TODAY’s brief, Friday, April 29

Bukit Batok by-election rallies
The first rallies for the Bukit Batok by-election will take place on Friday evening, as both camps kick their campaigning into high gear ahead of the long weekend. The People’s Action Party rally will be held at Bukit Gombak Stadium, from 7pm to 10pm. The party’s candidate Murali Pillai posted on his Facebook page that Culture, Community and Youth Minister Grace Fu and Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob will be among the rally speakers. The Singapore Democratic Party rally will be concurrently held at the open field along Bukit Batok Industrial Park A, in what it plans to be the first of four rallies held on alternate days.

NTUC hosts May Day dinner
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) will be holding its annual May Day dinner at Orchid Country Club on Friday evening, with NTUC secretary general Chan Chun Sing expected to address an audience of some 1,600 guests, among them unionists, senior government officials and management representatives. The dinner kicks off the labour movement’s May Day celebrations, which include the annual May Day Rally on Sunday, where Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will deliver a speech. Other events will be also be held during May for migrant workers and union members and their families.

Japanese Foreign Minister in China
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida travels to China on Friday in a bid to restore momentum to ties between Asia’s two largest economies amid disagreements over territorial sovereignty. Mr Kishida is set to meet his counterpart Wang Yi and other senior officials during the visit — the first by a Japanese foreign minister in four-and-a-half years. No Chinese foreign minister has visited Japan since November 2009.

Iranian parliamentary elections
Nearly a quarter of Iran’s parliamentary seats are at stake on Friday in an election in which reformists want to consolidate their recent comeback and minimise the clout of hardline lawmakers. The second round run-offs were triggered because neither the conservatives nor reformists have a clear majority in the 290-seat parliament. No candidate in 68 constituencies managed to win 25 per cent of votes cast in the initial nationwide ballot on February 26.

Weather forecast
Thundery showers mainly over northern, western and central Singapore in the afternoon, with temperatures ranging from 25°C to 34°C.