TOKYO - Singapore and Japan have upgraded their bilateral ties, with deeper co-operation planned in a wide range of areas from artificial intelligence to the green transition.Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced on March 18 that the two countries have elevated their ties to a strategic partnership, in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations.The strategic partnership will deepen the foundations of the substantive and multifaceted relationship between both countries, and expand co-operation in five forward-looking areas, said a joint statement issued after both leaders and their delegations met at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.These areas are: promoting free trade and economic co-operation; digitalisation and technology; security and defence; green transition and energy co-operation; and partnership and exchanges.Among the new agreements was the establishment of an information and communications technology policy dialogue between Singapore's Ministry of Digital Development and Information and its Japanese counterpart.

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Wednesday (March 18) warned of «bracing times» beyond global economic and financial strains, which he said has extended into a «long storm» of global political instability.He made these comments in a Facebook post as he approved the Government's record $154.7 billion spending plan for Budget 2026.Pointing to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, now in its third week, the President cautioned that a protracted war and closure of the Strait of Hormuz will increase the risk of a major economic downturn and higher inflation.He explained that fuel prices will continue to climb if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. This, he said, will go beyond the oil and gas markets, to affect other sectors such as fertiliser.A reduction in fertiliser supply, in turn, will impact food supply and prices, and supplies of other critical commodities such as aluminium and helium — which the world depends on.

In what feels like a deja vu of pump prices adjustments on Monday, three fuel companies — Shell, followed by Esso, then Caltex — again raised their posted prices in sequence on Wednesday (March 18).On March 16 (Monday), AsiaOne reported that Shell kicked off the new week with a fresh round of price adjustments, increasing its posted prices for 95-, 98-octane, V-Power, and diesel — by 7 cents each. This was followed by Esso, which mirrored Shell's price adjustments by increasing its 92-, 95- and 98-octane petrol, and diesel, by 7 cents each. Caltex subsequently raised its posted prices for 92-and 95-octane, and premium petrol by 2 cents each, while increasing its diesel price by 7 cents.

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) on Wednesday (March 18) warned members of the public against purchasing or consuming four health products as three people suffered serious side effects, including high blood pressure and insomnia after consuming them.The four products — Ubat Angin Tulang, Tianma Duzhong Shujing Wan, IM SO am and IM TOX pm — were found to contain potent ingredients such as steroids, and a banned substance — sibutramine. These products were found to have been sold on e-commerce platforms Shopee, Lazada and Carousell, a peddler in Jurong, and from Malaysia.«HSA has worked with the online platforms to remove the listings, and investigations on the sellers are ongoing,» the statement said.Serious side effectsUbat Angin Tulang and Tianma Duzhong Shujing Wan are touted as herbal products for those with knee pain, and the products indicated that only herbal ingredients such as ginseng are included. 

Some 500 Singtel users are reportedly facing issues with the telco on Wednesday (March 18) evening.This follows disruptions encountered by thousands of users on March 16 and March 17. [[nid:731578]]Downdetector, a real-time crowdsourced platform that monitors the status of over 12,000 services across banking, internet services and social media providers, indicated that 500 users have reported issues with Singtel at 6.22pm.Among the top three issues reported, about 48 per cent of users said it was related to mobile internet services, while another 24 per cent said it was related to mobile signal.Social media user Zul Samian, in a comment on a marketing post published by Singtel, wrote: «Disruption again on March 18! (This is) the third consecutive day! Restarting the mobile phone doesn't solve anything!»The user also called for Singtel to investigate the incidents thoroughly. 

SINGAPORE - Gold retailers in Singapore are boosting inventories to cater to higher demand for the precious metal amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.Bullion dealers, jewellers and pawnshops told The Straits Times that buying of the precious metal has surged in recent times amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and expectations of interest rate cuts.Items like gold bars, coins and jewellery are among the items being snapped up by local buyers in recent weeks, with some also eyeing silver, they said. Also in the mix are people who want to cash in or trade their older gold items.Besides middle-aged customers, some have also observed a younger crowd wading into the gold-buying trend.Mr David Mitchell, founder and managing director of bullion dealer Indigo Precious Metals, said his store has seen demand rise over 100 per cent so far in 2026, compared with the same period in 2025. The company runs a retail outlet in Bukit Pasoh Road.“We have seen more buyers than sellers over the past year, but we also are beginning to see more sellers entering the market, which is typical after strong price moves,” he said.

A man was left shocked after returning to his Bukit Batok home to find his plants in disarray, with pots toppled and soil scattered across the corridor.Speaking to AsiaOne on Wednesday (March 18), the man, who wished to be known only as Luo, said the incident happened when he had gone out on Saturday (March 14). «It was around 2pm when I got home that I noticed my plants had toppled. At first, I thought it was the wind, but I soon realised the plants had been ripped out of their pots, with soil scattered all over the corridor,» said the 42-year-old retail investor.Luo added that he also noticed deep scratches and dents on his front door, which he believes were caused by objects such as rocks or tiles being thrown at it. He has since filed a police report and estimates that repairing the door and buying new plants will cost around $1,500.Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the police confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing. 

SINGAPORE – Lawyer Arfat Selvam, the widow of retired judge G.P. Selvam, has sued her grandson for breach of confidence and defamation in a dispute related to her late husband’s will. Mrs Selvam, a former president of the Law Society of Singapore, and her two daughters are the executors and trustees of Mr Selvam’s will.Some details of the dispute emerged in written grounds of decision issued on March 16 by Senior Judge Tan Siong Thye.Justice Tan was giving written reasons to explain why he upheld certain orders that Mrs Selvam and her daughters had sought while the case is going through the court process.The orders include an injunction to restrain Mrs Selvam’s grandson, Mr Sharad Selvam Ramachandra, from disclosing confidential material, and a search order for confidential material.The judge had in 2025 granted the orders to safeguard the confidential material and to prevent Mr Ramachandra from destroying relevant evidence of how he obtained the material. In his bid to set aside the orders, Mr Ramachandra argued for an “iniquity exception”, where evidence of unlawful actions are not protected by the law of confidence.

Some 1,070 Return Right machines will be deployed when the beverage container return scheme (BCRS) commences on April 1, with most Singaporeans having no difficulty finding one. More than 90 per cent of Housing and Development Board (HDB) households will have a Right Return machine within a five-minute walk from home. This initial deployment of machines will cover more than 430 supermarkets and retail outlets, over 610 town council-managed areas in HDB heartlands, and 17 high footfall hawker centres across Singapore. In the coming months, a further 160 locations - such as institutes of higher learning and 36 industrial areas with high football - will also have such machines. The deployment will eventually be extended to large migrant worker dormitories and all recreation centres. 

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Tuesday (March 17) issued prohibition orders against two former bankers who were convicted for their involvement in the $3 billion money laundering case in 2023.Former Citibank relationship manager Wang Qiming, 27, was given a 16-year prohibition order, while Liu Kai, 37, who was previously a relationship manager at Julius Baer, was given a prohibition order of seven years.Under the prohibition orders, Wang and Liu are not allowed to carry out any MAS-regulated or authorised activity of business.They are also barred from becoming, or increasing their interested as a substantial shareholder, of any financial institution that is a corporation.On Oct 23, 2025, Wang was convicted of four charges for forgery, money laundering and obstructing the course of justice. He was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment. Six other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.A day later, Liu was convicted of one charge of using a forged tax document to defraud Bank Julius Baer. He was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment.

Pump prices in Singapore rose for a third consecutive day this week as Shell again started a new round of price adjustments on Wednesday (March 18).In a price board update published at 1pm, Shell announced that it has raised its posted price for diesel by 7 cents — two days after it raised its posted prices for 95- and 98-octane, V-Power as well as diesel — also by 7 cents each. But Shell has held prices steady for its 95- and 98-octane petrol, and the premium V-Power in this latest round of price adjustments.Sinopec and SPC on Tuesday raised their respective pump prices, following price adjustments by a trio of fuel companies — Shell, Esso and Caltex — on Monday.