While Singapore and Hong Kong compete in some areas, there is also scope for the two cities to collaborate and learn from one another to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes, said Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat.Chee, who is also the deputy chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore board of directors, was writing in two Facebook posts as he wraps up a four-day working visit to Hong Kong on Wednesday (Jan 28).After a meeting with senior representatives from Singapore banks and leading global financial institutions in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Chee emphasised the importance of public and private sectors working together.«Our exchanges underscored the importance of deepening global partnerships across government and the private sector, and working together to add value for investors and businesses across Asia,» wrote Chee.He added that while Singapore and Hong Kong do compete in some areas, there remains scope for the two cities to collaborate and achieve «win-win benefits» for both, riding on Asia's growth.

The Government will address issues of public concern at Budget 2026, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.In a video on Tuesday (Jan 27), PM Wong said that he and his team have engaged Singaporeans from all walks of life about the upcoming Budget.«We have heard your aspirations and also your concerns about the uncertain external environment, the impact of technology and AI on jobs and also on cost pressures that you face,» he said in the 38-second video.PM Wong emphasised that feedback and views from the public have been taken into consideration when constructing Budget 2026.The video also featured footage of other MPs such as Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower Shawn Huang, Leader of the House Indranee Rajah and Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow engaging with members of the public at various events.Budget 2026 will be the first Budget since GE2025 concluded in May and Cabinet changes were made.PM Wong will deliver the Budget 2026 statement in Parliament on Feb 12.

A total of 13 people were taken to hospital after an accident on Orchard Road on Wednesday (Jan 28) morning. Photos shared on social media showed a car and lorry on the pavement in front of the Apple store at the junction of Orchard Road and Orchard Link. Several officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were at the scene.  Responding to AsiaOne’s queries, the SCDF said that it was alerted to the accident at about 6.20am. Six people were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the rest to Singapore General Hospital.Another five persons were assessed for minor injuries but declined to be taken to hospital. AsiaOne has contacted the police for comment. [[nid:709975]]

SINGAPORE — On a quiet stretch off Li Hwan Drive, a pre-school is fighting to stay open.Founded by Loy Wee Mee in 2008, Pre-School By-The-Park @ Li Hwan has seen enrolment falling. In November 2025, it announced that it would shut its doors for good.To stay open, the privately run centre needs to enrol 40 new pupils by April 2026.A group of 52 parents stepped up and convinced Loy to hold an open house on Jan 24.These «Parents By-The-Park» took it upon themselves to publicise the pre-school, creating social media videos, putting up banners and distributing fliers around the neighbourhood.For years, the centre relied largely on word of mouth and did not advertise itself.Loy, who is in her fifties, said: «That's how we've grown. We have some social media (presence), but mostly it's been parents recommending us to other parents.»A space for child-led learning and nurturing curiosityOne of the parents involved is Low Li Ning, 36.Her four-year-old son enrolled at 18 months old and has been at the centre for more than two years.

A 19-year-old man was arrested on Monday (Jan 26) for his alleged involvement in a series of loanshark harassment cases.He was caught after the police were alerted to a case at about 4.50pm at a residential unit in Sengkang, the police said on Tuesday (Jan 27).A photograph of the scene provided by the police shows the main door of the victim's unit splashed with red paint. The main gate and steps leading to the unit were also affected.The suspect was identified within four hours of the report through follow-up investigations by officers from the Bedok Police Division and the Police Operations Command Centre, aided by police cameras.Preliminary investigations revealed that he is also believed to be involved in at least four similar cases of loanshark harassment island-wide, the police added.He will be charged in court on Wednesday.The offence of loanshark harassment carries a penalty of imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of up to $50,000.In addition, those found guilty may receive up to six strokes of the cane.[[nid:727825]]editor@asiaone.com 

Bus commuters can expect the Expected Time of Arrival (ETA) system for buses to be mostly available by Wednesday (Jan 28) morning, although more time is now required for a full restoration, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA). In an update issued on Tuesday evening, the transport regulator said that its engineers and contractors have completed the manual updating of firmware for the 3,000 buses that were identified last week. «The availability of bus arrival timings will be restored to 85 per cent by tomorrow morning,» said LTA. The authority added that bus services will continue to operate as usual. System to be fully restored next week: LTAThe root cause, a memory cache build-up in the on-board system of some buses, had disrupted data transmissions between on-board bus systems and the central ETA processing servers. According to LTA, this led to the issue of missing bus arrival timings. 

Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan will make a two-day visit to the Philippines from Wednesday (Jan 28) to attend an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) retreat for foreign ministers and related meetings. In a statement on Tuesday, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said the visit, from Jan 28 to 29, is at the invitation of the Philippines Secretary of Foreign Affairs Theresa Lazaro. Apart from the foreign ministers' retreat, Dr Balakrishnan will also attend the informal consultation on the implementation of the Asean Five-Point Consensus, and the extended informal consultation on the consensus. The consensus was issued by Asean leaders following their meeting in April 2021. It calls for the immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar; constructive dialogue to seek a peaceful solution; the appointment of a special envoy to facilitate mediation of the dialogue process; humanitarian assistance; and visits by the special envoy to meet with parties in the ongoing Myanmar conflict. 

A brand of biscuits meant for babies aged 10 months and above is being recalled after the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) was informed of the potential presence of foreign matter in the form of soft plastic and/or paper pieces in the biscuits. Nestle Singapore, the importer of the affected product — Gerber's arrowroot biscuits — has been directed to recall the implicated product, the agency said in a news release on Tuesday (Jan 27). Three batches of the USA-made product are being recalled. Product nameBatch numberPackaging sizeExpiry dateGerber arrowroot biscuits5209565504155gOct 27, 2026Gerber arrowroot biscuits5252565505155gDec 9, 2026Gerber arrowroot biscuits5259565505155gDec 16, 2026SFA said that foods known to unsafe for consumption should not be sold, adding that consumers who have purchased the implicated products are advised not to feed it to their children.

Youngsters have often received flak from older generations for being perceived as wilting under pressure easily, but Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong was impressed with one student’s response at being part of the «strawberry generation». It refers to those born from 1990s onwards, and is labelled as such due to the perception that they are easy bruised, entitled and pampered. During the Institute of Policy Studies’ (IPS) annual Singapore Perspective conference at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre on Monday (Jan 26), IPS director Janadas Devan, who acted as the moderator in a dialogue with DPM Gan, gave the label to students in the audience.«Don’t you want to object to a 'strawberry generation' label put on you?» DPM Gan then asked one of the students. To his surprise, Darren, who introduced himself as a Nanyang Polytechnic student, simply replied: «No, it doesn’t bother me.»«The self-confidence,» said the impressed DPM Gan to Janadas. «This is our hope for the future». Darren had asked DPM Gan on how the Government can engage foreigners without sidelining Singaporeans. 

Steven Pang Chee Wee and Yip Wei Kiat have been appointed Singapore's ambassador to Cambodia and high commissioner to Brunei respectively, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) announced on Tuesday (Jan 27).Pang, who previously headed the ministry's consular directorate, has served in various appointments since joining MFA in 1999.He was formerly Singapore's consul-general in China's Chengdu from 2017 to 2019, and had also served as Singapore's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations' office in Geneva.A graduate of The University of Tokyo, Pang is married to Lynn Cha Siew Yen. They have one daughter.

PropertyLimBrothers chief executive Melvin Lim's name has been removed from the website of the real estate agency, amid allegations of adultery which surfaced over the weekend.Lim, 45, is the co-founder of the agency — under the PropNex umbrella — along with Adrian Lim, 48.Allegations that Melvin — said to be married with four children — is having an affair with a colleague began circulating online on Sunday (Jan 25).Videos of him leaving an office unit with another woman, alleged to be in a «senior management role», went viral on social media. She is apparently an influencer and is married, according to the contents of an email received by AsiaOne on Sunday.Video of alleged affair recorded in office unitVideos circulating on social media platforms and posted to Reddit were allegedly recorded from the office unit facing Melvin's office. Moaning could be heard in the clip, as the people behind the video attempt to get closer to the source of the sound.

The posting results for the 2026 Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) will be released at 9am on Feb 3.Applicants can obtain their posting results through the JAE website or short message service (SMS).Those posted to a junior college (JC) or Millenia Institute (MI) should report to their posted institutions on Feb 4 morning.These students may refer to their posted institutions' websites for additional information such as the reporting details and purchase of uniforms. The Ministry of Education (MOE) also advised those who are unable to report to their posted institution on the first day of school for valid reasons should contact the institution they are posted to to reserve their places.Applicants posted to polytechnics or Institutes of Education (ITE) will receive their enrolment details via email by end-February 2026 and Feb 3 respectively.In its statement on Tuesday (Jan 27), MOE also advised those who wish to seek a transfer to JC/MI course to appeal to the institution directly.

From Feb 1, medical qualifications from eight more overseas schools will be recognised in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Singapore Medical Council (SMC) in a joint statement on Tuesday (Jan 27). «The additions will allow Singapore to better meet the growing demand for doctors as our population ages,» the agencies said. The newly recognised schools are: Adelaide University, College of Health in AustraliaManipal Academy of Higher Educaation, Kasturba Medical College in IndiaUniversity of Galway, School of Medicine in IrelandUniversiti Sains Malaysia, School of Medical Sciences in MalaysiaThe Aga Khan University Medical College in PakistanTsinghua University, School of Medicine in ChinaCity St George’s, University of London, School of Health & Medicinal Sciences in BritainUniversity of Exeter, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences in BritainThis addition brings the total number of recognised overseas medical schools from 112 to 120. 

Singapore's public transport network is «horsing up» for the Chinese New Year with specially-decorated trains, buses and MRT stations. This is a collaboration between the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, as well as public transport operators SBS Transit, SMRT, Tower Transit Singapore and Go-Ahead Singapore.From Tuesday (Jan 27) to Mar 3, selected trains on all six rail lines — Circle Line, Downtown Line, East-West Line, North-East Line, North-South Line and Thomson-East Coast Line — as well as bus services 51, 67, 70, 78, 87, 143, 183, 187 and 960 will feature these decorations.Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Panjang, Downtown, Outram Park, Punggol, Serangoon and Shenton Way MRT stations will also be similarly decorated.The Chinese New Year-themed decorations feature colourful horse illustrations, festive lanterns, traditional Chinese New Year Yu Sheng and auspicious greetings.«The introduction of themed public transport is part of LTA's continued efforts to enliven the commuting experience during festive seasons and to foster a positive commuter culture,» said the authority.