Just in time for National Day long weekend, the Mandai Wildlife Reserve is introducing a new red panda.Visitors can watch Yaffa at the reserve's new purpose-built exhibit in Yangtze River zone, Mandai Wildlife Group announced on Friday (Aug 7). Originally from Taipei Zoo, the 11-year-old was brought to Singapore as part of an animal exchange programme, and is the first red panda to join River Wonders (formerly River Safari) in 12 years.At present, River Wonders also houses Karma, a different red panda which lives in the zoo's Giant Panda Forest.The red panda is native to Asia and also considered endangered, with fewer than 10,000 estimated to be left in the wild.Although Mandai Wildlife Group is only announcing this now, Yaffa has been in Singapore since June 11, 2026.He was subsequently quarantined for a month and his health assessed through various tests, including weight checks, ultrasounds and X-ray.As he is considered relatively older, he will also undergo regular health and mobility checks.

All Leonard Teo wanted was to answer nature's call in peace. Instead, he claims he repeatedly found himself dealing with alleged voyeurs in a Serangoon mall toilet.The 33-year-old videographer took to TikTok to warn others about this particular toilet in a shopping centre in Serangoon, where he claimed to have encountered six voyeurism cases during the two years where he worked nearby.Of these, he has called the police thrice – however, two of the cases were dropped due to a lack of evidence.Teo re-enacted the first of the six incidents in a video uploaded on July 20.Recounting his first alleged encounter, Teo said he was in a cubicle when he noticed someone peering at him through holes in the cubicle door, which he says had been left behind after an old lock was removed.«My mind went blank instantly. I have never been faced with such a situation,» he said. «But just as quickly as the eye was there, it disappeared.»Shocked at what had happened, and needing to clean himself up, Teo said he took a while to leave the cubicle. By the time he emerged, the alleged voyeur had disappeared.

More than 8kg of cocaine was seized from a foreign-registered commercial vessel following a joint operation by the Police Coast Guard (PCG) and the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB). The police said in a statement on Friday (Aug 7) that the operation was conducted on Wednesday, at the Raffles Reserved Anchorage — located between Pulau Senang and Pulau Semakau. Map showing where Raffles Reserved Anchorage is located at. CHART: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore The operation was launched after they were alerted to suspicious packages found on board a foreign-registered commercial vessel.

Ahead of the National Day on Sunday (Aug 9), various Government agencies, including the President's Office, Ministry of Defence (Mindef) and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) held their national day observance ceremonies on Friday morning.President Tharman Shanmugaratnam was joined by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong at the Istana, where they sang the national anthem and recited the national pledge.They also watched a Malay choral singing (dikir barat) performance by the Attorney-General's Chambers.

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has charged a 23-year-old man for his alleged involvement in trafficking etomidate vaporiser pods, also known as Kpods.Dean Daniel Ong was arrested on July 30 after HSA officers, acting on a tip-off, raided Ong's residence in Hougang, where officers seized two vaporisers and 55 pods.In a news release on Friday (Aug 7), HSA said that laboratory testing has since confirmed that the pods contained etomidate.Investigations are ongoing and the case, which was mentioned again in court on Friday, has been adjourned to Sept 16.HSA said that it takes a serious view of e-vaporiser and etomidate trafficking offences.Importers, sellers and distributors of etomidate e-vaporisers now face stiffer penalties. If convicted, importers can be jailed for three to 20 years and receive five to 15 strokes of the cane, while sellers and distributors can be jailed for two to 10 years and receive two to five strokes of the cane. Need support around vaping or addiction?

Lim Tean was arrested by the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) in Johor Bahru on Thursday (Aug 6), the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on Friday.Lim, who is the secretary-general of the People's Alliance of Reform, was issued an arrest warrant on Aug 3 to begin his jail term for practising law without a certificate.«As Lim Tean has an outstanding court warrant for arrest in Singapore for failing to surrender to court, the SPF is working closely with the RMP to secure his return to Singapore,» the police said.«The SPF expresses appreciation to the Malaysian authorities for their prompt assistance.»[[nid:741894]]daoen.wong@asiaone.com

Bourse operator Singapore Exchange (SGX) reported record full-year earnings on Thursday (Aug 6) on growth across its businesses, while also proposing a one-off additional dividend.Singapore's equity market has gained this year after the Monetary Authority of Singapore launched a programme to revive listings and improve liquidity.«Growth was broad-based, with our cash equities business leading the way and our foreign exchange and commodities pillars reaching new volume highs,» said Loh Boon Chye, Chief Executive Officer of SGX Group.A broader rotation of global capital toward Asian safe-haven assets amid dollar volatility has also helped, with the Straits Times Index hitting repeated record highs during the year.The city-state's bourse operator hosted 21 equity listings, up from six a year earlier, raising $4.1 billion.SGX said its IPO pipeline includes companies in sectors such as digital infrastructure, healthcare and consumer.Full-year net revenue from equities-cash segment rose 28.1 per cent and accounted for more than a third of the group's net revenue which rose 13.9 per cent to an all-time high of $1,478.3 million.

Incidents involving cyclists and motorists have regularly been discussed online, sometimes with intensity.On Aug 2, Facebook account SG Road Vigilante, which posts videos relating to road accidents and behaviour, shared a video showing an altercation between a lorry driver and cyclist on Braddell Road. In this case, the lorry driver is seen failing to give way at the yield line, turning out from Bishan Street 11 onto Braddell Road despite the oncoming cyclist.The cyclist is later seen riding briefly alongside the lorry, gesturing at the driver.Last month, a group of cyclists was seen riding through at least two red light stops in Pasir Ris.In both incidents, there were strong comments from both drivers and cyclists alike.Perhaps the discourse was best summed up by Michael Loke who wrote: «This is the kind of behaviour that causes drivers to gradually build resentment against cyclists.» But it is also worth noting that not all cyclists are errant road users.

A community cat in Marsiling was found covered in an black oily substance by feeders, who suspect the feline was attacked.The white cat, affectionately named Bai Bai (white white in Mandarin), had grease in its ears and watery eyes, reported Shin Min Daily News.Cat feeder Chen Shimei (transliteration), 62, told the publication that Bai Bai was discovered in that condition late last month.The retiree has been travelling from Ang Mo Kio to the Marsiling industrial estate every other day to feed the strays for eight to nine years. On the days she is not there, another cat feeder in her eighties makes the rounds.The other feeder was the one who noticed Bai Bai's unusual black coat and that it was unable to open its eyes, said Chen.Both of them raised funds for Bai Bai and took it to a vet, where it stayed for a night. The final vet bill was reportedly about $1,095.Chen also decided to take Bai Bai home to prevent it being harmed again.She said it is unlikely that the cat became covered in oil on its own.

A draw against Indonesia at a sold-out Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday (Aug 7) will send Singapore into the ASEAN Championship semi-finals, two days before the nation celebrates its 61st birthday.For forward Ilhan Fandi, that would make for the perfect National Day present.«We play football for the people, and of course it will be nice to give back to Singapore on her birthday,» said the forward, who has scored two of Singapore's four goals in the tournament.«We are here to do a job and to put up a good performance and try and qualify for the semi-final but to get a nice present for Singaporeans would be nice as well.»

«Singapore's greatness today belongs not only to great men, but also to every nameless hero who left their youth here.»The message was part of an emotional tribute by Malaysian rapper Namewee to his late uncle, Ong Kwang Boon, who reportedly died alone in a Singapore HDB flat a few months ago.In a video posted on Aug 5, Namewee said his uncle «devoted his entire life to Singapore».The 43-year-old singer-rapper, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, shared that his maternal uncle died in Singapore a few months ago.According to Wee, his uncle's body remained undiscovered for more than a week until a neighbour alerted the police after noticing a foul smell coming from the unit.Wee did not reveal when or where his uncle died. However, checks by AsiaOne indicate that Ong likely lived in a Housing Board flat along Kang Ching Road.In his video tribute, Wee said that his 66-year-old uncle was not married and had come to Singapore in 1979 to work right after graduating from high school.

What would you do if your car caught on fire? For Carol Sek, a family wealth specialist with Unicorn Financial Solutions, the answer was simple: stay calm and let her friends and family know she was safe.In a video posted to the company's Instagram and TikTok on Tuesday (Aug 4), Sek recounted how her Lamborghini Gallardo caught fire while she was driving on the East Coast Parkway (ECP) on July 23.Videos of the incident showed her bright green car ablaze, while the Land Transport Authority reported heavy traffic along the ECP following the incident.Sek said that her first instinct was to make a call to a man, whose identity was not revealed, and let him know that she was safe.Her next instinct was to ask if he wanted to see the fire.«It's such an experience. Do you want to have a video call and take a look?»According to Sek, firefighters and first responders arrived shortly after her Lamborghini caught fire, and the situation was resolved within 10 to 15 minutes.

A 27-year-old man will be charged in court on Friday (Aug 7) for allegedly posting videos containing insulting remarks about the Muslim community in Singapore.Police said in a news release following his arrest on Thursday that they had received a report on March 1 regarding other videos posted by the man.He had allegedly uploaded videos of himself on social media in which he made «insulting and profane remarks» against the Muslim community in Singapore.Officers from Tanglin Police Division later established the identity of the man, but he had already left Singapore for Malaysia prior to the report being lodged.«With the assistance of the Royal Malaysia Police, the man was deported from Malaysia on Aug 6, and was arrested by the Police upon his arrival in Singapore on the same day,» the police said.The 27-year-old will be charged with the offence of insulting the religion of another person under Section 17F(4) of the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act 1990.If convicted, he could face up to five years' jail, a fine, or both.