SINGAPORE — More than half of eight-year-olds in Singapore have used artificial intelligence (AI) tools, with usage rising sharply by ages 10 and 13.The most popular app among them is ChatGPT.By age 10, more than seven in 10 children have used AI tools, and by age 13, more than nine in 10 have done so.These findings come from a new study by Dr Xuejiao Chen, senior scientist at A*STAR's Institute for Human Development and Potential, and Professor Jean Yeung, paediatrics professor at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine from the National University of Singapore (NUS).The study examined how children's AI usage patterns are linked to family socioeconomical status. Its findings were presented at the Population Association of Singapore's Annual Conference held at NUS on May 21.Prof Yeung told The Straits Times that this study gives Singapore a first national picture of how children are using AI, and offers insights into how early they are doing so.The study is based on nationally representative data from 2,985 children aged eight to 13 from the Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study (SG-Leads).

An 87-year-old woman was left bleeding on the road and later taken conscious to the hospital after a car accident in Yishun on Saturday (May 23). The incident occurred along Yishun Road Road towards Yishun Avenue 9, near Junction Nine, reported Chinese publication Lianhe Zaobao. In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the incident at about 9am, involving a car and a pedestrian along Yishun Road Road. Photos of the incident, shared in an Instagram post by @sgfollowsall the same day, show the victim lying on the road next to the right rear wheel of a silver car, with a shopping trolley overturned next to her. A pool of blood is also seen.Several passers-by can be seen standing around the scene, appearing to check on the elderly woman and attempting to assist her. She was heading to a nearby market went the incident happened, according to the post's caption. A man dressed in a yellow singlet with phone in hand, who is believed to be the car driver, is seen sitting on the middle strip of the road, reported the newspaper.

A 23-year-old motorcyclist was taken to hospital after he was struck by a van which veered across three lanes on the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE).The accident happened at about 2.35pm on Saturday (May 23) along BKE towards Woodlands.Dashcam footage of the accident posted on Facebook page SG Road Vigilante shows a van veering from the third of four lanes on the expressway to hit a car and motorcycle travelling on the rightmost lane.It is unclear what caused the van's sharp-angled manoeuvre, although the person who uploaded the footage wrote  that the van's driver had hit the brakes before it was seen veering.AsiaOne could not independently verify this claim from the footage. However, based on the footage, it was raining heavily at the time of the accident.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan is on a five-day working visit to three North Asia countries from Sunday (May 24).In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said the visit to China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea are part of Singapore's ongoing efforts to engage external partners amidst global challenges.DPRK is North Korea's official name.Dr Balakrishnan is expected to meet with his counterparts in the three countries to reaffirm bilateral ties. He will also exchange views with his counterparts on regional and international developments.In China on Monday, he will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China, Liu Haixing.Both foreign ministers have been in their respective roles for over a decade. Wang Yi was first appointed to the role in 2013, while Dr Balakrishnan became Singapore's foreign minister in 2015. Dr Balakrishnan will then fly to Pyongyang, where he is scheduled to meet with DPRK Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui.

The number of new HIV cases in Singapore has been gradually decreasing over the years, even though there was a slight increase in 2025, said the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA).In an update on the HIV/AIDS situation in Singapore, CDA on Saturday (May 23) said there were 166 new cases of HIV reported among Singapore citizens and permanent residents in 2025, a slight increase from the 151 cases reported in 2024. This brings the total number of Singapore residents known to be living with HIV to 7,248 as of end 2025, with a prevalence of 172 infections per 100,00 resident population. As of June 2025, Singapore's resident population stood at 4.2 million. «The number of new cases annually has been gradually decreasing over the years, ranging from 300 to 500 from 2009 to 2019, 200 to 270 cases from 2020 to 2023, before declining to few that 200 cases annually since 2024,» the agency stated. Explaining the increase recorded in 2025, CDA said that year-on-year fluctuations are expected, adding that it will continue to monitor the trend.

Despite continued and routine enforcement actions taken by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) against errant personal mobility device (PMD) users, one teenager appears to not have taken heed.A video posted by Instagram user YX on Saturday (May 23) shows a male teenager riding his PMD down Keppel Road at night, while mimicking Superman, extending his legs out into the air. Map showing where the male teenager was spotted riding down the road dangerously. GRAPHIC: Google Maps, Social media Based on the video, the teen whizzed past at least two cars driving along the leftmost lane in vicinity of Keppel MRT station. Checks by AsiaOne indicate that the stretch of road has a speed limit of 60kmh. 

Korban arrangements at four mosques in Singapore have been disrupted as export approval from Australian authorities was not obtained in time, said the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) on Saturday (May 23).In an earlier statement on Thursday, Muis said four mosques may face delayed arrival of live sheep as their licensed local korban operator, The Meat Brothers, was still pending export permit approval under Australia's Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System.The operator is responsible for about 400 live sheep meant for Al-Firdaus Mosque in Choa Chu Kang, Petempatan Melayu Sembawang Mosque and Pusara Aman Mosque in Lim Chu Kang. It is also responsible for a portion of the livestock for Jamae Chulia Mosque in Chinatown.In a social media post just before 6pm on Saturday, The Meat Brothers updated that it still has not received the required approval.«Given the situation, it is now increasingly clear that the livestock will not be able to enter Singapore in time,» the operator said.[[nid:736383]]

Ride-hailing operator Grab on Friday (May 23) announced that it will extend its temporary fuel surcharge and adjustment to metered taxi fares for an additional two months, to provide its driver-partners with continued relief amid elevated pump prices.In a media alert on Friday night, Grab said both the 90-cent fuel surcharge for ride-hail services and the 1-cent increase in metered fare will be extended till July 31.The operator reiterated that the amounts will go entirely to its driver-partners, with no commission taken by the platform.Alvin Wee, senior director of transport and country operations at Grab Singapore said that they recognise the pressure faced by their driver-partners due to higher pump prices.«We are maintaining these adjustments to ensure driving remains a viable livelihood while keeping the marketplace sustainable,» Wee said. 

A 26-year-old Malaysian man will be charged in court on Saturday (May 23) over his alleged role in a scam involving impersonation of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) officers.Following his arrest on Friday, the number of Malaysians caught in Singapore for allegedly helping scam syndicates to collect cash and valuables since March this year now stands at 27.On May 21, a 34-year-old Malaysian woman was charged for assisting a crime syndicate to collect cash amounting to $13,700 and gold from a female victim.Modus operandi: Money laundering investigationPolice said they received a report on May 19 from a 61-year-old female victim who had received a call from an unknown person claiming to be from YouTrip on May 13.The victim was told that her account was involved in a money laundering investigation, and she was instructed to contact a purported MAS officer for further details.

Seven persons, aged between 19 and 49, will be charged in court on Saturday (May 23) for their alleged involvement in fraudulently registering SIM cards that facilitated criminal activities.Police said in a news release on Friday night that the individuals, comprising a Singaporean and six Malaysians, were arrested during an island-wide enforcement operation between May 21 and 22.The operation targeted errant retailers who were allegedly engaged in the registration of postpaid SIM cards that were subsequently used by overseas syndicates in crime.According to the police, the seven men had allegedly used the information of actual customers to register for additional postpaid SIM cards. These cards were then supplied to other people, and the mobile lines were subsequently used in impersonation scams.Those convicted of facilitating the fraudulent registration of SIM cards that facilitate criminal activity will face a fine of up to $10,000, jail of up to three years, or both.

After crashing her car into a kerb in Bugis, a woman decided to leave it behind and have supper with her friends.Carrissa Loh, 30, had also refused to return to the scene of the accident when contacted by the police.For this incident, Loh was charged with failing to drive with due care for others, failing to remain at the scene to assist a police officer after an accident, and leaving a vehicle on a road in a position that can cause danger and obstruction to other road users. She also faced charges for an unrelated incident where she swapped seats with a disqualified driver and provided false information to police officers, local media reported.The woman faced a total of seven charges, five of which she pleaded guilty to on Wednesday (May 20). The remaining charges will be taken into consideration during sentencing, according to Shin Min Daily News.The crash took place at about 3.03am on Feb 1, at the junction of Middle Road and Queen Street.

By sheer luck, a woman from Singapore reportedly won the 31.9 million ringgit (S$10.3 million) jackpot at a Genting casino.She had been gambling at one of the casino's 30 «Dragon Link» slot machines at about 2pm on Thursday (May 21) when she won the huge sum, according to China Press.The Malaysian publication also stated that this was the highest recorded slot machine jackpot in the casino's history.According to a Facebook post by user Rex Chang, the woman had only bet 40 ringgit at the machine.Netizens who saw the post were in awe and congratulated her on the win.The slot machine had been accumulating the jackpot amount for quite some time. It was popular with bettors as it had reached a jackpot of 12 million ringgit last year, reported China Press.The highest amount it accepts at a time is 880 ringgit, which some high-stakes players would bet, the publication added.[[nid:735696]]bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com

Multiple police reports have been filed against a former part-time actor who allegedly borrowed up to $500,000 from various people and has failed to pay them back.Back in 2013, it was reported by Shin Min Daily News that the man, referred to as A, had borrowed money from several Mediacorp and Hong Kong actors, allegedly amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars.He reportedly did not pay them back and subsequently disappeared.The Chinese daily has now reported that A has since resumed his borrowing habits, and at least six people have reported him to the police so far for being owed around $500,000.Claimed he was scammed, deposits for tour groupOne of his alleged victims, a housewife in her 50s surnamed Chen, told Shin Min she has lent him over $50,000.She met A at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in 2022 through a friend, where he introduced himself as a tour guide agent.Chen subsequently joined his tours to locations in Asia, Alaska and the Mediterranean.She said that A had started complaining about being scammed and having his bank account frozen in 2023, and in May 2024, she lent him $10,000.

SINGAPORE - The lawyer for two ministers suing Bloomberg and one of its reporters over an allegedly defamatory article said the case is unprecedented for the malice directed at Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng.In closing submissions on May 22, Senior Counsel Davinder Singh said that ill-intent was illustrated in e-mails exchanged within the financial news organisation in the lead-up to the article, and in its decision to drop its paywall and provide access to the wider public, after it was issued with a correction direction under Singapore's fake news law.In summarising the claimant's case, Mr Singh said it was important to note the context in which Mr Shanmugam and Dr Tan are mentioned in the article «Singapore mansion deals are increasingly shrouded in secrecy», which was written by Mr Low De Wei.He said an ordinary and reasonable reader in Singapore would have taken these mentions to falsely mean that the ministers took advantage of there being no checks and balances or disclosure requirements for their transactions, and that they wanted to hide their transactions and avoid scrutiny.