We are oftentimes told that wisdom and street smarts come with age.However, Caleb Chua did not let his age stop him from making a difference in the community when he founded the Homewarmers initiative in April this year alongside some friends he met at a youth leaders programme.Speaking to AsiaOne on Saturday (Sept 6), the 18-year-old, who is pursuing a diploma in Human Resources, said that the ground-up initiative aims to provide seniors living alone with a sense of companionship and belonging through home visits and community events.He continued: «We just want to make sure that there are no seniors left behind in this very busy world, you know?»Chua said that in view of the large number of lonely deaths among seniors and social isolation among youths, he and his team believe connecting with the elderly through in-depth conversations would benefit both parties.When asked if a particular instance stuck with him in his journey, Chua said that visiting an elderly woman surnamed Khoo was one such experience.

Everyone had to leave by 6pm. A thoughtful nod to work-life balance? Or was it to conceal something spookier when this rule was enforced at 35 Hendon Road?The two restored colonial bungalows, which were the training campus for a large European bank, were a stone's throw from the old, disused Changi Hospital. Closed since 1997, it had gained the reputation of being the most haunted place in Singapore.One evening, a member of the staff lingered slightly past 6pm, freshening up in the bathroom for a dinner date. She heard a toilet flush and out of the corner of her eye saw the reflection of a colleague in the mirror, stepping out of a cubicle and moving towards the washbasin.«Oh, you are still here. I thought you had already left,» she said, making casual conversation.After a while, she felt something was not right; her colleague was not responding. When she turned around, the toilet was empty.But when she looked into the mirror again, the reflection of her colleague remained - smiling at her.

«Stunning, traditional, authentic» - that is how some visitors describe the bread at Le Fournil de Saint-Robert, a small bakery in a south-western French village.Local residents and travellers alike are reportedly drawn to the bakery, whose aroma of wood-fired sourdough wafts into the cobbled streets and whose products and services have garnered it an average of 4.7 stars over 67 reviews on Google. The man behind it all is 51-year-old Singaporean Ewan Irwan.Originally from Tampines, he worked in the engineering sector before meeting his then wife, Sophie, a Frenchwoman, in Singapore. In 2003, they moved to France, hoping to build a life together. Engineering jobs proved elusive, but a new calling soon emerged: bread-making.«Baking here is on another level. Most bakers are so dedicated to their craft,» he told The Straits Times on Sept 5.Determined to master the art, Mr Ewan enrolled in a one-year diploma course in Lyon and spent two years in professional bakeries, learning the traditions and techniques of French baking. Yet the hustle and bustle of city life never suited him.

We are oftentimes told that wisdom and street smarts come with age.However, Caleb Chua did not let his age stop him from making a difference in the community when he founded the Homewarmers initiative in April this year alongside some friends he met at a youth leaders programme.Speaking to AsiaOne on Saturday (Sept 6), the 18-year-old, who is pursuing a diploma in Human Resources, said that the ground-up initiative aims to provide seniors living alone with a sense of companionship and belonging through home visits and community events.He continued: «We just want to make sure that there are no seniors left behind in this very busy world, you know?»Chua said that in view of the large number of lonely deaths among seniors and social isolation among youths, he and his team believe connecting with the elderly through in-depth conversations would benefit both parties.When asked if a particular instance stuck with him in his journey, Chua said that visiting an elderly woman surnamed Khoo was one such experience.

It began as a refusal to pay $1 extra to travel back from Pulau Ubin to mainland Singapore, but ended with one man having to pay 12 times the initial cost instead.In a Straits Times Forum letter published on Sept 1, Simon Seah Sing Hon shared that it may not be worth going to the island «if issues with transportation to and from the place discourage visitors».He had visited Ubin on Aug 22 (along with his wife, he later told Shin Min Daily News) but when he wanted to return at 6pm, was told by the ferry operator that he and the other passengers would have to pay $5 instead of the usual $4 to take the boat.This was because only 10 passengers were gathered at the jetty, and the boatman said he usually needed 12.Seah added that he also upped the price to $6 before departing.«The National Parks Board's website states that bumboats set off only when there are nine to 12 passengers,» Seah added. «The operator was obviously relying on passengers' urgency to return home to insist on his full load.»We did not agree, and he left with just the eight passengers who agreed to pay $6."

A chain collision involving five cars took place at Tampines Ave 10 on the evening of Sept 4, resulting in five people, including two children, being taken to the hospital.A video of the accident posted by the Facebook page SG Road Vigilante shows a white car switching lanes suddenly and ramming into the back of a stationary red car at the rightmost lane.The force of the collision sends the white car upwards, and its bonnet can be seen crumpling.The red car can be seen briefly hitting a car in front, which is also sent forward by the collision towards a third car.   

For almost a year, a Singapore Prison Service (SPS) officer helped an inmate smuggle prohibited items, including medication and lewd pictures, into Changi Prison Complex.From August 2021 to June 2022, Mohammad Asri Abd Rahim, 39, who has since been suspended from duty, helped Mohamad Yusof Kasim, 50, to smuggle in contraband items for inmates.For his assistance, Asri received at least $3,700 in bribes from Yusof, also known as “Kimo”, through the latter’s friends and acquaintances.On Sept 5, Asri and Yusof each pleaded guilty to multiple charges involving acts of corruption.A third man identified as Murali Vigneshwaran, 36, who was also involved in the case, pleaded guilty to one corruption-linked charge.Deputy Public Prosecutor Andrew Chia told the court that Asri joined SPS in April 2012. His roles included managing inmates at the Changi Prison Complex Institution B.Inmates known as Correctional Unit Attendants (CUAs) were tasked to help out with housekeeping matters.

Over 1,500 e-vaporisers and related components were detected and seized by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) between Sept 1 and 4 in continued enhanced checks, it said in a Facebook post on Friday (Sept 5).Within the specified period, ICA detected 123 cases of travellers having vapes on them, including those who had voluntarily disposed of their vapes at checkpoint bins.Approximately 70 per cent of the cases involved short-term visitors, while the remaining 30 per cent were Singapore residents.This comes after more than 850 vape products were intercepted by the authority between Aug 18 and 22 amid stepped up checks at the various air, land and sea checkpoints.In its Facebook post, ICA emphasised that vaping is illegal in Singapore and that foreigners who visit or live in our country must abide by the laws.«Since Sept 1, 2025, individuals caught possessing, using or importing e-vaporisers will face higher penalties,» ICA stated.

Sixteen women and one man, aged between 21 and 41, have been arrested for their suspected involvement in vice-related activities.Between Sept 3 and 4, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department, Central Police Division and Bedok Police Division conducted raids in the vicinity of MacPherson Road, King George’s Avenue and Sims Avenue, resulting in the arrests.Cash amounting to more than $2,000, mobile phones and vice-related paraphernalia were seized. The 41-year-old man was arrested for allegedly collecting earnings from vice-related activities which violates Section 146(1) of the Women’s Charter 1961. Under the Women’s Charter 1961, any person who knowingly lives wholly or in part on the earnings of the prostitution of another person can be jailed for a term not exceeding seven years and shall also be liable to a fine not exceeding $100,000.Investigations against the 16 women are ongoing.The police said they will continue to take «tough enforcement action» against those involved in syndicated vice activities.

The Government must “continually earn” public trust to “avoid the dysfunction that has bedevilled so many other countries”, said President Tharman Shanmugaratnam in his opening address of the 15th Parliament on Friday (Sept 5).In a speech that sets out the Government’s priorities for the next five years, he said that Singapore has defied the trend of eroding public trust in governments and other institutions seen “almost everywhere across the world".This is due to the country cultivating a different ethos of governance and politics, he said, which values “stewardship over expediency” and “enduring responsibility over transient gain”.“We have been able to do so because we have built trust, both between government and the people, and amongst citizens themselves.”“This trust has allowed us to make hard choices when needed, and to plan for the future beyond current election cycles.”But he warned that such trust must be continually earned through “continuous dialogue, listening, accountability and a shared sense of purpose”.

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's hurried departure from Bangkok on Thursday night (Sept 4) to Singapore, his first destination, did not go to plan, according to reports from Thailand.The private jet carrying the 76-year-old billionaire could not land in Seletar Airport on Friday (Sept 5) because the airport shuts at 10pm.Instead, the plane was diverted to Dubai and landed there around 3am (7am, Singapore time), reports said.«I intended to travel to Singapore to have a health check with the doctor who took care of me while I was abroad,» Thaksin said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.But he claimed that Thai immigration officers delayed him for «almost two hours», adding that he has the same rights as any other Thai when it comes to travel.During the flight, the pilot notified him that the delays caused by the immigration officers meant that he could not land at Seletar Airport.AsiaOne understands that Seletar Airport, which receives private jets, operates between 7am and 10pm.«Since I couldn't land in Singapore, I decided to have the pilot change my plans to Dubai,» he wrote.