NewsLite

A passenger said they felt "slightly offended" during a private-hire vehicle (PHV) ride after noticing a sign stating that the driver would only speak Mandarin to Chinese passengers.

In a TikTok posted on Tuesday (April 7), user @aliciatadah was seated in a PHV vehicle with her husband and looked visibly confused as she pointed at a sign written in Chinese hanging from the driver's seat.

The incident took place on Sunday (April 5) as they were on the way home from Kallang.

It read: "If you're Chinese, please speak Chinese. I don't speak in English to Chinese people. Sorry!"

PANAMA CITY - Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino on Thursday (April 9) sought to calm tensions with China, striking a conciliatory tone a day after his foreign minister called out the Asian superpower for an increase in inspections of Panama-flagged vessels as a tit-for-tat response to China's CK Hutchison losing its port concessions in the Central American country.

"We are not interested … in having a problem with China," Mulino said on a visit to Balboa port on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal.

"I hope … this situation de-escalates … and that we return to a normality both in the political relationship and in the understanding that this is a problem that will be resolved."

When asked about Panama-flagged vessels being held in Chinese ports, Mulino said such inspections were not unusual in global shipping and said similar trends had affected other major registries, including Liberia and the Marshall Islands. He added Panama was still assessing the situation.

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT/ISLAMABAD - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday (April 9) he is seeking direct talks with Beirut, a day after the worst bombardment of the war killed more than 300 people in Lebanon and placed Donald Trump's US-Iran ceasefire in jeopardy.

Trump announced a ceasefire in the six-week-old Iran conflict late on Tuesday, just hours before a deadline after which he threatened to destroy Iran's entire civilisation.

In Pakistan, authorities were preparing for the first round of US-Iran talks, locking down parts of the capital Islamabad.

But there was no sign Iran was lifting its near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has caused the worst disruption to global energy supplies in history, with Israel's ongoing attacks on Lebanon cited as a key sticking point.

A Chinese traveller was escorted off a Malaysia Airlines flight after allegedly groping a flight attendant.

The incident occurred on flight MH318, which was scheduled to depart Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on Tuesday (April 7), reported China Press.

In a video on Chinese social media platform Weibo, the alleged molester is seen arguing with airport security staff and a flight attendant while seated on the plane.

During the exchange, the man is heard saying that he only "lightly tapped" the attendant, and that he should not be barred from boarding the plane.

Malaysia's Armed Forces chief Malek Razak Sulaiman is on a three-day visit to Singapore till Friday (April 10).

In a statement on Thursday night, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said General Malek is making his introductory visit to Singapore after becoming the 24th armed forces chief on Feb 1.

"Both countries' armed forces interact regularly through a wide range of activities, including bilateral exercises, visits and professional exchanges, cross attendance of courses, as well as through multilateral platforms like the Five Power Defence Arrangements, the Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM), and ADMM-Plus," Mindef said.

It added that such interactions have strengthened professional ties and mutual understanding between both armed forces, and have contributed to regional security and stability.

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers "flagged down" a Malaysia-registered taxi at Woodlands Checkpoint on April 3, but not because they needed a ride.

Pictures posted by ICA on its social media show a yellow cross-border taxi and a haversack filled with e-vaporisers.

ICA said that the vehicle, driven by a 70-year-old Malaysian man, with two passengers aged 28 and 72, was profiled and directed for enhanced checks.

During the checks, ICA's search and examination officers found over 40 e-vaporisers and related components, and 26 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes in the haversack of the 28-year-old male Singaporean passenger.

Transport service providers will receive temporary support from the Government between April and June to defray rising operational costs due to higher fuel prices and ensure continued operation in the near term.

Government contracted or subsidised transport service providers will receive the equivalent of 13 per cent of transport fare revenues during the three-month period, said the Ministry of Education (MOE), Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a joint statement on Thursday (April 9).

Transport service providers "should keep fares stable during this period", the ministries said, adding that transport fares may have to rise if fuel prices remain elevated beyond June.

Additionally, there are existing subsidies to support students, seniors, patients and persons with disabilities if they are not able to afford their transport.

South Korean idol-actor Cha Eun-woo has settled his tax bill, he wrote in a statement on Instagram yesterday (April 8).

The 29-year-old, who is a member of the K-pop group Astro and currently serving his mandatory military service, apologised for the "disappointment and confusion" caused by his tax evasion controversy .

"I respect the procedures and results of the National Tax Service, and to prevent further confusion, I have paid all related taxes. I will also faithfully engage in the remaining procedures," he said.

He took accountability, adding: "If there were parts I failed to review thoroughly, the responsibility lies entirely with me. I will not avoid blame by saying, 'I didn't know' or 'it was someone else's decision.'"

Amidst a Pakistan-brokered two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran, Brent oil prices fell back below US$100 per barrel on Wednesday (April 8), continuing into Thursday, with Shell becoming the first fuel company here to calibrate petrol prices downwards — by 4 cents.

But it has kept its diesel price unchanged, at $4.68.

Shell's adjustment also moves its posted price for the popular 95-octane petrol back to the $3.42 per litre mark, last set in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.

As at 6pm, no other fuel company has adjusted pump prices.

SEOUL — A huge crowd of BTS fans packed into a stadium near Seoul on Thursday (April 9) to see the K-pop supergroup kick off their long-awaited world tour.

Returning to the stage after a nearly four-year hiatus, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook will perform a set drawing from both their catalog and new fifth album, Arirang, their first since band members completed South Korea's mandatory military service.

Despite pouring rain, Thursday's crowd packed a stadium with a capacity for over 40,000 for the show, which marks the group's first headline tour performance since their 2021-22 Permission to Dance on Stage tour.

The shows in South Korea, running through April 12, launch a global tour spanning dozens of shows across the United States, Europe and Asia, which analysts say could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue per quarter.