A fire broke out at a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat in Jurong West on the third day of Chinese New Year (Feb 19).The incident happened at about 1.05pm on Thursday at Block 337A Tah Ching Road.A video of the incident posted by realtor Aaron Wong, who lives across from the affected block, showed black smoke and flames coming out from the window of a bedroom on the 12th floor.Wong and his sister could be heard shouting across the block to alert residents there about the fire.Speaking to AsiaOne on Friday, Wong said that their maid, who was in the kitchen at the time, had heard a loud «boom» as the fire broke out.«She alerted us to the fire and my sister called the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF),» he added.According to Wong, who was formerly a Singapore Airlines cabin crew, his instincts kicked in due to the training he had received at the airline.«We were just concerned about the safety of those staying there, especially the elders,» he said.At least five residents, including domestic workers with the elderly in their care, self-evacuated prior to SCDF's arrival.

A 33-year-old car driver crashed head-on into an SBS Transit bus after running a red light along Upper Changi Road North on Feb 14. Dashcam footage of the accident posted on Facebook on Tuesday (Feb 17) by SGRV Admin shows a silver Honda civic speeding past a red light. An SBS Transit bus service 5 was making a right turn at the same time and the car, which was unable to stop in time, smashes directly into the bus.   The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told AsiaOne they were alerted to the accident at the junction of Upper Changi Road North and Flora Drive at around 2.45pm.The male car driver was taken to Changi General Hospital and is assisting with investigations, the authorities said. Police investigations are ongoing.Netizens had mixed reactions about the incident as some debated that the traffic light design was misleading while others argued the driver did not observe safe driving habits. 

A 45-year-old man was found dead in Tampines on Feb 17, inside a Chinese New Year bazaar tent set up outside a Sheng Siong supermarket.In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police and said that they were alerted at about 8.50am to a case of unnatural death at Block 506 Tampines Central 1. A coffee shop employee, identified as 64-year-old Liao, told Shin Min Daily News that he was passing by the supermarket at about 9am when he saw that police had cordoned off the front of the supermarket.When reporters got to the scene, police had covered the body with a white cloth, with the Chinese New Year goods display area still sealed off to the public. Sidaya (transliteration), 31, who works at a nearby grocery store, told the Chinese evening daily that she saw the man at around 8am, lying on the ground with his arms and legs outstretched as though asleep. Sidaya said that staff from Sheng Siong supermarket had tried to wake the man but he did not respond, so they called the police. The man was pronounced dead at the scene by a Singapore Civil Defence Force parademic. 

A fire broke out onboard the Liberia-flagged cruise ship World Legacy on Friday (Feb 20) morning, said the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).The incident happened at around 4am, when the vessel was enroute to Singapore.In a media statement on Friday morning, MPA said the fire was brought under control by crew members. One of the 388 crew members is reported to have died from the fire. None of the crew members onboard are Singaporeans.There are also 224 passengers onboard the cruise ship at the time of the incident, of whom 185 are Singaporeans.MPA said there were no reported injuries among the other crew members and passengers.Checks by AsiaOne at 8.45am showed that the vessel is currently anchored at Raffles Reserve Anchorage, about 8.6km southeast of Sentosa and south of Pulau Semakau.

Tropical weather seems to be taking a backseat at this time of the year as heavy rains batter parts of Singapore, causing temperatures to dip.Temperatures across the Republic continued to fall on Thursday (Feb 19), with thunderstorms over southern, western and central areas in the late afternoon and alerts for flash floods by the National Environment Agency (NEA).Amid the wet weather, temperature reached a low of 21.1 deg C on Jurong Island according to data from the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) at 9.07pm.The highest temperature recorded at the time was 23.2 deg C at the East Coast Parkway region. PHOTO: Screengrab/Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) The country's coldest temperature of 19.4 deg C was recorded in 1934 and 1989, according to records from the NEA.

Two Malaysian men were arrested after Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers foiled their attempt to smuggle over 30,000 tobacco products including e-vaporisers.The incident occurred at Tuas Checkpoint on Feb 2, according to an ICA Facebook post on Thursday (Feb 19).More than 22,000 e-vaporisers and related components and over 14,000 heat-not-burn products were uncovered when enhanced checks were conducted on the Malaysia-registered lorry.The products were found hidden within a consignment declared as cosmetics, said ICA.Both the 28-year-old driver and the 21-year-old lorry attendant were arrested and the case referred to the Health Sciences Authority for further investigation.Under the enhanced penalties introduced on Sept 1 last year, those convicted of importing vapes into Singapore will face a jail term of up to six months, a maximum fine of $10,000, or both, for their first offence. 

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will visit Malaysia on Friday (Feb 20) to break fast with his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim. In a statement on Thursday evening, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said that his visit is at the invitation of PM Anwar.«Prime Minister Anwar will host Prime Minister Wong to a buka puasa (break fast) meal,» the statement read. PM Wong will return to Singapore on the same day.In a separate statement, the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the two leaders are expected to also discuss bilateral cooperation and issues of mutual interest, including the outcomes of the recent Leaders' Retreat held on Dec 4, 2025.Singapore is Malaysia's second largest trading partner with total trade reaching RM402.35 billion (S$130.3 billion) last year, an increase of 1.5 per cent compared with 2024.[[nid:726275]]editor@asiaone.com 

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme offered by Nanyang Technological University's (NTU) business school rose 10 places to rank 12th in the 2026 Financial Times (FT) Global MBA ranking on Feb 16.According to FT, its ranking features 100 of the world's top full-time MBA programmes, with 128 business schools involved in the ranking process for this year's edition. Among the key ranking criteria are weighted salary of alumni students three years after completing their MBA and salary increase from before the MBA till post-MBA. NTU Business School's MBA programme was ranked 22nd in the 2025 edition. Alongside its climb up the ranks, weighted salary of its programme graduates also climbed by about 4.3 per cent, rising to US$194,918 (S$247,000). Based on FT's career progression assessment, NTU MBA graduates also saw an average salary percentage increase of 136 per cent after completing the programme.MIT Sloan, Insead and University of Pennsylvania's The Wharton School ranked first, second, and third respectively.[[nid:719202]]editor@asiaone.com 

An intoxicated woman slapped an elderly taxi driver in an unprovoked attack after stating that she did not have any cash or cashless payment methods to settle her $24 fare. Shalini Devarajan, 36, was sentenced to two weeks' jail on Feb 19 after she pleaded guilty to assaulting the male victim, who was 73 years old at the time. Deputy Public Prosecutor Adelle Tai said the fare remains unpaid. Court documents stated that Shalini reeked of alcohol when she boarded the victim's taxi at around 3pm on Nov 11, and fell asleep during the ride. When they reached her stated destination in Yishun Street 22, the driver woke her up and told her the fare was $24. She replied she had no cash or cashless payment methods with her, and needed to go up to her unit to get the money. «The [driver] asked her to leave her phone in the [taxi] and go up to the unit, but she refused. [He] then suggested following her up to the unit to get the money, but the accused refused this as well,» DPP Tai said. 

Stay in the know with a recap of our top stories today.1. 'Peace to your homes and blessings': PM Wong extends warm wishes to Singaporean Muslims for RamadanPrime Minister Lawrence Wong extended his «warmest wishes» to Muslims observing the holy month of Ramadan in a video posted on his Facebook on Wednesday (Feb 18)... » READ MORE2. Singapore citizens may have served in Israeli military during Gaza war: IDF data

A fire broke out at an eatery at Little India on Thursday (Feb 19) afternoon at 1A Rowell Road.Checks by AsiaOne indicate that this is the address of Bangladeshi eatery Khana Basmati Restaurant. Videos of the incident show what appears to be the kitchen exhaust duct on fire.Police officers responding to the incident were seen trying to establish a cordon around the area, asking passers-by who had gathered at the scene to move back.At least two fire engines and two light fire attack vehicles were at the scene.Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that the fire, which involved items in the restaurant's kitchen, was extinguished by a fire hose.There were no reported injuries, and the cause of the fire is being investigated.[[nid:730067]]

SINGAPORE — An intoxicated woman slapped an elderly taxi driver in an unprovoked attack after stating that she did not have any cash or cashless payment methods to settle her $24 fare. Shalini Devarajan, 36, was sentenced to two weeks' jail on Feb 19 after she pleaded guilty to assaulting the male victim, who was 73 years old at the time. Deputy Public Prosecutor Adelle Tai said the fare remains unpaid. Court documents stated that Shalini reeked of alcohol when she boarded the victim's taxi at around 3pm on Nov 11, and fell asleep during the ride. When they reached her stated destination in Yishun Street 22, the driver woke her up and told her the fare was $24. She replied she had no cash or cashless payment methods with her, and needed to go up to her unit to get the money. «The (driver) asked her to leave her phone in the (taxi) and go up to the unit, but she refused. (He) then suggested following her up to the unit to get the money, but the accused refused this as well,» DPP Tai said. 

A 76-year-old woman was found dead at the foot of a HDB block in Queenstown on the second day of Chinese New Year (Feb 18).The incident happened at about 5.55am at Block 13 Holland Drive, according to police.In two videos seen by AsiaOne, a police cordon extended from the concrete area and grass patch in front of the block to a sheltered walkway at the side of the block.In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police said that the woman was believed to have fallen from a height and was found lying motionless at the foot of the block. She was pronounced dead at the scene by a Singapore Civil Defence Force paramedic. The police added that they do not suspect foul play based on preliminary investigations.Police investigations are ongoing.[[nid:730067]]editor@asiaone.com 

Supermarket chain FairPrice announced on Thursday (Feb 19) that it will be providing refreshments for Muslim customers breaking their fast in-store, as Muslims in Singapore began observing the holy month of Ramadan on the same day. The company will be distributing 80,000 sets of refreshments — an apple, dates or biscuits along with a drink — to Muslim customers 30 minutes before and after the breaking of fast. This initiative — in its 18th consecutive edition — will run throughout the fasting month, which ends on March 20, and be available across 60 FairPrice stores islandwide.On Feb 19 and 20, the supermarket chain's philanthropic arm FairPrice Foundation will distribute 500 Ramadan care packs to Yayasan Mendaki beneficiaries.The care packs will contain fresh apples, dates, fresh milk, cooking paste and other break fast essentials.FairPrice Foundation will also sponsor a breaking of fast event on March 4. It said the event, held in collaboration with the National Trade Union Congress, will benefit more than 100 beneficiaries.