Singapore blocks 10 websites over potential hostile information threat; Bukit Panjang LRT service resumes after overnight repairs: Singapore live news
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Alamak.io is said to have falsely alleged that Singapore had allowed other countries to conduct their biological warfare research activities here. (Photo: Alamak.io)
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The Singapore government has blocked 10 websites they believe have been “set-up by foreign actors” that could be used to “mount hostile information campaigns” against the country. The websites blocked are zaobaodaily.com, singaporeinfomap.com, Singaporeera.com, Singdaotimes.com, Todayinsg.com, Lioncitylife.com, Singapuranow.com, Voasg.com, Singdaopr.com, and Alamak.io. More details in the story.
In the trial of Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh, Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan today (23 October) rejected the defence’s application to obtain both sets of Yudhishthra Nathan’s redacted and unredacted messages from a chat group which included Raeesah Khan and Loh Pei Ying.
Former Workers’ Party (WP) secretary-general Low Thia Khiang testified on Wednesday (23 October) that he only found out in August 2023 that current party leadership had known about Raeesah Khan’s lie in August 2021.
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Marcus Chhan
Low Thia Khiang wonders why it took 'so long' to reveal lie
Workers Party chairman Sylvia Lim (R) and secretary general Low Thia Khiang (C) with their new members Chen Show Mao (2nd L), Pritam Singh (L) and Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (2nd R) arrive at the nomination centre in Singapore back in 2011. (Photo: ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Former Workers’ Party (WP) secretary-general Low Thia Khiang revealed he only found out two years later that current party leadership had known about Raeesah Khan’s lie in August 2021.
Low told the court he texted Singh after Khan clarified her untruth in Parliament on 1 November 2021 to suggest forming a disciplinary panel. He recommended that the panel consist of Sylvia Lim, Faisal Manap and Singh.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Ben Mathias Tan asked Low if he had known when he made the suggestion about the disciplinary panel that WP leaders already knew about Khan’s untruth since August 2021.
Low said he only found out in August 2023.
When DPP Tan asked Low what his reaction was, he said: "I was, I was wondering why take so long?”
Low was later released from the stand after the defence’s cross-examination.
Marcus Chhan
Pritam Singh trial: Judge rejects defence's application for full set of ex-WP cadre's messages
Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh’s trial resumed on 23 October. (Photo: Workers' Party/FB)
In one of the major developments today, Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan rejected the defence’s application to obtain Yudhishthra Nathan’s unredacted messages from 4-21 October 2021, and his redacted messages which were submitted to the Committee of Privileges (COP).
The messages are from a chat group which included the trio of former WP members Nathan, Raeesah Khan and Loh Pei Ying.
Jumabhoy had argued the two sets of messages would indicate whether the testimonies from Nathan and Loh were credible.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said this was due to an increase in retail & other goods inflation.
CPI is the Consumer Price Index that measures the average price changes in a fixed basket ofconsumption goods and services commonly purchased by the resident households over time.
Jigger & Pony, which gained a following at Amoy Street before moving to Amara Hotel, was the highest ranked Singapore bar at No.5.
“Its now-famous ‘menu-zines’ keep the bar identity fresh and fun, with its latest iteration, Smash, taking guests back to the classics,” according to The World's 50 Best Bars 2024.
Jigger & Pony has been a landmark fixture of the Asian cocktail scene for more than a decade. (Photo: 50 Best)
Vijay Mudaliar’s Analogue Initiative broke into the Top 50 this year at No.47 while Nutmeg & Clove – located in Purvis Street – was also recognised as a new entry this year.
"From the low-waste cocktails made with byproduct distillates to the central bar constructed from more than 1,600kg of recycled plastic bottles, this Singaporean bar is living proof that hospitality doesn’t need to be wasteful," wrote 50 Best about Analogue.
Atlas at Parkview Square, with its Gotham City-feel, came in at No.43. The listing noted the bar’s Atlas Martini as something not to be missed.
Handshake Speakeasy is a prohibition era-inspired bar decked out in black, gold and plush velvet. (Photo: 50 Best)
Mexico City’s Handshake Speakeasy was ranked as the top bar in the world for 2024 while the top performing Asian bar in this year’s list was Bar Leone from Hong Kong.
Marcus Chhan
LeBron James and Bronny are first father-son pair to play together in NBA history
A historic moment in the NBA and the LeBron James household. (Photo: NBA/X).
It was a moment LeBron James had dreamt of for many years.
The 39-year-old NBA legend and his 20-year-old NBA rookie son played over 2 minutes together late in the first half of the Los Angeles Lakers' 110-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“You see the intensity, right?” LeBron asked. “Just play carefree though. Don’t worry about mistakes. Just go out and play hard,” he said.
Earlier in the month, LeBron and Bronny did play together in a preseason game against the Phoenix Suns. However, Tuesday’s appearance made their special family moment an official record in the NBA.
Marcus Chhan
Are you feeling burnt out?
London, Melbourne and Singapore were considered the 'most burnt out cities' in the world according to Instant Offices.
They analysed Google search trends across 30 global cities to see which city showed the highest signs of burnout. The number of searches for ‘burnout symptoms’, ‘how to cope with burnout’, ‘am I burnt out?’ and ‘signs of burnout at work’ were recorded for each city.
Singapore came in third with 950 burnout related searches while London topped the list with 2240 followed by Melbourne with 1040.
The report considers any city with 500+ burnout related searches as having ‘High burnout sentiment’ while cities with over 150 burnout related searches have medium sentiment.
Top 10 most burnt-out cities (Source: Instant Offices)
London: 2240 (High)
Melbourne: 1040 (High)
Singapore: 950 (High)
New York: 880 (High)
Sydney: 870 (High)
Toronto: 710 (High)
Montreal: 540 (High)
Amsterdam: 520 (High)
Los Angeles: 460 (Medium)
Berlin: 420 (Medium)
Marcus Chhan
Shell oil spill: No new oil sightings reported on 22 October
Oil absorbent booms have been deployed around Tanjong Beach, Palawan Beach, Siloso Beach, Sentosa Golf Club, ONE°15 Marina Club, and Sentosa Cove as a precautionary measure. (Photo: SDC)
“We have deployed vessels and absorbent booms to remove any remnants of oil in the vicinity of Bukom. We will continue working closely with the relevant authorities on the clean-up effort required and to monitor the situation,” read Shell’s update yesterday.
Singapore’s national water agency PUB continues to monitor the seawater intakes at its desalination plants.
Marcus Chhan
Bukit Panjang LRT service resumes after overnight repairs
Regular train service on Bukit Panjang LRT resumed at 5am on 23 October. (Photo: SMRT)
At around 5.20pm on Tuesday, a train stalled on the Bukit Panjang LRT near Teck Whye station.
SMRT deployed a safety train to move the faulty train to the depot – the attempt was unsuccessful.
As they began to haul the faulty train back to the depot, a tyre on the faulty train deflated. Videos on social media showed the train sagging and at one point a sudden burst of sparks and smoke can be seen.
SMRT later explained this was due to a bar underneath the carriage making contact with the power rail.
“To prevent further damage to both the train and the power rail, we will jack up the train, replace the deflated tyre, and restore the train to its correct height before hauling it back to the depot tonight,” said SMRT on Tuesday.
Regular train service on Bukit Panjang LRT resumed at 5am this morning.
Marcus Chhan
Singapore blocks 10 websites over potential hostile information threat
Alamak.io is said to have falsely alleged that Singapore had allowed other countries to conduct their biological warfare research activities here. (Photo: Alamak.io)
The websites blocked are zaobaodaily.com, singaporeinfomap.com, Singaporeera.com, Singdaotimes.com, Todayinsg.com, Lioncitylife.com, Singapuranow.com, Voasg.com, Singdaopr.com, and Alamak.io.
“These 10 inauthentic websites have been observed to masquerade as Singapore websites by spoofing or using terms associated with Singapore in their domain name and incorporating familiar local features and visuals,” said MHA and IMDA in a joint-statement.
“They also carried content on Singapore, some of which were generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). These are common tactics used by malicious foreign actors: build websites which can attract a local following, that may subsequently be used as platforms to mount HICs,” read the statement.
One of the blocked websites Alamak.io was said to have falsely alleged Singapore had allowed other countries to conduct their biological warfare research activities here.
Israeli police raided two Palestinian bookstores in occupied east Jerusalem on Sunday, confiscating books and arresting one of the owners and his nephew, according to their family members.
President Trump on Sunday said he was losing patience with the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas after seeing footage of the Palestinian militant group release Israeli hostages over the weekend, whose appearance he compared to Holocaust survivors. Trump's reaction to seeing images of the three hostages, who appeared gaunt upon their release on Saturday, brought fresh uncertainty over the deal's fate before all remaining 76 hostages are freed and came days after the president called for the removal of Palestinians from the enclave and for the U.S. to take control of it.
President Trump on Sunday said that he has revoked the security clearances of people he doesn’t respect, days after he said he would end former President Biden’s security clearance. “There are people that we don’t respect, if there are people that we thought that were breaking the law, that came very close to it in…
After 12 seasons with Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton has embarked on a new challenge, joining rivals Ferrari in his pursuit for a record-breaking eighth Drivers’ World Championship