Ministers, govt agencies victims of deepfake blackmail campaign; Woman who fractured spine on SQ321 can walk unaided: Singapore live news

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has ‘frozen’ leave for all cabinet members as the country grapples with a deepening flood situation.

Bernama reported on Friday (29 November) that flooding in several states had worsened with Kelantan seeing 59,232 people evacuated to 221 relief centres while 20,911 people were currently taking shelter in 232 relief centres in Terengganu.

Kedah, Perlis, Perak, Negri Sembilan and Selangor are among the states also experiencing flooding.

Malaysian PM Anwar has instructed all ministers and deputy ministers to go to flood-hit areas and to ensure every government resource is available when needed.

"All ministers have been told to go to the ground now. Yes, the leave has been frozen for them,” he was quoted as saying.

According to Bernama, METMalaysia has issued a continuous rain warning for Kelantan, Terengganu, Perak, Pahang, Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Johor, until Saturday (30 November).

Earlier, the government activated the federal Centralised Disaster Operations Control Centre (PKOB) to coordinate rescue operations and manage flood victims.

Gen Zs and Baby Boomers are the least confident generations when it comes to maintaining physical health in old age, according to a new study titled ‘Healthspan barometer: evaluating public perspectives on healthy ageing in Singapore’.

It found that 68% of Gen Z respondents were not confident in maintaining their physical health, closely followed by Baby Boomers (67%), and then Millennials (57%) and Gen X (56%).

Mental health in old age was also a concern which cut across age groups and was shared by half of Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X surveyed.

The study was sponsored by Prudential Singapore and surveyed 1,014 Singapore residents aged 20 to 70 years old to understand their attitudes towards achieving a long healthspan.

Healthspan in the context of the study is the period of one’s life spent in relatively good health, without chronic illnesses and age-related disabilities.

You can read the full Healthspan Barometer study, here.

Installation works for the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link will begin by the end of this year.

This will include laying the tracks for the RTS Link, as well as the signalling, communications, integrated supervisory control, and traction power supply systems, according to a joint statement on 29 November by Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA), Malaysia’s Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRT Corp), and RTS Johor-Singapore (RTSO).

RTSO is a joint venture formed between Prasarana and Singapore’s SMRT to operate the RTS Link service.

It was revealed that more than 80% of the civil infrastructure works in Singapore have been completed for the project while civil infrastructure works in Malaysia was 93% completed.

The RTS Link will connect Bukit Chagar in JB to Woodlands North in Singapore with a travel time of about five minutes between the two stations. It is targeted to commence passenger service by December 2026.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the country’s controversial new social media age restriction was "the right thing to do".

The new legislation bans children under 16 from using social media. Companies that fail to comply with the law face fines of up to A$50 million (S$43.6m).

Social media giants, on Friday (29 November), have reacted strongly against the landmark law.

TikTok accused the Australian government of "ignoring mental health, online safety and youth experts who had opposed the ban.”

“It's entirely likely the ban could see young people pushed to darker corners of the internet where no community guidelines, safety tools, or protections exist,” a spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said it was concerned "about the process, which rushed the legislation through while failing to properly consider the evidence, what industry already does to ensure age-appropriate experiences, and the voices of young people".

However, Albanese remained steadfast in the decision on Friday (29 November) after the bill returned to the House of Representatives where it passed.

“We want our kids to have a childhood and parents to know we have their backs," Albanese said.

The legislation currently does not specify which platforms will be banned.

K-pop group NewJeans was a trending topic on Google overnight in Singapore. But this wasn’t because of any new music the band had released.

Instead, NewJeans made waves online after holding a late-night press conference on Thursday (28 November) where they announced that they were leaving their agency Ador.

Ador is a subsidiary of mega-label Hybe and the development is seen as the latest barb in a long-running feud between former NewJeans producer Min Hee-Jin, and Hybe's chairman Bang Si-hyuk.

Last night, the five-member girl band accused the agency of "mistreatment" and "manipulation".

"This is not the type of work ethic we respect and not one we want to be a part of, and to continue working under a company with no intention of protecting NewJeans would only do us harm," said Hanni.

The group confirmed they would like to work with former producer Min again.

NewJeans has quickly grown into one of Hybe's most successful groups after making their debut in 2022

Hong Mun Ying was on Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight SQ321 when it plummeted 178 feet in 4.6 seconds.

The 23-year-old fractured her spine in the incident and had to lie on the floor as the turbulent-hit plane diverted to Bangkok.

“I really wanted to live,” Hong told the Straits Times in a recent interview.

She spent over 10 weeks recovering in Bangkok’s Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital where titanium plates were attached to her spine.

Hong was lucky to escape paralysis but had to endure a long recovery process.

It took a month before she could sit up in bed, and another month to stand and take her first steps.

Today, she can walk without assistance but needs help carrying objects such as laptops or even opening sliding doors.

Hong is currently back home recovering in Malaysia after she courageously got herself back on an airplane.

She told the Straits Times that she hopes to make enough progress to be ready to return to university in September 2025.