Also on East Asia Tonight (Nov 21), North Korea, Russia boost flights; Moscow sends lion, bears and ducks to Pyongyang Zoo; NVIDIA boss Jensen Huang’s Taiwan connections; and how India pharmaceuticals could benefit from the US-China rivalry.

Three operators have been given the green light to launch a child-minding pilot programme aimed at assisting parents in balancing work and caring for their infants. They will begin offering services from next month, starting from around S$16 for a half-day session. The pilot lasts for three years and is part of a broader move to support young parents.

The National Environment Agency is calling on the public to take ownership of cleaner public toilets as part of its annual campaign. It comes as more than 1,200 enforcement actions were taken against public toilet operators for lapses since the start of the year. This is three times more than last year. Rachel Teng reports.

The Social and Family Development Ministry is looking to regulate and license social residential homes. It says that this is to ensure the safety and well-being of residents through a common framework that all operators can adopt. Operators have been engaged on the matter and public consultation is being sought from now till Jan 2.

Dealing with rising sea levels and flooded coastal regions is one of many talking points at the COP29 climate negotiations. But the Caspian Sea is facing the opposite problem. The body of water located between Asia and Europe is drastically receding. CNA’s climate change correspondent Jack Board gets a first-hand look at how bad the situation is.

Complaints about lines appearing on phone screens have more than doubled, according to statistics from the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE), adding that almost all of such reports were to do with Samsung phones.

In recent months, Germany’s big three auto companies have issued profit warnings amid tariff tension between the European Union and China. The dispute comes as industry leaders in Germany acknowledge their long-successful business model is facing unprecedented pressure from a number of Chinese electric vehicle makers intent on gaining market share in the European market. CNA’s Trent Murray reports. Subscribe to our channel here: https://cna.asia/youtubesub Subscribe to our news service for must-read stories: Telegram - https://cna.asia/telegram WhatsApp - https://cna.asia/whatsapp Follow us: CNA: https://cna.asia CNA Lifestyle: http://www.cnalifestyle.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/channelnewsasia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/channelnewsasia Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/channelnewsasia TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@channelnewsasia

There’s been a change in management, and you now feel sidelined and overlooked. How can you connect with your new bosses? Have a work question? Send it to us at cnapodcasts@mediacorp.com.sg Listen to the Work It podcast: CNA: https://cna.asia/3B3YI2q Apple Podcasts: https://cna.asia/4fBMYDw Spotify: https://cna.asia/4eIojvA Subscribe to our channel here: https://cna.asia/youtubesub Subscribe to our news service for must-read stories: Telegram - https://cna.asia/telegram WhatsApp - https://cna.asia/whatsapp Follow us: CNA: https://cna.asia CNA Lifestyle: http://www.cnalifestyle.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/channelnewsasia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/channelnewsasia Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/channelnewsasia TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@channelnewsasia

Did you spot Captain America or Attorney Woo at MBS yesterday? Anthony Mackie, Kim Soo-hyun, Park Eun-bin and other K-drama stars made an appearance on Wednesday evening at the Disney Content Showcase which is happening from Nov 20-21. Read more: https://cna.asia/3CBlteG

???????? A banana taped to a wall was sold for US$6.2 million on Wednesday (Nov 20). Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian” soared past the pre-sale estimate of US$1.5 million with the winning bid placed by Chinese crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun. "This is not just an artwork," Sun said in a statement. "It represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community." Read on: https://cna.asia/4fTHi7y

FashionValet, one of Malaysia’s biggest fashion e-commerce platforms, is at the centre of a high-profile investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). The probe focuses on serious allegations involving its founders, Vivy Yusof and her husband Fadzarudin Anuar, and their business dealings with two state-linked investment giants. Here's what you need to know. More on the controversy: https://cna.asia/49h9uzn 00:00 Introduction 00:13 What is FashionValet? 00:52 Who are its founders? 01:36 What are the allegations? 02:19 Public outrage 02:50 What we know so far Subscribe to our channel here: https://cna.asia/youtubesub Subscribe to our news service for must-read stories: Telegram - https://cna.asia/telegram WhatsApp - https://cna.asia/whatsapp Follow us: CNA: https://cna.asia CNA Lifestyle: http://www.cnalifestyle.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/channelnewsasia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/channelnewsasia Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/channelnewsasia TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@channelnewsasia

There’s been a change in management and you feel that you’ve been sidelined or not been given the same opportunities as before. What can you do? Listen to the Work It podcast: CNA: https://cna.asia/3B3YI2q Apple Podcasts: https://cna.asia/4fBMYDw Spotify: https://cna.asia/4eIojvA

An electric vehicle revolution has been underway for a few years. But it hasn’t quite been a smooth road with the technology still facing cost issues, infrastructure questions and turbulence from geopolitics. Liling Tan and Jack Board talk through what’s happening in the EV industry in Southeast Asia.  See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

98.5% of this year's Primary 6 students will be moving up to secondary school, following their Primary School Leaving Examination. Close to 41,000 students sat for the PSLE, the largest cohort in five years. Of the students who qualify for Posting Groups 1 and 2 under the full subject-based banding system, 65% of them can opt to take subjects at a more demanding level. Students have until Nov 26 to choose from 140 secondary schools. Posting results will be released between 18 and 20 Dec. CNA spoke to two students, ​​Izz Nuha from Huamin Primary School and Leong Wei Yang from Lakeside Primary School, as they received their PSLE results.

Starting next year, Grab drivers and food delivery riders will receive 'live' flood alerts directly from Singapore’s national water agency, PUB. This move is a cornerstone of PUB's pioneering flood resilience campaign. It's designed to empower the public with the knowledge and tools to stay "flood-wise" and navigate the growing challenges of a changing climate. In a conversation with PUB's director of catchment & waterways Maurice Neo, CNA's Rachel Teng delved into Singapore's efforts to become 'flood ready' and the role residents play in this mission.

A refreshed master plan for disability sports, giving more opportunities for persons with disabilities to get active, train with the best and compete alongside able-bodied athletes. Plus, a makeover to public sporting facilities to make them more accessible. This, as Singapore seeks to foster inclusivity through sports. Muhammad Bahajjaj reports, while Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth Eric Chua and Singapore Disability Sports Council executive director Kelly Fan shared more about the main themes of the Disability Sports Master Plan 2024.

Strong collaboration and ongoing dialogue between Singapore's healthcare professionals and Swedish medical technology companies are key in meeting the sector's needs. Singapore firms can also draw inspiration from Swedish healthcare centres to create safe and dignified environments for patients. Nadirah Zaidi spoke to some healthcare companies in Stockholm.

The city of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania is one of Africa's fastest-growing cities. But rising sea levels, ineffective waste management and poorly coordinated urban planning are threatening the city's fragile infrastructure and putting in peril the lives and livelihoods of its people. Dar es Salaam's history of flooding is in part due to inadequate and ageing infrastructure, its low-lying geography and the Msimbazi river that flows right through the city. Daniel Kijo reports.

As countries focus more on domestic priorities, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the world must not abandon the rules-based multilateral order. Speaking to Singapore media at the close of the G20 summit in Brazil, he stressed that platforms like the G20 remain vital for helping nations find common ground. He emphasised that it is crucial for Singapore to remain engaged and actively participate in such forums. Mr Wong has also urged countries to lend their support to the development of the ASEAN power grid. Jeraldine Yap reports from Rio de Janeiro.

Singapore's Sustainability and the Environment Minister said a lot of progress has been made on how to implement Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which will facilitate the trading of carbon credits across borders. Ms Fu is a co-facilitator of negotiations at the 29th UN Climate Change Conference. She said she has seen commitment from all parties at the negotiating table, even as finances are tight for many after the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, visitorship to the Singapore Pavilion has surpassed last year's count of 6,000, despite lower turnout for the COP29 in general. Claudia Lim reports from Azerbaijan.