Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan more than quadrupled in 2026 despite a Taliban government ban, the United Nations said Thursday, urging that impoverished farmers needed alternatives to the lucrative crop.

Cultivated areas reached 43,000 hectares (around 106,200 acres), up from 10,000 hectares in 2025, while estimated opium production jumped fivefold from 300 tonnes to 1,500 tonnes, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report.

Long the world’s leading producer of poppies, Afghanistan was overtaken by...

The Joo Chiat Road and East Coast Road junction will see the start of a three-month scramble crossing trial coming Monday (Nov 16).

Similar to Tokyo’s famous Shibuya Crossing, traffic lights in every direction will turn red at the same time during a dedicated pedestrian crossing phase, allowing people to walk across from all sides at once, including diagonally. The trial is part of ongoing efforts to improve traffic flow and enhance pedestrian safety.

To facilitate the trial, vehicles travelling...

Flag carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) posted a net profit of S$209.7 million for its second quarter ended Sep 30, up from S$52.4 million during the same period in 2025, due to stronger operating profit and a lower share of losses from associate Air India.

SIA owns a quarter of Air India.

Mainboard-listed SIA’s profit was posted on the back of a 14.3 per cent rise in revenue to a record S$5.6 billion, from S$4.9 billion previously. Operating profit rose 16.3...

The fifth edition of the Asia Future Summit (AFS) on Nov 27 will be bringing together key policymakers, business leaders and industry experts to examine Asia’s evolving role in an increasingly uncertain global environment.

Among the speakers are Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Malaysia’s Minister of Economy Akmal Nasir, India’s Chief Economic Advisor Dr V Anantha Nageswaran, OCBC Group CEO Tan Teck Long and SGX Group CEO Loh Boon Chye.

After his mother was killed in a bear attack in Kashmir, Indian software engineer Mudasir Ali developed an online early-warning system to help people in the Himalayan region avoid dangerous encounters with wildlife.

Mr Mudasir created Wildping, a free website where users report sightings of animals such as Himalayan black bears and leopards, triggering alerts to people nearby.

The 33-year-old launched the platform in October, on the first anniversary of his mother’s death.

She was among at least 50 people...