Man jailed for threatening to crash planes at Changi Airport; Trump's defence pick Pete Hegseth cannot name an ASEAN country: Singapore live news

There's something about the way the street looks when it's just rained. But don't rush into the streets just yet and dance in your best dress because another storm is coming.

The national water agency PUB said on Thursday (16 Jan) that Singapore may experience "prolonged rainfall" again because of another monsoon surge this weekend (17 to 19 Jan).

A monsoon surge refers to a strengthening of winds over the South China Sea, causing extensive rain clouds to form over the surrounding region.

They wrote on Facebook, "High tides of up to 3.2m are also expected over this period, which could result in high water levels in our coastal canals. High tides coupled with heavy rainfall during the monsoon surge means that the risk of flooding near our coastal areas could increase."

The National Environment Agency (NEA) also said in a press release on Thursday that the monsoon surge "may bring windy and cooler conditions with occasional spells of moderate to heavy thundery showers over Singapore and the surrounding vicinity".

For the rest of January, they expect short-duration thundery showers in the afternoon on most days. "Overall, the rainfall for the second half of January 2025 is expected to be above average over most parts of the island," they added.

Lower daily minimum temperatures of around 22 degrees Celsius can be expected in the first few days of the rest of January. Subsequently, daily temperatures are forecast to range between 24 degrees Celsius and 34 degrees Celsius on most days.

PUB said they'll monitor the forecast closely and issue flood warnings as needed.

They shared, "Our Quick Response Teams (QRT) will be on standby to be deployed to flood-risk locations to manage any flooding incidents and support the communities affected, including supporting residents and business owners in flood-prone areas to operate flood defences.

"Our advice to the public remains to check on flood risks, sign up for free flood alerts and keep up to date with the latest situation by downloading the myENV app or subscribing to PUB Flood Alerts on Telegram."

Seletar Hill Restaurant, a place specialising in Chinese-American cuisine, is closing on 1 March 2025.

Its owners, chef Ng Kok Hua and his wife, Jamie Pang, will be retiring.

The restaurant first opened in its doors in 1990.

Ng and Pang moved to America in the 80s, after the latter's father passed away, in order to support her family of 10. Over there, they worked in Chinese restaurants in New York, and was also mentored by a Szechuan master who had experience working in government banquets in China and Taiwan.

They returned to Singapore with their experience and recipes and set up Seletar Hill Restaurant.

For more on what's good at this Chinese-American restaurant, read here.

Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan was repeatedly stabbed during an attempted burglary in his home in Mumbai.

The police said he was stabbed during a scuffle with the intruder and confirmed he is out of danger after receiving treatment.

Khan, 54, went through surgery and according to news agency ANI, hospital official Niraj Uttamani said a small piece of a foreign body had been identified close to the spine.

For more on the burglary, and the condition of Khan's family, read here.

Two lucky winners walked away with $3.04 million each after the Toto draw on Monday (13 Jan).

The winning numbers were 3, 7, 11, 13, 34, 35, and 17 as the "additional number".

The jackpot of $6.08 million was up for grabs after no Group 1 winners emerged in the two previous draws on 6 and 9 Jan.

According to Singapore Pools, one of the Group 1 winning tickets was bought online. It was a QuickPick System 7 entry.

The other winning ticket, an ordinary entry, was bought from a Singapore Pools outlet at Block 101 Yishun Avenue 5.

There were also seven Group 2 prize winners and they won $91,930 each.

Taylor Swift could perform in Shanghai this year.

Shanghai-based media outlet The Paper reported on Tuesday (14 Jan) that Zhang Qi, deputy director of Shanghai's culture and tourism bureau, confirmed that local officials hosted Swift's team for preliminary discussions in the municipality.

He said, "As for whether it will ultimately happen, it depends on the market and the attractiveness of our city. However, we are optimistic and think that there may be hope for this year."

Swift last performed in China, where she is hugely popular, in 2015 during her 1989 World Tour. She performed from 10 to 12 Nov, after adding an extra show due to the high demand.

For more on the potential Taylor Swift China concert in 2025, read here.

US President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday (15 Jan) a "full and complete" ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as part of the first phase of their peace accord.

Biden, 82, said that the first phase will last six weeks and include a "full and complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas".

The second phase, which has yet to be finalised, would bring a "permanent end to the war".

The US president said he acted as "one team" with US President-elect Donald Trump. "I'm deeply satisfied this day has come, finally come," said Biden.

For more details on the ceasefire agreement, read here.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump's pick for defence secretary, failed to name a member from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during his confirmation hearing.

Senator Tammy Duckworth was grilling Hegseth to determine if he had the “breadth and depth of knowledge” needed to lead international negotiations. She asked him to name one ASEAN member, describe what type of agreement the US had with the countries, and how many nations were in the bloc.

Hegseth replied that he couldn't remember the exact number, but he knows that "we have allies in South Korea and Japan in AUKUS (a pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the US) with Australia".

In response, Duckworth said, "None of those three countries are in ASEAN. I suggest you do a little homework."

ASEAN is made up of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. An 11th country, East Timor, is set to join soon.

The exchange has gone viral with netizens slamming him for being unqualified for the job.

For more on Hegseth's faux pas and why ASEAN matters, read here.

An Australian man was jailed eight weeks after pleading guilty to a charge of harassment on Wednesday (15 Jan).

The Straits Times reported that Marli Curtis Philip Moncrieff, 36, was on a holiday to Phuket and stopped over in Singapore. He was barred from entering by Thai authorities as his passport had a page of visas torn out, and returned to Singapore shortly before 1.30am on 20 Nov, 2024.

He was denied entry into Singapore for the same reason and about four hours later, was escorted to an aerobridge at Changi Airport to board a Jetstar flight back to Perth.

The flight was scheduled to depart at 6.55am on 20 Nov, 2024.

Moncrieff was upset and said, "I want the aircraft to crash and kill everyone."

A flight attendant who heard him was alarmed and informed her manager and captain. Moncrieff was removed from the flight as a precaution. Nothing incriminating was found among his belongings.

He was then handed over to Singapore authorities and taken to an arrival immigration counter at Terminal 4. Then, he was asked to wait at a lounge area for another flight at the airline's expense.

Over there, Moncrieff had a conversation with his girlfriend and said he would crash the plane.

An officer from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) overheard his conversation and asked Moncrieff about it. He reiterated, "If they put me on another flight, I will tell them I will crash the plane again."

Deputy Public Prosecutor Shaun Lim said the accused was "agitated" but "did not raise his voice or use vulgarities".

Moncrieff also repeatedly said, "I don’t want to go home, send me to jail, I want to die."

The ICA officer asked Moncrieff to confirm that he would tell the cabin crew that he would crash the plane if put on another flight. Moncrieff replied, "Yes, I do not want to get another flight."

After discussing the issue with her colleagues, the police were alerted and he was arrested at 5.15pm that day.

According to The Straits Times, Principal District Judge Toh Han Li stressed that the case involved threats pertaining to aviation security, and said, "Words can have serious consequences."

The DPP also said that when Moncrieff flew back to Singapore from Thailand, ICA officers helped him retrieve his medication, ordinarily prescribed for depression and anxiety, from his checked-in luggage.