A kindergarten operator in China has been sentenced to life imprisonment for violating national food safety regulations.

Li Huifang instructed kitchen staff to add inedible paint to food to enhance its colour and entice children to eat it, Lianhe Zaobao reported.

In July 2025, 233 children at the kindergarten were found to have lead poisoning, prompting an investigation into the incident at Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui, Gansu Province.

Lead poisoning

Food samples from the kindergarten were found to contain lead at levels up to 2,000 times higher than China’s national food safety limit, according to the BBC.

Investigators found that the red date cakes and corn sausage rolls contained 1,052mg/kg and 1,340mg/kg of lead, respectively, far exceeding the national food safety limit of 0.5mg/kg, BBC reported.

It was also found that dozens of provincial officials and hospital staff had attempted to cover up the incident by tampering with blood test results and accepting bribes from a nursery investor.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), young children are particularly vulnerable to lead’s toxic effects, which can cause lasting health problems, especially to the development of the central nervous system.

Sentenced

On Oct. 16, Li was sentenced to life imprisonment and fined 500,000 yuan (S$95,700).

Kindergarten principal Zhu Jinglin was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 30,000 yuan (S$5,700).

Four kitchen workers were also sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to eight years.

An assistant store manager at the Uniqlo outlet in Waterway Point earned praise for memorising the facial features and physical attributes of suspected shoplifters.

This allowed her to alert the authorities when the same suspected individuals returned to the store in Punggol.

The actions of the staff, identified as ​Ms Catherine, were lauded by Punggol Neighbourhood Police Centre in a Facebook post on Oct. 20.

The police said Catherine "demonstrated exceptional vigilance, courage, and keen memory".

Two suspects

There were two repeated shop theft suspects.

Catherine had carefully reviewed earlier CCTV footage of a shop theft incident, the police added.

The same suspects returned to the store weeks later and she instantly identified them.

She then "took proactive action to detain them, successfully preventing further offences".

"​Her sharp observation, brave initiative, and strong commitment to crime prevention reflect the highest standards of store security," the police said.

Uniqlo said it utilises strategic CCTV coverage and continuous staff vigilance, to ensure a a safe and secure shopping environment.

The United States midterm elections are less than three weeks away, with the Nov. 3 election date looking to become a reckoning for President Donald Trump.

In 2024, Trump won his presidential re-election contest, with his Republican Party securing majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, known as a trifecta.

The party’s control of several state legislatures and judicial support for their efforts to redraw electoral districts looked like it would cement the Republican majority in the House, a process known as "gerrymandering."

But by October 2026, a scant two years later, outlets like Politico report that Republican leaders have all but ceded the House to the opposition Democrats and are turning their efforts to defending the Senate and holding on to what seats they can in the House.

Did Republican efforts to gerrymander themselves a majority fail, and if so, why?

RE: Districting

The U.S. House of Representatives consists of 435 seats, apportioned to its 50 states by population (with each state receiving one seat no matter how small its population is), with its members re-elected every two years.

Each state then draws its own electoral boundaries as it sees fit, usually controlled by its local state legislature.

At a local level, it is one of the most significant contributions of state legislatures to national elections, as redistricting efforts can, in theory, produce significantly different results depending on how they were drawn.

Majority parties often attempt to split their opponent’s voters into as many seats as possible, diluting their vote, or concentrating them into a few seats, thereby ensuring that both parties have unassailable seats, but the opposition has fewer.

These redistricting efforts are usually held after nationally mandated censuses, usually held at the beginning of each decade, and in the past both parties have attempted to gerrymander their states and win the state before going to the ballot.

What is unique about 2026 is that at least nine states, most of them Republican, will see new electoral districts enacted off-cycle, while several other states, such as Missouri, saw their attempts rejected judicially, at least for the moment.

States such as Texas redrew their maps extensively, and in Texas’s case, with the explicit encouragement of Trump.

But due to factors arguably within the control of Republican leaders, many of these attempts appear to have failed or backfired.

Deep in the heart of Texas

Texas last had a majority of Democratic Congressmen over two decades ago, in 2002.

But according to the Pew Research Center, ever since a 2004 redistricting, Texas Congressional Republicans have held the state.

After Trump’s 2024 victory, he encouraged Texas Republicans, as well as those of other states, to carry out a mid-cycle revamp, and the resultant map looked to give them 30 out of 38 seats, up from 25, according to the Texas Tribune.

For context, Republicans now hold 218 seats in the House of Representatives, with Democrats holding 214 seats, which is a razor-thin majority.

Five seats in Texas alone would double their majority; this is before considering other affected states.

Democratic states were so concerned about this that one, California, threatened to enact its own partisan mid-cycle redistricting effort to effectively cancel out the gains made in Texas, and then did it when Texas passed its new maps.

Coalition politics

But the districts were drawn up based on the results of the 2024 general election, which saw Trump assemble a new electoral coalition made up of voters not traditionally Republican, such as young men and Latinos, adding to groups like white working-class men.

Republicans assumed that the coalition was essentially set in stone, or at least would last them for some time, as Reuters reports.

But events since Trump has taken back the White House have changed the complexion of 2026’s election.

As a previous article explained, between Trump’s trade tariffs and his war of choice in Iran that has spiked energy prices, he not only broke his promise to ease the cost of living; he’s all but blown those promises up.

ICE

Worse yet is the Justice Department’s actions against illegal immigration.

Latino voters are not, as a rule, naturally against immigration enforcement, largely because they are not a homogeneous group.

So their stance on immigration varies, as is explained in a commentary by the Los Angeles Times, and many not only support ICE, but are members of it.

Trump’s return to power has seen a notable enforcement of immigration policy and deportations.

However, many Latinos have come to criticise those efforts as overzealous, and feel that they have become the unwarranted target of those efforts due to their race.

They have been subject to arrests, and even deportation, often without due process, and to vulnerable individuals including babies.

This has fractured support for Trump and his Republican Party, especially in border states such as Texas.

Dummymandering

The seats that were specifically drawn up to rely on their support now face a situation where not only is their vote share decreased, but in some cases it makes them especially vulnerable to electoral collapse, as is described by polling analyst Nate Silver in the Silver Bulletin.

This is a process that is known as “Dummymandering”, and Silver points out that efforts to redistrict are designed for ordinary, competitive elections.

But Trump and the Republicans are facing a unique set of circumstances: Trump’s approval ratings are especially low, and the economy is performing especially poorly, at least for most run-of-the-mill individuals, for reasons that can be directly attributed to Trump's policies.

Furthermore, Trump isn’t personally involved in a election this November, so even his personal charisma and popularity amongst never-say-die supporters are of limited value, as it does not always transfer to other Republican candidates.

Silver points out that Democrats are doing especially well not just in Texas, but in other traditionally Republican states such as Kansas and Alaska, signifying that the Republicans are not just facing a loss, but an electoral wave.

These effects are pronounced in Texas, but are affecting races all across the country, and Republican efforts to secure their majority look to have crippled their ability to hold it.

A dryer allegedly overheated and caught fire, prompting four residents in a Tampines flat to flee.

The fire severely damaged the kitchen and living room of the unit, reported Shin Min Daily News.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) confirmed with Mothership that they were alerted to a fire at Block 714 Tampines Street 71 on Oct. 18 at about 4:45pm.

SCDF added that the fire involved the contents of a kitchen and service yard in a unit on the 13th floor.

Four persons evacuated from the unit before SCDF's arrival.

SCDF extinguished the fire using a water jet.

There were no reported injuries, and the cause of the fire is under investigation, SCDF said.

Dryer started to smoke

The owner of the unit, Zhuo (transliteration), told Shin Min on Oct. 19 that he lived there with four tenants, but he was not home at the time.

He learned of the fire after receiving a call from one of his tenants, who told him that there was smoke from the dryer and the clothes inside were on fire.

"I told her to open the dryer and try to put it out with water, but the flames grew too fast, and it was too late, so they had to run for safety," he said.

Zhuo explained that the dryer was purchased about six or seven years ago.

It had been running for about two hours at the time of the incident.

Residents evacauted

Zhuo also told Shin Min that the tenants knocked on doors to notify their neighbours to evacuate while they were fleeing.

A male resident living below the apartment told Shin Min that he noticed white smoke coming from upstairs, followed by a burning smell.

Shortly afterwards, rescue personnel told them to evacuate.

They were allowed to return home about an hour later.

Other residents downstairs said they heard a loud explosion when it happened.

According to Shin Min, the SCDF investigation lasted until around 9pm that night before the cordon was lifted.

Advisory

SCDF said the top three causes of fires in residential premises are unattended cooking, electrical fires and unattended lighted materials.

"Residents are strongly advised not to leave cooking unattended, and to keep stove-tops, cooker hoods and ovens clean and free of grease," they said.

"They should also avoid overloading power sockets or charging devices overnight without supervision. Lighted materials such as incense sticks or cigarettes should never be left unattended and must be fully extinguished before disposal," SCDF added.

An elderly man in Singapore was scammed out of more than S$21,000 he had saved for his retirement after falling for a lottery scam on Facebook.

The 71-year-old, known as Yang (transliteration), came across an advertisement in late August that promised lottery wins, reported Shin Min Daily News.

The scam

Yang first placed a call to the number in the Facebook advertisement, but it didn’t go through.

However, the scammer returned his call in early September.

The other party then told Yang that they knew people in Singapore Pools who could provide the winning numbers ahead of each draw, reported Shin Min.

But Yang would have to pay for it: numbers for the first prize cost S$1,988, second prize S$1,688, and third prize S$1,388.

He reportedly told the scammers that he could not afford those, and they instead asked for S$500 to set up his account, and another S$500 for five sets of 4D numbers.

On Sep. 5, Yang was given the five sets of numbers and promised S$300,000 if he won.

However, none of the numbers matched, and he questioned the scammer.

The scammer then claimed that the numbers were "sold out" due to their popularity and hence couldn't be drawn, but promised to get his insider to alter the tickets for Yang to strike the lottery.

Yang then received a text the next day informing him that he had won the first prize, accompanied by a photo of a cheque for S$300,000.

Asked to transfer more

Yang was asked to transfer the scammer another S$1,488, the remainder of the first prize fee, which he obliged.

On Sep. 9, the scammer said that transferring the prize money, which was a large sum, may raise suspicions of money laundering, and asked for S$5,850 in “handling fees”.

Two days later, he was asked to transfer another S$7,840 for the same reason.

By Sep. 16, Yang had yet to receive the promised prize money and made a police report.

However, he still transferred the scammers another S$3,500 in hopes of receiving the prize money at the beginning of October and on Oct. 16.

Yang finally realised he had been scammed when they asked him for more money, and read reports of such cases in the Chinese newspapers a few days ago.

The man said that he is now penniless and unemployed as his contract for cleaning work had expired, and can only survive on instant noodles and bread daily, according to Shin Min.

Through this ordeal, Yang said he lost a total of S$21,688.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) has been handed a temporary restriction notice by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) regarding its enhanced Singapore Green Labelling Scheme (SGLS+) certification.

As a result, it will be subjected to daily fire response reporting and strict monitoring.

Of the 10 Indonesian companies issued preventive measure notices by the National Environment Agency after hotspots were detected on lands they operated, at least three are listed as suppliers to APP.

APP is a Singapore-incorporated company.

The issuance of the temporary restrictions notice was announced in a statement by SEC on Oct. 19.

Must provide daily fire reports, risk losing green label

Under the notice, SEC explained that APP must provide daily fire response reports for the concession areas managed by Indonesian companies PT Bumi Mekar Hijau, PT Bumi Andalas Permai and PT Sebangun Bumi Andalas Wood Industries.

The three entities are wood-fibre suppliers to APP and operate concessions in South Sumatra, Indonesia.

These same entities were issued preventive measures notices under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act by the NEA on Oct. 16, along with four other non-SGLS+ entities, SEC said.

If APP's additional reporting is unable to demonstrate that strengthened monitoring, fire prevention and suppression measures are implemented effectively, the SGLS+ certificate may subsequently be suspended.

If so, the use of the SGLS+ logo on products associated with the certification would have to cease.

What is the SGLS+ certification?

The SGLS+ certification for pulp and paper products was launched by SEC in 2017 after the 2015 haze episode.

It incorporated requirements to reduce fire risks on plantations, such as having robust fire prevention measures and strict zero-burning compliance throughout a company's supply chain.

Around 58 pulp and paper products, such as printing paper and hygiene paper, are certified under the SGLS+ certification.

The label aims to empower customers to make informed purchasing decisions and support more environmentally responsible products, SEC said.

APP lost green label in 2015 over haze, products pulled from shelves

In 2015, APP products were pulled from supermarket shelves after SEC suspended their green certification.

APP products only returned four years later in 2019 when it received the SGLS+ certification from the SEC.

SEC is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation that manages an eco-labelling programme in Singapore.

Senior Minister K Shanmugam shared on Oct. 19, 2026 that the government was looking into several companies, including APP, over possible links to forest fires in Indonesia that have caused the haze experienced in Singapore in the past weeks.

A 73-year-old man in Singapore raped his underage daughter after watching pornography in her presence sometime between 2021 and 2022.

He silenced her by telling her he would go to jail and she would not be able to see him anymore.

The sexual abuse continued for years, from when the girl was 10 until she was 13.

In 2024, the girl finally told a friend and the man was arrested after the Child Protection System was alerted.

The man was sentenced to 13.5 years in jail on Oct. 19, according to CNA. He cannot be caned as he is above the age of 50.

He cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, who is now 15.

He pleaded guilty to four charges, including aggravated statutory rape, aggravated molestation and sexual exploitation of a child.

Six other charges were taken into consideration for the sentencing.

What happened

The victim lived in a flat with her father.

He was married at the time of the offences to the victim's mother, his lawyer, Joseph Yoong of Dominion LLC, confirmed with Mothership.

Sometime between 2021 and 2022, when the girl was in primary school, the man watched pornography on TV while she was in the same room.

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the victim was lying on a mattress, and he approached her to make her perform a sex act on him.

He then committed rape against the victim and later told her not to tell anyone about what happened.

The man said that he would be imprisoned and she would never be able to see him again if she did so.

Worried, the victim complied.

The sexual abuse happened again in 2023, in which he molested and performed oral sex on her.

While he did so, she remained immobile as she was fearful.

He continued to sexually assault her between May and October 2024, and between July 2024 and August 2024.

While she was disgusted by his acts, she did not react as she was afraid of being scolded by him, court documents stated.

Victim told friend

In October 2024, the victim told a friend that her father had been sexually assaulting her since 2021.

She said she wanted to kill herself, according to court documents.

The friend told a teacher, and the matter was referred to the Child Protection System.

A police report was lodged, and the man was arrested the next day.

According to the man's lawyer, he was a taxi driver who often returned home late.

He is still married to his wife, who is now a Singapore permanent resident, CNA reported.

The prosecution had asked for a sentence of 14.5 to 16 years’ imprisonment, calling the man's act a "gross abuse of trust, authority and influence".

"Over a span of about three to four years, the accused betrayed the victim’s trust in him and robbed her of her innocence in their home, which should have been a safe place for the victim," the prosecutor said.

Lin Ting Dao (transliteration) passed away peacefully at home on Oct. 16, reported Shin Min Daily News.

Through decades of hard work and frugality, he managed to raise eight children and even sent his youngest son to study overseas.

Built kampung houses before becoming newspaper vendor

Lin moved to Singapore from Puning, Guangdong province, China, with his parents when he was a teenager.

He later married Wang Xiang Qing (transliteration), now 91, and the couple had eight children: two sons and six daughters.

According to his youngest son, Lin Gui Cheng (transliteration), 55, his father worked as a construction apprentice in his younger years.

After learning the trade, the older Lin earned a living building wooden, stilt and attap houses for kampung residents, supporting his family of 10.

As the government began building HDB flats, demand for traditional houses gradually declined, prompting Lin to switch careers and become a newspaper vendor past his middle age.

Around 1987, he started selling newspapers at the foot of Block 130 Simei Street 1, where he ran his stall for more than a decade.

Besides selling newspapers, Lin also collected cardboard.

He was a familiar face to residents in the neighbourhood.

Family took turns running newspaper stall

Gui Cheng said he used to help his father sell newspapers at the stall every day after his classes at polytechnic.

The experience left him with many fond memories and gave him precious time with his parents.

He recalled to Shin Min,

"My mother would prepare dinner early, and my father would head downstairs to set up the stall after eating. Once my mother finished cleaning up, she would head down. When I returned from school, I would take over so they could rest or use the toilet."

Lin stopped selling newspapers around the year 2000.

Saved S$40,000 for son's overseas education

Despite being unable to read or write, Lin placed great importance on his children's education.

He would personally take them to and fro school on his bicycle.

Through hard work and frugal living, he managed to put both his sons through university.

When Gui Cheng was preparing to study in the UK, Lin gave him S$40,000 to support his education.

"My father was very thrifty. When he gave me S$40,000 to study in the UK, I told myself that failure was not an option," Gui Cheng said.

Health deteriorated after fall in 2021

Gui Cheng said his father slipped on a puddle of oil in 2021 while riding his bicycle near their home and suffered a hip fracture.

After undergoing surgery, his physical condition deteriorated.

He had to use a wheelchair after that, and needed someone to take care of him.

A domestic worker was hired to take care of him, and he subsequently developed dementia.

Remembered for his perseverance

Lin's funeral procession will take place on the afternoon of Oct. 22.

Gui Cheng said his father left behind not just memories, but also a spirit worth passing down to future generations.

"We will carry forward and pass down our father's spirit of hard work and perseverance," he told Shin Min.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) will be asking questions of seven Singapore-listed agriculture companies and their possible links to the forest fires in Indonesia that have caused haze in Singapore over the past weeks, Senior Minister K Shanmugam said at a doorstop on Oct. 19.

The seven companies are:

• Golden Agri Resources,
• Bumitama Agri,
• First Resources,
• Wilmar International Limited,
• Kencana Agri,
• Indofood Agri and,
• TSH Resources.

The government will look into Asia Pulp and Paper, which is incorporated in Singapore.

It will also be asking questions of First Borneo Plantations, which has ownership links to Singapore-incorporated companies, The Business Times reported.

Companies which are responsible for the fires "should not underestimate the Singapore government's determination to act", the minister said.

Whether they have a presence in Singapore or not, the government will use "every legal and regulatory lever at [its] disposal to exert pressure where it matters", including on their access to financing, Shanmugam warned.

Additionally, three more Indonesian companies have been issued with preventive measure notices by the National Environment Agency (NEA), bringing the total to 10.

Also at the doorstop was Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, who delivered remarks in Mandarin.

Singapore to look into corporations and groups

On the Indonesian companies issued with prevention measure notices, Shanmugam said that the Attorney-General Chambers has advised that the companies may raise "some technical and legal issues".

"We will see. If we assess that the companies are not cooperating, we will see who they are linked to, either in Singapore or internationally, and we will see what further actions we can take," Shanmugam said.

Singapore will look past individual concession holders and investigate large corporations and persons which control them, the minister explained.

He named Singapore-incorporated Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) as an example.

Of the seven Indonesian companies named last week by Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, three are pulpwood suppliers for APP.

The government will "drill into this further", SM Shanmugam said.

Owned by Indonesian conglomerate Sinar Mars, APP incorporated in Singapore in 1994.

Statements not good enough: Shanmugam

Apart from APP, the minister also mentioned Singapore-listed agricultural companies First Resources and Bumitama Agri and said that some of the fires and smoke-sourced points seem to be associated with these companies.

He also mentioned privately-held First Borneo Plantations.

These companies were named in a Greenpeace report as parties responsible for haze-causing fires in Indonesia.

"We will be asking more questions of these companies," the minister said.

While companies such as First Resources have issued a statement on its zero-burning policy, Shanmugam said that such statements are "not good enough".

He said:

"Show us the evidence. Where did the fires start? Who owns those lands? Can they identify who started fires? What exactly did they do to stop the fires? Did the fires conveniently only burn down old trees, or did the fires also burn productive trees? We will ask for the full facts, and we will act based on the facts."

Companies cannot play "hide-and-seek" with corporate structures or escape responsibility simply because their actions take place across national borders, he warned.

Legal and regulatory levers to exert pressure

Shanmugam gave examples of the kinds of legal, regulatory and economic measures that Singapore could take against companies found responsible.

Shanmugam said that the SGX has also asked the seven aforementioned SGX-listed companies about their operations and possible linkages to the haze.

The Singapore Exchange Regulation said in a Oct. 16 statement that it has engaged listed issuers with agricultural operations and plantations in Indonesia to seek information on their operations.

If these companies have a potential connection to haze-causing fires in Indonesia, Shanmugam said that banks would then have to consider the risks arising from environmental and legal issues.

Shanmugam said that the banks have asked these companies several questions.

As the regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore also has "supervisory jurisdiction" over the banks to ensure they "manage their risks properly", he added.

Additionally, the government will examine if companies linked to the haze are enjoying benefits in Singapore, such as government grants or incentives.

"These benefits are contingent on lawful and responsible conduct — so we will need to see if they still meet the bar."

Will amend legislation if necessary to ensure cooperation: Shanmugam

Some companies may try to deny responsibility, think it is hard for Singapore to get evidence or that they can "escape scrutiny".

However, Shanmugam warned that they should not underestimate the Singapore government's determination to act.

Singapore will use "every legal and regulatory lever" at its disposal to "exert pressure" on the companies "where it matters", such as on their bottom lines, through their access to financing and standing with investors.

Shanmugam emphasised that such pressure will be sustained even after the haze passes, and that companies cannot "simply wait things out".

"If necessary, we will amend current legislation or introduce new laws on an urgent basis to ensure further cooperation," the minister shared.

Adding to his warning, Shanmugam said that companies responsible for the haze should be "under no illusion" that they can just wait for the haze to clear and return to business as usual.

"We will pursue this matter for as long as it takes."

Singapore's and Indonesia's interests aligned

At the doorstop, Shanmugam was asked about his thoughts on experts who opined that Singapore's decision to pursue legal actions against errant companies could bring about diplomatic implications.

He replied: "What do these experts think we are supposed to do? Shiver in our shoes before we take any legal action to protect our own people? That's not the Singapore approach."

He also commented that there should not be any bilateral issues with Indonesia, owing to aligned interests.

"The Indonesian public is suffering as well, and it is in Indonesia's interest as much as ours to deal with the companies that are causing these problems," the minister remarked.

He added that Singapore's actions against errant companies are in line with those announced by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, and hoped for Indonesia's "full cooperation" in going after the companies responsible.

It is "disappointing" that an Indonesian official said Singapore's oxygen comes from Indonesia's forests, especially against the backdrop of the current haze crisis in the region, Senior Minister K Shanmugam said on Oct. 19.

He was referring to remarks made by Syahganda Nainggolan, head of Indonesia's Government Communications Agency, who said Indonesia's forests send oxygen to Singapore and Malaysia when there is no haze.

"We're not just sending over the haze. When there's no haze, we send oxygen. The oxygen from Singapore and Malaysia is from our forests, right?"

Syahganda also described the fires as "beyond human error" and a natural phenomenon.

Separately, SM Shanmugam also praised the efforts taken by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to solve the haze problem.

"Not right" for the official to make such a remark

During a media doorstop, SM Shanmugam acknowledged the impact of the current haze crisis on the health of Singaporeans.

"The haze is affecting our health seriously. Senior citizens, young children, those with illnesses particularly, but everyone else too, and it is really unacceptable."

As such, it was "disappointing" that Syahganda had made such a comment, he said.

"Frankly, it is not right to say this when this entire region is suffering as a result of the bad behaviour of companies breaching regulations in Indonesia, and the people suffering the most are Indonesians themselves," SM Shanmugam said.

However, he added that Syahganda's view does not reflect that of the wider Indonesian government or public.

Shanmugam added that it must be made clear where the responsibility for the haze lies.

"I have previously spoken about the haze situation in 2013, and again in 2015," he said. "I said this was not simply an act of nature, but a problem driven by companies pursuing profits."

Appreciative of Prabowo's efforts

Separately, SM Shanmugam said he appreciated the steps taken by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and his administration to tackle the haze problem.

He noted that Prabowo had removed the head of the agency overseeing firefighting and disaster relief, and appointed a new one.

He added that Prabowo had personally expressed commitment to tackling the problem, as well as put in place directives prohibiting slash-and-burn practices on peatland.

The Indonesian president has also said he wants to prioritise fire prevention as a long-term solution, SM Shanmugam said.

"Some of these steps are quite unprecedented," he said. "They show what President Prabowo and his Administration's approach and thinking are."

Singapore welcomes Prabowo's approval of foreign assistance

He added that Singapore also welcomes President Prabowo's approval of foreign assistance to combat the fires.

"We, Singapore, have offered our assistance, and we will do our part to support," he said.

Earlier on Oct. 10, Environment Minister Grace Fu acknowledged that the current El Nino is producing "very dry weather" in the region, which makes forest fires a lot harder to put out.

She said Singapore is aware of Indonesia's efforts to do that, and "stand ready to assist" wherever they can.