Ilhan Fandi handed Singapore an early birthday present as his second-half equaliser secured a 1-1 draw against Indonesia, sending the Lions into the Asean Championship semi-finals on Friday (Aug 7).Roared on by a sell-out crowd of 5,113 at Jalan Besar Stadium, the world No. 148 hosts recovered after falling behind early in the second half. The final whistle sparked celebrations among the home supporters, who had packed the stadium just two days before National Day.Playing in their new Adidas home kit for the first time, Singapore secured second place in Group A and a berth in the last four.Ilhan capitalised on a costly goalkeeping error in the 66th minute to cancel out Ragnar Oratmangoen’s goal and deny the world No. 118 visitors the victory they needed to progress.With only a point needed to qualify, Singapore finished second in Group A behind Vietnam, whose 3-1 win over Cambodia sealed top spot.Indonesia, who entered the match knowing only a win would keep their campaign alive, were eliminated.

A Singapore TikToker was offered the chance to live and farm on a piece of New Zealand land, which she compared to the size of Toa Payoh, free of charge.The unexpected offer to place a tiny house on the property came after TikToker Esther, known on social media as risewithaster, said she spent time helping a farming couple she first met through an Airbnb stay.Esther said that she eventually became part of a community focused on self-sufficient living, according to her post that has been viewed more than 25,000 times since it was uploaded on July 24.'I was interested in permaculture'In her video, Esther shared that she initially planned to spend six months in New Zealand but ended up staying for over a year as she travelled, explored permaculture and considered her next steps after leaving her teaching job.According to her website, Esther had previously taught English and Literature for 14 years.Recounting her experience in a TikTok video, Esther said one Airbnb listing in New Zealand had caught her attention: a farm owned by a couple named James and Sarah.

A 22-year-old man will be charged in court on Saturday (Aug 8) for allegedly driving a deregistered vehicle without a valid driving licence and causing the death of a pump attendant at an Esso petrol station in Upper Changi Road North.Police said in a news release on Friday night that the man drove a car to the petrol station at about 3.55am on Thursday.As a 69-year-old male pump attendant was about to refuel the car he was driving, the man allegedly returned to the driver's seat and reversed abruptly.This caused the open driver's-side door to strike the elderly man, causing him to fall and hit his head. He was taken unconscious to the hospital, where he later died of his injuries on Friday.According to the police, the male driver abandoned his vehicle after the incident and fled the scene with a female passenger.Officers from the Traffic Police (TP) established the identities of the duo through ground enquiries and with the aid of images from police cameras and closed-circuit television (CCTV), and arrested them on the same day of the incident.

A man was handed a $3,000 fine after refusing to pay for a bowl of porridge while intoxicated and later verbally abusing police officers at Orchard Plaza.Wu Guojie (transliterated), 36, faced one charge each under the Protection from Harassment Act and the Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act, reported Chinese publication Shin Min Daily News.Wu pleaded guilty to one of the charges, while the other was taken into consideration during sentencing.The incident occurred on Dec 9, 2025 at around 7am, when Wu refused to pay a female stallholder for a bowl of porridge he had ordered.The stallholder subsequently reported him to police officers. When officers asked Wu to produce identification documents to verify his identity, he refused to cooperate.Despite repeated attempts by an officer to engage him, Wu, who was intoxicated, continued shouting, behaved aggressively and even challenged the officers to arrest him, Shin Min reported.He was subsequently arrested and taken to Woodlands Police Division Headquarters.

Four people were taken to the hospital after a chain collision involving three vehicles on Bedok North Road.The incident was shared on Friday (Aug 7) via Facebook in a group for private-hire drivers. The post claimed the accident occurred at about 2.15pm.Photos of the incident showed multiple vehicles stopped in the outermost lane. One of the photos showed a green GrabCab sandwiched between two other cars.In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police said that they were alerted to the traffic accident involving two cars and a taxi on Bedok North Road towards Bartley Road East at 2.10pm.A 43-year-old male driver and his two passengers, aged 10 and 42, were taken to the hospital conscious.A 25-year-old female passenger from another vehicle was also taken to the hospital conscious, while two other drivers, aged 48 and 65, sustained minor injuries but declined to be taken to the hospital.According to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), two people were taken to Changi General Hospital, while another two were taken to Sengkang General Hospital.

Ilhan Fandi handed Singapore an early birthday present as his second-half equaliser secured a 1-1 draw against Indonesia, sending the Lions into the ASEAN Championship semi-finals on Friday (Aug 7).Roared on by a sell-out crowd of 5,113 at Jalan Besar Stadium, the world No. 148 hosts recovered after falling behind early in the second half. The final whistle sparked celebrations among the home supporters, who had packed the stadium just two days before National Day.Playing in their new Adidas home kit for the first time, Singapore secured second place in Group A and a berth in the last four.Ilhan capitalised on a costly goalkeeping error in the 66th minute to cancel out Ragnar Oratmangoen’s goal and deny the world No. 118 visitors the victory they needed to progress.With only a point needed to qualify, Singapore finished second in Group A behind Vietnam, whose 3-1 win over Cambodia sealed top spot.Indonesia, who entered the match knowing only a win would keep their campaign alive, were eliminated.

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.