From Monday (March 16) to May 3, commuters will be greeted by Hari Raya-themed decorations on selected buses, trains and 10 MRT stations across the public transport network.This is a collaboration between the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the Malay Heritage Centre, as well as public transport operators SBS Transit, SMRT, Go-Ahead Singapore and Tower Transit Singapore. Hari Raya-themed decorations on a MRT train. PHOTO: AsiaOne/Shafiq Apandi Commuters can catch the decorations on 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 30, 51, 67, 147, 190, 960 and 963.

SINGAPORE — When logistics executive Azree Aslan was told he had been retrenched in April 2025, he had about 30 minutes left in the working day.«You don't have time to let it sink in,» said the 37-year-old, recalling the eventful day.With a young family to support, he learnt about the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme only a few days later and applied for it, which provided financial relief.His experience reflects a wider debate now unfolding over whether companies should be required to notify the authorities and unions before retrenching workers, rather than after layoffs have already been announced.The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is pushing for advance notice, but the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) warned that the proposal carries «significant implementation challenges and uncertain benefits».The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said it will review NTUC's proposal as part of a broader relook of the Employment Act.Under current MOM rules, employers with at least 10 employees must notify the ministry within five days after retrenching workers, regardless of the number affected. 

Two women were arrested at their HDB flat in North Bridge Road after allegedly attacking their neighbour on March 13 and are being investigated for drug-related offences.An argument had broken out between the two women and their male neighbour on the 11th floor, reported Lianhe Zaobao.Replying to AsiaOne's queries, the police confirmed the incident and said they received a call for assistance at Block 7 North Bridge Road at around 4.05pm that day.Upon arrival, the police found that a 57-year-old woman had locked herself in her home after she allegedly got into an altercation with a 56-year-old man. Officers from the Special Operations Command, Crisis Negotiation Unit and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were also activated after it was assessed that the woman posed a danger to herself. According to the SCDF, one safety life air pack was deployed as a precautionary measure.Police officers subsequently managed to gain entry into the unit and found two female occupants at around 5.05pm.

Educators under several teaching schemes will receive salary hike from Oct 1, said the

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will visit Japan from March 17 (Tuesday) to March 19 for an official visit as part of his introductory visits to key partners in the region. This will be his first visit to the country as head of government. PM Wong, who is also Finance Minister, has visited neighbouring Southeast Asian countries and key partners in Asia, such as China and South Korea, since taking over the premiership from Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong in May 2024.«The upcoming visit coincides with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Singapore and Japan,» the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Monday.

SINGAPORE — PropertyLimBrothers (PLB) is tightening governance after a leadership controversy that triggered widespread online speculation about the company's senior executives.The real estate agency will introduce a formal code of conduct, which could include rules on workplace relationships, professional behaviour and dress codes.The aim is to strengthen accountability and create a safer working environment, said PLB co-founder Adrian Lim in an exclusive interview with The Straits Times on March 9.The agency has also launched a whistle-blowing channel for property agents and other employees to raise their concerns anonymously. Serious breaches could result in disciplinary action, including termination, Mr Lim said.PLB was thrust into the spotlight in late January following allegations about an extramarital affair between the firm's second co-founder and former chief executive Melvin Lim and Ms Grayce Tan, who was then vice-president of strategy.

A person was seen on video tossing a fistful of soil in the direction of two workers at a construction site at an HDB estate, allegedly because of noise.The act was filmed by the culprit, and the video was subsequently uploaded to the Sgfollowsall Instagram page on Sunday (March 15).In the clip, the errant individual grabs some loose soil from a potted plant on their balcony and flings the soil over the railing.A construction worker downstairs immediately stands up and looks in the direction of the camera. The worker, who is believed to have been hit by the soil, touches the top of his helmet.«Make so much noise right now,» reads the in-video text.According to Sgfollowsall, the clip had been submitted by an anonymous user, who claimed that a boy had thrown the soil. It is not clear when and where the incident occurred.The Instagram Reel has garnered 285,000 views in a day and sparked outrage online.«Hospitals, USS, Zoo, every building in this country is built by foreign workers. In fact, the place you call home is built by them and this is how you treat them,» chastised a netizen.

Following a series of recalls involving infant milk formulas in January this year over the presence of cereulide toxin, two additional formula milk products are being recalled over the same issue. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) on Sunday (March 15) ordered the recall of Nestle's NAN HA2 and Nature One Dairy's Premium Toddler Milk Formula Stage 3. Cereulide is a toxin produced by some strains of the Bacillus cereus bacterium, which can cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhoea. Both SFA and the Communicable Diseases Agency said in a joint statement that the detection follows the expansion of testing of infant formula milk products to include those intended for children above one year old. SFA added that the recall for Nestle's NAN HA2 follows its ongoing market surveillance after it earlier completed testing of all infant formula products sold at major retail outlets in Singapore. The affected Nestle and Nature One Dairy products originated from Switzerland and Australia respectively. 

A recycling truck caught fire at a HDB block in Tampines on Saturday (March 14). The incident happened at about 6.40pm near Block 319 Tampines Street 33. Videos of the incident posted on social media showed flames burning through the roof of the collection tank — mounted at the rear of the truck — belonging to waste management company 800 Super. Firefighters from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were seen using a water jet to cool the tank. As the fire smouldered, the truck driver was seen unloading the contents of the tank onto the driveway as officers sieved through the recyclable waste to put out the flames. Firefighting operations appeared to have extended past sunset with another video showing officers still conducting dampening down after the skies turned dark.Responding to AsiaOne's queries, SCDF said the fire involved the rear compartment of a recycling truck and officers extinguished the fire using a water jet. There were no reported injuries and investigations are ongoing. [[nid:731455]]editor@asiaone.com

A 53-year-old male driver was arrested on Sunday (March 15) for suspected drink driving after the lorry he was driving got into an accident with a taxi. The incident happened at about 1.55pm along Bendemeer Road towards Jalan Besar. Pictures of the aftermath seen by AsiaOne show the lorry with damages to its bumper and headlamp on the right side.The man, who was initially questioned by a traffic police outrider, was later arrested by officers who arrived in an expressway patrol car. AsiaOne understands that the man is an Indian national employed by a local construction firm in Geylang.

SINGAPORE — Japanese restaurant chain Itacho Sushi appears to have shuttered all its outlets in Singapore, following a spate of closures here in the past year.As at March 15, the four remaining Itacho Sushi outlets were listed on Google Maps as permanently closed. These outlets were located at Ion Orchard, Bugis Junction, The Star Vista and Novena Square 2.They had been listed on Itacho Sushi's website — which is down — according to a Nov 12, 2025, archived snapshot. This follows closures of the chain's other outlets at Tampines Mall and Bedok Mall within a year.Checks on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook on March 15 showed that the company's Singapore accounts had been taken down too. The Itacho Sushi mobile app was also not available on the Google Play Store and App Store.According to the Government's Bizfile portal, Itacho BM, which operates the Singapore chain of restaurants, is listed as being «gazetted to be struck off» the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority's Register of Companies. The notice was first published in the Government Gazette on Feb 13.

SINGAPORE — Between 2023 and 2025, more than 20 doctors and dentists here were caught practising without a valid registration or after their practising certificates had expired.No patient was harmed in the cases reported and investigated, the Ministry of Health (MOH) told The Straits Times.MOH said these errant practitioners were formally trained practitioners who did not have the necessary or valid credentials, mainly due to issues that were «administrative in nature and not related to professional competency».In several instances, the practitioners had unintentionally continued practising after their practising certificates had expired, it said.But in the light of the cases, MOH sent a circular on Feb 6 to remind all licensees under the Healthcare Services Act and its Regulations, including general practitioners and dental clinics, to have proper credential verification processes in place.

An elderly man was spotted screaming and physically abusing a woman on a public bus recently.In an Instagram post by Sgfollowsall on Friday (March 13), a contributor shared that he was travelling onboard service bus number 36B when he witnessed the man shouting at the woman after she told him to put his bags on the floor instead of the seat beside him.From the video posted, he was seen hurling insults at the woman seated opposite him: «Oh shut up, sh*t face.»At one point, he also shouted at the woman that while she has a «master's degree, lots of money and a big family», she had «no face».The woman replied calmly that she doesn't have a master's degree and he mocked her.When the man realised she was recording him with her mobile phone, he got physical, using his phone to hit her while screaming: «Don't you dare use your phone.»The contributor intervened to stop his behaviour, but he continued to strike her, and at this point, the woman also raised her voice.

The Housing Development Board (HDB) has released a statement after a woman took to TikTok to share that she had failed to secure a Build-To-Order (BTO) flat after '13 applications'. In a Facebook post on March 14, HDB said that the woman had applied 11 times for a four-room flat in BTO and Sales of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises between November 2020 and May 2023.«As all her applications were for flats in popular locations such as Kallang Whampoa and Bukit Merah where demand significantly exceeded supply, she was unsuccessful in securing a chance to book a flat in her first 10 applications,» said HDB. «In her last application under the May 2023 SBF exercise, Ms Chua was invited to select a flat but decided not to do so. She eventually bought a resale flat with CPF Housing Grants.» 

A man purchased a set of 'love talismans' hoping to improve his love life, but was later almost 'tricked' to spend even more money.In a report by Shin Min Daily News on Saturday (March 14), the man, who wished to remain anonymous, shared that he has a habit of purchasing fengshui accessories to improve his luck.At the beginning of this year, he saw an advertisement on Shopee about the sales of love talismans to help the owner improve their romantic luck and find their destined partner.The talismans were priced between $7 and $34. The man purchased a set at $34.

The longstanding and close working relationship between Singapore and Malaysia law enforcement agencies received a boost on March 10 when the Police Coast Guard (PCG) met with its Johor counterparts to break fast (iftar) together at sea.In a video posted on its social media, three Johor Marine Police patrol craft are seen coming alongside each other off what appears to be Johor's coastline. As the sun sets in the distance, two PCG patrol craft approach the Malaysian patrol craft and come alongside them.Moments later, PCG commander's Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SAC) Ang Eng Seng is seen boarding one of the Malaysian craft.He was received by deputy commander of Bukit Aman Marine Police, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Zulkifli Mahmood and commander of the Johor Marine Police (Region Two) ACP Noor Azman Jamal. Law enforcement officers from both sides then broke fast together and exchanged mementos before the Singaporean officers left in their craft.

An upset laundromat customer filed a police report after an elderly man allegedly stole their clothes from a Sparklewash laundromat. The incident happened on March 12 at about 1.40am at 324 Serangoon Avenue 3. In CCTV footage shared on Instagram page sgfollowsall on Friday (March 13), the elderly man is seen wheeling an empty trolley over to four washing machines. He looks around before opening one of the machines and slowly pulling out all the clothes, piling them onto his trolley. [embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/DVz7pubDPt5/[/embed]He then quickly wheels his loot away, leaving the washing machine door ajar. The customer whose clothes were 'stolen' said that this is not the first time the man has done so. «Seems that he is always loitering [near the laundromat] between 1am and 3am to see if there is anyone or any laundry there,» they shared. «If anyone knows this man, could you ask them to contact me? Thank you so much.»The customer added that they had filed a police report.