A fire broke out at Eunos Industrial Estate on Saturday (Nov 1) afternoon.In a Facebook post at around 6pm, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to a fire at 1079 Eunos Avenue 7, adding that firefighting operation is ongoing.  

A 15-year-old was among 38 persons arrested for their suspected involvement in scams as money mules. Another nine, including a 16-year-old, are assisting with investigations.This follows an island-wide anti-scam enforcement operation conducted over a four-day period between Oct 28 and 31.The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said in a press release on Saturday (Nov 1) that those arrested are aged between 15 and 52, while those assisting with investigations are aged between 16 and 55.SPF's Commercial Affairs Department and the seven police land divisions conducted the operation after a surge in scam cases between September and October, where victims lost money through fraudulent PayNow QR codes generated through YouTrip.Multiple scam types, including internet love scam, used by scammersAccording to the police, the scammers generated PayNow QR codes through YouTrip and sent them to victims under false pretences, claiming the codes were required for legitimate payments or account verification. 

Thundery showers are expected on most days in the first fortnight of November, due to the prevailing inter-monsoon conditions over Singapore and the surrounding region.The showers are expected over parts of the island in the afternoon and may extend into the evening on a few of these days, said the Meteorological Service Singapore on Friday (Oct 31). In addition, Sumatra squalls may bring widespread thundery showers and gusty winds on one or two mornings.Sumatra squalls are lines of thunderstorms that develop over Indonesia's Sumatra island or the Strait of Malacca and move eastwards across the strait, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds to Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia.According to the Met Service, the total rainfall for the first half of October is forecast to be below average over most parts of the island.Daily maximum temperatures are likely to range between 32 deg C and 34 deg C on most days, and reach around 35 deg C on a few days.

A fire broke out at Eunos Industrial Estate on Saturday (Nov 1) afternoon.In a Facebook post at around 6pm, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to a fire at 1079 Eunos Avenue 7, adding that firefighting operation is ongoing.  

With the prevalence of social media and reliance on technology, it's more crucial than ever for young children to develop healthy digital habits.As such, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has launched a comprehensive set of resources to help parents guide their children on how to use technology responsibly.These were introduced during the fourth edition of the Digital for Life (DfL) Festival at Heartbeat@Bedok on Nov 1, which was hosted by Josephine Teo, Minister for Digital Development and Information, and graced by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Patron of the Digital for Life movement. This year, the DfL Festival was held across two weekends, at VivoCity (Oct 25 to 26) and Heartbeat@Bedok (Nov 1 to 2), featuring over 110 partners from the people, private and public sectors and offering interactive experiences for Singaporeans of all ages. 

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) economies can benefit from artificial intelligence (AI) and harness it to drive the next wave of growth for its 21 member economies, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Saturday (Nov 1).He was speaking at the second session of the Apec Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM) held in Gyeongju, South Korea.The 21-member grouping represents about 61 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP).PM Wong said that Singapore's focus is on the application and use of AI, adding that the country is keen to cooperate and exchange best practices with other Apec economies.«We are a small, compact, digitally connected city-state. We can't ourselves develop the best leading-edge AI foundation models ourselves, but we can make use of them to develop and create applications with the biggest impact, in areas like finance, logistics, healthcare and advanced manufacturing,» he added.

From Nov 15, drivers of foreign-owned vehicles lacking a Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP), especially vehicles from Singapore, will not be allowed to leave Malaysia until they have paid outstanding fines.Unlike previously, when enforcement was limited to private vehicles only, the new measure will also target company-owned vehicles, with fines to be imposed on drivers who do not possess a VEP, have an expired one or are still in the midst of registering for the tag.Malaysia’s Road Transport Department (JPJ) director-general Aedy Fadly Ramli announced this to local media on the evening of Oct 31, following an enforcement operation carried out at the Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex in Johor Bahru.“Previously, our operations were confined to Johor, but they are now being expanded nationwide. Any Singapore-registered vehicle found without a VEP anywhere in Malaysia will be subject to enforcement action,” Malaysian news outlet Bernama quoted Datuk Aedy as saying.He added that drivers who have been issued fines will not only have to settle them immediately, but also complete their VEP registration before leaving the country.

SINGAPORE – Do Kwon, the co-founder of fallen blockchain company Terraform Labs, has filed an appeal against a High Court decision to dismiss his claim for a partial refund of the amounts he paid for a $38.8 million penthouse. Kwon had made payments totalling $19.4 million to the vendor before he ultimately decided not to go ahead with the purchase of the unit at the Sculptura Ardmore condominium in Ardmore Park.He sought a High Court declaration that the forfeiture of the sum was invalid and unlawful.Kwon later narrowed down his claim to the return of two sums totalling $18.4 million, which were paid to the vendor before the option to purchase was exercised.Justice Philip Jeyaretnam had dismissed Kwon’s claim on Aug 26.On Oct 30, the judge issued written reasons, noting that Kwon had filed a notice of appeal on Sept 22 against his decision.The written decision did not link Kwon to the Singapore-based Terraform Labs or his other legal troubles.The cryptocurrencies developed by Terraform Labs, TerraUSD and Luna, crashed in May 2022, triggering a market meltdown.

PUB has temporarily suspended operations at its Johor River Waterworks treatment plant as a precaution, after reports of pollution in the Johor River.In response to media queries, the national water agency added on Saturday (Nov 1) that water supply in Singapore remains unaffected as it has stepped up production at local plants to meet demand.According to a Bernama report on Friday, Malaysia's Environment Department (DOE) had investigated the incident and confirmed that a «bund silt pond» had been damaged, believed to be caused by sand dredging activities in upstream Sungai Johor.The damage caused silt to flow into the river, according to Johor DOE director Dr Mohd Famey Yusoff in a statement.He said that the Johor water regulatory body, Badan Kawalselia Air Johor (Bakaj), had ordered the sand dredging operation to be stopped immediately and repair works to be carried out, but «the escaped 'silt' could not be contained as it continued to flow into the river».

Two Singaporeans were arrested after the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) conducted two separate operations on Thursday (Oct 30), seizing about $4,920 in cash and a total of 115 e-vaporiser pods and 13 e-vaporisers believed to contain etomidate.In a statement on Friday (Oct 31), CNB said it acted on a tip-off and arrested a 42-year-old Singaporean man at his Yishun Ring Road residence for suspected drug offences.A search of the unit uncovered vape-related products and about $3,900 in cash. Suspecting that the man had discarded items down the kitchen rubbish chute, officers searched the chute linked to the unit and recovered 109 e-vaporiser pods and 11 e-vaporisers believed to contain etomidate.On the same day, CNB officers conducted an operation at another residential unit in the vicinity of Fernvale Lane, which led to the arrest of a 31-year-old Singaporean woman for suspected drug offences.

About 500,000 personnel from the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will see an increase in their group insurance scheme from Nov 1.The coverage will go up to $350,000 each, from $300,000. In a joint statement on Friday (Oct 31), the two ministries said that coverage will increase for both the Group Term Life and Group Personal Injury insurance for full-time national servicemen, eligible operationally ready national servicemen, eligible regulars, and eligible volunteers in the ministries as well as the Home Team.«Insured individuals who wish to increase their coverage or insure their dependants can purchase additional coverage from the appointed insurance company, Singlife,» the statement said.The scheme was introduced in 2016.In January 2023, coverage under each policy for all service personnel and eligible volunteers was increased from $150,000 to $300,000. [[nid:724001]]xingying.koh@asiaone.com

In the face of global uncertainties and with multilateralism under pressure, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) grouping's mission to champion free and open trade and investments in the Asia-Pacific region «is now more important than ever,» said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday (Oct 31). He was speaking at the first session of the Apec economic leaders' meeting (AELM) being held in Gyeongju, South Korea.The non-binding 21-member grouping accounts for 50 per cent of global trade and contributed 61 per cent of real gross domestic product in 2023. Said PM Wong: «Apec can make a difference by embracing the spirit of cooperation, being pragmatic, and staying forward looking. »Doing so will deliver tangible outcomes for our economies, while reinforcing the rules-based global order."