SINGAPORE: What does Inuka the polar bear have in common with the Trump-Kim summit?
The bear from the Singapore Zoo and the historic summit were both among the top trending local news topics in Singapore for 2018, according to Google Trends.
Following the historic Singapore summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, progress on North Korea’s denuclearisation has stalled, with both sides accusing each other of acting in bad faith AFP/SAUL LOEB
The Trump-Kim summit, the historical event in June that saw US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meeting for the first time, topped local news topic trends in Singapore this year.
The Summit made global headlines as both leaders signed a document in which both committed to work towards the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
According to Google Trends, there was a sustained interest in the topic over the year, although there was a drastic jump in May and June.
From politics to Hollywood, the hugely popular movie Crazy Rich Asians came in second for trending local news, with a heightened interest in August – when the movie premiered.
The Aug 7 premiere was a momentous event for Singapore as it was the first time a contingent of local talent were in the spotlight in Hollywood.
The movie was also the first major Hollywood studio movie in years to feature an all-Asian cast – a game-changer for Hollywood in terms of diversity.
The cast at the Singapore premiere for Crazy Rich Asians at the Capitol Theatre on Aug 21, 2018. (Photo: Genevieve Loh)
Aside from local news stories, Google Trends also provided an insight into what Internet users in Singapore frequently searched for.
With France winning the World Cup in a gripping fashion and the German defending champions crashing out, the action-packed football event topped the list of trending searches in Singapore.
France’s forward Kylian Mbappe kisses the World Cup trophy after France beat Croatia 4-2 in the Moscow final on July 15 AFP
The Malaysian general elections came in second on the list. Malaysian Prime Minister Mohamad Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan pulled off an unprecedented victory that brought Barisan Nasional’s decades-long domination in Malaysian politics to a sudden end in May.
Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad celebrates with other leaders of his Pakatan Harapan coalition during a press conference following the 14th general elections in Kuala Lumpur on early May 10, 2018. (Photo: AFP/Manan Vatsyayana)
Supporters of Pakatan Harapan outside the national palace following the coalition’s victory during the 14th Malaysia general elections. (Photo: AFP/Manan Vatsayana)
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who suffered a shock defeat in the elections in May and has been embroiled in the 1MDB corruption saga, was fourth on the list of top trending searches in Singapore.
But there was slightly more interest in this year’s Australian Open, which came in third.
Stan Lee rose through the ranks to become a comics writer, and eventually led the Marvel empire for decades as its publisher (Photo: AFP/Behrouz MEHRI)
The fifth on the list of top trending searches in Singapore in 2018 was the death of Stan Lee, creator of Spider-Man and other Marvel superheroes. He died at the age of 95.
It was a year in which we lost prominent personalities in entertainment, fashion, literature and food. CNA Lifestyle looks back at them all, from Stephen Hawking to Stan Lee.
On a global scale, Google Trends noted that the world searched for feel-good, uplifting stories, including the heroic rescue of the Thai under-16 football team from a cave and India overturning a ban on gay sex.
Since the ‘Wild Boars’ were freed from the Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand two months ago, there has been a frenzy of media interest in the feel-good rescue tale AFP/Lillian SUWANRUMPHA
