The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has foiled an attempt to bring an e-vaporiser, or vape, and more than 800 heat sticks into Singapore. On Nov 30, ICA officers at Changi Airport Terminal 1 directed a male Japanese traveller for baggage checks, after first asking if he had anything to declare. Although the man denied having anything to declare, anomalies were detected in the scanned image, said ICA in a Facebook post on Thursday (Dec 11).A thorough check of his belongings found the vape and 849 heat sticks. A heat stick is a tobacco-filled unit inserted into a battery-operated device that heats the tobacco to produce an aerosol containing nicotine, without burning it.The traveller was referred to the Health Sciences Authority for further investigation. «Border security is a crucial aspect of the enforcement strategy against e-vaporisers,» said ICA in its Facebook post.«As guardians of the nation's borders, ICA remains committed to safeguarding Singapore by ensuring our borders remain safe and secure.»

Singapore's largest telco Singtel has been hit with a $1 million fine for a nationwide landline outage that disrupted calls to public institutions and emergency services on Oct 8, 2024. The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said on Thursday (Dec 11) that it has concluded its probe into the incident that affected about 500,000 of Singtel's residential and corporate users. For about four hours that day, about half of the calls made to public service hotlines — including government agencies, banks and hospitals — could not be connected. The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force had urged the public to contact them via SMS instead. IMDA said the disruption had the potential to seriously impact the safety and security of the public. It also said the incident was within Singtel's control to prevent and was not caused by a cyberattack. 

US-bound travellers from 42 countries under the visa waiver programme — including Singapore — could be asked to provide their social media history over the last five years as a condition for entry under a new proposal unveiled by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Other than Singapore, some of the 41 other countries in the visa waiver programme include: Australia, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, South Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom. Under the programme, citizens from the 42 countries are currently allowed — for the purpose of tourism or business — stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. AsiaOne reviewed the notice published in the Federal Register, the official journal of the US government, on Wednesday (Dec 10). In the notice, social media history was proposed as a «mandatory data element» for an electronic system for travel authorisation (ESTA) application. 

The results of the 2025 Singapore-Cambridge N-level examinations will be released on Dec 18, said the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) on Thursday (Dec 11). Details of the collection arrangements will be shared by the respective schools with their students, said MOE and SEAB in a joint media release on Dec 11. Students who are unable to return to school to collect their results may appoint a proxy to do so on their behalf. Proxies are required to produce the relevant documents for verification when collecting the results, said MOE and SEAB, adding that school candidates can contact their school for assistance with the appointment of a proxy. Private candidates with a Singpass account can obtain their results via SEAB's candidate portal from 2.45pm on Dec 18. Those who do not have Singpass can view their results in the portal using the account they created during their earlier registration as examination candidates. 

The 2025 SEA Games opening ceremony at Bangkok's Rajamangala National Stadium on Tuesday (Dec 9) faced an embarrassing mix-up when Indonesia, the host of the 1997 SEA Games, was mistakenly represented with Singapore's flag. The mistake drew criticism from Indonesian viewers and spectators, reported the Jakarta Globe. But this was just one among several mishaps that marred the opening ceremony, which ran for more than two-and-a-half hours. When the event displayed a digital map projecting the different Southeast Asian nations as each delegation entered the arena, netizens noticed that some islands were missing from the Vietnam map, reported VietNamNet. The drone display for the gold medal tally also mistakenly formed the number 547 instead of 574, reported Thaiger. Ahead of the Games, a women's football schedule published on the official SEA Games website also showed Laos' flag next to Indonesia's name, while Thailand's flag was swapped with Vietnam's flag, reported Jakarta Globe. The 33rd SEA Games takes place from Dec 9 to 20 in Thailand, with Bangkok and Chonburi as host regions. 

A former driving tester has been charged for allegedly attempting to obtain $150 from a candidate in exchange for leniency during the latter's practical driving test.Muhamad Zahirey Bin Ishak, a 39-year-old Singaporean man, was charged in court on Thursday (Dec 11) for an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act, according to a statement by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.According to court documents, Zahirey had been a driving tester with People Advantage and was deployed to Bukit Batok Driving Centre.On May 23 this year, Zahirey had attempted to obtain the $150 bribe from a test candidate as a reward to help the candidate obtain his Singapore driving licence.The court heard that he intends to plead guilty on Jan 29, 2026.If convicted, he will face a jail term of up to five years, a maximum fine of $100,000, or both.[[nid:726340]]dana.leong@asiaone.com

BANGKOK – If Team Singapore had not sensed the danger before these SEA Games, they were in for a rude shock on Day 1 of the swimming competition on Dec 10 at the Huamark Aquatic Centre as rivals from Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines loomed large in the rearview mirror before overtaking them in events they have long dominated.While they have topped the swimming medal standings since 2005 and have done so by healthy margins in the past decade, national swimming head coach Gary Tan acknowledged the tough competition his team face as he called these Games the most challenging one since the 2013 meet when they won 12 out of 32 events.He said: “The girls, especially, were coming into something that was tougher than the last few editions. The competition has gotten better and tighter. There’s a lot of swimmers coming through from different countries... but we will take it in our stride and fight every single day.”

A 41-year-old male personal mobility device (PMD) rider was taken to hospital following an accident with a car in Bishan on Tuesday (Dec 9).The accident took place at the junction of Bishan Road and Bishan Street 11 at about 7.35pm.The intersection is about 200m away from Junction 8, a popular heartland shopping mall. A video of the accident posted on Facebook page Roads.sg shows the man riding across the pedestrian crossing while the traffic lights are not in his favour.

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) are holding their seventh bilateral exercise, codenamed Exercise Cooperation, in Singapore from Dec 10 to 17. In a news release on Wednesday (Dec 10), the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said this year's exercise will focus on urban counter-terrorism operations. The exercise, conducted at Safti City for the first time, will feature a battalion-level field training exercise. «Participants from both armies will also engage in tactical drills, small arms live firing, use of drones for basic reconnaissance and patrol, and cohesion activities,» said Mindef, adding that the interactions aim to strengthen professional exchanges and enhance people-to-people ties. The exercise will involve 90 personnel from the 3rd Singapore Division and 1st Commando Battalion, and 90 personnel from the PLA Southern Theatre Command's 74th Army Group. 

Animal Lovers League (ALL) will downsize operations after its shelter lost its tenancy at The Animal Lodge (TAL), co-founders Mohan Div Sreedharan and Catherine Strong told reporters on Wednesday (Dec 10).The pair also hope to gather enough funds to settle the shelter's rental arrears totalling about $500,000 in January.On Dec 8, the Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) said ALL's lease at TAL would not be renewed due to concerns about the health and welfare of animals there, as well as the unpaid rent.The animal welfare group was started in 2002 and has operated out of TAL since March 2018. TAL is managed by AVS.The founders said on Wednesday that the root of their troubles is the lack of funds, which have dwindled since the Covid-19 pandemic.«We hardly receive any donation at all,» Strong said.Mohan elaborated that ALL used to board animals, which helped supplement revenue. He did not say when this service stopped.

A 22-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman were arrested by police on Tuesday (Dec 9) over their alleged involvement in a case of loanshark harassment.The police said in a media release that they were alerted to a case of loanshark harassment along Woodlands Avenue 4 on Dec 9, where the walls near a lift lobby were scribbled with loanshark-related graffiti. The duo were identified and arrested by officers from Woodlands Police Division within 12 hours of the report being made. «They are also believed to be involved in at least five other similar cases of loanshark harassment across Singapore», the police added.Both of them will be charged in court on Dec 11.If found guilty of loanshark harassment, the two may be fined up to $50,000 and jailed for up to five years.In addition, the male suspect may receive up to six strokes of the cane. As caning can only be imposed on male offenders below 50 years old, the woman may receive an additional sentence in lieu of caning if she is found guilty.[[nid:726495]]editor@asiaone.com 

A 46-year-old US national was arrested on Tuesday (Dec 9) for allegedly molesting a six-year-old girl in the transit area of Changi Airport Terminal 3.In a statement on Dec 10, the police said that the girl was sleeping on a bench next to her mother when the incident happened at about 4.55pm on Dec 9.«When the girl's mother woke up and noticed the man's presence and actions, she immediately confronted him. The man then walked away from the scene. The girl's mother subsequently alerted the police.»The man was identified and arrested by officers from the Airport Police Division, with the aid of CCTV cameras, within four hours of receiving the report. He will be charged in court on Dec 11 for using criminal force to a person with intent to outrage modesty.If found guilty of the offence, the man may be jailed for up to five years, fined, caned, or sentenced to any combination of the punishments.[[nid:725101]]editor@asiaone.com 

Singapore's survival and success, as it commemorates SG60, were hard won through leadership, courage and a focus on national interest, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Wednesday (Dec 10).In a Facebook post after visiting The Albatross File exhibition a day earlier with Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo, the Prime Minister reflected on the series of events and choices faced by Singapore's founding leaders.«After the 1964 race riots, it had become clear to leaders on both sides that merger was not working. »The question then was: what next? A complete break was not the starting point. But through a series of unexpected turns and difficult choices, events gathered momentum and the path became clear," said PM Wong in his post.[[nid:726382]]