700 in Singapore hold vigil for Orlando gay club shooting victims

SINGAPORE — Singaporeans have been brought together by the shocking mass shooting over the weekend that killed at least 50 at a gay club in Orlando, Florida.

On Tuesday evening, more than 700 people came to a candlelight vigil for the victims. They held up glow sticks because open flames are not allowed in parks here.

IMAGE: WONG MAYE-E/AP

The organiser, GLBT Voices Singapore, said the turnout was larger than expected, given that word about the event had only been sent a little over 24 hours prior.

It held the gathering at Hong Lim Park — the site of the annual Pink Dot pride picnic — for which it had to get a licence from the government. Hong Lim Park is the only allocated "free speech" area in Singapore, and people who want to use it for rallies or speeches need to get it cleared by the authorities beforehand.

IMAGE: WONG MAYE-E/AP

GLBT Voices noted that the speaking permit was issued promptly by the government, and that it received an outpouring of warm responses from attendees on its Facebook event page.

The shooting has been rattling for the LGBTQ community in Singapore — a fairly repressed group in the conservative country.

Shortly after the shooting, netizens noticed a Facebook comment from a Bryan Lim made earlier this month, where he wrote on an anti-Pink Dot Facebook page that he wanted to "open fire" on "these £@€$^*s" — taken to mean the attendees at the event.

Lim later appeared to retract what he said, saying it wasn't directed at the LGBTQ attendees at Pink Dot, but not before the police and his employer, Canon Singapore, both said they were looking into the matter.

On Tuesday evening, Singapore's Minister for Home Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam, posted on his Facebook page, where he said the government would act "decisively" to quell any threat or violence against any person or group.

He said: "The Government's duty is to protect everyone. Their race, their religion, their sexual orientation — these are not relevant in terms of the Government’s duty to protect.

"... We, as Singaporeans, have to come together, unite together to fight this terror."

The minister made the post after attending an Iftar at a mosque here, the evening meal for Muslims during the Ramadan month where they end their daily fast at sunset. 

Also on Tuesday night, another gathering for the Orlando victims was held in Tokyo's Shinjuku district, which drew a crowd of over 130 people.

The event was held at Ni-chome in Shinjuku, where many of Tokyo's gay-friendly bars are located. During an open mic session, many of the attendees expressed their sadness and anger at the lives lost during the shooting.

IMAGE: WONG MAYE-E/AP

Tamir Rice shooting: Cleveland agrees $6m settlement

The US city of Cleveland has agreed to pay $6m (£4.14m) to the family of 12-year-old black boy Tamir Rice, who was shot and killed by police in 2014.

He was playing with a pellet gun outside a recreation centre when he was shot by a white police officer.

A grand jury declined to bring charges against the police.

Rice's death sparked protests in Cleveland at a time when the deaths of black men at the hands of police had sparked a national debate.

It became a focal point for the "Black Lives Matter" movement.

An order filed in the US District Court in Cleveland says the parties in the case have agreed on the sum of $6m - half to be paid in 2016 and the remainder next year.

The estate of Tamir Rice receives $5.5m, with $250,000 going to his mother, Samaria, and $250,000 to a recipient listed as TR.

The settlement carries no admissions of any wrongdoing.

Video of the incident showed a police cruiser pulling up close to the boy outside the centre on 22 November 2014.

One of the two police officers inside, rookie patrolman Timothy Loehmann, jumps out and fires his service weapon twice. Tamir Rice died the next day.

Police maintained that the pellet gun had looked real and that they had asked him to raise his hands three times.

The shooting incident lasted just two seconds, and Tamir's family said the video footage showed the police had acted too quickly.

Although a grand jury declined to bring charges, the US Department of Justice is investigating any possible infringement of federal civil rights.

Analysts say the settlement shows neither the Rice family nor the city wanted to pursue a high-profile and potentially long-lasting legal case.