NewsLite

Singapore has now enjoyed three days of better air quality , after a stretch of unhealthy-to-very unhealthy 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) and high-to-very high hourly PM2.5, which began on Oct 5.

But, as the National Environment Agency (NEA) has been cautioning since Oct 18, winds could again turn — this time, not in the city state's favour.

In its daily haze situation update on Tuesday (Oct 20) night, the agency said that showers are forecast over Singapore and the surrounding region on Wednesday.

However, it cautioned that smoke haze from fires in Kalimantan may move towards Singapore as the winds are expected to blow from the east-southeast to southeast.

A tourist visiting Singapore for the first time had an unexpected turn of events when the bus she was travelling on was involved in an accident with a car.

Sharing her experience in a TikTok video on Sunday (Oct 18), she documented her visit to Singapore, showing snippets of her day out before boarding a bus.

But her journey took an unexpected turn when the bus was involved in an accident with a car, leaving her shaken.

"Thankfully, nobody got hurt in the accident (as far as I know), but I'm sure everyone was shaken. Even my mind went completely blank," she wrote.

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers foiled an attempt to smuggle an assortment of controlled weapons and ammunition into Singapore on Oct 1.

In a social media post on Tuesday (Oct 20) evening, it said the attempt was made via an inbound cargo container and detected by its officers at Pasir Panjang scanning station.

According to ICA, the container was directed for further checks based on information received from its Integrated Targeting Centre.

Those assessed to be of higher risk are flagged for checks upon arrival at Singapore's checkpoints.

Brunei's Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Abdul Mateen will make a three-day introductory visit to Singapore from Wednesday (Oct 21).

Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement on Tuesday evening that the visit is at the invitation of Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

The upcoming visit will be Prince Mateen's first official visit to the city state, since he was appointed to the role in June 2026 , and reflects the special and longstanding relationship between the two countries, the ministry added.

During his visit, Prince Mateen will call on President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

Craving a hot meal and fast?

7-Eleven is making it easier for Singaporeans to grab a quick bite with the introduction of its new in-store food concept — the Foodbar.

Unveiled on Friday (Oct 16), the new hot food counter will be available at 16 outlets islandwide, with the convenience store chain adding that there are plans to scale it over time.

So, what can customers expect at the Foodbar?

Doubts whether the fruits of economic growth are distributed fairly have emerged as societies around the world contend with rising costs of living, the rapid pace of technological change, and uncertainty over jobs , said Second Minister for Finance Jeffrey Siow on Tuesday (Oct 20).

When this happens, citizens look towards governments for solutions, but many governments have less fiscal flexibility than before because of slowing growth, falling tax revenues, growing public debt, and rising inflation, Siow said.

Siow, who is also Minister for Transport, was delivering an intervention at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation finance ministers' meeting in Hong Kong, during a session on fiscal policy supporting households.

Sharing the city state's fiscal strategy, he pointed out that everyone in Singapore contributes, but those with greater means contribute more.

Jasmine Yen, daughter of Hong Kong movie star Donnie Yen and his model wife Cissy Wang, was an introvert when she was young but found something to help her break out of her shell.

The 22-year-old singer-songwriter was in Singapore recently and told AsiaOne in an interview held at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park's Shared Table cafe: "I used to be very shy when I was a kid, I couldn't even make eye contact with a lot of people, even if I had known them for 10 years.

"I am really dependent on female artistes who are divas - confident and about woman empowerment. They helped me feel confident about myself."

Through her mum and aunt, she was introduced to music by Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Black Eyed Peas, Britney Spears and Beyonce, the latter of which is her idol.

Ariana Grande has been left devastated after her dog died.

The 33-year-old singer and actress took to social media to pay tribute to her late pet pooch Coco, who was 17 years old.

Ariana shared a carousel of images of her four-legged friend on Instagram, and she wrote in the caption: "sweetest, most amazing and most beautiful coco … i am so proud of you. thank you for your love, and for blessing this planet with your physical presence for over seventeen wonderful years. (sic)"

The Into You hitmaker admitted she will miss Coco "every day".

Jason Segel and Kayla Radomski have gotten married.

The Shrinking star, 46, and the 35-year-old actress tied the knot on Saturday (Oct 17) at The Huntington Library Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California.

Kayla re-shared several Instagram Stories posts from her friends congratulating her on being married.

She replied to one: "Means the world!!!! I'm a wife!!"

Carrie Wong was excited to dive into her first thriller Kidnap Game and her two weeks of filming in Singapore alongside an all-Japanese crew turned out to be an unexpected eye-opener.

Speaking to AsiaOne recently, the 32-year-old local actress revealed that working with them offered a whole new level of trust and support on set.

She shared that for local productions, she would usually check the camera angles with the crew during filming, especially for emotional scenes, to prepare herself.

However, for Kidnap Game, the crew assured they would follow her lead, allowing her to focus entirely on her performance, and she rarely needed more than two or three takes each time.