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Iran has declared that passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is "completely open". This was announced by Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi in a X post at 8.45pm (Singapore time) on Friday (April 17). "In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of the ceasefire," he wrote.

A fire broke out at an unit in Ang Mo Kio industrial estate on Thursday (April 16) afternoon. The incident happened at about 12.40pm at 5000 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, the registered address of Techplace II managed by CapitaLand Ascendas real estate industrial trust (Reit). Videos of the incident posted on social media show smoke coming out of a unit on the third floor. Several people are seen evacuating from the unit and standing along the corridor.

Social media personalities Xiaxue and Simonboy have taken their dispute over harassment claims related to a charity set up for child abuse victim Megan Khung to the State Courts. According to the court system, Xiaxue, whose real name is Wendy Cheng, and Simonboy, whose name appeared in the court hearing list as Khung Wei Nan, were to attend a case management conference at a tribunal hearing room on Friday (April 17).

Passenger traffic grew year-on-year in Q1 2026, led by strong demand for North Asia and Europe. Stay in the know with a recap of our top stories today. 1. Changi Airport handled 17.6 million passengers in Q1 amid strong demand for North Asia, Europe Changi Airport handled about 17.6 million passengers in the first quarter of 2026, a 2.3 per cent increase than the same period last year. This was driven by strong demand for North Asia and Europe. 2.

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD/NABATIEH, Lebanon — US President Donald Trump expressed confidence that an agreement could soon be reached to end the Iran war and said Tehran-backed Hezbollah should support a 10-day US-backed truce agreed between Lebanon and Israel. Trump said an extension of a two-week ceasefire with Iran was possible, but may not be needed. "We're going to see what happens.

Josh Greenstein, co-chair of Paramount Pictures, revealed that Tom Cruise will once again be taking to the skies as fighter pilot Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in the upcoming project, which is "officially in development with a script underway", during CinemaCon at Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, on Thursday (April 16).

It was a normal visit to a beach at Cha-am, Petchaburi province, for a Thai family. But it turned bizarre after they stopped at a petrol station for a toilet break. They accidentally left behind their six-year-old daughter at the kiosk and drove home in Nong Prue district, more than 130km away, Thai publication Thaiger reported on Thursday (April 16). The girl had gone to the toilet, but when she returned, the family had left. They had arrived in three vehicles, Ch7 reported.

Charli XCX decalres dance floor music "dead" and is pivoting to rock music. The Von Dutch hitmaker's 2024 LP Brat was a huge hit around the world but she thinks it would have been "really sad" if she'd made another album in the same vein. Discussing how she knew she wanted "to go to Paris" to work on her eighth LP, she told Britain's Vogue magazine: "We knew it would be this very hectic, rich time and we like creating in that kind of atmosphere.

BEIJING — Apple's iPhone shipments surged 20 per cent in China in the first quarter, for the strongest growth among major vendors, despite an overall decline as rising prices of memory chips boosted costs, data from Counterpoint Research showed. Overall smartphone shipments dropped four per cent in the world's largest smartphone market in the period from January to March, hit by supply chain disruptions and the soaring chip prices.

SYDNEY — An Australian court ordered bail with travel restrictions on Friday (April 17) for the country's most decorated soldier, following his arrest on accusations of war crimes while deployed in Afghanistan more than a decade ago. Police arrested and charged Ben Roberts-Smith, 47, with five counts of war crimes last week over the murder of five unarmed Afghan civilians between 2009 and 2012. Each charge carries a maximum term of jail for life.