Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Monday (Jan 26) congratulated Vietnam's To Lam following his re-election as the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam last Friday (Jan 23).Lam has been party chief since mid-2024 when he replaced the late general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who died at the age of 80.In his congratulatory letter, PM Wong, who is also the People's Action Party's secretary-general, extended his «warmest congratulations» to the party chief.He noted that relations between Singapore and Vietnam are underpinned by a shared vision to build mutually beneficial ties for the prosperity of both countries and its people."We have developed strong ties in the economic, political, and people-to-people spheres. 

A family has been offered temporary accommodation after a fire broke out in the bedroom of their Yishun HDB flat on Saturday (Jan 24) afternoon. In response to AsiaOne's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force said it was alerted to a fire at Block 120 Yishun Ring Road at about 4.50pm. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the eighth-floor flat using a water jet.No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is being investigated.Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam, who is MP for Nee Soon GRC, visited the flat on Sunday morning to check in on the affected family. In a video posted to Facebook, he speaks to the homeowner, surnamed Ong, who shared that they were away during the incident. Six people live in the flat, including three schooling children. The fire had blackened the ceiling and walls. Soot and debris are seen on the floor. 

Several pieces of what appears to be large cable trunking were seen falling off the back of a lorry travelling along the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) on Saturday (Jan 24), narrowly missing nearby vehicles as the unsecured load fell onto the road. The incident involving a silver Toyota lorry, believed to have happened at around 10.30am, was captured on dashcam footage and shared to the Facebook group SG Road Vigilante the same day. A woman in the vehicle driving behind the lorry can be heard screaming as its cargo started falling in front of her, while her driver swerved to the right. The latter then caught up to the lorry and sounded his horn to alert the heavy goods vehicle's driver, who seems unfazed, of the incident.  

A driver of a Singapore-registered vehicle allegedly drove off without paying for a full tank of petrol in Johor on Jan 21. According to a Facebook post shared in the Singapore Road Vigilante group, the incident happened at around 10.30pm at a highway service station in Skudai. As the Lexus left the Caltex station without footing the bill, its employees tried to stop it while another vehicle honked the driver. «If you are the owner of the vehicle, please contact us immediately to settle the arrears,» said the post. «A police report will be made after 48 hours if we do not receive any response.»  

A Singaporean man's wallet was stolen while he was shopping at a Batam market.The incident occurred at around 11am on Friday (Jan 23) in Pasar Jodoh on Batam island, reported Batam News Online.The victim, identified as 73-year-old Lim Choon Hua, was shopping for fruit in the market when a man approached him from behind, touched his legs and claimed to be giving him a massage, reported Batam News Online. As Lim bent over in shock, the man took his wallet from his trousers pocket.In an Instagram video posted by Batam News Online that same day, Lim, dressed in a checkered shirt, black shorts and slippers, can be seen speaking to bystanders as he anxiously paced back and forth.  He pulled out what appeared to be his Singaporean passport and was heard saying in Malay: «My identity card is missing.» Surrounding onlookers told him to make a police report, reported Shin Min Daily News.Lim's wallet reportedly contained $1,700, 3.2 million IDR (S$244), three debit cards and his identity card.A vendor told Indonesian media that Lim was alone at the market when he felt someone step forcefully on his foot. 

Unruly cycling behaviour on our roads have come into the spotlight again after two groups of youths were seen allegedly flouting cycling rules in separate incidents.Two youths were seen riding what appears to be fixies along Cantonment Road, according to a video posted to the Sgfollowsall Instagram page on Sunday (Jan 25).A fixie, or fixed-gear bicycle, generally does not come with hand-operated brakes, and rely on the rider's pedal resistance to stop.One of the duo, dressed in black, was not wearing a helmet in the video.As they were crossing the junction, which had an uphill section, the youth dressed in black was seen swerving out of the leftmost lane. The duo were then seen on the middle of three lanes before the video cuts off.The government has required, since September 2021, that all bicycles on public paths and roads have at least one working handbrake.Those caught riding a bicycle without brakes can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both. Their bicycles will also be confiscated. 

A 94-year-old man was discovered to have died alone at his MacPherson home on Saturday (Jan 24) morning after volunteers noticed a foul stench and learnt that he had not been seen for days.The senior citizen had lived in a one-room rental flat at Block 90 Pipit Road for over 10 years, reported Shin Min Daily News.When reporters arrived at the scene that afternoon, a police note was left on the padlocked gate.A reddish-brown fluid had reportedly seeped through the front door and pooled in the corridor.A neighbour surnamed Wu, 70, told the Chinese daily she had last seen the man five or six days before his body was found.About two days later, she smelt an odour which she believed to be from cat faeces. The funk only grew stronger, leading her to suspect that a stray cat may have died nearby.On Saturday morning, volunteers distributing Chinese New Year goodies at the block had knocked on the man's door but he did not answer. Learning that the smell had lingered for several days, and that no one had seen the man in a while, they called the police.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade - but what do you do when life takes durians away?Durian seller 99 Old Trees has made the most of a situation where a man allegedly stole durians from their shop in Chinatown, according to an Instagram post last Wednesday (Jan 21).The post, which has since garnered over 3,500 likes, comes with the caption: «If you get caught committing a crime, we are (going to) squeeze and milk as much content out of your crime.»In the timestamp on the video attached to the post, the incident likely took place at around 2.45pm on Jan 15.Describing the situation as the «greatest magic show in Singapore's history», 99 Old Trees co-founder Kelvin Tan gave a summary of events.According to security footage, a man with a small black duffel bag hanging on his shoulder can be seen strolling around outside the shop, picking up two boxes of durian.As he steps into the shop, however, footage from a different camera shows that the two boxes have disappeared from his hands, prompting Tan to jokingly call the man «Master Houdini».

Seventy people were evacuated after a fire broke out at a 12th-floor unit in a Housing and Development Board (HDB) block in Bukit Merah on Saturday (Jan 24).The incident happened at about 5.30pm at Block 103B Depot Road in Bukit Merah.The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post that the fire involved one of the rooms in a residential unit on the 12th-floor. When firefighters arrived at the scene, black smoke was seen emitting from the affected unit. The fire was put out with two water jets.«As a result of the fire, the rest of the unit also sustained heat and smoke damage,» SCDF said in its Facebook post.About 70 people were evacuated by the police and SCDF as a precautionary measure.One person from the affected unit, who had evacuated before firefighters arrived, was taken to Singapore General Hospital after he felt unwell.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Scoot have avoided the airspace of Iraq and the Red Sea as a precautionary measure amid tensions between US and Iran.In a reply to AsiaOne's query on Sunday (Jan 25), SIA Group stated that the measure has «no significant impact» on operations.SIA and Scoot does not fly over Iranian airspace, it added.«The SIA Group will continue to closely monitor the situation in the Middle East, and will adjust our flight paths as needed,» said a spokesperson.The spokesperson added that the SIA Group's top priority is the safety of its customers and staff.Airlines rerouting, cancelling flights across Middle EastAirlines have been rerouting and cancelling some flights across the Middle East as tensions ramp up between Iran and the United States, reported Reuters. President Donald Trump said on Thursday (Jan 22) that the US had an «armada» heading towards Iran, while a senior Iranian official said on Friday that Iran will treat any attack «as an all-out war». 

A motorcycle was seen moving without a rider back and forth across three lanes on the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) on Saturday (Jan 24) after being rear-ended by a car.The accident happened at about 11.40am, along KPE towards the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE), after the Airport Road entrance.  The accident happened at about 11.40am, along the KPE towards MCE, after the Airport Road entrance. PHOTO: Google Maps In a video posted to its page by SG Road Vigilante, a white Mercedes sports utility (SUV) vehicle is seen travelling on the merging lane after the Airport Road entrance.A motorcycle, which was travelling to the SUV's right, lines up ahead of the SUV towards the end of the merging lane as traffic slowed down near the bend. 

A woman was seen spitting water onto other commuters and the floor of a train, in a viral video posted online on Friday (Jan 23).The video, which was reportedly first uploaded to Xiaohongshu and then re-circulated online, stated that the train was travelling from Bukit Gombak to Choa Chu Kang on the North-South Line when the incident occurred.The clip, posted by Instagram user Summeryeow, has since garnered over 58,000 likes.In the video, the woman can be seen drinking water from a plastic bottle before spitting it onto the floor and at commuters, who looked exasperated at her behaviour.She did this several times before another female commuter confronted her by attempting to snatch the bottle away from her hands.«What's wrong with you?» the commuter asked her. «Nobody is offending you right?»«This is not the first time you do this [sic],» she continued.

A police officer responding to a case of noise disturbance in a Housing and Development Board (HDB) estate in Punggol on Thursday (Jan 22), ended up with nearly 20 stitches on his face, allegedly caused by a male teenager dragging him for some distance while fleeing.The incident happened at Treelodge@Punggol, a HDB estate along Punggol Road, at about 10.30pm. A 17-year-old male teenager, who was seated on his personal mobility device (PMD) was stopped by a police officer, who had held on to the device's handlebar and the teenager's arm.Despite this, the teen allegedly sped off, causing the officer to be dragged for some distance before falling off. The teen later crashed into a nearby pillar and was arrested.

The haze detected in eastern Singapore on Saturday (Jan 24) was likely due to a detected hot spot and smoke plume in Johor, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) in a statement.The one-hour PM2.5 level, which refers to the air particles that measure less than 2.5 micrometres, was 57 at 7pm that evening, or in the “elevated” range.Several residents also took to social media to report a faint burning smell.In a Facebook post at about 8pm on Saturday, NEA wrote: «PM2.5 levels in the eastern part of Singapore are currently slightly elevated. Some residents have reported a faint burnt smell. This is likely due to a detected hotspot and smoke plume in Johor that is near to Singapore.»It added that with prevailing winds blowing from the North and Northeast, some haze could have drifted over and affected air quality. As of 1pm on Sunday, air quality in all parts of Singapore fell within the normal range, according to readings posted on NEA's website. The one-hour PM2.5 was 11 in the East.

SINGAPORE - Years of concern over Mary's (not her real name) phone use came to a head in June 2025, when her parents discovered she had an online boyfriend.Now 16, she has had two such relationships since she was 15, meeting both boys through Roblox, an online game platform hugely popular among the young.Mary, a Secondary 4 student, told The Straits Times that she had been cautious, screening these individuals - who are not in Singapore - through video calls to ensure they were around her age before getting into a relationship. She had never met them in person.But her parents, alarmed and upset, made her cut off contact.In the most recent incident, her father smashed her phone in a fit of anger when he realised she had continued messaging one of the boys.When she falls out with her parents, she seeks solace online, resulting in a cycle of tension and unhappiness at home.Her mother has lashed out in frustration, sometimes comparing Mary with her twin sister.«I'm not as pretty, slim or smart (as her). I feel hurt when my parents compare us,» she said.

New initiatives, including digital signages and visual cues, are being piloted at Serangoon MRT Station to help commuters navigate their way during rail disruptions. The measures are being implemented by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and public transport operators SMRT and SBS Transit. The digital signages at fare gates and linkways, among other locations, provide colour-coded status updates for all rail lines. During normal operations, they also double as mobile advertising panels. Previously, station staff would have to place physical signboards during delays or disruptions. The digital signages allow staff to focus on assisting commuters.