Life

SINGAPORE – If you have been avoiding the malls because of Covid-19, there is one solution to still getting your shopping fix: Turning inwards to your wardrobe instead. Browsing what you already own can help you rediscover old favourites, while cutting down on clutter. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. […]

Together with his band The Flybaits, home-grown veteran singer Fredo racked up a number of Malay hit songs in the late 1970s and 1980s, including one of their signature tunes, Mengapa Perpisahan Yang Kau Pinta (Why Do You Ask For A Separation?). But the 69-year-old, whose full name is Alfredo Vilenguez, stopped singing that heartbreak […]

Singer-songwriter Tom Walker became a global star when his 2017 ballad Leave A Light On scaled the pop charts in several countries. Born in Scotland and raised in Manchester, the 28-year-old was last in Singapore for a promotional performance in August last year. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Learn […]

So far, 2020 has seen a dearth of full Chinese albums. However, music lovers still have a bevy of new Mandopop and Cantopop singles to choose from – from those dealing with timely subjects such as the recent coronavirus outbreak to more contemplative works about the passage of time and the milestones in one’s life. […]

Premieres on March 12 on Netflix A medical drama about the everyday lives of five doctors who attended school together 20 years ago. The close friends go through thick and thin in the daily grind of saving lives. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Learn more about ST PREMIUM. Enjoy […]

It is not just malls, restaurants and tourist attractions that have been quieter lately. Fears of Covid-19 infection are causing Singaporeans to shun cinemas as well. One cinema operator reports that takings have dropped by almost half, while another says the situation, if it goes on for longer, could be “potentially life-threatening”. Please subscribe or […]

Why would anyone reboot The Invisible Man (M18, 125 minutes, opens today, 4 stars)? The main appeal of the films, of which more than a dozen have been made including the pulpy Hollow Man (2000, starring Kevin Bacon), lies in cutting-edge special effects. Today, when it is difficult to impress audiences with floaty objects and […]

Guy Ritchie’s newest action comedy, The Gentlemen, continues the British film-maker’s obsession with gangsters and the criminal classes. But this time, it revolves around an expatriate, with Matthew McConaughey playing an American trying to cash out of his London drug business. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Learn more about […]

A new film based on the sciencefiction classic The Invisible Man flips the story on its head by taking the perspective of one of his victims: a woman terrorised by her boyfriend who has used optical technology to make himself invisible as he stalks her. Opening in Singapore today, it is written and directed by […]

The latest James Bond theme, No Time To Die, is sung by 18-year-old Billie Eilish, one of the modern pop world’s biggest stars. In the past week, the song has reportedly set a record as the James Bond theme with the biggest opening week of all time in the British charts. Please subscribe or log […]

Performing arts groups in Singapore have cancelled or postponed upcoming productions in the light of the coronavirus outbreak which originated in Wuhan city, China. At least three theatre groups – Checkpoint Theatre, Nine Years Theatre and Singapore Repertory Theatre – have postponed their shows after the Ministry of Health (MOH) last Friday raised the level […]

HONG KONG • This year’s edition of Art Basel Hong Kong, one of the most important destinations in the international art market calendar, has been cancelled, with organisers citing the “sudden and widespread outbreak” of the coronavirus in China. The fair, held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and featuring premier galleries from […]

When Irish author Eoin Colfer decided to write a children’s book about a 12-year-old criminal mastermind, he did not think it would go down well at all. His first book, Benny And Omar (1998), had been criticised in the media because its protagonist, a normal kid who sometimes misbehaves, was “not a good role model”. […]

POETRY TO GATHER YOUR LEAVING Edited by Boey Kim Cheng, Justin Chia and Arin Alycia Fong Ethos Books/ Paperback/ 684 pages/ $30/ Available at bit.ly/ToGatherYourLeaving /4 stars “If as a child I’ve said/ ‘one day I shall have no home’,” writes poet Wong May in Kampong Bahru, 1975, “…now it is said/over & again… the […]

SAPPORO (Japan) • Every year, tens of thousands of tourists flock to the snow festival in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo, attracted by some 200 large, intricate ice sculptures. But this year, there is a problem: no snow. With high temperatures that festivalgoers put down to climate change, organisers were forced to truck in […]

Even as stunned South Koreans celebrate the history-making Oscar victories by Parasite and its director Bong Joon-ho at the Academy Awards on Sunday (Monday morning in Singapore), those who live and work in Hollywood must be scratching their heads and wondering: “What happened?” Why did the mostly American academy voters, whom Bong gently chided in […]

SEOUL • South Korean social media erupted in celebration yesterday after the dark comedy Parasite became the first non-English-language movie to win the Best Picture award, already having netted three other Oscars in a historic first for the country. Director Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite vaulted over what he once called the “one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles” to […]

“Congratulations to those men,” actress Issa Rae said drily, when she announced the yet again all-male slate of director nominees for this year’s Oscars nominations announcement last month. The 92nd Academy Awards, which took place on Monday, Singapore time, had given nods to Martin Scorsese, Sam Mendes, Bong Joon-ho, Todd Phillips and Quentin Tarantino. Eventually, […]

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho made history when he took home the Oscars for both Best Director and Best Picture at the 92nd Academy Awards on Sunday (yesterday, Singapore time). Parasite (2019), his satirical take on the class divide, is the first Asian film to win the Best Picture award. It follows an impoverished family […]

The stars turned up shining at Hollywood’s biggest event, the 92nd Academy Awards, which took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Monday, Singapore time. It may have been a congregation of Hollywood’s finest – think Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Scarlett Johansson – but it was the underdogs who stole the limelight […]

LONDON • Mr Spencer Stevenson, 44, was blessed with thick hair as a young man.Then, when he was 21, his hairline began to recede and it made him anxious and depressed. His experience led him to become a mentor for balding men. For 15 years he has run an advice website, spexhair.com. He also presents […]

What is your secret to looking fabulous? I try to drink plenty of water and eat balanced meals on weekdays, as well as exercise regularly, to keep healthy. I do things I love in my free time to reward myself for the effort I put into my boxing sessions. It keeps me mentally healthy in […]

NEW YORK • Now that it is a month into the new year, it is statistically likely that whatever health resolutions you set for 2020 have already lost their shine. Luckily for those in need of some straightforward training tips and expert motivation to help get back on track, plenty of coaches and nutritionists are […]

Chinese New Year holds a special place in my heart as it is the one time of the year that truly signifies tradition, family and togetherness. I make it a point never to travel during this period and to always be around to help my mother with her celebrations. It is possibly the only time, […]

Philosophical ideas may be gripping on a page or challenging to discuss over endless cups of tea, but they make for inert drama, especially when accompanied by the declamatory style of acting much beloved in Chinese theatre. Director and co-writer Goh Boon Teck seems to have bitten off more than he can chew in this […]

When warranty manager Teo Ah Bee went to Phuket over the Chinese New Year long weekend, she packed a box of surgical masks and had her husband and three children put them on while clearing immigration at Phuket International Airport. During their four-day vacation, the family avoided crowded places and large groups of mainland Chinese […]

Even as apprehension builds over the global spread of the novel coronavirus, there might be a way around abandoning your travel plans for the new year. In the latest edition of the askST@NLB talk, The Straits Times Travel Editor Lee Siew Hua delved into precautions for travelling safely and the most important travel trends this […]

TOKYO • Smokers can effectively turn back time in their lungs by kicking the habit, with healthy cells emerging to replace some of their tobacco-damaged and cancer-prone ones, a new study shows. Smokers have long been told their risk of developing diseases like lung cancer will fall if they can quit. And stopping smoking prevents […]

Can these books change your mind on climate change? In this podcast, The Straits Times journalists Toh Wen Li and Olivia Ho check out three new books on the climate crisis: Naomi Klein’s On Fire, Jonathan Safran Foer’s We Are The Weather and Dana Thomas’ Fashionopolis. Listen at: str.sg/JTPX Produced by: Olivia Ho, Toh Wen […]

Open the Netflix app these days and one might see that the top suggested feed is a documentary series with the ominous title of Pandemic – very subtle, Netflix. It is hard to blame the service. Movies about infections have been raking muck and sowing fear in the name of entertainment for a hundred years. […]