THE HOT STORY

‘Singaporeans-first assurance' needed after population report

Singapore's population reached 6.11m in June, growing by 1.2% over the past year, driven by an influx of foreign workers. Analysts have highlighted the need for effective urban planning and frameworks to prevent discrimination against local people. Meanwhile, Mathew Mathews, head of the Institute of Policy Studies Social Lab, noted the importance of integrating newcomers into local culture. As such, the Ministry of Manpower is piloting a cultural orientation programme for work pass holders. Sociologist Tan Ern Ser observes that anxiety over immigration could lead to social tension, and urges the government to ensure public services meet the needs of the growing population.

South China Morning Post

WORKFORCE

Search continues for missing miners

The search for five missing workers at Freeport Indonesia's Grasberg mine continues more than three weeks after a mud flow disaster. On September 8, around 800,000 metric tonnes of wet material flooded the site, trapping seven workers. Two bodies have been recovered. Freeport-McMoRan has declared force majeure and reduced sales estimates. Katri Krisnati, a spokesperson for Freeport Indonesia, said: "The search for our five colleagues who are still missing continues relentlessly." Rescuers face challenges due to the wet material's movement and have excavated access routes to aid the search.

U.S. News

WORKPLACE

Japan Post served suspension on mini cargo vehicle use

Japan's transport ministry has issued a notice suspending 11 post offices across the country from using mini cargo vehicles for delivery services for up to 160 days, citing their failure to properly conduct roll calls, including mandatory alcohol checks, for drivers. The ministry announced in April that it detected violations at about 2,400 offices, which account for around 75% of post offices undertaking mail and parcel delivery operations.

The Japan Times

INVESTMENT

US says it encourages South Korean investment

The US and South Korea are working to enhance their trade and investment partnership, focusing on visa processing for South Korean workers. US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau highlighted the importance of skilled foreign workers during a meeting aimed at improving visa programmes. The meeting held in Washington on Tuesday follows the immigration raid at a Hyundai Motor facility in Georgia, in which many South Korean workers were arrested. Landau stressed the "critical role" of skilled workers of foreign companies investing in the US.

U.S. News

CYBERSECURITY

Cyberattack halts production at Asahi

Asahi Group, Japan's biggest beer brewer, says it has suspended orders and shipping services after a cyberattack brought its production operations to a standstill. The company, which is behind Asahi Super Dry Beer, Nikka Whisky and a raft of non-alcoholic beverages, said it cannot foresee when production will resume. The impact of the cyberattack is limited to Asahi’s Japan operations. There has not been any personal information or customer data leaks, according to the company.

CNN

The Japan Times

Reuters

Google executives targeted by hackers

Google has reported that hackers have sent extortion emails to an unspecified number of executives, claiming to have stolen sensitive data from their Oracle business applications. The emails are said to be linked to a group associated with the ransomware gang cl0p, although Google said it "does not currently have sufficient evidence to definitively assess the veracity of these claims." The tech giant described the email campaign as "high-volume" but did not provide further details on the situation.

Reuters

TECHNOLOGY

DeepSeek releases latest model to challenge Alibaba and OpenAI

Chinese AI developer DeepSeek has launched its latest model, DeepSeek-V3.2-Exp, which is designed to be more efficient in training and better at processing long text sequences compared to its predecessors. This model features a new mechanism called DeepSeek Sparse Attention, which aims to reduce computing costs and enhance performance, while the company has also announced a significant price cut of over 50% for its API services. Although the new architecture may not disrupt markets as previous versions did, it could still pose a competitive challenge to domestic rivals like Alibaba and international players such as OpenAI if it can deliver high capabilities at lower costs.

Reuters

INTERNATIONAL

White House warns layoffs are imminent if shutdown continues

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt has said federal workers could start losing their jobs imminently as the U.S. government shutdown continues. "The president has directed his Cabinet and the Office of Management and Budget is working with agencies across the board to identify where cuts can be made and we believe that layoffs are imminent," Leavitt said. Vice President JD Vance nevertheless insisted no final decisions have been made about whether certain workers will be laid off or furloughed, although he acknowledged the situation could escalate quickly into layoffs if the shutdown drags on.

Reuters

USA Today

Thousands of jobs at risk in Africa as trade deal ends

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a major US-Africa trade deal, ended on Tuesday, removing duty-free access to US markets for many African products. The termination poses significant risks for industries reliant on AGOA, particularly in Kenya, where textile exports have surged from $50m to $500m since 2000. Pankaj Bedi, owner of United Aryan, an apparel manufacturer in Nairobi that exports Levi's and Wrangler jeans to the US, observed: "If AGOA goes away we have zero chance to compete with the Asian countries." The end of AGOA could jeopardise 1.3m jobs across Africa.

U.S. News

Six million Italian workers to retire in next 10 years

Italy's workforce is set to lose over 6.1m people due to retirements in the next decade, warns Natale Forlani, president of the National Institute for the Analysis of Public Policy (INAPP). "In just 10 years, about 6.1m Italians will exit the labour market," Forlani told a hearing of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the demographic transition "It's a generational exodus that risks leaving the country without replacement workers and putting the resilience of welfare system into crisis." He said that working-age population (20-64) will will shrink by 34% by 2060.

ANSA.it

OTHER

Robot programmed to act like a seven-year-old girl

Robin is a therapeutic robot programmed to act like a seven-year-old girl as it travels around nursing homes and hospitals’ paediatric units providing emotional support while helping to combat staffing shortages. Five years after launching in the United States, Robin has become a familiar sight in 30 health care facilities in California, Massachusetts, New York and Indiana. “Nurses and medical staff are really overworked, under a lot of pressure, and unfortunately, a lot of times they don’t have capacity to provide engagement and connection to patients,” said Karen Khachikyan, chief executive of Expper Technologies, the company which developed the robot. “Robin helps to alleviate that part from them.”

ABC News

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