SINGAPORE - The Workers' Party leadership is looking into a request from a cadre member to hold a special meeting.The opposition party said in a statement on Dec 28 that a request to hold a special cadre members' conference was submitted.Party chairwoman Sylvia Lim has acknowledged the request of the cadre member, added the WP, which was responding to a media query.The central executive committee (CEC) — comprising 19 members, including its 13 elected MPs — will be following up on the request in accordance with the party's Constitution, it said.The party's Constitution on its website states that a special cadre members' conference can be called at any time by the party's chair, the CEC, or 10 per cent of the cadre membership or at least 20 cadre members, whichever is higher.Past estimates of the number of WP cadres have reported the figure as at about 100. Only cadre members, who are appointed by the CEC, can be present at cadre members' conferences and to vote.It is not clear if the request was put forward by a sufficient number of cadres.

Singapore Pools, the city state's only legal lottery operator, will be holding its 2026 New Year draw on Friday (Jan 2).According to the Singapore Pools' website, the draw will be held at 9.30pm at the Singapore Pools Building along Middle Road.Sales for the draw will close 30 minutes prior.Sale of $10 and $20 lottery packs will begin from 6.10pm onwards on Dec 29.One winner walked away with a prize money of over $5.5 million in the 2025 New Year draw.[[nid:725128]]editor@asiaone.com 

The Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT) is scheduled to close on Jan 25 for system renewal works, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a Facebook post on Dec 26.This is to facilitate the migration of BPLRT's interim Operations Control Centre (OCC) to the refurbished control centre.Commuters can take existing bus services or make use of LRT Shuttle B, which will run from Choa Chu Kang to Bukit Panjang via Petir every five to 15 minutes.Renewal work to enhance BPLRT's reliability began in 2018 and are expected to be completed by 2026.[[nid:727282]]syarifahsn@asiaone.com

SINGAPORE – Some 13,480 Housing Board flats are expected to reach their minimum occupation period (MOP) in 2026, the bulk of which are in Punggol, Queenstown, and Tampines.This influx is nearly double the 6,970 units that hit their five-year MOP in 2025, and could moderate resale price growth by addressing the demand for housing, said property analysts.These flats are spread across 22 projects in 14 towns, they added.According to analysts' data, Punggol is projected to have the largest supply of 3,222 MOP flats across five projects - most of which are in the Punggol Northshore neighbourhood. This is followed by Queenstown with 2,405 units in Dawson.In Tampines, the majority of the 2,133 MOP units are located in Tampines North, while Toa Payoh is expected to have 1,594 MOP flats in the new Bidadari estate.Resale flats in Dawson and Bidadari are frequently among million-dollar flat transactions.Those in the Dawson area have set some of the highest prices to date.Of the flats set to hit their MOP in 2026, 5,909 are four-room flats and 2,711 are five-room units. Another 2,299 are two-room flats and 2,561 are three-room units.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) have issued a warning over a scam variant involving the impersonation of the Commissioner of Police. In an advisory issued on Sunday (Dec 28), police said the scam variant involves victims receiving a «warning letter» which claims that the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore and SPF have initiated investigations against them over their alleged involvement in criminal activities. Victims would be instructed to submit their written statement to a designated email address.They are also «warned» that failure to do so could result in various consequences such as arrest.«The police would like to emphasise that these emails are not issued by SPF or any Singapore government officials,» the advisory said.Members of the public are also reminded that Singapore government officials will never make the following requests over emails or phone calls: money transfers, disclosure of bank login details, installation of mobile apps from unofficial app stores, or transfer calls to the police or other «government officials».

A total of 1,771 persons are being investigated for various offences following a nearly month-long series of multi-agency enforcement operations.The operations, conducted between Nov 22 and Dec 20, involved more than 4,500 officers from across the police's seven land divisions, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Traffic Police (TP). It also involved officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), Health Sciences Authority (HSA), Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Singapore Customs. In a news release on Saturday (Dec 27), the police said they mounted over 1,400 operations during the above-mentioned period, including checks on more than 15,900 persons, resulting in 546 arrests. The range of offences uncovered includes traffic violations, e-vaporisers-related offences, duty-unpaid cigarettes, immigration violations and illegal employment, as well as drug-related offences.

SINGAPORE – The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) has expressed surprise at Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) secretary-general Mark Chay’s comments on the Young Lions’ attitude at the SEA Games.During a post-Games review on Dec 20, he said that after the opening 3-1 defeat by Timor-Leste on Dec 6 in Bangkok, the players “just walked off the field, didn’t even acknowledge the crowd”.Chay added: “I understand disappointment, but they need to really look at sportsmanship, really look at attitude and respect of the sport, as well as the people who went there to support them.”At the FAS’ own Games review at its Jalan Besar Stadium headquarters on Dec 26, general secretary Badri Ghent said officials’ reaction was one of “shock and surprise” after coming across Chay’s comments.Emphasising that sportsmanship is a non-negotiable trait at FAS, Badri said he had a “constructive meeting” with Chay to address some of the points he brought up.“I was especially surprised because I was there at the game, and myself and some of the supporters can vouch for the fact that the players did so (acknowledge fans),” said Badri.

A Singaporean man was jailed for 12 weeks on Friday (Dec 26) after pleading guilty to one count of dishonest misappropriation. Mohamed Basheer Hanif Mohamed, 27, refused to return more than $9,000 that the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) had mistakenly transferred to him on Nov 10, 2023.He spent the funds on daily expenses and a hotel staycation instead.According to court records obtained by CNA, on the same day, Basheer had noticed a transfer of $9,087.04 to his POSB account, which previously contained no money. He started to withdraw the funds for personal use.A finance officer from NTU and POSB attempted to contact Basheer several times in vain. The former emailed him on Nov 21, but he responded, saying that he did not know about the erroneous transfer as he had stopped using the bank account.Basheer also refused to provide an updated phone number and address to the university and told the finance officer to stop contacting him.The man also did not make any restitution.For dishonest misappropriation, Basheer could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, or both. 

A man has taken to social media to argue his case that $750 a month for full-time national servicemen (NSF) is not enough in today’s economy.In a TikTok video on Wednesday (Dec 24), the man named Sheldon said that he decided to speak up after seeing social media comments where people complained that they were paid up to $400 while serving national service.The latest adjustment in July 2025 saw an increase of between $35 and $75 in the NS monthly allowance. Recruits in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), as well as trainee special constables in the Singapore Police Force saw their allowance rise from $755 to $790.But Sheldon argued that even with the latest revision, the allowance did not account for inflation.He cited an example, saying that the price of a McSpicy — an NSF favourite book out meal — was previously $4.50 and is now about $9.50.This means that NSFs today can buy fewer burgers, he said, adding that his commander could have bought 106 burgers.«With $750, you can get a whopping 77 McSpicies,» he said. «Yes, while we are making more money, we have less buying power.»