A 19-year-old man and his parents fell off a cliff in India and died on Aug. 21, sparking speculation and local media reports that a quarrel over the purchase of an iPhone was the root cause of the trio's deaths.

However, it has now transpired that family issues may have been the cause of the tragedy.

Allegations of iPhone dispute

According to an earlier report by NDTV, the teenager, Kunal, had asked his parents to pay the instalments of a new iPhone on his behalf, but his request was denied.

This led him to go to a cliff located in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra, where he threatened to throw himself off at about 10am.

A three-hour standoff reportedly ensued between Kunal and residents from the nearby village, who attempted to dissuade him by urging him to "live for your mother".

Police and fire department personnel were reportedly present at the scene.

After Kunal's parents arrived, his father attempted to pull his son back, but was dragged down with his son.

The teen's mother, 42, then jumped to her death after them, the outlet reported.

Clips of the incident have since gone viral online, depicting the exchange between Kunal, his parents and other residents.

Family dispute

Kunal's aunt has since repeatedly rejected the speculation that an iPhone was at the centre of the dispute, claiming that online commenters "don't know what actually happened".

According to the Times of India. she said without going into detail: "Why are you spreading lies without any information?"

"Only we know what a mountain has fallen on our family after losing these three."

According to the media outlet, the police also later found that Kunal had gone to the same cliff in 2025 and threatened to die by suicide after his demand for an iPhone was not fulfilled.

He was later counselled by the police, they confirmed, but according to one officer, "this year there was something else".

The Indian Express reported on Aug. 26 that investigations moved to broader family tensions, and it was found that Kunal's parents had an ongoing dispute relating to his mother's unhappiness over her husband's visitations to his family.

According to Asia News Network, the dispute had strained the family in the months leading to the tragedy.

Kumal was said to have attempted suicide on that day after being distressed by the situation.

Mother's cryptic video

Further investigations also found a seemingly cryptic video on relationships posted by Kumal's mother a day before her death, NDTV reported.

The woman, who had posted multiple videos on YouTube previously, said that there is "no point in doing anything for a person who does not value love".

"If a person does not value you, does not value your love, or does not value what you do for them, then there is no point in doing anything for such a person," she reportedly added.

It was also found that she had been living separately from her husband for some time after her elder son's death from an illness six years ago.

"A roti is only delicious if both sides are cooked," she said.

Flash floods and mudslides swept through mountainous areas along the Nepal-Tibet border on Aug. 26, 2026.

At least 177 people have been killed, CNN reported.

The death toll is expected to rise.

Nearly 1,500 people are missing across the region, Al Jazeera reported.

In Nepal, 826 people were reported missing a day after the incident, including almost 600 foreign tourists.

Among those reported missing in Nepal are:

India: 177

United States: 63

Australia: 34

United Kingdom: 33

Canada: 25

Singapore: 9

In Tibet’s Gyirong County, Chinese state media reported that 558 people were missing, including 260 foreign nationals.

No rain, no warning

The deluge, which consisted of mud and rocks, swept through the Lhende Khola river valley.

At least 19 bridges and about 40km of roads were washed away, along with homes and other critical infrastructure.

There was no warning as it was not raining at the time.

Satellite data: Avalanche at mountain in Nepal after glacier broke away

Satellite images from Planet Labs have shed light on what happened on Aug. 26 morning, Reuters reported.

According to Nepal Times, a huge avalanche on the north face of Mount Langtang Lirung coincided with a 4.4-magnitude earthquake near the border with China at 8:37am (Nepal time).

Mount Langtang Lirung stands at 7,245m and is located 45km directly north of Kathmandu, Nepal.

The mountain is wholly within Nepal.

A substantial section of the lower end of the glacier broke away at an elevation of about 5,200m and plunged about 1,200m onto the valley floor, gathering rock and sediment as it fell, Reuters reported.

1,200m is 1.2km.

The debris flow from the avalanche blocked the Lhende Khola — a Himalayan river originating in Gyirong County, Tibet, which flows into Nepal — that marks the border with China.

The river was already swollen due to the monoon season, Nepal Times reported.

A lake burst soon after, sending a wall of mud and boulders racing down the Trishuli River — a major river in central Nepal — into Nepal.

Water levels in the Trishuli reportedly rose by as much as 9m in just 30 minutes.

Earthquake likely didn't cause slope collapse

Experts were initially divided about whether the earthquake caused the slope collapse on the north face, or whether the avalanche was so massive that it caused the seismic event.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) initially thought that the earthquake caused the slope collapse, but later revised its assessment, saying the seismic signal had been generated by the landslide itself rather than an earthquake, Al Jazeera reported.

The landslide eventually registered as a magnitude 5.2 seismic event.

Some of the worst damage occurred in Nepal’s Rasuwa district, immediately south of the Chinese border.

Can't determine cause yet

It is still too early to determine what caused this specific event, Al Jazeera reported.

As glaciers melt, break up, and get smaller, mountain slopes become unstable.

Meltwater can accumulate in or around glaciers, increasing potential for sudden floods.

Unusually warm conditions around the affected glacier were detected by satellite before the collapse.

Researchers are investigating whether melting contributed to the glacier’s instability.

Previous incident

A massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake in April 2015 triggered an avalanche on Mount Langtang Lirung's south face, which fell into the glacier below and buried the village of Langtang.

At least 300 people were killed.

A 60-year-old man who assaulted former actor Huang Yiliang at a hawker centre on May 10 has been issued a 12-month conditional warning by the Singapore Police Force (SPF).

Huang, 64, was previously reported to have been attacked by the man at Circuit Road Hawker Centre, where he operates a seafood stall.

Videos of Huang being wheeled away on a stretcher later circulated online.

The attack came days after Huang was involved in a heated argument with a neighbouring hawker stall owner.

Conditional warning

SPF confirmed with Mothership that they have administered a 12-month conditional warning to the 60-year-old man on Aug. 3.

This comes upon the completion of investigations and after careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case in consultation with the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC), SPF said.

The man was accused of voluntarily causing hurt and intentionally causing harassment.

Business as usual

According to Shin Min Daily News, Huang said in previous interviews that he would continue operating at the location as business was stable.

He said he would distance himself from the other party, while suggesting that their relationship could improve in the future.

A tour bus travelling from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, overturned along an expressway after its driver reportedly fell asleep behind the wheel.

The incident occurred at about 4am on the early morning of Aug. 26 at the 177.6-kilometre mark of the North-South Expressway, according to Malaysian media outlet The Star.

The bus was carrying 12 people at the time.

Three passengers were reportedly injured, including the 59-year-old Malaysian tour guide, a 62-year-old Singaporean and a 42-year-old British national.

Malaysian police said they received a report about the accident at about 5am.

According to them, the bus driver had attempted to avoid a lorry that had slowed down, causing it to veer off to the side of the road and overturn.

Driver allegedly fell asleep at the wheel

A passenger, surnamed Lin, told Lianhe Zaobao that the accident was allegedly caused by the driver falling asleep behind the wheel.

The man, who was travelling on the overnight bus for business, said that the accident site was only about 50 metres away from stone pillars and a fence along the roadside, which would have been disastrous if hit.

He said that two elderly people were seriously injured, with one bleeding from the head and another unable to move, seemingly due to a fracture.

However, the ambulance took more than an hour to arrive, he alleged.

Passengers were also said to be left stranded by the roadside for two more hours while another bus was deployed to the site.

According to Lin, he tried to inform the tour company that he had sprained his lower back and needed to see a doctor, but was not contacted by any staff member.

The deadly flash flood near ​Nepal's border with Tibet on Aug. 26 may have been caused by a glacial collapse, Reuters reported, citing expert opinions.

The lower part of a glacier breaking off and ‌crashing onto the valley floor hundreds of metres below may have triggered the event, satellite imagery from Planet Labs showed, which experts cited.

A warm spell could have melted snow, resulting in the floodwaters.

Nepali officials have pointed to an earthquake in the region minutes earlier as a possible cause behind the glacier collapse, but it remains unclear if it was the cause.

Death toll expected to rise

According to BBC, nearly 160 bodies have been recovered so far and more than 800 are missing, Nepal's government said.

Footage showed many people fleeing the deluge.

Aerial views of the brown debris and sediment in the aftermath of the flood revealed the extent of the destruction.

Before-and-after satellite imagery of the region from ​Planet Labs, reviewed by Reuters, showed the lush green mountainside buried.

Nepal floods: Aerial footage shows the devastating aftermath.

At least 97 people have been killed, while 403 people from 27 countries remain unaccounted for.

Among those reported missing are 62 Nepali citizens, 133 Indians, 47 Americans, and 33 Britons. pic.twitter.com/UyKMs2IJ1g

— Weather Monitor (@WeatherMonitors) August 26, 2026

Several hydropower projects are located in the worst-affected areas in the mountainous district of Rasuwa, ​which has a population of about 50,000.

Landslide event

Prakash Pokharel, a geologist at Nepal's ​National Disaster Risk Reduction and ⁠Management Authority, said the "glacier-inclusive flood" occurred in the Lhende River due to a landslide that took place around 20km northeast of a Nepal-China border crossing.

"The flash floods were caused by an ice-rock avalanche on the Nepali side," said Pokharel, who has reviewed the Planet Labs images.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development said the flash flood sent a powerful surge of water, sediment and boulders through the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems.

Water levels on the river at the Galchhi ​area downstream reportedly rose by as much as 9m within 30 minutes.

Glacier broke off

Vikram ​Gupta, who specialises in engineering geology and teaches at India's Sikkim University, told Reuters that it is "confirmed" that a "⁠substantial portion of that glacier snout collapsed to initiate the event".

Earth scientist Dan Shugar, an associate professor at the University of Calgary, also told Reuters: "What I ⁠can see in this morning's satellite imagery from Planet Labs, the lower part of a glacier broke off at about 5,200 metres and crashed onto the valley floor about 1,200 metres below."

Global warming

Nepal's snow-capped mountains ​had lost close to one-third of their ice in just over 30 years due to global warming, the United Nations said in 2023.

Glaciers in Nepal, wedged between India and China, melted 65 per cent faster in the last decade than in the previous ‌one, UN said.

After stealing S$677 cash from her elderly employers, a foreign domestic worker in Singapore transferred most of it to her boyfriend in Indonesia.

She then waited for him at Changi Airport as he had promised to meet and return her the money there, Shin Min Daily News reported.

But he did not show up for a few days.

The helper was eventually arrested at HarbourFront Centre where she tried to take a ferry to Batam.

Depi Lestari, 41, pleaded guilty to one charge of theft on Aug. 25, and was sentenced to four weeks in jail, backdated to the date of her arrest.

The theft

Lestari stole the cash around 7am on Jul. 8 when her employers, a couple in their 70s, were still asleep, according to Shin Min.

Investigations revealed that she decided to steal because she was struggling financially.

She unlocked the male employer's briefcase, got his wallet out, and took S$677 cash from it.

After packing her things, she also grabbed the couple's identity documents from the house before she left.

The female employer realised the cash and the helper were both missing when she woke up at 8:30am. She called the police to report the theft immediately.

Meeting the boyfriend

Around 9:35am that morning, Lestari changed S$654 of the stolen cash to Indonesian rupiah at City Plaza, then transferred this sum to her boyfriend's bank account in Indonesia.

She spent the remaining cash on her own.

Later in court, Lestari explained that she went to Changi Airport to wait for her boyfriend as he had instructed.

After he failed to show up, he apparently told her to take a ferry to Batam first and meet him in Jakarta.

When she went to take a ferry on Jul. 12, she was arrested by the police.

In court, Lestari claimed that she stole from her employers due to severe pressure from her boyfriend.

She expressed remorse for her actions and pleaded for leniency from the judge.

In the sentencing, the judge said that she had betrayed the trust of her employers and had not made any restitution to date.

A 63-year-old Singaporean chef who sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl in a restaurant with others present was sentenced on Aug. 26 to eight and a half years' jail.

Court documents seen by Mothership stated that Kassim Juhamat, who sexually assaulted the girl for about half an hour, faced a total of four charges.

Charges

He pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual assault by penetration, with three other charges taken into consideration during sentencing.

They include two charges for molesting her and one charge for committing an obscene act with her.

Kassim's jail term includes six months' jail in lieu of caning as he is above 50 years old and cannot be caned.

June 2025

Court documents stated that at the time of his offences, Kassim, then 62, worked as a chef in a restaurant.

The victim, who occasionally visited an individual at the restaurant, became acquainted with the accused and addressed him as "Uncle Kassim".

The girl and the individual's relationship cannot be disclosed due to a gag order to protect her identity.

At about 4:17pm on Jun. 27, 2025, the girl entered the restaurant and sat at a corner table beside Kassim, who was resting at a corner table.

Other staff and customers were present at the time.

Sexual assault

Shortly after, the girl asked Kassim to scratch her lower back as it was itchy.

He then used his left hand to scratch her lower back over her shirt, but later moved his hand under her shirt and asked if he could touch her chest.

The girl kept saying no and leaned her body forward towards the table to prevent Kassim from touching her.

However, he still managed to touch her with his left hand.

Though the girl wanted to leave the table, Kassim held her right hand tightly and kissed her mouth.

While still seated at the table, he moved his hand inside the girl's clothes and sexually violated her.

Later, he removed his hand from her clothes and took her hand to make her do an obscene act.

Court documents stated that "the victim felt disgusted and tried to move her hand away, but the accused held onto her hand tightly".

He also asked her if she wanted to touch him, to which she said "no".

Discovery of offence

It was only close to 5pm that Kassim let go of her hand, telling the girl not to tell anyone what had happened.

The girl wanted to tell someone what had happened, but fell asleep before she could do so.

On Jun. 28, 2025, the girl visited the restaurant, where the individual noticed she was acting differently towards Kassim and repeatedly asked her what happened.

The girl then explained what the accused did to her.

The individual immediately confronted the accused, who initially denied the girl's allegations against him.

He admitted to the allegations only after the individual said that she would report the matter to the police and check the closed-circuit television footage from the restaurant.

One of the restaurant's managers who learnt of what happened, lodged a police report on the girl's behalf.

Arrested

The prosecution called for a jail term of between eight and nine years for Kassim, with an additional six months' jail in lieu of caning.

He was arrested by the police on Jun. 29, 2025, and he remained in custody since then.

Kassim was then charged in the State Courts on Jun. 30, 2025.

A doctor who was accused of severing the wrong arteries during a keyhole surgery has been restricted from performing most types of surgery for 18 months.

54-year-old Singaporean Fong Yan Kit faces a charge of causing the death of his patient by a negligent act.

According to CNA, the coroner's inquiry into the death of 63-year-old Tan Bee Hwa was a result of the procedure, and her death could have been avoided.

During the kidney surgery on Apr. 29, 2022, at Raffles Hospital, he allegedly cut and tied the wrong arteries and finished the surgery without checking if the correct vessels were severed.

Tan's intra-abdominal organs suffered tissue death as a result of inadequate blood supply, and she died on May 2, 2022.

According to the grounds of decision of the Interim Orders Committee (IOC) inquiry published by the  Singapore Medical Council (SMC), the restrictions were sought to protect the public and public confidence in the medical profession, especially since the ongoing proceedings were widely reported in the media.

Surgery

Fong was registered under the Medical Registration Act as a specialist in urology since May 3, 2005 and joined Raffles Hospital in 2006.

On Apr. 28, 2022, at around 3:00am, Tan presented to the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department of the hospital with complaints of pain, blood in her urine and vomiting.

A scan showed a 7.5cm tumour on her left kidney, and Fong advised her to undergo surgery.

He conducted the surgery, but two of the vessels he believed were branches of the left renal artery were actually the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and coeliac trunk/axis.

The cuts were only discovered on May 1, 2022.

Following the conclusion of the surgery at around 8am, Fong noted that Tan's condition on examination was unremarkable.

However, Tan complained of worsening abdominal pain as the hours went on.

Cardiac arrest

Tan's condition worsened on May 1, 2022, and she presented symptoms of difficulty breathing and low blood pressure; she later went into cardiac arrest twice at around 6:30am and at around 8:15am to 8:30am.

At around 11:40am, a referral was made to a vascular interventional radiologist who reviewed CT scans taken that same day.

An urgent referral was made to a vascular surgeon who advised emergency surgery to rejoin the arteries that were cut.

Emergency surgery commenced at 2:53pm, but the damaged organs were not salvageable.

She died on May 2, 2022, and an autopsy was conducted.

The SMC received a complaint on Jun. 1, 2023, from Tan's daughter regarding Fong's treatment and care.

Council's findings

SMC said in its grounds of decision that Fong's misidentification and deliberate cutting and tying of Tan's arteries raised "serious doubts" about his skill and competence as a urologist.

The SMC added that the surgery was a routine procedure but Fong wrongly identified and ligated Tan's arteries even though they were in their "usual anatomical positions".

"Dr Fong likely has a fundamental misunderstanding and/or misapprehension of the human anatomy, and his mistaken ligation during the Surgery may not have been a one-off, inadvertent error."

The SMC noted that three years after his patient's death at the Coroner's Inquiry, Fong had still wrongly identified the location of the aorta and "initially maintained that his understanding was correct before eventually conceding his mistake".

The SMC added that Fong deviated from the correct sequence of cutting and tying, and the order was described by the coroner as "unfathomable".

SMC stated that Fong had at least three different opportunities to recognise his mistakes and rectify them before the conclusion of the surgery, "all of which he missed".

Fong's case

Fong said he has voluntarily stopped performing major abdominal surgery on patients since Jun. 20, 2022.

He was also placed on an indefinite leave of absence since Mar. 12, 2026, by the hospital after criminal proceedings commenced.

Fong said since March 2026, he has only engaged in clinical practice as a locum at private general practice clinics on an ad-hoc basis.

He noted that he is the sole breadwinner supporting a homemaker wife and four children, with his income suffering a significant drop since 2022.

This was due to his voluntary restriction, and he added that he was prepared not to perform any major abdominal surgery until disciplinary tribunal proceedings against him are completed.

Performed at least 200 laparoscopic surgeries

Fong objected to the SMC's reliance on the coroner's inquiry and said: "It would be incredibly prejudicial and unfair for the SMC to rely on a partial and incomplete account" of a state expert's complete views, as the expert's report was not made available in its entirety to the IOC.

Fong's lawyers also said that in his 20 years at Raffles Hospital he had performed or assisted in at least 200 laparoscopic surgeries.

"He has performed more than 60 open and laparoscopic nephrectomy in the last 20 years, and there has not been a single case of accidental transection of the SMA or postoperative death."

Laparoscopic nephrectomies are procedures that remove part or all of the kidney.

Necessary for restrictions

The IOC said it was necessary for the restriction of not performing any surgery, whether as a primary, secondary or assistant surgeon, for a period of 18 months starting Jun. 17, 2026.

This excludes minor office procedures performed in a primary care setting.

Fong must also inform SMC of all places at which he practices or intends to practice and inform employers hiring him for medical work that his registration is subject to these conditions.

A snake was caught by a Mandai Wildlife Reserve staff in a reptile exhibit at the Singapore Zoo on Aug. 23, as seen in a video circulating online.

The Instagram user who posted the video wrote, "POV: when you're about to step in the reptile exhibition but you heard a visitor told a staff there's a snake outside. My heart skipped a beat."

In response to Mothership's response, a spokesperson from Mandai Wildlife Group shared that it was a wild, non-venomous snake known as a painted bronzeback — a species native to Singapore.

It was not part of the animal population in the Group's care.

The capture

"Guests spotted the snake and alerted our staff, who responded promptly," the spokesperson added.

In the video of the capture, a long, slender snake can be seen slithering along the edge of a glass animal enclosure.

Two staff members were at the scene. One, wearing blue protective gloves, appeared to have a hold of part of the snake's body, while the other employee stood beside her.

Several people, appearing to be visitors, watched from nearby.

Once they had caught the snake, both staff members walked away calmly.

The Mandai Wildlife Group spokesperson said that snakes are generally harmless if left undisturbed, and will typically move away on their own when given room.

In this case, the snake was small and moving fast, so it was at risk of injury in a crowded indoor area, they said.

"Our trained staff safely captured the snake while keeping guests at a safe distance. It was later released back into the wild."

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'Let wildlife be'

The spokesperson explained that all the wildlife parks at the Mandai Wildlife Reserve are home not only to the animals under their care, but also to a diverse range of native wildlife that naturally inhabit the surrounding landscape.

Mandai Wildlife Group has protocols in place for wildlife sightings across its parks, the spokesperson assured.

"For everyone’s safety and the well-being of the animal, the best course of action is to let wildlife be and allow it to retreat in its own time," they said.

However, where an animal seems unable to retreat on its own, including situations where it is trapped or in distress, the staff are trained to step in and assist.

UPDATE on Aug. 27, 3:30pm: This article has been updated to reflect the latest developments.

A total of nine Singaporeans were reported missing after devastating flash floods swept through Nepal's border region with Tibet on Aug. 26.

In an official situation update posted on Nepal Tourism Board’s website on Aug. 27, the board said a preliminary agency-wise record received from trekking and travel companies had identified 644 travellers reported missing from affected areas.

Nine of those reported missing are Singaporeans.

"The information is being verified and cross-checked with travel agencies, guides, local authorities and security agencies," the board said.

Local authorities are also working to verify the whereabouts and safety of the missing tourists, it added.

"All efforts are under way to rescue/evacuate the injured and stranded people."

Earlier, two Singaporeans were reported to be among 47 people who remain unaccounted for after the flash floods struck the border region.

According to The Straits Times, the managing director of the tour company, Himalayan Glacier, told AFP that the two Singaporeans were travelling with the group when floods struck.

The group comprises 15 Australians, 10 Canadians, nine Nepalese, eight Americans, two Britons, two Singaporeans, and one Russian-American dual citizen. Two of the total 47 people are children.

Flash floods

According to BBC, at least 160 people have died and hundreds remain missing after devastating flash floods swept through Nepal’s northern border region with Tibet on Aug. 26.

As of the time of writing, the death roll has reportedly risen to 162.

In a statement on Aug. 27, 64 bodies were found in downstream areas in the Chitwan district and another 26 in Nawalparasi East, police said.

28 police officers are also among those still unaccounted for.

In a report by CNA, more than 400 foreigners were among 579 tourists reported missing by the authorities in Nepal.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV also reported that the tally of missing in Tibet's Gyirong county was 558, of which 260 are foreign nationals.

It is unclear if the figures of the two nations overlapped.

Video footage

Security camera footage from the Nepal-China border area showed a massive wall of water and debris rushing through the area, with people seen running to escape the surge.

BREAKING: At least 380 people missing after flash flood hits near Nepal-Tibet border pic.twitter.com/iCRpXJaBAe

— BNO News Live (@BNODesk) August 26, 2026

Another video circulating online showed passengers inside a bus as floodwaters swept through the surrounding areas.

@nbcnewsVideo shows passengers in a bus in Nepal left terrified as flash floods swept through the area. Hundreds are missing following the devastating floods, including 2 Americans.♬ original sound - nbcnews

In another video, workers could be seen running uphill as a large wave of flood water approached.

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Suspected cause of the floods

According to CNN, shaking in the region was initially reported by the US Geological Survey as a 4.4 magnitude earthquake along the Nepal-China border, north of Kathmandu.

At around the same time, what was described as an "avalanche" of ice and rock tore down a mountainside and into the Lhende Khola River, a tributary of the Bhote Koshi River, which flows from China into Nepal through deep gorges.

While the cause of the Nepal flood wave remains to be determined, a team of international scientists believes a huge chunk of glacier sheared off and fell into the valley below.