What began as a peaceful sunset photo session for two teenage girls at East Coast Park ended in shock when a man's body washed ashore on Sunday (Dec 21). The body of the 28-year-old man was recovered from the water that evening after the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) received a call for assistance at about 12pm. He was was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. Police said the man is believed to have drowned and no foul play is suspected. Speaking to Shin Min Daily News on Dec 21, one of the teenagers, Liang Baoyin (transliteration), said she was taking sunset photos with her friends when she noticed what appeared to be a pair of black shorts behind one of them. Upon closer inspection, she realised it was a man's body and was frightened.

A fire broke out in the kitchen of a restaurant on Desker Road on Wednesday afternoon (Dec 24) after staff left cooking unattended. At least five firefighting vehicles, five police cars and several ambulances were dispatched to the incident and a large crowd was gathered when AsiaOne arrived at the scene. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to a fire at 119 Desker Road, which is the location of Madya Cuisine and Bar, at about 3.15pm. The fire involved contents of a kitchen exhaust ducting in a unit on the first floor, said SCDF. Firefighters extinguished the flames using a water jet. Three persons self-evacuated before rescuers arrived and there were no reported injuries. 

Singaporean content creator Fauzi Azzhar has issued an apology on social media after facing backlash for posting his travel announcement in an obituary-style image on Monday (Dec 22). In a video uploaded to his Instagram, Fauzi acknowledged that while he had intended the post to be funny, it was inappropriate due to sensitive issues such as mental health, which he discusses on his channel. «I apologise to all of you who were scared for a split second. Yes, you laughed about it but after reflecting a little more, I think it’s not funny,» said Fauzi. «This was a stupid post because I talk about mental health on my social media platform, which makes it ironic that I (went ahead) and posted this thinking it was funny.» Fauzi, who has over 40,000 followers on Instagram, also shared that he was concerned by a negative comment made by a follower in response to his post. «It scares me because this person has been following me for quite a bit, (which suggests) they have certain feelings towards me. I wonder why,» he said. 

“The main reason is simply that I’ve reached a point where I’m getting older. I might end up going to bed at four or five on Christmas Eve morning, then have to wake up three hours later to gather everything together to go to Litla-Hraun.”

ISRO's LVM3-M6 rocket successfully launched the BlueBird Block-2 satellite for AST SpaceMobile, offering a unique onboard camera perspective of the entire mission. The footage captured liftoff, booster separation, and satellite deployment into Low Earth Orbit, marking a significant commercial success for ISRO's heavy-lift vehicle.

India replaces the MGNREGA with the VB-G RAM G Act, shifting focus from guaranteed wage employment to rural asset creation and productivity. This reform acknowledges a transformed rural economy with robust safety nets and direct cash transfers, aiming to build capacity rather than just provide relief.

Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) lifted GRAP-IV restrictions with immediate effect, even though air quality in several areas remained in the ‘very poor’ category with AQI levels crossing 350. While the strictest curbs were withdrawn, Stage I, II and III measures will continue under the modified GRAP. The move came hours after the Delhi High Court pulled up the Centre

For a long time, mental health in the Middle East stayed tucked away in private corners of conversation. A relative might hint at persistent worry, then quickly shift to the weather or work. Suggesting therapy could raise eyebrows, as if it signaled some deeper failing. That reluctance has not vanished, but it is loosening. More people in Iran now open their phones not just to check messages, but to look for a psychologist who might understand what they are going through.

TEHRAN – A total of 94 earthquakes were recorded across the country in a week from December 13 to 19, according to the seismological networks of the Institute of Geophysics of the University of Tehran.

TEHRAN – Japanese officials have announced their willingness to expand cooperation with Iran in areas that are not subject to sanctions, particularly the environment and pharmaceuticals.

TEHRAN – Thanks to targeted planning and coordinated efforts, about 125 Iranian journals have been indexed by the reputable databases of Scopus and Web of Science over the past four years, an official with the Ministry of Science has said.

TEHRAN – The deputy health minister, Alireza Raeisi, has said the World Health Organization is a strategic partner and a norm-setting reference for the country's health sector.

Western Bureau: Chairman of the Janet Richards Foundation, Janet Richards, says she will be reaching out to the Usain Bolt Foundation to help transform the play area at the St James-based Mustard Seed Children’s Home, saying that playing and having...

Up to the end of the 20th century Christmas celebrations were more widely anticipated in Jamaica, secularly and religiously, than they are nowadays. The days leading up to Christmas were full of feelings of excitement; school, church, home and...

The Jonkunnu festivity at Moore Town, a Maroon village in East Portland’s Rio Grande Valley, has died a slow, natural death — leaving residents with a quiet resolve. Colonel of the Moore Town Maroons, Wallace Sterling, recalled that Jonkunnu once...

When the winds died down and the floodwaters began to recede, the true cost of Hurricane Melissa slowly came into view. Beyond damaged homes and disrupted lives, another crisis unfolded quietly across the island: frightened animals left without...

Fourteen students at Brown’s Town Community College (BTCC) will benefit from a $1 million JPS Foundation partnership to support its electrical installation programme. Sophia Lewis, head of the foundation, told students and staff the partnership “...

[RFI] The Rwandan government has reportedly closed about 10,000 churches for failing to comply with a 2018 law regulating places of worship, which introduced new requirements on health and safety, financial disclosures, and mandatory theological training for preachers.

Republican lawmakers reflect on a year without much productivity and greater ceding of powers to the White House.

The Trump administration is spending tens of thousands of dollars on paywalled news sites, including Politico and Bloomberg, despite earlier criticism of media outlets.

One reporter’s effort to show how Trump was transforming government brought her 1,168 new sources — and nearly broke her.

[Leadership] The United States (US) has reportedly been conducting intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November this year.

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[allAfrica]

«It is crucial to recognize that the root cause of the conflict in Ukraine stems from the aggressive ‘Eastern policy’ pursued by Anglo-Saxon nations along with NATO and the European Union,» the politician stated

Ukraine presented this plan to the American side at recent talks in the United States

By midnight, thermometers at the capital’s main VDNH weather station dropped to minus 15.7 degrees Celsius

After a chaotic year and with the threat of a Labour coup rising, the PM used his festive address to insist his 'priority' is making life easier in Britain.

Frigid temperatures that hover around -40 C — or -50 C in some communities — continue to keep much of the territory in their grip. There’s no sign of that weather, patterns of which are coming from Siberia, easing up any time soon.

The portfolio of shipyard orders comprises about sixty ships

The politician described Ukrainian nationalism as a hand-made political project that rose to its anti-human fame last century with what he called targeted mass support from the United States and Great Britain

The peak of the Quadrantids new year meteor show will be observed at night from January 3 to 4