Singapore

Republic of Singapore
Flag
Location  Southeast Asia
Capital  Singapore
Area  697 sq km
Population  5,995,991

"There's no fool like an old fool"
(Proverb/Quote of the Week)

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January

January 1 Singapore became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), an organization commenced to deal with the rules of trade between nations, on 1 January 1995. January 2 January 3 January 4 January 5 January 6 January 7 Researchers from Singapore and England have created a new robot controller using game theory, allowing the robot to learn when to assist a human. The research was published in Nature Machine Intelligence on 7 January 2019. January 8 January 9 January 10 January 11 Singapore was presented with two awards - Singapore Changi Airport won the World's Leading Airport award and Pan Pacific Singapore won the World's Leading City Hotel award- at the grand final gala ceremony of the 18th World Travel Awards on 11 January 2012. January 12 Singaporean passport was ranked the most powerful passport in Asia and world's second-most powerful passport, according to the 2017 passport index published by Arton Capital, allowing its citizens visa-free access or a visa on arrival in 157 countries. January 13 January 14 January 15 January 16 January 17 January 18 January 19 January 20 January 21 January 22 A team of National University of Singapore (NUS) researchers has developed a novel medical device, named MRegen, capable of harnessing a magnetic field to make muscle rehabilitation quicker and more comfortable, as revealed on 22 January 2019. Singapore ranked second at the 2019 Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI), compiled by INSEAD global business school, that measures a nation's competitiveness based on the quality of talent it can develop, attract and retain. January 23 Biologists from the National University of Singapore have discovered a new crab species, dubbed Harryplax severus, in the deep coral reefs' rubble by the island of Guam, western Pacific Ocean. The discovery was detailed in the journal ZooKeys on 23 January 2017. Singapore was crowned as the fourteenth greenest country in the world according to the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2016 published by Yale University, Columbia University and the World Economic Forum. The EPI index ranks the performance of each nation in protection of human health from environmental harm and protection of ecosystems based on nine assessment areas that include air quality, climate and energy, forests and water resources. Singapore was ranked as the seventh most innovative country for 2014, with a total score of 86.07, according to the rankings released by Bloomberg on 23 January 2015. January 24 January 25 Singapore ranked as the sixth least corrupt nation in the world, according to the Global Corruption Index published by Transparency International on 25 January 2017. January 26 January 27 January 28 January 29 January 30 Singapore’s Ong Jia Wei on 30 January 2017 was named as one of the winners at the Google's annual coding competition Google Code-in (GCI). January 31

February

February 1 February 2 February 3 February 4 February 5 February 6 February 7 February 8 February 9 February 10 February 11 Dr Huanqian Loh from the National University of Singapore was recognised as one of the International Rising Talents at the 2020 L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award. February 12 February 13 February 14 February 15 Singaporean researchers have created water-resistant electronic skin with self-healing abilities, that can be used in everything from water-resistant touchscreens to aquatic soft robots, as revealed in the journal Nature Electronics on 15 February 2019. February 16 February 17 February 18 February 19 February 20 Singapore ranked as the world’s third safest country for the newborn with third lowest newborn mortality rates, according to an official report published by UNICEF on 20 February 2018. February 21 Singapore ranked as the sixth least corrupt country in the world according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index published on 21 February 2018. February 22 February 23 February 24 February 25 February 26 February 27 February 28 Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group jointly launched a research institute on AI technology, Alibaba's first joint research institute outside China, on 28 February 2018. February 29

March

March 1 March 2 March 3 Scientist from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have become the first in the world to print human skin that match our natural colours and pigmentation. The 3D printed skin can ultimately be used to help burn victims and diabetics, as revealed on 3 March 2018. March 4 March 5 A team of Singaporean and international team of scientists have re-discovered Jerdon’s babbler, a tiny bird thought to be extinct, in Myanmar. Previous confirmed sighting of the bird took place in 1941 and the recent rediscovery was reported on 5 March 2015. March 6 March 7 March 8 March 9 March 10 March 11 March 12 March 13 March 14 For the fifth year in a row Singapore's Changi Airport was named World's Best Airport at the annual Skytrax World Airport Awards published on 14 March 2017. March 15 March 16 March 17 Singapore's Changi Airport kept its title of World's Best Airport for the fourth year in a row at the World Airport Awards published by Skytrax on 17 March 2016. March 18 March 19 March 20 March 21 Singapore Changi Airport was named as the World's Best Airport by air travellers for the sixth consecutive year at the 2018 Skytrax World Airport Awards. Singapore and India won the 2014 edition of the UN-Water “Water for Life” Best Practices Award for their sustainable practices of water resources. March 22 March 23 March 24 March 25 March 26 Singaporean, Japanese and South Korean passports jointly ranked as the world's most powerful passports at the Henley Passport Index published on 26 March 2019. March 27 Yeo Yann Yann of Singapore won the award for Best Supporting Actress at the 8th annual Asian Film Awards in Macau on 27 March 2014. March 28 March 29 Patricia Miang Lon Ng from Singapore received a Unesco-L’Oreal International Fellowship for Young Women in Life Sciences on 29 March 2012 for her research on the challenge of re-engineering antibodies, the body’s main arm against infection, so that they become more effective in fighting disease. March 30 March 31

April

April 1 Students from Singapore have performed the best in the first Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assessment of creative problem-solving, according to the official result published on 1 April 2014. April 2 April 3 April 4 April 5 Restaurant André in Singapore was named as the World’s 14th Best Restaurant for 2017. April 6 April 7 April 8 April 9 April 10 April 11 April 12 Martina Lindsay Veloso of Singapore won gold in Women's 50m Rifle Prone Shooting at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. April 13 April 14 April 15 A team of researchers from Singapore has created a device called a shadow-effect energy generator (SEG), which makes use of the contrast in illumination between lit and shadowed areas to generate electricity. Their research breakthrough was reported in the scientific journal Energy & Environmental Science on 15 April 2020. April 16 April 17 Singaporean passport took top spot - in a tie with Germany - as the world’s strongest passport with both countries having a visa-free entry to 159 countries, according to the Global Passport Power Rank 2017. April 18 Vanessa Paranjothy of Singapore was named Commonwealth Young Person of the Year for Asia on 18 April 2018 for her initiative to provide underprivileged women with menstrual products in a buy-one-give-one model. April 19 April 20 Singapore's first micro-satellite, X-SAT, was launched into space on 20 April 2011 from a space center in Andhra Pradesh, India. The X-SAT was developed and built by the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) - in collaboration with Defense Science Organization (DSO) National Laboratories Singapore. April 21 Singaporean entry WILD CITY: FOREST LIFE won the gold award in Best Camerawork category at the 2020 New York Festivals TV & Film Awards. Professor Tommy Koh Thong Bee from Singapore was named one of the recipients of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Champions of the Earth Award on 21 April 2006. As President of Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (1980-1982) and as the Chairman of Preparatory Committee and of the Main Committee of the UN Conference on Environment and Development (1990-1992), Professor Koh has contributed greatly to promoting international environmental cooperation. These events are only two of Professor Koh's many contributions in the international environmental arena. April 22 April 23 April 24 April 25 April 26 April 27 Singaporean researchers and their international colleagues have discovered a new type of immune cell, named ductal macrophages, that helps to keep breast tissue healthy by regulating a vital process within mammary ducts. Their study was published in the journal Nature Cell Biology on 27 April 2020. April 28 April 29 April 30

May

May 1 Researchers from Singapore and Japan have developed a novel device to improve performance of underactive bladders. The device comprises a soft and thin sensor that monitors bladder volume continuously as well as an actuator equipped with high voiding efficiency to clear the bladder completely, as reported in the journal Science Advances on 1 May 2020. Researcher from Singapore and an international team of scientists have created a digital camera that mimics the eyes of fire ants. The curved cameras capture a wide field of view with nearly infinite depth perception. Their findings were published on 1 May 2013 in the journal Nature. May 2 National University of Singapore and University of Manchester researchers have shown possibilities of paint produced from wonder material Graphene that could power homes of the future. The breakthrough, published in the journal Science on 2 May 2013, could lead to electric energy that runs entire buildings generated by sunlight absorbed by its exposed walls. May 3 May 4 May 5 May 6 Singapore ranked as the eleventh most tourism-friendly country in the world in the 2015 World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index. May 7 May 8 May 9 May 10 May 11 Lim Kia Tong of Singapore was elected as a member of Fifa's Disciplinary Committee from Asia on 11 May 2017. May 12 Singapore Changi Airport was named as the World’s Best Airport in the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2020. May 13 Singapore topped the global school ranking published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as revealed on 13 May 2015. May 14 May 15 May 16 Shannon Xinjing Lee of Singapore received the 2014 Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award for developing a novel electrocatalyst that may be used for batteries of the future. May 17 May 18 May 19 May 20 May 21 May 22 A team of 3 from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the National Institute of Education (NIE) in Singapore on 22 May 2017 successfully reached the summit of the 8,848 metres high Mount Everest. May 23 A 29-year territorial dispute between Singapore and Malaysia ended on 23 May 2008 when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarded Pedra Branca to Singapore and Middle Rocks to Malaysia. May 24 May 25 May 26 Singaporean film Ilo Ilo directed by Anthony Chen won Camera d’Or for best first feature film at the 66th Cannes Film Festival on 26 May 2013, becoming first Singaporean movie to win at prestigious Cannes Film Festival. May 27 May 28 May 29 May 30 May 31

June

June 1 June 2 June 3 June 4 June 5 June 6 Singapore was ranked as the eighth most peaceful country in the world according to the 2018 Global Peace Index (GPI) produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). June 7 Singapore was ranked as the safest country in the world for 3rd consecutive year according to the annual Gallup Global Law and Order report published on 7 June 2018. June 8 June 9 June 10 National University of Singapore (NUS) ranked second at the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2015. June 11 June 12 June 13 The National Trade Platform, a trade information management platform developed in Singapore, won an award at the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) Prizes 2017 in the e-business category. Singapore on 13 June 2016 destroyed 7.9 tonnes of ivory confiscated over two years to try to deter smugglers, estimated to be worth about S$13 million. It was the first time that Singapore had crushed seized ivory. Sara Adam Ang of Singapore won the prestigious Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2014 in the regional category from Asia for her story A Day in the Death. June 14 June 15 June 16 June 17 Researchers from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore at the National University of Singapore have discovered a protein, death associated protein 3 (DAP3), that drives the growth of cancers of the esophagus or liver by altering the genetic code in a novel way. The findings were published in the scientific journal Science Advances on 17 June 2020. June 18 June 19 June 20 The National University of Singapore (NUS) claimed the top spot at the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2016. June 21 June 22 Jack Sim, founder of the Restroom Association of Singapore, received the 2018 Luxembourg Peace Prize in the Outstanding Peace Activist category for his vision to create a world with a clean, safe toilet for everyone, everywhere at all times. June 23 June 24 June 25 June 26 June 27 June 28 Singaporean singer-songwriter JJ Lam was crowned Best Mandarin Male Singer title at the 2014 Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan for his album Stories Untold. June 29 Yunquan Qin of Singapore received the 2017 Queen’s Young Leaders Award for being active in giving vulnerable Asian groups, including women and children, the power of self-defence. June 30 Singapore on 30 June 2014 launched two new satellites, VELOX-I and VELOX-PIII, into space from the spaceport of Sriharikota, India.

July

July 1 July 2 July 3 July 4 Singapore‘s Botanic Gardens was recognized by UNESCO as the country’s first ever World Heritage Site on 4 July 2015. July 5 July 6 July 7 July 8 July 9 Singapore and the Seychelles islands on 9 July 2014 signed a double taxation avoidance agreement, which will allow businesses operating in the two countries to pay tax in one of the jurisdictions and avoid taxation in the other, which is expected to encourage trade and investment between the two countries. July 10 July 11 A team of international scientists, including researchers from Singapore, has developed the world's first vaccine against dengue fever seen to provide moderate protection in large-scale trials. Their study was published in the Lancet journal on 11 July 2014. July 12 July 13 Singaporean students won three gold, two silver and one bronze medals in the prestigious 2014 International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) held in Cape Town, South Africa. July 14 July 15 A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed a novel robotic system integrated with event-driven artificial skin and vision sensors to carry out complex tasks, as revealed on 15 July 2020. July 16 July 17 July 18 Singapore Airlines was named as the World's Best Airline at the prestigious 2018 Skytrax World Airline Awards. July 19 Singapore ranked seventh at the 2018 United Nations (UN) E-Government Survey, which measures countries’ use of information and communications technologies to deliver public services. July 20 July 21 July 22 July 23 July 24 July 25 Teo Shun Xie won the first gold medal for Singapore at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the 10m Air Pistol event. July 26 July 27 July 28 July 29 July 30 July 31

August

August 1 August 2 August 3 Singapore ranked second in Asia at the United Nations E-Government Survey 2016, indicating its ability to provide government services and information through the Internet. August 4 August 5 August 6 August 7 August 8 August 9 National or Independence Day of Singapore. Singapore obtained independence from Malaysia in 1965. August 10 August 11 Singapore began destroying nine tonnes of seized ivory on 11 August 2020 including contraband tusks that came from more than 300 African elephants. August 12 Joseph Isaac Schooling won Singapore's first-ever Olympic gold medal with 100m butterfly swimming victory at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games with an Olympic Record time 50.39s. August 13 August 14 The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics games, the first ever Youth Olympics, were proudly hosted by Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010. August 15 August 16 August 17 August 18 August 19 August 20 August 21 August 22 August 23 August 24 August 25 Singapore became the first country in the world to launch a self-driving taxi service trial on 25 August 2016. August 26 August 27 Singapore clinched gold in Men's Team Bridge event at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia on 27 August 2018. August 28 August 29 Singapore sailing duo Cecilia Low and Kimberly Lim secured gold in 49er FX Women category at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia on 29 August 2018. August 30 August 31 Researchers from Singapore and the USA have devised a way to use magnetic resonance relaxometry (MRR), a close cousin of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to detect a parasitic waste product in the blood of malaria infected patients. This technique could offer a more reliable and cheap way to detect malaria, as published in the journal Nature Medicine on 31 August 2014.

September

September 1 September 2 Singapore ranked as the eighth most innovative country in the world according to the 2020 Global Innovation Index, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization on 2 September 2020. September 3 Singapore ranked second most competitive economy for the fourth consecutive year, according to a ranking published on 3 September 2014 by the World Economic Forum. September 4 Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore won the 2013 Golden World Award in the Publications category for its integrated magazine HEY!. The Golden World Awards, international public relations excellence awards, are organised annually by the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) based in London. September 5 September 6 September 7 September 8 September 9 Pin Xiu Yip of Singapore won Women's 100m Backstroke - S2 - Swimming gold at the 2016 Rio Paralympics in Brazil. September 10 September 11 September 12 Researchers in Singapore have developed a new protein named iCas that can alter DNA in living cells with much higher precision than current methods. The ability to alter DNA accurately will open more doors in the development of personalized medicine as reported in the journal Nature Chemical Biology 12 September 2016. A new Creative Productivity Index developed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked Singapore as the eighth most efficient country in the Asia and Pacific region at turning creative inputs into tangible innovation, as revealed on 12 September 2014. September 13 Halimah Yacob, former speaker of parliament, was elected as Singapore's first woman president on 13 September 2017. September 14 September 15 September 16 September 17 Two Singaporean restaurants, Odette and Les Amis, were awarded the maximum three Michelin stars for the first time ever on 17 September 2019, by the French-based prestigious food guide Michelin Guide. September 18 September 19 September 20 September 21 Girish Kumar of Singapore won the Google Technologist Award at the 2015 Google Science Fair for helping improve learning through auto-generated study questions. September 22 September 23 Researchers in Singapore have devised 'Trojan horse' approach to kill cancer cells without using drugs that causes cancer cells to self-destruct, as revealed on 23 September 2020. September 24 September 25 September 26 Singapore ranked as the world’s third most competitive economy, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report published on 26 September 2017. This report identifies the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country. September 27 September 28 September 29 September 30 Singapore ranked as the second most competitive country in the world, according to a World Economic Forum report released on 30 September 2015. This report, provides insight into the drivers of a country’s productivity and prosperity, suggests Singapore has been nurturing innovation and talent.

October

October 1 October 2 October 3 October 4 October 5 October 6 October 7 October 8 Singapore Airlines made it to the top 10 list of Best First Class, Best Business Class, Best Premium Economy and Best Long Haul Economy Class published by AirlineRatings.com on 8 October 2015. October 9 The World Economic Forum rated Singapore as the world's most economically competitive country, according to the Global Competitiveness Report published on 9 October 2019. October 10 October 11 Singapore topped the World Bank Group's Human Capital Index – a measure of youth mortality, schooling and health - published on 11 October 2018. October 12 Singapore Airlines inaugurated world's longest passenger flight, approximately 18 hours long, between Singapore and New York on 12 October 2018. October 13 The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) launched the third of eight locally built new Littoral Mission Vessel (LMV) warships - named Unity - on 13 October 2016. October 14 October 15 October 16 October 17 October 18 October 19 Singapore on 19 October 2018 signed a landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union aimed at improving market access across many sectors. October 20 October 21 Singapore topped Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2015 list, as announced on 21 October 2014. This is the first time that Singapore has made it to this annual list of best destinations. October 22 October 23 A joint international research team, including researchers from Singapore, has described a new songbird species — the Rote Leaf-Warbler Phylloscopus rotiensis named after Rote, Indonesia where it was found. The discovery was published in the journal Scientific Reports on 23 October 2018. October 24 Singapore ranked second in the Doing Business Index published by the World Bank Group on 24 October 2019 indicating how easy it is to start and do business in the country. Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore on 24 October 2013 launched a new electron microscopy lab, NTU Cryo-Electron Microscopy Laboratory, the world’s first university research facility to be equipped with an advanced cryo transmission electron microscope fitted with the latest detector/camera ten times more sensitive than a regular electron microscopy camera. This paves the way for a more detailed understanding of important biological processes in human health and disease. October 25 October 26 October 27 James Guo Sheng Moo of Singapore was awarded the 2016 Green Talent prize by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research for his research focus on nanorobotics for environmental monitoring and remediation. October 28 Singapore was named as the most business-friendly economy in the world, according to the Doing Business 2015 rankings by the World Bank published on 28 October 2014. October 29 October 30 October 31

November

November 1 Singapore ranked as the ninth most positive country at the World’s Most Positive Countries 2019. Singapore ranked as the seventh most positive country at the World’s Most Positive Countries 2018. Singapore ranked as the seventh most positive country at the World’s Most Positive Countries 2016. Singapore ranked as the ninth most positive country at the World’s Most Positive Countries 2015. November 2 Professor Wang Rong and Professor Anthony Fane from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore were awarded the prestigious Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water on 2 November 2016 for the development and application of novel forward osmosis hollow fibre membranes. November 3 November 4 November 5 November 6 A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Singapore has developed an eyepatch with dissolvable needles for use in treating eye diseases, as revealed in the journal Nature Communications on 6 November 2018. November 7 Singapore signed a free trade deal with Taiwan on 7 November 2013. The agreement is likely to eliminate or remove most tariffs on exports between the countries when it enters into force. November 8 Jun Wei Lim of Singapore was awarded the 2013 Green Talents Award in Berlin for her research focus in optimizing an anaerobic co-digestion process of brown water and food waste for clean energy recovery. November 9 November 10 Scientists from Singapore and their international colleagues have recognized a particular form of the HLA-DRB1 gene that may provide better protection against typhoid fever, which infects millions of people each year. The discovery, described in Nature Genetics on 10 November 2014, is expected to lead to improvements in the rational design of vaccines for this and other bacterial infections. November 11 November 12 November 13 November 14 November 15 November 16 November 17 November 18 November 19 November 20 Singapore named best place in the world to do business for seventh year running, according to the annual research report published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) on 20 November 2014. November 21 November 22 November 23 Singaporean family drama "Ilo Ilo" won the best feature film prize at the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan 23 November 2013. “Ilo Ilo,” about a Filipino maid’s awkward relationship with her employers during the Asiam Financial Crisis, won various other awards at the ceremony. November 24 November 25 November 26 November 27 Singapore’s first brain bank, named Brain Bank Singapore, aims to be a research repository for brain and spinal cord tissues from donors who have passed away, was officially launched on 27 November 2019 as reported by the Nanyang Technological University. November 28 Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) won a total of five awards at the Asian Digital Media Awards 2012 organized by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) in conjunction with the fourth Digital Media Asia Conference. November 29 Singaporean students topped the global ranking in maths and science, according to the International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) released on 29 November 2016. November 30

December

December 1 December 2 December 3 December 4 December 5 December 6 Singapore topped the 2016 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) global education survey, which evaluates the quality, equity and efficiency of school systems. December 7 December 8 December 9 December 10 December 11 December 12 Singapore Changi Airport was awarded the title of the World's Leading Airport at the World Travel Awards (WTA) Grand Final 2015 in Morocco. Singaporean film director Anthony Chen won the Achievement in Directing award for his touching debut feature film Ilo Ilo at the seventh annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards, the region’s highest accolade in film, announced at a ceremony in Brisbane, Australia on 12 December 2013. December 13 December 14 December 15 December 16 The European Union and Singapore on 16 December 2012 agreed to terms of a free trade deal, aimed at enhancing bilateral economic relations. December 17 December 18 December 19 December 20 December 21 December 22 December 23 December 24 December 25 December 26 December 27 December 28 December 29 December 30 December 31

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