To protect one of the highest-profile diplomatic events so far this century, Singapore has enlisted the help of its fearsome Nepalese fighters whose large curved knives, according to custom, must "taste blood" whenever they're drawn.
Wearing brown berets and equipped with body armor and assault rifles, the elite Gurkha police officers are a conspicuous part of the enveloping security force Singapore has deployed for Tuesday's summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Gurkha police officers stand guard outside the St. Regis Hotel in Singapore, Monday, June 11, 2018, ahead of the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (AP Photo/Yong Teck Lim)
The meeting, which could prove to be a crucial moment in the global diplomatic push to resolve the nuclear standoff with Pyongyang, has sent the highly manicured city-state into security overdrive. Trump and Kim have brought their own personal security personnel and heavily armored limousines; Kim's bodyguards have been seen running in formation alongside his massive Mercedes.
Selected among young men from impoverished Nepal, Gurkhas have been part of Singapore's police force since 1949. There are reportedly about 1,800 Gurkha officers in Singapore, and they are a regular presence at high-security events. On Monday, they were seen standing guard at the heavily fortified St. Regis Singapore, where Kim arrived Sunday afternoon.
FILE - In this June 10, 2018, file photo, Gurkha police officers guard the perimeter of the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore ahead of the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (AP Photo/Yong Teck Lim, File)
"This is a moment of pride to see the Gurkhas responsible for guarding such an important event," said Krishna Kumar Ale, who served for 37 years in the British army before retiring back home in Nepal. "It shows that we Gurkhas have reached a point where we are trusted with the security of two of the most important people in the world."
In 2015, during the Shangri-la Dialogue, a Singapore summit that includes defense ministers and top security officials from around the world, a Gurkha officer shot and killed a driver after his car breached a series of roadblocks outside the summit's venue. The incident turned out to be drug-related, not an attack.
When asked about the scale of security operations for the summit, Singapore's Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said Sunday that more than 5,000 police had been deployed. The Gurkha Contingent is a special police unit inside the force.
FILE - In this June 10, 2018, file photo, Gurkha police officers stand guard outside the St. Regis Hotel in Singapore ahead of the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (AP Photo/Yong Teck Lim, File)
"I think the fact that it had to be put together in two weeks ... added tremendously to the pressure and logistics, the demands. But I think the officers have worked around the clock, we are quietly confident that they have put in place the preparations," he said.
Singapore is not new to hosting high-profile events, including International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group meetings, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations summits in 2007 and 2018.
Gurkhas, whose name derives from the Nepalese hill town of Gorkha, have been deployed in major conflicts and wars since becoming part of the British army in the 19th century. More than 200,000 Gurkhas fought in the two world wars, where they won admiration for their combat skills and bravery, living up to their traditional motto "It's better to die than to be a coward." Gurkhas also fought in the Falklands conflict, the Gulf War, Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
The British experienced Gurkhas' fierceness firsthand after suffering heavy losses during their invasion of Nepal. A peace deal signed by the British East India Company in 1815 allowed Britain to recruit troops from Nepal.
After Indian independence in 1947, Britain, Nepal and India reached an agreement to transfer four Gurkha regiments to the Indian army. Former British colonies Singapore and Malaysia have also employed Gurkhas for their police and army, respectively.
In Nepal, getting picked to serve as Gurkha soldiers and officers overseas is seen as a ticket out of poverty. According to Nepal's Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen Organization, over 10,000 applicants try out every year for about 260 places in the British army's Gurkha units. Many train for months for the selection process, which includes a grueling "doko" race, which involves carrying 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of sand while running a steep 4.2-kilometer (2.6-mile) uphill course.
Along with their modern weapons, Gurkhas still carry the traditional "kukri," a long curved knife which tradition says must "ragat khaikana" — taste blood — once it is drawn.
"That is no longer the current practice ... mostly," said the Gurkhas Australia website.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Sean Strickland won UFC’s 185-pound championship for the second time in his career on Saturday night, defeating Khamzat Chimaev via split decision in a bout that never rose to the level of vitriol and threats of violence outside the cage both fighters engaged in ahead of the main event of UFC 328.
Strickland won two scorecards 48-47 while Chimaev took the other scorecard at 48-47 in front of a crowd of 17,783 fans at the Prudential Center.
Strickland, the second former middleweight to regain the title, mimed putting the belt around his waist after the fifth round ended to wrap a fight where neither fighter ever seemed in serious danger. He had help with his shiny new fashion accessory when Chimaev did the honors for him inside the cage.
“I should be a better (expletive) example when I try to sell these fights for you,” fans, Strickland said.
UFC beefed up security at hotels, public events and around the cage for this one following one of the more loathsome displays — specifically, Strickland — of trash talk in recent fight history. Strickland threatened to shoot Chimaev and labeled him a terrorist because of his ties to Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov.
Chimaev, who lost for the first time in 16 pro fights, is of Chechen ethnicity and fights under the United Arab Emirates banner, had countered by saying he would “take off” Strickland’s head.
UFC CEO Dana White — who expressed confidence Conor McGregor would return to fight this summer — said Chimaev told him after the fight he wanted to move up in weight class.
The fighters tapped gloves to start the fight to prove they were professionals and the prefight hostilities never spilled over into the cage.
The 35-year-old Strickland, who won the 185-pound belt in September 2023 and lost it in his first title defense, apologized after the fight to fans of all ethnicities and acknowledged he “went too (damn) hard” in weaponizing stereotypes to sell the fight.
“I respect all you guys,” Strickland said, rattling off Christians, Muslims, and also races.
Joshua Van mauled Tatsuro Taira into a bloody mess in the co-main and successfully defended his 125-pound championship in the first title fight in company history contested between two Asian fighters.
Van dominated with elite boxing and won via stoppage at 1:32 of round five and had the crowd roaring in his first title defense since he beat Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 323.
Van (17-2) seized control in the second round with a violent right hand to the jaw for the knockdown and he repeatedly bashed Taira (18-2) in the face. Van failed to finish the round but continued to rip shots the rest of the rounds to the face and body that left Taira’s face and chest smeared with blood.
Van and Taira marked the first time UFC has a title fight with both competitors born in the 2000s.
The 24-year-old Van, of Myanmar, has won seven straight fights and 10 of 11 since he signed with UFC — and few bigger than in the co-main event of UFC’s 11th stop in Newark.
Taira failed in his try to become the first Japanese fighter to become UFC champion.
UFC held its last major card before its June 14 show at the White House to fete President Donald Trump, a proud proponent of cage match politics. The show — what White dubbed a “1 of 1 event” — is timed for Trump’s 80th birthday and as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary. Trump, who frequently attends major UFC events, did not attend Saturday night at the Prudential Center.
In other fights of note on the main card, Sean Brady defeated Joaquin Buckley via unanimous decision; King Green chocked out Jeremy Stephens; and Alexander Volkov defeated Waldo Cortes-Acosta via unanimous decision.
White said the company was aware of abnormal betting patterns ahead of the Brady fight but found nothing wrong.
“It's not surprising when a card is this good, and a fight like that, the line will move,” White said.
On the undercard, 42-year-old Jim Miller used a submission victory to boost his record totals for UFC fights and career victories in his first return to the cage since his teenage son beat a rare form of childhood cancer.
A New Jersey native, Miller defeated Jared Gordon in a lightweight bout at UFC 328 with a rear naked choke at 3:29 of the first round and his family cheering him on from the Prudential Center. Miller extended his record with 28 career wins in 47 fights under the UFC banner.
Miller, who signed a new five-fight deal Saturday, also earned his 20th finish, second most in UFC history.
Wyatt Miller, 14, was diagnosed last year with rhadbomyosacroma, a rare type of cancer that starts as a growth of cells in soft tissue and is more common in childhood. Wyatt underwent two courses of chemotherapy and five weeks of proton radiation at Rutgers University Cancer Institute and was eventually given a clean bill of health.
“My son went through some really difficult times the last couple of months,” Miller said inside the octagon. “He ended up kicking the (heck) out of cancer. He’s all good today. He’s cancer free. One of the things I told him when he first got diagnosed was, Millers have been called a lot of names over the years, but fragile’s never been one of them. He fought his way through it.”
His son’s cancer scare kept Miller out of the cage for 13 months, an eternity for a fighter who made a habit of competing multiple times a year. Miller lost to Chase Hooper in his last fight at UFC 314 in April 2025.
AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts
President Donald Trump meets with UFC fighters, Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
FILE - Khamzat Chimaev of the United Arab Emirates, celebrates after he beats Kamaru Usman of Nigeria, in the UFC middleweight championship fight at the Ethihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)
FILE - Sean Strickland, UFC middleweight champion, arrives on stage to face off with Dricus Du Plessis during a mixed martial arts news conference ahead of UFC 297 in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP, FIle)
FILE - Jim Miller reacts after defeating Damon Jackson in a UFC 309 mixed martial arts lightweight title bout, Nov. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)
