Singapore live news: East-West Line MRT service between Tanah Merah and Tampines resumes a day early, Eduardo Saverin and wife in Forbes philanthrophy list

It's wedding season in Singapore again. And with that comes wedding gifts and angbao.

If you want to give the socially appropriate angbao amount, you'll have to shell out a three-figure sum these days. While we certainly don't want to give too little, most of us usually also don't want to give too much. Here's a cost guide on how much to give for a wedding banquet dinner or lunch at hotels, restaurants and more.

The deaths of a Thai singer and a Singaporean tourist following massage treatments in Thailand have caused shock. The incidents have also prompted warnings from doctors.

Chayada Prao-hom, 20, died in a hospital in northeastern Udon Thani city on Sunday. Her health had reportedly deteriorated following three massage sessions since October. She had taken the massages to relieve shoulder pain, the Nation TV reported.

In a Facebook post on 6 November, Chayada said she had gone to a parlour for two sessions of "a neck twist" and another massage with a "heavy hand", the South China Morning Post reported. She found herself in a paralytic state a fortnight later, unable to lift her right arm.

"I want my story to be a lesson for those who like being massaged a lot. I must recover. I want to work already," Chayada wrote.

Find out more about what doctors advise.

A 42-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday (10 December) after a woman was stabbed at a Hougang shop.

Channel News Asia (CNA) reported that police received a call for assistance at a shophouse at about 11.05am.

When they arrived, police found a 26-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman with stab wounds. They were taken to hospital and the woman later died, CNA reported.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he is ready to face any potential criminal probe over his handling of a sovereignty dispute with neighbouring Singapore over an island.

"If they want to do a criminal investigation, they are welcome to do that," the 99-year-old said at a briefing on Tuesday.

A Malaysian royal commission has recommended that a police report be lodged against Mahathir following findings that he decided to drop efforts to challenge the International Court of Justice's ruling that Singapore had sovereignty over the island Malaysia refers to as Batu Puteh.

Get the details.

Here's a look at how a president lived. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has left the country behind, fleeing to Russia with his family and leaving his once-impenetrable Damascus mansion to be ransacked by militants and rebels.

Members of Jaish al-Islam, an Islamist and Salafist alliance with ties to al-Qaeda and other rebels, stormed the sprawling estate in the affluent al-Maliki neighbourhood of Damascus after their rapid offensive toppled Assad's government last week.

The luxurious compound, made up of three six-storey buildings surrounded by manicured gardens, was a symbol of Assad's power.

See too how Assad is living in Russia, where his family reportedly owns property.

"Double confirm" has been found to be the most popular workplace expression, used daily by nearly 18 per cent of working Singaporeans, according to a recent survey by online English tuition provider Preply. It is used particularly among younger professionals aged 25 to 34. This phrase, commonly used across Singaporean and Malaysian workplaces, is used when someone wants to double check or ensure the accuracy of information.

Other popular phrases include "on the same page" and "chop chop".

Preply surveyed 1,001 Singapore respondents who currently work or have worked before in October 2024.

Meanwhile, the survey found that "saikang warrior" is the most irritating corporate buzzword, disliked by 46 per cent of respondents, as it refers to those often assigned menial tasks. Other unpopular phrases include "kena arrowed" (45 per cent) for being unfairly assigned work, and "wayang" (44 per cent) for pretending to work hard.

Learn more about the corporate jargons used in Singapore.

Singapore resident and Meta Platforms co-founder Eduardo Saverin and his wife Elaine are among nine new entrants in the 18th edition of the annual Forbes Asia Heroes of Philanthropy list.

The couple donated $20 million to the Singapore American School (SAS) in September, the largest donation in the private school's 68-year history. The money will be used for new labs for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education at the school, a Chinese immersion programme, play spaces and a new elementary school that is under construction.

The 15 entries on this unranked list were selected for their philanthropic efforts in the past year, making significant donations from their own fortunes, Forbes said. It does not consider corporate philanthropy unless the company is privately held and the individual is a majority owner. Previous honorees are considered if they have made recent significant contributions that justify a relisting, Forbes added.

Find out who else made it to the Forbes list.

Train services between Tanah Merah and Tampines stations on the East-West Line (EWL) resumed on Tuesday (10 December), a day ahead of schedule.

The stations have been closed since been closed since Saturday for works to connect tracks between the EWL and the new East Coast Integrated Depot.