-end cars and was the center of attention ahead of the glittering Porsches and Mercedes, showing off her broken side window, her petrol-stained windshield, her bent tire rims, and her countless dents and scratches.
She will rest now and be given the thorough service she deserves, Jenks said. Eventually, she’ll be driven to Kenya, put on a ship to Turkey, then make one last trip back to the U.K. to find a home at the London Transport Museum.
Jenks said he felt triumphant after reaching Cape Town, but relieved to have survived and finally be out of the tiny two-seater.
“It was like driving a motorized coffin,” he said.
___
AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
World
Pope Leo urges Africans to stay and ‘serve your country’ instead of migrating as displacement climbs
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Pope Leo XIV last Friday urged African youth to work toward improving their own countries rather than migrating elsewhere in search of better opportunities.
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church directed his remarks to university students at the Catholic University of Central Africa in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, during an 11-day apostolic journey in Africa.
“In the face of the understandable tendency to migrate — which may lead one to believe that elsewhere a better future may be more easily found — I invite you, first and foremost, to respond with an ardent desire to serve your country and to apply the knowledge you are acquiring here to the benefit of your fellow citizens,” Leo said.
While displacement in Africa has steadily increased in recent years amid economic and political challenges, Leo said each country’s rising generations should be “committed to society,” reflect their nations’ needs and confront systemic issues at home.
BISHOP ROBERT BARRON: WHAT LEO’S CHOICE OF NAME TELLS US ABOUT THE NEW POPE
Pope Leo XIV speaks as he meets with the community of Bamenda at Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in Bamenda on the fourth day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa April 16, 2026. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)
“Africa, indeed, must be freed from the scourge of corruption. For young people, this awareness must take root from their years of formation,” he said.
“These are the witnesses of wisdom and justice, of which the African continent needs.”
He added that through education and spiritual formation, “you learn to become builders of the future of your respective countries and of a world that is more just and humane.”
POPE LEO SAYS HE’S UNAFRAID OF THE TRUMP ADMIN AFTER PRESIDENT CALLS HIM ‘TERRIBLE’ ON FOREIGN POLICY
Pope Leo XIV delivers a speech during his visit to Central African Catholic University as part of his Africa tour April 17, 2026, in Yaoundé, Cameroon. (Ahmet Emin Donmez/Anadolu)
According to the World Migration Report, most of Africa’s displacement occurs internally within the continent, with 21 million Africans recorded as living in another African country in 2020.
Overseas African migration has also steadily increased, with figures more than doubling between 1990 and 2020.
In 2020, roughly 11 million Africans reportedly migrated to Europe, 5 million to Asia and 3 million to Northern America.
MORNING GLORY: LEO’S LAUNCH
Pope Leo XIV visits Central African Catholic University as part of his Africa tour April 17, 2026, in Yaoundé, Cameroon. (Ahmet Emin Donmez/Anadolu)
The causes of displacement are largely attributed to political conflict, corruption, violence and economic hardship, including widespread poverty.
These factors are particularly pronounced in countries such as Somalia, one of Africa’s largest sources of refugees; Nigeria, which is riddled with natural disasters and economic pressures; and Sudan’s surrounding areas, where civil war, political instability and food insecurity have driven large-scale displacement.
The Pope’s remarks come just days after President Donald Trump criticized Leo on Truth Social, calling him “weak on crime, and terrible for foreign policy.”
The backlash followed the pontiff’s criticism of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and his appeal for a return to peace.
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Tensions between the two boiled over several days before the Pope said last Saturday that it was “not in my interest at all” to debate the president.
Leo has insisted that his position is focused on bridging divides among nations and promoting peace and reconciliation.
Lebanon’s disaster management unit raises the death toll from weeks of Israeli attacks to 2,454, with 7,658 people injured.
Published On 22 Apr 2026
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