A 70-year-old man fell unconscious when a fire broke out in a Circuit Road HDB flat early on Tuesday (July 28) morning and later died in hospital.The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post that it was alerted to the blaze at a ninth-floor unit of Block 39 Circuit Road at about 2.05am.The fire involved items in the living room and black smoke was seen spreading outside the house.Firefighters forcefully entered the flat and rescued the man who was unresponsive.Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed on him before he was taken to Changi General Hospital, said SCDF.Meanwhile, about 80 residents from the block were evacuated as a precaution.According to Lianhe Zaobao, police and SCDF officers were seen conducting investigations inside the affected flat at about 9.30am.A neighbour living on the ninth floor said she had met the man two or three times and thought he was a friendly person.One resident alleged that the man's flat was cluttered, reported Zaobao.The cause of the fire is under investigation.[[nid:741198]]lim.kewei@asiaone.com

A suspicious item was found on the upper deck of the multi-storey car park in Eunos on Monday morning (July 27), prompting a response from the police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).Marine Parade-Braddell Heights MP for the Geylang Serai division, Diana Pang, shared details of the incident in a Facebook post later that day.She said that an empty fuel tank was discovered at the multi-storey car park at Block 39 Eunos Crescent.Although the tank contained no liquid fuel, residual fuel vapours remained inside and could have posed a potential fire or explosion risk if it were exposed to an ignition source and not reported earlier, Pang said.«Investigations are ongoing, and the relevant agencies are looking into the incident,» she added.«Preliminary findings suggest that it may be related to the illegal storage or distribution of diesel or petrol.»Thanking the police and SCDF for their swift response and ongoing investigations, Pang also took the opportunity to remind residents to remain vigilant.

A $7 QuickPick ticket has won the more than $5.9 million jackpot in the Toto draw on Monday (July 27). According to Singapore Pools, the sole Group 1 winning share of $5,900,838 came from a QuickPick System 7 entry bought through the Singapore Pools' account betting service.The winning numbers:  22, 23, 30, 36, 44 and 48, with the additional number 28.Four winning shares also took home the Group 2 prize, with each share receiving $156,797.The draw also saw 241 Group 3 winners, each receiving $1,790. There were 611 Group 4 winners, who each took home $385, while 12,154 Group 5 winners received $50 each. A total of 16,502 Group 6 winners won $25 each, and 219,617 Group 7 winners received $10 each.The next Toto draw will be held on July 30, with an estimated top prize of $1 million.

An elderly man was filmed wrestling with a carpark gantry barrier in Chinatown, eventually breaking it.A video of the incident was uploaded to Instagram on Sunday (July 26) by Sgfollowsall, and has since garnered over 153,000 views and 160 comments.The incident reportedly occurred at the carpark of People's Park Complex, though it is unclear when it occurred.The video appears to be filmed by a person in a vehicle at the carpark exit, and at least one other vehicle can be seen stalled while the man blocks the exit.The clip shows the man forcefully pushing the barrier upwards, before pushing it sideways and snapping off the longer section of the boom arm.He then places the broken off piece onto the curb next to the gantry, before attempting to push the shorter piece upwards.The man also attempts to break the shorter piece by pressing down on it, but to no avail.Towards the end of the video, the man is also seen approaching the access terminal and pressing a button, likely to speak to staff through the intercom.

A claw machine operator has filed a police report after a man and his son were caught on camera shaking its claw machines and stealing the fallen prizes. The incident occurred on Saturday (July 25) at around 1.36pm at the FortuneClaw claw machines on the first floor lobby at Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre, reported Lianhe Zaobao. Fang (transliterated), 35, told the Chinese newspaper that he discovered one of the claw machine's camera lenses was broken. He then reviewed the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage to find out what happened. The CCTV footage showed a family of four standing in front of a row of claw machines. A man, presumably the father, is seen reaching up and grabbing the top of one machine before giving it a forceful shake, causing multiple prizes to fall. A shorter man, believed to be his son, then imitates him, shaking the machine in the same manner.Another clip shows the son taking a plastic box and plush toy from a second machine and hands one to a younger boy. [[nid:710594]]

Housing developers undertaking large-scale complex projects, including larger collective sale redevelopments, will now have more time to build and sell off all the units in the development.«We want to incentivise private developers to intensify their use by rejuvenating ageing residential sites, including larger sites where redevelopment will require a longer duration,» said Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat at the Singapore Economic Review Conference held at Orchard Hotel Singapore on Tuesday (July 28).Under new rules that take effect on Wednesday (July 29), developers of projects yielding between 700 and 1,399 residential units will have their completion and sale timelines extended to six years, from 5.5 years currently. Projects yielding at least 1,400 residential units will have their completion and sale timelines extended to seven years.«These changes are intended to set the right incentives for developers to rejuvenate larger estates, so that we can encourage more than rejuvenation, and achieve an outcome which is good for society as a whole,» Chee explained.

While suicide deaths showed a general decline across most age groups, there was a 50 per cent increase among adults aged 30 to 39.There were 99 such deaths in this age group in 2024, up from 66 recorded the year before.The final number of cases in 2024 is 441, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) in its Report on Registration of Births and Deaths (2025) on Monday (July 27). There were 434 reported cases in 2023.The authority had previously reported a preliminary number of 314 suicide deaths in 2024 due to pending legal investigations.With the finalised number at 441, the suicide death rate is 8.23 per 100,000 residents — an increase of 0.04 from 2023.Majority of cases — 65.8 per cent or 290 — were men, as was the case in past years.It is the leading cause of death among youths aged 10 to 29, and the second leading cause of death in adults aged 30 to 39.The preliminary number of suicide deaths in Singapore for 2025 is 256, according to ICA.

The 15-month wait-out period for private property owners buying HDB resale flats, which was introduced in 2022 as a temporary measure to moderate demand, has been removed with immediate effect.  a { text-decoration: none; color: #464feb; } tr th, tr td { border: 1px solid #e6e6e6; } tr th { background-color: #f5f5f5; } Announcing this at the Singapore Economic Review Conference held at Orchard Hotel Singapore on Tuesday (July 28), Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat said that the Government's policies must evolve and adapt to society's changing needs. The change means private residential property owners (PPOs) and former PPOs purchasing a non-subsidised HDB resale flat without an HDB housing loan will no longer be subject to the 15-month wait-out period.He said that the Government takes a pragmatic approach to policymaking and will do what works best for Singapore based on evidence rather than ideology.«This includes changing course when faced with a new situation or operating environment,» he added.

HONG KONG — HSBC will hire more than 100 artificial intelligence specialists and 100 wealth managers in Singapore, deepening investment in two areas central to the bank's Asian growth strategy as it expands higher-fee businesses and accelerates AI adoption.The announcement come as HSBC moves to launch a new AI centre in Singapore in the second half of 2026, the bank said in a statement on Monday.The banking group's Chief Executive Georges Elhedery said in May that AI would destroy and create certain jobs in the financial industry, and that the bank was retraining its workforce to meet the challenge.HSBC said it would recruit talent across natural language processing, data science, AI governance and human-centred design. The centre will initially focus on personalising customer wealth management conversations, introducing agentic treasury solutions, and expanding AI-enabled digital payments.Rival Standard Chartered announced in May that its AI transformation would eliminate about 8,000 jobs internally.HSBC is also looking to boost its local wealth management operation by adding another 100 relationship managers, a company spokesperson said.

A dispute over leaving a child stroller at a Tampines HDB block escalated into a case of alleged assault, with a woman claiming that she was slapped.The incident occurred outside a pre-school on the ground floor of Block 878 Tampines Avenue 8 last Friday (July 24) morning, reported Shin Min Daily News.A resident, who declined to be named, said the woman, whose child attends the pre-school, alleged that she had been slapped twice by a man for leaving the stroller along the corridor.The man and woman had allegedly argued about the issue earlier on Thursday, the resident said.«They argued for a while, and the man kept yelling and swearing. There was no physical conflict then. The next morning, I heard them arguing again, and this time the police were called,» Shin Min quoted the resident as saying.The police said they received a call for assistance regarding a case of assault at about 9.35am. A 61-year-old man is assisting with ongoing investigations.According to the news report, the pre-school has a sign pasted on a window which asks parents not to leave their strollers outside.

The defence ministries of Singapore and Australia on Monday (July 27) announced the signing of an arrangement to strengthen defence industrial cooperation, which they said will support their two countries' armed forces.Singapore's Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said in a statement that the Industrial Base Resiliency Arrangement (IBRA) was signed during Coordinating Minister for Public Services and Minister for Defence Chan Chun Sing's working visit to Australia for the 15th Singapore-Australia joint ministerial committee meeting.The arrangement was signed by Permanent Secretary for Defence Development Melvyn Ong and Australia's National Armaments Director Nadine Williams, and witnessed by the two defence ministers.

Singapore and Australia share a «special relationship» that is grounded in trust and alignment.This, in turn, has enabled the two countries to deepen engagement — in a relevant and timely way, said Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan on Monday (July 27).«The deep reservoir of trust, goodwill and strategic alignment has not changed in decades,» Dr Balakrishnan noted in his remarks at a joint press conference at the 15th Singapore-Australia joint ministerial committee meeting in Adelaide.Going back in history, the minister noted that Australian troops were housed in Singapore in the early days following its independence, and, later, while continuing to be part of the Five Power Defence Arrangements, the two countries sought to maintain trade links.

As part of the changes to Cabinet and other appointments announced on July 22, four political office holders — Ng Chee Meng, Jeffrey Siow, David Neo and Sim Ann — were sworn in as ministers by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Monday (July 27).Prime Minister Lawrence Wong was present at the ceremony held at the Istana.Speaking on July 22 when he announced the Cabinet reshuffle, PM Wong said he had asked National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) secretary-general Ng Chee Meng, who is also MP for Jalan Kayu GRC, to return to his Cabinet.Explaining his decision, PM Wong said that Ng's addition to the Cabinet «will strengthen the Government team as we tackle the challenges ahead.»

SINGAPORE - Former child actor Amos Yee is set to plead guilty on Sept 7 to charges that he had avoided National Service obligations.Yee, 27, was handed three charges under the Enlistment Act in March.According to court documents, Yee failed to report for the national service pre-enlistment medical screening and had remained outside the country without a valid exit permit after leaving for the US in December 2016 to seek asylum.Yee is said to have left Singapore without a valid exit permit from Dec 13, 2015, to April 19, 2016, and from Dec 15, 2016, to March 19, 2026.During this period, he allegedly failed to report for national service medical screening from April 26, 2016, to March 19, 2026.Yee fled to the US after repeated run-ins with the law in Singapore over comments that he made that were derogatory to Christians and Muslims. He was granted asylum in the US in 2018.He was deported from the US on March 19 following his conviction by a grand jury in an Illinois court for solicitation and possession of child pornography. His record was expunged from the website of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

The defence ministries of Singapore and Australia on Monday (July 27) announced the signing of an arrangement to strengthen defence industrial cooperation, which they said will support their two countries' armed forces.Singapore's Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said in a statement that the Industrial Base Resiliency Arrangement (IBRA) was signed during Coordinating Minister for Public Services and Minister for Defence Chan Chun Sing's working visit to Australia for the 15th Singapore-Australia joint ministerial committee meeting.The arrangement was signed by Permanent Secretary for Defence Development Melvyn Ong and Australia's National Armaments Director Nadine Williams, and witnessed by the two defence ministers.

A fitness trainer has denied allegations linking her to former Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim after online rumours falsely identified her as the woman involved in the circumstances surrounding his recent resignation.Rasidah Caudal shared a screengrab of what appeared to be a Telegram message claiming she was «the one who caused MP Faishal to resign» and alleging that she was «married to a French man», in an Instagram (IG) post on Monday (July 27).The same image has also been posted on TikTok, where it gained over 82,000 views as at Monday.Calling it an «untrue allegation» in her IG post, Caudal said she had been «wrongfully accused as the woman in the [Assoc] Prof Faishal['s] case».«I would like to take the occasion to categorically reject these accusations,» she wrote.'I have been wrongfully accused'Caudal, a certified senior Piloxing — a high-energy fitness workout — and Pilates trainer, conducts classes at various community centres.

A grieving pet owner was enraged after finding his deceased pet dog's remains dumped inside a rubbish bin near a HDB block despite having paid for a pet cremation service. Liu Jianping (transliterated), a 46-year-old secretary, and his wife were the owners of a female dachshund named Kimi since 2010, reported Shin Min Daily News. It was 16 years old when it died on the morning of July 19. Liu told the Chinese newspaper that given his dog's long life, he was not too sad and searched online on how to properly handle his dog's remains.He reportedly found a company called Express Pet Cremation that specialises in pet cremation, and would scatter one's pet's ashes at sea.«One of their male employees came to my house early that morning to pick up (Kimi's) body, put it in a bag and left,» said Liu. He added that the employee also gave him an invoice, which reportedly stated that the body would be cremated at Ubi, and asked the 46-year-old to transfer him $180. 

As part of the changes to Cabinet and other appointments announced on July 22, four political office holders — Ng Chee Meng, Jeffrey Siow, David Neo and Sim Ann — were sworn in as ministers by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Monday (July 27).Prime Minister Lawrence Wong was present at the ceremony held at the Istana.Speaking on July 22 when he announced the Cabinet reshuffle, PM Wong said he had asked National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) secretary-general Ng Chee Meng, who is also MP for Jalan Kayu GRC, to return to his Cabinet.Explaining his decision, PM Wong said that Ng's addition to the Cabinet «will strengthen the Government team as we tackle the challenges ahead.»

A self-radicalised 14-year-old planned a mass-casualty stabbing attack at his secondary school, drafted a 21-page manifesto and intended to livestream the violence before taking his own life.He is the youngest person ever detained under Singapore's Internal Security Act (ISA). The teen was arrested in May, about a month before he planned to launch the attack during the June school holidays, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Monday (July 27).His case was one of three youth radicalisation cases announced by the authorities. The other detainees were a 15-year-old ISIS supporter who aspired to establish a violent «Malaya Caliphate» in Southeast Asia and a 19-year-old who allegedly plotted attacks against SAF personnel and LGBTQ students.All three individuals, aged 14, 15 and 19, were self-radicalised online by violent extremist ideologies and had planned to conduct attacks in Singapore.The 14-year-old non-Chinese Secondary Two student had planned on conducting a mass-casualty stabbing attack at his school during the June holidays.

A woman was appalled when she witnessed a dog hanging outside of a car door as the vehicle was moving. The Tiktok user @tinadestruit posted a video on Sunday (July 26) of a white dog with its head out of the window of a moving silver BMW.In her caption, the motorcyclist wrote that she spotted a «cute dog» in a car but was not prepared for what happened next.Moments later, as she trailed behind the BMW in the video, she noticed the dog hanging out of the car door by its leash.«The dog [came] out,» she said repeatedly in the video.The motorcyclist ahead of her could also be heard honking his horn to alert the driver of the silver car.As the dog released itself from the car door, the car also came to a halt. The white dog could be seen bolting away from the road as the driver of the car stepped out to retrieve the dog.The motorcyclist added in her caption that it was a good thing the road was not busy. She did not specify where in Singapore the incident took place.In her video, she reminded pet owners to «always keep an eye on your pets in vehicles».