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.

Are the golden days of dreaming about owning a car in Singapore truly behind us?The enduring pressure of six-figure COE premiums notwithstanding, this week's industry-changing announcement - revealed as part of Singapore's 2026 Budget - now threatens to make financing a car more arduous still.The new regulations announced on Feb 12 threaten to make car ownership more financially difficult stillMoving forward, Preferential Additional Registration Fee (PARF) rebates are set to be slashed by 45 percentage points across all age groups for PARF-eligible cars. Rebates will also be capped at just $30,000 now, from $60,000 previously.According to the authorities, the move comes as EVs, which are less pollutive (they don't have tailpipe emissions regardless of age), continue to gain traction in Singapore, thus reducing the need to incentivise owners to de-register their cars early.

A piece of Singapore pop-culture history has made a reappearance online.We are referring to Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong's 'magic cup'.For the uninitiated, the blue tea-cup was thrown into the spotlight during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, when it was used during then-prime minister Lee's multi-lingual televised addresses.It gave rise to the lore that the cup had magical language-changing abilities, as Lee would launch into each of his speeches in a different language after taking a sip of water from the cup.The memes that followed the moment gave Singaporeans reason to smile amidst a difficult time as the nation and others grappled with the virus.Curious netizens also dug into where the cup was made — Japan — what it was made of — porcelain — and where to buy it. Last we checked, an inspired version is still available on online store Supermama for $26.Netizens were also intrigued when Lee did not use the cup again during the following year's televised update on the Covid-19 situation.

Two Singaporeans are purportedly among the more than 50,000 soldiers enlisted in the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) as of March 2025 — 17 months into the Gaza war — who held at least one other citizenship. This is according to information obtained by Israeli non-governmental organisation Hatzlacha through the country's Freedom of Information Law. The data obtained by Hatzlacha was first reported by British investigative news portal Declassified UK on Feb 11. Isreali news outlet Yedioth Ahronoth reported on the data on Feb 14, followed by Qatari media outlet Al Jazeera on Feb 15. According to the data, one Israeli soldier was listed as a dual Israeli-Singapore national, while another soldier was listed to have multiple nationalities — having at least one other passport alongside his or her Singaporean and Israeli ones. Singapore does not allow dual citizenship, but minors can hold two passports until they turn 21, when they have to decide whether to renounce Singapore citizenship. The Government may reject the application if a male citizen is subject to the Enlistment Act and has not done his National Service.