Singapore's separation from Malaysia on Aug 9, 1965 — long viewed as abrupt and involuntary, and marked by the late Lee Kuan Yew's iconic and emotional television address — has since been recast as more nuanced in recent years. Following Mr Lee's 1998 memoirs The Singapore Story and former deputy prime minister Goh Keng Swee's 2007 biography, the circumstances surrounding Singapore's independence has gradually been reinterpreted over the years. A string of newly declassified documents, including Cabinet papers and handwritten notes by Dr Goh, known as the Albatross File, are the topic of a permanent exhibition that will open to the public on Dec 8 at the National Library Building. AsiaOne got a first glimpse of the exhibition on Wednesday (Nov 26) and spoke to Executive Creative Director Gene Tan, who shed some light into the process of putting it all together. Centred around the theme of «Feel History», Tan shared that he wanted the exhibition to be akin to an experience — «something that a person takes away». 

The Singapore Sports Hub is now officially The Kallang — in a brand refresh which includes plans for a revamped mall with new alfresco food and beverage establishments.The move comes nearly three years after the Government took over ownership and management of the facility from a private consortium.In a media statement on Friday (Nov 28), The Kallang’s operator Kallang Alive Sport Management — which has changed its name to The Kallang Group — said that the brand refresh honours Singapore’s sporting heritage.«It embraces our collective memories while strengthening our belief that sport, entertainment, lifestyle and community form the pillars of a dynamic ecosystem,» it said.Beyond the name change, the group announced that the existing Kallang Wave Mall will undergo a three-year facelift, which they said will «elevate the experience of everyone stepping into The Kallang».These include new alfresco food and beverage establishments, play areas for children and padel courts.The revamp to the mall will start in phases from the second quarter of next year, with its completion slated for 2028, and will remain operational throughout.

Twelve migrant workers were arrested on Thursday (Nov 27) at a Woodlands dormitory for suspected drug-related offences. In a statement on Friday (Nov 28), the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), which conducted the raid, said that the men — 11 Bangladeshis and a Myanmar national — are aged between 23 and 40 years old.A 34-year-old Bangladeshi, was arrested for suspected drug trafficking and drug consumption offences.The four-hour operation involved officers from the Singapore Police Force, Ministry of Manpower, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and Health Sciences Authority.Superintendent Xanthus Tong, deputy commanding officer of CNB’s J Division, said that the operation is part of the bureau’s law enforcement efforts against drug abuse and trafficking, as well as other criminal and illicit activities.«Drugs have no place in Singapore, be it in the community, workplace or residential premises. Our enforcement efforts are geared towards early detection and intervention,» he said, adding that early detection allows risks from drug abuse or illicit activities to be addressed «quickly» and prevent the spread.

Singapore has edged out global competitors to claim the top spot in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2025 for the first time.In its 11th edition this year, the annual index — produced by business school INSEAD and in partnership with research organisation Portulans Institute — ranked 135 countries based on 77 indicators including soft skills and AI talent concentration.Singapore topped the annual ranking for the first time, bumping Switzerland to second place, with Denmark, Finland and Sweden trailing behind.Last year, Switzerland topped the ranking, and it has been topping the rank since the report was introduced in 2013.

With more than a thousand ships in Singapore's waters daily, and maritime trade accounting for about 7 per cent of gross domestic product, keeping sea lines open is critical to the Republic's prosperity, said Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam on Friday (Nov 28).«The environment is congested and it is challenging. You look at the number of ships that fall into our waters — more than 1,000 ships calling and transiting,» he said.«One of the ways in which (we) can be attacked is through an attack on ships in our waterways, or an attack from the sea on Singapore itself,» added Shanmugam, who is also Minister for Home Affairs.He was speaking to reporters on board the navy's Independence-class littoral mission vessel RSS Justice after observing Exercise Highcrest, an annual inter-agency exercise — held from Nov 24 to 28.

A vacation to Chengdu, China, in November turned into a nightmare for 23 tourists from Singapore when they were taken to various shops and pressured by their guide to buy items.Local singer Shawn Tok, winner of the 2007 Campus SuperStar competition, revealed in a series of now-unavailable Instagram Stories that his tour group had been forced to buy jade, silverware, combs and herbal medicines in the first half of their nine-day tour.«The tour guide literally wouldn't let us leave the store until we hit his sales quota,» said the 31-year-old, who alleged that the guide had shouted at them and behaved passive-aggressively towards non-buyers.«We spent a total of 105,000 yuan (S$19,000) and it still wasn't enough.»Tok also said that the guide would wake those who fell asleep on bus rides, and «make (them) listen to his sales pitch».Exhausted from the early mornings and shopping stops, 16 group members decided to take a two-day break and rejoin the group after.But the agency got «very aggressive» and refused to let them back out, Tok alleged.

Leader of the Opposition and Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh will have the hearing for his appeal verdict heard on Dec 4. The upcoming hearing comes exactly one month after the High Court heard Singh's appeal on Nov 4.According to the public hearing list, the hearing will start at 9.45am.Singh is appealing against his conviction by the State Courts which found him guilty of lying under oath to a parliamentary committee.At the heart of the issue is whether Singh had lied to the parliamentary committee about how he handled the Raeesah Khan incident. During the trial in February 2025, Singh's lawyer Andre Jumabhoy argued that his the Workers' Party (WP) chief had «no involvement» in the «original lie» or the fact that Khan chose to tell the lie in the first place.

Six hundred and eight out of 893 Singaporeans affected by the Hat Yai floods have either reached Hat Yai International Airport or have already departed for Singapore, said the Ministry of Foreign Affaris (MFA) on Friday (Nov 28).These Singaporeans had e-registered with or had reached out to the foreign ministry.MFA officers on the ground are also coordinating assistance, working closely with Thai authorities, added MFA in an update on Facebook.The ministry said that its officers have located and transported 34 Singaporeans from flood-affected areas directly to the airport and will continue to deploy vehicles to support ongoing evacuation efforts. 

The police are investigating after an 82-year-old man was found dead on a fitness corner bench at an HDB estate in Hougang on Wednesday (Nov 26).In response to queries from AsiaOne, the police said that they were alerted to a case of unnatural death at Block 174 Hougang Avenue 1 at about 5.35pm.The man, who was motionless, was pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).The police added that based on preliminary investigations, they do not suspect foul play.A large white sheet covering a bench can be seen in photos shared by a witness with news outlet Mothership. The fitness corner was also cordoned off.[[nid:725361]]chingshijie@asiaone.com

The proportion of Singapore residents working or actively looking for jobs has declined for the fourth consecutive year due to an ageing population, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Friday (Nov 28). Singapore's labour force participation rate, which accounts for residents aged 15 and above, fell to 67.9 per cent in 2025, said the ministry in its annual Labour Force in Singapore Advance Release. The labour force participation rate has been declining since it peaked at 70.5 per cent in 2021. It fell to 70 per cent in 2022, 68.6 per cent in 2023 and 68.2 per cent in 2024. MOM attributed the overall decline to Singapore's ageing population. More seniors still workingSingapore's labour force participation rate will continue declining «until we come to a stage where our population ageing stabilises,» said Ang Boon Heng, director of MOM's manpower research and statistics department. «What's balancing all of this that we're not seeing a big decline (in labour force participation rate), is that it reflects the efforts to actually bring people back to the labour force,» he added. 

A man was rescued by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and taken to hospital after he got his entire left arm stuck in a kitchen drain pipe in a Jurong West HDB flat.The incident occurred at about 1.35pm on Thursday (Nov 27) at Block 338A Tah Ching Road, said SCDF in a Facebook post.Firefighters from Jurong Fire Station and rescuers from the SCDF's elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team who attended to the case found the man lying conscious below the kitchen sink, with his arm trapped in the drain pipe.To create sufficient space for the rescue operation, a team of first responders removed the kitchen sink and dismantled the cabinet containing the pipe.Another team proceeded to the unit directly below and cut a segment of the pipe to allow rescuers to see the trapped arm and decide how to carefully manoeuvre the limb to free it.About two hours after SCDF arrived at the flat, the man's arm was eased out of the drain pipe with the help of a lubricant.

A 78-year-old woman was killed in a car accident in Jurong West on Thursday (Nov 27) morning.In response to AsiaOne's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force said it was alerted to an accident along Jurong West Street 92 at 8.30am and one person was subsequently taken to National University Hospital.The police said in response to queries that the elderly female pedestrian subsequently died at the hospital.Photos on Facebook page SGRV Front Man show the victim lying along the road with a trolley some distance away. A red car had stopped facing the opposite direction at the side of the road.The police have arrested a 47-year-old male car driver for careless driving causing death.Police investigations are ongoing.[[nid:725941]]lim.kewei@asiaone.com

Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has deployed an additional crisis response team to Hat Yai to support officers from the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok, which is reaching out to Singaporeans affected by the floods, said Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.The embassy had earlier arranged for airport transfer for Singaporeans from Fort Senanarong in Central Hat Yai to Hat Yai International Airport as ground conditions improved on Thursday (Nov 27). In a Facebook post on the same day, Dr Balakrishnan acknowledged the assistance of Thai authorities.«Conditions have begun to improve in some parts of Hat Yai. With the help of the Thai authorities and our team on the ground, some Singaporeans have already been able to move to safety or make their way to the airport,» he said.He added that MFA will continue «to do everything» to ensure that affected Singaporeans will receive the assistance they need.

A 57-year-old man was arrested on Thursday (Nov 27) for his suspected involvement in a case of snatch theft in Bedok.In a statement on the same day, the police said that they received a report of a case of snatch theft along Bedok North Street 2 at about 1.20 am.«An unknown man had purportedly snatched a sling bag from a female victim.»The man subsequently ran away and the victim sustained minor injuries," the police said.Through ground enquiries and with the aid of images from police cameras, police identified the man and arrested him — within 11 hours of the report being made.Cash amounting to $137 and the sling bag were recovered from the man, who will be charged in court on Nov 28 with the offence of snatch theft.If found guilty of the offence, he may be jailed for up to seven years and shall also be liable to caning.In a stern warning to would-be perpetrators, the police said they will not tolerate such brazen acts of crime and will spare no effort to apprehend such offenders and deal with them in accordance with the law.

A Singaporean was arrested in Myanmar for his alleged connection to an international scam syndicate.He was among the 156 foreign nationals nabbed in a raid on gambling and fraud hub Shwe Kokko, according to the government-owned newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar.He was allegedly part of an online scam and gambling syndicate operating there, and was in hiding after committing offences in neighbouring countries, including Thailand.Responding to AsiaOne’s queries, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said that they are aware of the media report, and are in contact with the Myanmar authorities to render assistance.The others arrested included 65 Chinese nationals, 20 Indians, 13 Kenyans, eight Vietnamese, eight Burundians, seven Filipinos, six Ugandans, five Thais, four Ethiopians, three Nigerians, two Rwandans, a Nepali, a Zimbabwean, a Kazakh, an Uzbek, a Beninese, a Togolese and a Malaysian.Located on the Thai-Myanmar border, Shwe Kokko has been under the spotlight as a fertile ground for scam hubs which are staffed by thousands of willing workers and people trafficked from abroad.

Four people were taken to hospital following a collision involving a car, motorcycle, and taxi along the Seletar Expressway (SLE) on Wednesday (Nov 26).The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told AsiaOne they were alerted to an accident at about 1.20pm along SLE towards Bukit Timah Expressway before Lentor Avenue exit.A 70-year-old male taxi driver, a 43-year-old male motorcyclist, a 36-year-old male car passenger, and a 17-year-old male taxi passenger were conscious when taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.Videos of the aftermath of the accident were shared online, showing severe damage to the rear of a car. Its rear wheel had been dislodged and debris scattered across the road.Two SCDF ambulances were also present at the scene, with another blue taxi seen ahead. AsiaOne has reached out to ComfortDelGro for comment. Police investigations are ongoing.[[nid:725747]]xingying.koh@asiaone.com

More companies in Singapore are set to freeze wages over the next year amid growing pessimism about the economy, according to a Singapore Business Federation (SBF) survey released on Thursday (Nov 27).The 2025 National Business Survey, which drew responses from 553 businesses across key sectors, found that just over half of them — 55 per cent — indicated that salaries will stay the same over the next 12 months.It is a dip from the 48 per cent of the firms which said that they have frozen wages over the past 12 months.This comes as only 4 per cent of businesses saw an increase in profitability over the past year, according to SBF — down from 7 per cent in 2024.Just under two-thirds of businesses — 62 per cent — saw no change in profitability, a 12 per cent hike from the previous year.SBF said it suggests a degree of resilience in managing margins amid cost pressures.The survey also found that more businesses — from 35 per cent in the second quarter of 2025 to 37 per cent in next quarter of the year — are expecting the economy to worsen over the next 12 months. 

Singapore Customs seized 3,100 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes and arrested four Malaysian men, aged between 20 and 39, during an enforcement operation at Pasir Laba Heavy Vehicle Park in Jurong West on Nov 13.The total duty and Goods and Services Tax evaded amounted to about $335,785, Singapore Customs said on Thursday (Nov 27). During the operation, officers conducted checks on a parked tanker and a nearby forested area, where duty-unpaid cigarettes were allegedly being packed into cartons.Checks uncovered 3,100 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes found concealed within the tanker and in the forested area. The duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized.Investigations revealed that a 30-year-old Malaysian man was allegedly hired to drive a prime mover with the tank attached from Malaysia to Singapore, while a 39-year-old Malaysian man was hired to deliver the contraband using a truck.The remaining two men, aged 20 and 21, were allegedly hired by the 39 year-old to act as lookouts, including using a motorcycle to «scout the area» to ensure that it was safe for unloading the contraband.