Stay in the know with a recap of our top stories today. 1. Chinese premier Li Qiang to make 2-day official visit to SingaporeEven as Singapore forges on with economic transformation, the creation of good jobs and effective job matching cannot be left entirely to market forces... » READ MORE2. 'My father found her on the floor': Diner says sister fell ill and fainted after eating fruits at Seletar Mall's Haidilao outlet

The supply of Certificates of Entitlement (COE) for the November 2025 to January 2026 period will go up by 1.5 per cent compared to the previous quarter, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Friday (Oct 24). The total number of COEs will rise to 18,894, up from 18,701 during the period from August to October, which saw a 3 per cent increase. Compared with the last quarter, the quota for Categories A and B will rise slightly by about 1 per cent, while the quota for Categories C and E will increase by around 3 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.The quota for Category D will remain unchanged.LTA added that bidding under the new quota will begin on Nov 3.The COE quota for the bidding period of February to April 2026 will be announced in January.The upcoming COE quota consists of the following components: 

From Monday (Oct 27), the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) will roll out two updated Covid-19 vaccines at over 600 GP clinics, 10 polyclinics, and through mobile vaccination teams.In a statement on Friday (Oct 24), the CDA said that the updated LP.8.1 Moderna/Spikevax and LP.8.1 Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccines have been approved by the Health Sciences Authority and will be administered at all vaccination locations.«The updated vaccines provide better protection against current and emerging strains of Covid-19 compared with previous versions, while maintaining similar safety profiles,» the statement read. The Expert Committee on Immunisation also recommended that individuals at increased risk of severe Covid infection should get vaccinated.These include those aged 60 years and above, medically vulnerable individuals aged 6 months and above, and residents of aged care facilities.

Twelve motorcyclists were arrested for riding without valid licences and insurance during a multi-agency enforcement operation at Tuas Checkpoint on Oct 14.The one-day operation was carried out by the Traffic Police, National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA), said the police in a statement on Oct 24.Those arrested were aged between 20 and 49, and were among 300 motorcyclists who were stopped for checks.During the operation, NEA issued 83 summonses for offences involving vehicular smoke emissions and excessive noise while LTA issued 67 summonses for the offence of displaying improper licence plates. According to the police, all motorists entering Singapore must comply with Singapore’s traffic laws and vehicle regulations.Breaching Singapore's laws and regulations will result in penalties, and foreign-registered vehicles may even be denied entry into the country.Those convicted of driving without a valid driving will face a maximum fine of $10,000, a jail term of up to three years, or both.

A woman fainted and was rushed to the hospital for food poisoning, purportedly after she consumed fruits served at hot pot chain Haidilao's Seletar Mall branch on Oct 12.Her older brother, surnamed Wang, told Shin Min Daily News that three other relatives who ate from the same fruit platter also experienced stomach aches and diarrhoea after the meal.The 36-year-old explained that he and 11 family members had gathered for a birthday celebration at Haidilao, where only his father, uncle, young brother and younger sister consumed the fruit platter.After they returned home, the four diners began experiencing diarrhoea, with Wang's sister being the worst-hit.«She felt dizzy after going to the toilet,» he recalled.«Our father was resting in the room when he heard a shout and found her in a faint on the floor. He was shocked and immediately called an ambulance.»According to Wang, his sister was diagnosed with gastroenteritis at the A&E and administered IV fluids.She was reportedly discharged that evening but reportedly continued to suffer from diarrhoea afterwards, fully recovering after three days.

SINGAPORE - They began exchanging letters in 1982, when they were only 12 years old, and kept at it for 43 years.Yet, even as they wrote to each other all those years, they had never met in person. Not until last week, when Ms Michelle Anne Ng, a Singaporean, flew to St John's in Newfoundland, Canada, on Oct 17 to see an old friend, Ms Sonya Clarke Casey.«We realised that visiting each other may no longer be a dream. We can make our sign-off dream 'Hope some day we will meet' come true,» Ms Ng told The Straits Times.«I mean I'm still young. So, if not now, when? Seize the day because, with age catching up with us, travelling long distance may not be as easy as someone who is in her 30s or 40s,» she said.Ms Ng and Ms Casey were paired through the International Youth Service (IYS) in 1983, when Ms Ng was in Primary 6 and Ms Casey was in Grade 5.IYS is a now-defunct Finnish service that matched those aged 10 to 20 as «penpals» or «pen-friends», people who wrote to each other and sent letters across vast distances through postal mail.

SINGAPORE - The bank employee whose role in a forgery case in 2021 contributed to the largest money laundering probe in Singapore was sentenced on Thursday (Oct 23) to two years' jail.Wang Qiming, 28, had pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery, one count of money laundering and one for the obstruction of justice.The Chinese national had forged documents to conceal the source of funds belonging to Cambodian national Su Baolin, who was one of the 10 foreigners arrested in 2023 in the $3 billion money laundering probe.Six other charges, including for forging a document to allow money launderer Vang Shuiming to deposit $1 million into Vang's Citibank account, were taken into consideration for sentencing.Wang's lawyer, Mr Vinit Chhabra from Vinit Chhabra Law Corporation, had argued for seven to 11 months' jail, saying that it was disproportionate for his client's sentence to be longer than that of the convicted money launderers.The 10 foreigners were jailed for between 13 and 17 months in 2024.

From 2026, volunteers from the People’s Association (PA) will go back to 'school' to serve their constituencies better.Partnering institutes of higher learning (IHLs) in Singapore, PA will tap into their expertise to “systemically” train some 1,000 grassroots volunteers, who come from all walks of life, including young working adults and new citizens.The new training programme was announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during a dinner for grassroots leaders and advisers at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre on Thursday (Oct 23).PA said in a media release that the training will start with half-day, in-person sessions co-developed with IHLs and “subject matter experts”.These include scenario-based learning and small group discussions “to provide opportunities for practical application of concepts”.“Advanced level training sessions will be introduced in subsequent phases to support development,” said PA.This year, PA marks 60 years of the Citizens’ Consultative Committee (CCC), a grassroots body with presence in every constituency in Singapore.

The United States' Department of State has sworn in Dr Anjani Sinha as the US ambassador to Singapore.In a Facebook post on Thursday (Oct 23), the US embassy in Singapore said Dr Sinha will formally assume his duties soon.«Ambassador Sinha looks forward to coming to Singapore soon to present his credentials and formally assume his duties,» said the embassy. According to diplomatic protocol, all foreign ambassadors and high commissioners will present their credentials to the President before assuming their duties in Singapore. Who is Anjani Sinha? The India-born Sinha, who has practised in New York and Florida, is believed to be close to the Trump family. He was named by Trump as his pick via a Truth Social post on March 11.

The hardest part of being prime minister is having to manage people, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in an interview with The Financial Times (FT) on Tuesday (Oct 21).In a 27-minute-long interview, PM Wong fielded questions from FT's editor Roula Khalaf about the changing world order and Singapore's economy, in addition to the biggest challenge he has faced since stepping into the leadership role as prime minister in 2024.While he began his response by stating that «there are many hard things», PM Wong singled out people management and the process of party renewal as the hardest.«I would say the hardest has been really in managing people,» he said, adding that it turned out to be much harder than he expected prior to assuming the position.In particular, he spoke about Singapore's General Election which took place earlier this year in May.As leader of the People's Action Party (PAP), he faced the difficult task of strategising and planning for the party's renewal.He said: «One of the keys to the PAP's success has been a full focus on renewing our team every election. And this is not easy to do at all.»

Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli has apologised over the handling of the fatal abuse of four-year-old Megan Khung.“I would like to say that we are sorry for the outcome and acknowledge that more could have been done when we handled the case,” he said to media on Thursday (Oct 23).“Megan’s death saddens me — and saddens us all. Nothing can bring her back. Not this review. Not our grief. Not our regret,” he added.An independent review panel has identified instances of a “lack of clear understanding and communication” among the authorities involved in the events leading up to Megan’s death, after she endured a year of abuse by her mother, Foo Li Peng, 29, and her then-boyfriend, Wong Shi Xiang, 38.@asiaone

A review panel convened to examine the fatal abuse of four-year-old Megan Khung found instances of a “lack of clear understanding and communication” among the agencies involved in the events leading up to her death.It listed five findings and seven recommendations surrounding the case, detailed in a 42-page report released on Thursday (Oct 23).Among the key findings was that the report of Megan’s injuries when they were first discovered by her pre-school could have been submitted earlier and with more detail.And when she had gone missing, a police report could have been lodged months earlier. The investigation officer, who assessed the case to be low risk, tried to look for her, but did not inform her supervisor she was unsuccessful.Megan, whose tragic death in February 2020 shocked the nation, was physically and emotionally abused by her mother Foo Li Peng, 29, and her then-boyfriend Wong Shi Xiang, 38, for over a year. The abuse they'd inflicted including starvation, beatings and forcing Megan to sleep outside.

A playground in Punggol was left in disarray following the Deepavali long weekend, with litter scattered across the area — much to the dismay of residents.In a Reddit post uploaded on Monday (Oct 20), a resident in the area shared a photo showing the aftermath of the celebrations.«This morning, there was an unbelievable amount of litter left all around this beautiful park in Punggol,» the resident wrote.«The crowd was here since 7pm, and I could hear celebrations all the way until midnight.»The playground is reportedly located next to Block 270, Punggol Field.When reporters from Shin Min Daily News visited the site on Tuesday (Oct 21), large amounts of coloured paper, plastic bags and litter were found scattered around. There also appeared to be burn marks on the ground, with discarded sparklers left on the grass.

A police officer saved a choking baby with his quick responses while responding to a case of domestic dispute.The incident occurred on Sept 19, when Sergeant (Sgt) Muhammad Ammar Bin Abdul Razak was dispatched to a domestic dispute case at Tampines Street 33 during his night shift.Sgt Ammar and his partner were expecting what seemed like a straightforward case — a man reported that his domestic helper was having a dispute with his wife at home. Before reaching the incident site, the duo was already discussing ways to resolve the conflict, according to Police Life, an online magazine of the Singapore Police Force.During the mediation, the wife involved noticed that her baby was unresponsive and choking. She then ran to Sgt Ammar, shouting that her baby is choking. «He was trying to cry but he couldn't, and his cheeks were turning purple,» said Sgt Ammar, who immediately sprung to action and called the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

The police are investigating a case involving a moving car with two children riding on its rear along Dairy Farm Walk. In a video posted to the Facebook group SG Road Vigilante on Monday (Oct 20), a yellow Porsche Cayman is seen travelling along the road with two young boys holding onto the vehicle's spoiler while seated atop its rear. Two women can also be seen standing nearby watching the children. In a separate TikTok post — which has since been deleted — the same boys appear to be sitting on the vehicle's rear without any safety restraints as the sports car drives off.According to the TikTok post, the video is believed to have been uploaded by Prem Roy Motoring, a car brokerage firm. The clip also showed a man wishing viewers a happy Deepavali.Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the police confirmed that a report has been lodged and that investigations are ongoing.

SINGAPORE — An elderly man without a valid driving licence drove his girlfriend’s car without her permission and crashed the vehicle after stepping on the wrong pedal.On Oct 22, Loh Chun Meng, 82, was sentenced to two weeks’ jail, fined $2,000 and banned from driving for two years.He pleaded guilty to three charges — driving without a valid licence, driving without insurance and driving without due care and attention.A fourth charge for taking away a vehicle without the owner’s consent was taken into consideration for sentencing.Court documents stated that Loh’s driving licence had expired on Nov 3, 1995.In October 2023, he stayed at his girlfriend’s home in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 and woke up the next day feeling pain in his knees.While the 57-year-old woman was still asleep, he took her car keys to drive to a clinic in Towner Road to get an injection for his knee pain.After getting his injection, Loh drove to Block 151 Bishan Street 11 to buy breakfast.At the open-air carpark near the block, he stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake pedal.