Lawrence Wong announces new social benefits in National Day Rally speech; Hassan Sunny retires after 20 years in international football: Singapore live news

You're never too old to be in a pageant.

During the Mr World Singapore coronation night held last week, the pageant saw its oldest winner of the Mister World Singapore Senior 2024 – 56-year-old Terence Tea.

The executive chairman and managing director of Accrelist told The New Paper that he "did not expect to come this far".

He added, "However, I have a slight advantage because I'm the oldest, so some people gave me some credit for that."

The theme for this year is Reaching Higher and it was a personal message for Samuel Seow, founder of Beam Artistes. He was disbarred in 2022 because he physically and verbally abused his employees.

In a press release shared with local media, Seow said, "I wish to set an example for the Class of 2024 and show them that life has its ups and downs but we each just need to concentrate on doing better than what we have done the day before."

Time is money, and now, there might be a price on your personal time even.

A new government policy in the UK is set to introduce a worker's right to switch off, establishing a boundary between professional and personal lives.

According to the policy, the employer and employee will agree to an expected set of hours in which they can be contacted.

And, if employers repeatedly breach this agreement, they could be liable for thousands of pounds in compensation.

To find out more about this policy, read on.

The policy shifts announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during the National Day Rally on Sunday (18 Aug) have been well-received by opposition party Workers' Party (WP).

In a press release shared with local media, the party welcomed the temporary financial aid for workers who have lost their job and the expanded parental leave.

Wong announced an unemployment support of up to $6,000 over a period of up to six months, and an additional 10 weeks of parental leave shared between both mother and father.

Additionally, Wong admitted to looking into housing concerns among singles but said more time was needed to make changes. The one change that can be made now, though, is extending BTO priority access to singles who are buying a flat to live with or near their parents.

On this new perk, WP reiterated the call to lower the eligibility age for singles to apply for a HDB flat from 35 to 28. This was first made in their 2020 manifesto during the General Elections.

WP wrote, "We urge the government to make this deeper policy reform sooner than later, to more comprehensively allay concerns among singles regarding housing access."

For more on WP's thoughts surrounding the new policy shifts, read here.

A lost passport turned a supper trip to Johor Bahru (JB) into a four-day stay.

Singaporean TikToker Sabrina Sim took to the social media platform to complain about the incident. She, and her friends, left their passport in the car as they thought it was safer than carrying it around.

When they were preparing to leave for Singapore around 5am, they realised that a few passports were missing – hers included.

As it was the day after National Day, and a weekend, the embassy wasn't open. To make matters worse, the coming Monday was a holiday for Malaysia, which meant the embassy would only open on Tuesday.

To find out how more about her unfortunate trip to JB, read here.

The recent rise in housebreaking cases at private residential estates seems to be linked to foreign syndicates involving Chinese nationals, according to local police.

Three individuals have been arrested and charged, and the police is still locating 14 others who are currently out of Singapore.

Police believe the suspects are transient travellers who enter Singapore one to two days before carrying out the crime.

Over the course of two months, from 1 June to 4 August, 10 housebreaking crimes were reported, mostly at private residential estates around the Rail Corridor and Bukit Timah Road.

To find out more about the housebreaking syndicates, read here.

A collision took place early Monday (19 Aug) morning in the South China Sea between a Philippine and Chinese vessel.

Both nations are pointing the finger at each other.

China's Coast Guard said the Philippine vessel ignored repeated warnings and "deliberately collided" with a Chinese vessel.

The Philippines dispute the account and said Chinese vessels engaged in "unlawful and aggressive manoeuvres" against two of its coast guard vessels on a supply mission.

This latest incident comes on the heels of an agreement between both nations to ease tensions and manage disagreements at sea.

For more on the latest South China Sea dispute, read here.

A man lost his wife and is suing Disney, but the entertainment giant is saying no.

The reason? He signed up for a Disney+ trial.

Jeffrey Piccolo and wife, Tangsuan, ate at a restaurant in Disney Springs, Florida, in October 2023. Tangsuan died after suffering a severe allergic reaction to the food.

According to court documents, she had informed the staff of her nut and dairy allergies multiple times and they reassured her that the food could be allergen-free.

They also got multiple confirmations that the food was safe to eat.

Disney is arguing that according to the terms Piccolo agreed to when he signed up for a Disney+ trial five years ago, any legal disputes with the company can only be settled via arbitration.

For more on this ongoing dispute, read here.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra was sworn in as Thailand's youngest-ever Prime Minister on Sunday (18 Aug).

Shinawatra, 37, replaces former PM Srettha Thavisin, who was dismissed by the courts for appointing a Cabinet member convicted of bribery.

Both Shinawatra and Thavisin are from the Pheu Thai party. The party's de facto leader is Thailand's divisive former leader Thaksin Shinawatra (also Shinawatra's father), who will be indicted for defaming the monarchy.

The younger Shinawatra acknowledged her family ties but insisted she is her "own person".

She said, "I have my own things and my own goals that I have to achieve in the future, but of course all the comments from him (have) value to me."

For more details on Shinawatra's appointment as Prime Minister, read here.