NewsLite

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has busted a drug and contraband smuggling syndicate involving senior military officers in the southern part of the country.

Three serving and two former senior military officers were among the 10 suspects arrested on Wednesday (Aug 13) during an operation carried out by the MACC Intelligence Division, with assistance from the Anti-Corruption Tactical Squad, reported Bernama.

The suspects, including an Indonesian national, are aged between 30 and 55 and were arrested around the Klang Valley during the operation, which began at 6.30am.

A source told Bernama that the senior officers involved are from the armed forces' intelligence division, while the two former personnel were also from the same unit.

Stay in the know with a recap of our top stories today.

1. 'We both want the best for Singapore': Ex-NMP Calvin Cheng resolves differences with ex-SDP chairman over Gaza comments

Former Nominated Member of Parliament Calvin Cheng has settled his claim for defamation against former Singapore Democratic Party chairman Jufrie Mahmood.

Cheng sued Mahmood over a Facebook post made in March this year about Cheng's comments on activists who disrupted a Meet-the-People Session in Chong Pang... » READ MORE

With their group name drawn from the Korean word for energy 'ki' and the English word 'rascal', they certainly live up to the youthfulness.

AsiaOne recently spoke with K-pop rookie girl group Kiiras, who were in Singapore for a collaboration video shoot with UOB before heading to Malaysia and Japan.

The sextet - leader Lingling from Malaysia, Kurumi from Japan as well as Kylie, Harin, Doyeon and Roah from South Korea - made their debut on May 29 and have released two songs, Kill Ma Bo$$ and Ziller!.

With their oldest member Lingling at 20 years old and youngest Roah turning 14 in October, all but one of the girls have stopped school to pursue their idol dreams.

2024 came and went with some amazing acts visiting Singapore, from American songstress Taylor Swift , classic rockers Deep Purple, Cantopop king Andy Lau and Mandopop's Jay Chou, to Blackpink's Lisa and K-pop group Stray Kids.

Here's how 2025's concert calendar is shaping up.

This article was first published on Dec 14, 2024, and updated on Aug 13, 2025.

SG Metal Mayhem returns for its fifth edition on Aug 13 with Brazilian death metal band Krisiun supported by local grindcore legends Wormrot and death-doom band Kruelty from Japan playing at Phil's Studio. Tickets go for $75 on BookMyShow .

You'll soon be able to fly directly to Okinawa again as Scoot will launch three new flight routes, including one to the Japanese prefecture.

The other two new flight services are to Chiang Rai and Tokyo's Haneda Airport, the low-cost airline announced in a press release yesterday (Aug 12).

Scoot said the new routes will be rolled out progressively between December 2025 and March 2026, starting with three weekly flights to Okinawa from Dec 15, followed by five weekly flights to Chiang Rai from Jan 1, 2026, and daily flights to Tokyo-Haneda from March 1, 2026.

The new route to Okinawa will also be the only direct flight between Singapore and the prefecture, following Jetstar Asia's exit last month .

Jimmy Kimmel has obtained Italian citizenship.

The 57-year-old presenter — who has Katie, 33, and Kevin, 31, with ex-wife Gina Maddy and Jane, 11, and Billy, eight, with spouse Molly McNearney — has Italian heritage on his mother's side so sought to obtain official links to Europe because he is so unhappy with the state of the US under the presidency of Donald Trump.

Speaking on The Sarah Silverman Podcast, he said: "I do have... I did get Italian citizenship, I do have that.

"What's going on is... as bad as you thought it was gonna be, it's so much worse.

It takes a village to raise a child, or in this case, deliver a baby.

As rain fell on the streets of Pasir Gudang, Johor, last Sunday (Aug 10) afternoon, a pregnant woman found herself in active labour by the roadside.

She and her husband were travelling on a motorcycle when contractions began, causing her to dismount and lay on the road, said M. Bhavani Thevi, one of the passing motorists who had stopped to lend a hand.

In a TikTok post, Bhavani wrote that she and her husband initially thought there was an accident.

SINGAPORE — In a ploy to withdraw money from her Central Provident Fund (CPF) account before the permitted age of 55, a woman forged two medical documents claiming she had a respiratory illness.

Although the CPF Board (CPFB) saw through the ruse and did not disburse any funds to her, the prosecution said Nasuha Zakaria's crime constituted serious mischief.

On Aug 12, the 34-year-old was sentenced to five months and 10 weeks' jail after she pleaded guilty to one forgery charge and two unrelated charges of theft.

Four other charges of theft, forgery and fraudulently possessing property were taken into consideration during sentencing.

BUDAPEST — Russia has won the war in Ukraine, right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday (Aug 12) ahead of a summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday.

In power since 2010, Orban has been criticised by some European leaders for his government's ties with Russia and opposition to military aid for Ukraine, while his cabinet is struggling to revive the economy from an inflation shock.

Orban, who has maintained close ties with Putin even after Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, became the only European Union leader on Monday not to endorse a joint statement saying Ukraine should have the freedom to decide its future.

"We are talking now as if this were an open-ended war situation, but it is not. The Ukrainians have lost the war. Russia has won this war," Orban told the 'Patriot' YouTube channel in an interview.

SEOUL — South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will visit Japan between Aug 23-24 and hold a summit with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Lee's office said at a briefing on Wednesday (Aug 13).

The leaders will discuss ways to improve regional peace and boost trilateral co-operation with Washington, Kang Yoo-jung, Lee's spokesperson, told reporters. Kang did not specify the date of the summit during Lee's two-day visit.

Lee has in the past been critical of efforts by administrations in Seoul to improve ties with Tokyo, though when he met Ishiba for their first summit on the sidelines of a G7 meeting in Canada in June they vowed to deepen the relationship.

Ties between the US allies have often been strained, rooted in historical disputes stemming from Japan's colonial rule over the Korean peninsula from 1910-1945.