Little India was rocked by the partial collapse of two shophouses on Tuesday morning. The Building and Construction Authority said the collapse could be due to a gas explosion. The Singapore Civil Defence Force also said there was likely a build-up of flammable gas in one of the units along Syed Alwi Road. The incident left six injured. Alif Amsyar reports.

The Infocomm Media Development Authority is looking into the disruption to Singtel's fixed voice services. Emergency hotline services like 995 and 999 are now up and running, after the disruption that lasted several hours this afternoon. Hotlines run by banks and medical facilities were also affected, as well as some landlines serving Changi Airport. At one point, more than 2,700 reports related to the telco were filed on an outage tracking website. Assistant Professor Purnima Murali Mohan from the Singapore Institute of Technology explained more about the technology behind fixed voice services.

India's main opposition, the Congress-National Conference alliance, is poised to form the government in Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir. The first assembly elections in 10 years will pave the way for the region to have its own truncated government and a regional legislature. While the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trailing in Jammu and Kashmir, it's likely to return for a record third term in the state of Haryana. Associate Professor Ajay Gudavarthy from the Jawaharlal Nehru University shared more about the election results.

China's top economic planner is confident that the country can meet its GDP growth target of around 5% for this year. He described the current economic situation as "steady and progressing" and called for a holistic, objective and calm perspective. Senior officials outlined plans to address challenges in a news conference today. This includes a pledge to continue issuing ultra-long special treasury bonds next year, and a list of construction projects worth a hundred billion yuan. Olivia Siong reports.

Also on East Asia Tonight (Oct 8), China shares rallied but quickly lost steam on lack of stimulus details from the state planner; South Korea and Singapore to boost defence, AI and cybersecurity cooperation. And, a new service allowing people to bring their pets on holiday.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is expected to renew Singapore's commitment to strengthening the ASEAN agenda amid current geopolitical and economic uncertainty. He will be in Laos from tomorrow until Saturday for the regional bloc's summits -- his first as prime minister. Since taking office as Singapore's fourth prime minister in May, PM Wong has made introductory visits to ASEAN neighbours. Sherlyn Seah reports from Vientiane.

Laos will host its Southeast Asian neighbours for the ASEAN summit tomorrow, against an increasingly gloomy and violent geopolitical outlook, and a wave of leadership transitions within member states. CNA's Leong Wai Kit ropes in his Thai and Indonesian counterparts Saksith Saiyasombut and Saifulbahri Ismail, as well as political observers to explain how the leaders, new and old, might change the bloc's dynamics with different approaches to issues.

Six people were injured after two shophouses at Syed Alwi Road in Singapore's Little India district partially collapsed in the early hours of Tuesday (Oct 8). Preliminary findings indicate that a likely buildup of flammable gas at the first unit - a restaurant - led to an explosion and the collapse of the two-storey shophouses. Read more: https://cna.asia/4eQ7v6q 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

Singapore’s stock market has been in the doldrums, struggling to attract and retain listings. For such a competitive economy, why is the stock market so lacklustre? Yang Eu Jin, partner and co-head of RHTLaw Asia’s Corporate & Capital Markets Practice, tells us in this week’s Money Talks. 0:00 Intro 1:12 How a stock market affects a country's economy 5:51 What happened to SPACs? 8:34 Why did the SGX lose its appeal? 11:17 Is a boring stock market necessarily a bad thing? 17:45 Getting the SGX back on track 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

Auction house Christie's recently opened its new Asia-Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong with a sale that included masterpieces by Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh. But both men's paintings sold at the lower end of their estimates, continuing what's been a poor year for the high-end art world. Still, as CNA’s Stuart Smith finds out auction houses are finding new ways to keep paddling on. 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

Are they more cat or dog? We asked celebrities Rui En, Lawrence Wong and Yeo Yann Yann, who are all taking part in Homebound, a short film anthology to support shelter dogs. Details: https://cna.asia/4dxRv8c

As heatwaves become more frequent around the world, their impact extends beyond physical health. Studies show that rising temperatures can also take a toll on mental well-being. With World Mental Health Day approaching on Oct 10, CNA's Arnold Gay explains how extreme heat is affecting mental health in ways that people may not expect. 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

As the United States presidential candidates strive to convince voters that they would best serve the country's economy, America’s electric vehicle industry is emerging as a central focus of the campaign. Some voters recognise the urgency for more electric cars, but others fear the potential effects on dwindling automotive jobs. CNA's Mitch McCann travelled to Detroit, in the key battleground state of Michigan - and the home of America’s auto industry - to investigate.

Six people were injured after two shophouse units partially collapsed in the early hours of Tuesday (Oct 8) at Syed Alwi Road. The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said the cause of the incident is "suspected" to be a gas explosion and its engineers have instructed the owners to put in place immediate safety measures to cordon off the two units from public access.

A call to industries to leverage on their respective areas of expertise to uplift the vulnerable groups in the community. Culture, Community and Youth Minister Edwin Tong made the call to business leaders at this year's Project We Care seminar. He said the corporate sector should redefine its measure of success as how well it can uplift the society. Mr Stanley Tan, vice-chairman of the Project We Care management committee, shared more about corporate volunteerism and Corporate Social Responsibility in Singapore.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has arrived in Singapore for a state visit that's set to see strengthening collaboration in areas like trade and technology. The impact of the 'Korean wave' is already being felt across sectors in Singapore, including food, education, technology and travel. Mr Hwang Joo Sup, chairman of the Korean Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, and Mr John Yohan Kim from venture capital firm Amasia, shared more about collaboration and exchanges between Singapore and Korean businesses.

Artificial intelligence has helped social service agencies in Singapore save on time and manpower. With AI, organisations can screen at least six times more patients per week and boost staff productivity by a third. AI is also helping to detect issues early -- in five times more people -- with 90% accuracy. Other AI tools like chatbots and virtual therapists are also useful in offering around-the-clock support. Still, experts cautioned that for AI to be widely embraced, robust policies and regulations are essential. Nadirah Zaidi reports.

South Korea's push to export its popular culture in the form of K-dramas, K-pop and K-movies has paid dividends. The impact of the 'Korean Wave' is being felt across sectors in Singapore, including food, education, technology and travel. Singapore and South Korea are each other's seventh-largest trading partner. Last year, exchange of goods between both countries totalled some $62.2 billion. Claudia Lim reports.

The Community Chest disbursed over $69 million to various social services in the last financial year -- its highest since 2016. These funds went to support over 280 programmes, according to its latest impact report. Nearly half of the amount disbursed went to support users of social service programmes. Some of the 82,000 beneficiaries include children with special needs and youth-at-risk. ComChest also channelled over $35 million to ground-up community projects. At its annual awards ceremony today, over 200 corporate partners and individual donors were recognised for their contributions.

Apart from Israelis, migrant workers from Thailand were also among those taken hostage during the Hamas attack on Oct 7 last year. Two have since died, while another six are still believed to be held captive in Gaza. Apart from them, 39 Thais were killed in the attacks. Before the attacks, an estimated 30,000 Thais were working in Israel. CNA's Saksith Saiyasombut travelled to Thailand's northeastern province of Buriram to meet a father still awaiting his son's return.