For the second consecutive day, fuel prices in Singapore fell on Thursday (May 21) as both Esso and Shell posted adjustments to their respective diesel and petrol prices.Esso led the downward adjustments on Thursday afternoon, with a 6-cent reduction to its posted price for diesel — to $4.42, but held petrol prices steady.At 6pm the same day, Shell, the London-headquartered oil and gas company, announced that it had dropped prices across its petrol offerings by 3 cents — effectively reversing its 3-cent hike on May 18. No other fuel company here mirrored Shell's May 18 adjustments, when it also dropped diesel price by 3 cents.Two days later, on Wednesday, Shell again dropped its posted price for diesel by 3 cents. Following the latest round of adjustments, the price of the more popular 95-octane petrol now ranges from $2.64 at Cnergy to $3.47 at Caltex.

Heavy rains and strong winds caused branches from a tall tree to snap, subsequently damaging the roof of a home in Yio Chu Kang.The incident occurred at about 1.30am on Thursday (May 21) along Sunrise Drive, reported Shin Min Daily News.The affected bungalow had a row of tall trees situated across from it, and one of the trees was observed to have many broken branches.A fence next to the trees was also visibly damaged and cordoned off with safety tape, reported Shin Min.The homeowner, surnamed Lee, told the Chinese publication that he heard a bang at the time but did not think much of it as it was raining heavily.«I didn't know that the tree across the street had fallen and hit my home until my neighbour told me,» said the 72-year-old.Footage of the aftermath shows dense tree branches across the road and blocking the driveway of Lee's home.The roof tiles on the third floor and the balcony of his home were damaged, leaving the iron frame exposed.

Three people, comprising two Singaporeans and one Indian national, were charged by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Thursday (May 21) for various immigration offences.The offences include allegedly harbouring and employing immigration offenders and intentionally aiding the possession of unlawfully altered visit passes.Kanojiya, a 26-year-old Indian national, was arrested during an enforcement operation at Block 405 Hougang Avenue 10 on March 3. He is accused of providing 13 overstayers — 11 men and two women — with lodging, despite them having remained unlawfully in Singapore after the expiry of their visit passes.The 13 were issued with stern warnings and have since been deported and barred from re-entering Singapore.In two other separate cases, Song, a 37-year-old Singaporean man, and Suba, a 32-year-old Singaporean woman, were each charged for allegedly employing Indian nationals who did not have a valid work permit.

The Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) is monitoring the rise in Covid-19 cases in Singapore, but said that periodic waves can be expected throughout the year.In a Facebook post on Thursday (May 21), the agency said that 12,700 cases were recorded in the past week between May 10 and May 16, up from 8,000 cases the previous week.Over the same period, the average number of daily Covid-19 hospitalisations rose from 56 to 73, with one case in Intensive Care Unit daily on average. «The public acute hospitals are able to manage the increase in cases,» said the agency.Periodic waves expectedCovid-19 is an endemic respiratory disease and periodic waves can be expected throughout the year.«There is no indication that the variants circulating locally are more transmissible or cause more severe disease compared to previously circulating variants,» it added.The rise in cases can be attributed to multiple factors including waning population immunity.At the same time, current vaccines available remain effective against the Covid-19 variants that are circulating locally.

Four mosques in Singapore may face delayed arrival of live sheep from Australia, said the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) on Thursday (May 21).One of the licensed local korban operators, The Meat Brothers, is still pending export permit approval under Australia's Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System.The potential delay of about 400 live sheep could affect Al-Firaus Mosque in Choa Chu Kang, Petempatan Melayu Sembawang Mosque, Pusara Aman Mosque in Lim Chu Kang, and a portion of livestock for Jamae Chulia Mosque in Chinatown.Korban is a ritual involving the slaughtering of livestock such as cattle, lamb and sheep, and the subsequent distribution of the meat to worshippers and the needy. The livestock will be sacrificed in Australia, before the meat is chilled and flown to Singapore.But the delay does not affect the other licensed korban operators at Al-Istighfar Mosque in Pasir Ris, Omar Salmah Mosque in Thomson, and Tentera Diraja Mosque in Clementi, with planned korban services to proceed as planned, said Muis.

Some 138 motorcyclists were nabbed or issued with fines following a multi-agency joint enforcement operation against errant motorcyclists at Tuas Checkpoint on May 12.Police said in a news release on Thursday (May 21) that the operation involved the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and National Environment Agency (NEA). More than 300 motorcyclists were stopped for checks, with a total of 14 motorists, aged between 25 and 42, caught for riding without a valid licence and using a motor vehicle without insurance coverage.Meanwhile, LTA uncovered 44 offences such as displaying improper licence plates, expired road tax and using a motor vehicle without insurance coverage. Three foreign-registered motorcycles were also impounded for entering Singapore without a valid vehicle entry permit. 

Singapore Telecommunications said on Thursday (May 21) it was looking to sell a minority stake in its Australian unit Optus, and shared capital spending plans of $4.2 billion in 2027.Singtel said it was looking for a «like-minded long-term local partner owning a meaningful minority stake» in the Australian operator, which has been owned by Singtel for over 25 years and is Australia's second-largest telecom firm.Optus has been under intense scrutiny over two back-to-back outages of an emergency number that affected thousands of users and were linked to four deaths. The incidents led to the departure of two senior executives, including its finance chief.Singtel said the sale process may entail engaging with local partners who bring the «expertise to improve service provision and quality».It sold a stake in India's Bharti Airtel for $1.16 billion last year as a part of an ongoing asset restructuring strategy.In a separate statement on its annual results, Singtel said its planned 2027 spending would be about $3 billion, with an extra $1.2 billion allocated for data centres and AI-related purposes.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) foiled an attempt to smuggle duty-unpaid cigarettes disguised as instant noodles at Changi Airfreight Centre on May 12. In a Facebook post on Thursday (May 21), the authority said that ICA officers, acting on a tip-off from ICA's Integrated Targeting Centre, flagged a cargo consignment declared as instant noodles. Subsequent checks uncovered more than 9,300 sticks of duty-unpaid cigarettes concealed within the parcels. The exhibits were referred to Singapore Customs for further investigation.Those found buying, selling, conveying, possessing or dealing with duty-unpaid goods may be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty evaded, jailed for up to six years, or both.Vehicles used in these offences and the proceeds of sales of duty-unpaid goods may also be forfeited.

Disgruntled after missing her stop, a female passenger blocked the door of an SBS Transit bus, forcing about 20 commuters on board to transfer to the next service.This incident took place on Wednesday (May 6) at around 11am, reported Lianhe Zaobao.Standing at the doorway of bus service 198, which was heading towards the National University Hospital, the woman caused a delay after becoming upset that the bus had passed her stop in Jurong without stopping.Despite the bus driver's apology, the woman reportedly maintained that she had pressed the stop button, leading to a standoff.About 20 commuters onboard the bus then had to be transferred to the next bus service because her action blocked the bus from moving.Police report lodgedSBS Transit spokesperson Grace Wu, when contacted by AsiaOne, said that the bus driver was not able to stop the bus for safety reasons, after it departed from the female passenger's intended stop. This was because there was another bus travelling behind it.

Ayaan, Singapore Zoo's first orangutan born through artificial insemination, makes his public debut on Thursday (May 21) at the zoo's orangutan exhibit.The male Sumatran orangutan was delivered by Caesarean section on March 18, after his mother, Chomel, developed placenta praevia, a condition in which the placenta sits over the birth canal.Mandai Wildlife Group believes the case is the first documented instance globally of an orangutan birth involving placenta praevia in which both mother and infant survived.It is also the first successful artificial insemination (AI) birth of an orangutan at the Singapore Zoo, and the first Caesarean section the group has performed on the species.Ayaan, whose name means «blessing» in Arabic, was symbolically adopted by SMRT Corporation on May 20 at a ceremony held at the orangutan exhibit.Years-long effort to save a genetic lineThe road to his birth began in 2018.His father Charlie, a 48-year-old Sumatran orangutan, carries a genetic profile that is unrepresented in the managed population of the species.

SINGAPORE — Seven executives of shipping container companies, including Singaporean shipping veteran Teo Siong Seng, have been accused by the US of colluding to fix the prices of dry containers from November 2019 until at least January 2024.As a result, the prices of standard shipping containers are said to have roughly doubled between 2019 and 2021, noted the US Department of Justice in a statement on May 19.Through this alleged scheme, four of the world's largest shipping container manufacturers saw their profits increase almost a hundredfold during the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing global supply chain crisis, the department said.The four companies are China International Marine Containers (CIMC), CXIC Group Containers, Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment, and Singamas Container Holdings.Based on court documents filed on Jan 22 and unsealed on May 19, it is alleged that executives from four companies — CIMC, CXIC Group Containers, Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment, and a fourth, unnamed company — met at CIMC's headquarters in Shenzhen, China, on or around Nov 14, 2019.

SINGAPORE — Singapore is in talks with technology companies about attaching «nutrition labels» to AI products, designating their intended uses and limitations, a senior minister said on Wednesday (May 20).«We may start with a voluntary framework, and then in time ... we'll see how effective these kinds of labels are before deciding to take the next step,» digital development and information minister Josephine Teo told Reuters in an interview.The labels, which would be a global first, would apply to consumer applications with AI features, similar to food or medicine labels. She said they would indicate the «right ways» and «not-so-correct ways» of using AI.The minister, who was speaking on the sidelines of the Asia Tech x Singapore Summit, said Singapore is also developing testing frameworks and accrediting organisations to evaluate AI products.The country has emerged as a neutral ground for the AI sector, popular with both US and Chinese startups.Singapore announced on Wednesday that it would host OpenAI's first Applied AI Lab outside the US, with an investment of more than US$234 million (S$299.4 million).

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has recalled a baby food product imported from Ireland after authorities detected a potential risk of mould growth and spoilage.In a statement on Wednesday (May 20) night, SFA said it had been notified by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland about the recall of Glenisk Baby Organic Fromage Frais Strawberry with Banana, Vanilla & Oats (4x60g).As a precautionary measure, SFA directed importer Redmart Pte Ltd to recall the affected products in Singapore.The implicated product has a use-by date of May 28, 2026, and was manufactured in Ireland.«Consumers who purchased the product have been advised not to feed it to their children,» the agency said.They also added that «those whose children have consumed these products and are unwell should seek medical advice promptly».[[nid:731522]]eriko.lim@asiaone.com

A 23-year-old man has been arrested following a five-hour standoff with police for throwing bottles of liquor from his home in Woodlands.The incident occurred at an HDB unit located at 687A Woodlands Drive 75 on Wednesday (May 20) evening.

A 34-year-old Malaysian woman will be charged in court on Thursday (May 21) over her alleged role in a scam involving impersonation of police officers.Following her arrest on Tuesday, the number of Malaysians caught in Singapore for allegedly helping scam syndicates to collect cash and valuables since March this year now stands at 26.On May 9, a 26-year-old Malaysian woman was charged for assisting a crime syndicate to collect jewellery from another victim.Modus operandi: You are under investigationPolice said they received a report on May 19 from a female victim who had received a call from an unknown person claiming to be a police officer.The victim was told that her identity had been misused in money laundering activities, and she was instructed to provide her banking and personal information and warned not to divulge details of the investigations to anyone, including her family members. 

Stamford Catering was fined $8,000 on Wednesday (May 20) for food safety offences that lead to more than 180 people suffering gastroenteritis on two occasions, after consuming food catered by the firm.The first occasion was in October 2024 when 160 people were affected after eating food catered by the company.After a joint investigation by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and the Ministry of Health, the company was found to have several food safety lapses.These include stagnant water within the premises, dirty ceiling of a walk-in chiller, and electrical sockets found without covers which had food stains and could potentially harbour pests.The inspection at Stamford Catering's premises at 24A Senoko South Road was conducted following reports of the gastroenteritis outbreak.Following the inspection, SFA suspended Stamford Catering's food business operations between Oct 14 and 29, 2024. The suspension was lifted on Oct 30 the same year, after the caterer had implemented the required measures as stipulated by SFA.