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BUSINESSSep 21Singapore retrenchment rates hit highest level since pandemicSingapore’s retrenchment rate in the second quarter of 2026 hit its highest level since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in late 2020, driven by business reorganisation and restructuring, the manpower ministry said on Monday. There were 4,620 retrenchments in the second quarter of this year, up from the 3,830 retrenchments posted in the first quarter of the year, the ministry said in its labour market report for the period. It is the highest since the 5,640 retrenchments recorded in the...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 21Singapore nets US$862 , 000 from first auction in money laundering caseSingapore has recovered US$862,000 from its initial auction related to a money laundering case. This represents an early outcome in the ongoing legal process.scmp.com · China
BUSINESSSep 21Singapore nets US$862,000 from first auction in money laundering caseA fierce 30-minute bidding war for a rare Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama pumpkin bag – seized in Singapore’s S$3 billion (US$2.35 billion) money laundering case – sent its final price soaring on Sunday night. The limited-edition yellow monogram leather piece, which was a collaboration between the luxury fashion house and the Japanese artist who recently died at 97, eventually went under the hammer for an eye-watering S$87,000. A flurry of 42 last-minute bids pushed the closing price to more than...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 20Fuel prices in Singapore rise for 4th time in 6 days as SPC catches up with hikeFuel prices in Singapore have increased for the fourth time in six days, with SPC raising its prices to match the trend. This indicates a notable and rapid rise in local energy costs.asiaone.com · Singapore
SCI & TECHSep 20Why AI giants are choosing Singapore to turn models into real-world toolsWhen Jordan Seow joined OpenAI in June 2025, he became the company’s first locally hired forward-deployed engineer in Asia-Pacific, joining a Singapore office that then had fewer than 20 employees. The 29-year-old is now part of a fast-growing workforce built in Singapore by the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies. Experts say the city state is emerging as a regional hub – not for training the latest AI models, but for the increasingly crucial task of deploying and adapting them...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 18World : Singapore Airlines Wins Worldâ€TMs Best Airline For 2026By Anas Abu Hassan SINGAPORE, Sept 18 (Bernama) -- Singapore Airlines (SIA) has been named the World’s Best Airline at the 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards, clinching the title for the sixth time.bernama · malaysia
POLITICSSep 18Singapore minister Chan Chun Sing’s Mandarin diplomacy strikes China chordSingapore Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing’s use of Mandarin and Chinese philosophy in his speech at a major security forum in Beijing has won him praise on Chinese social media, while shedding light on how cultural familiarity and language can be diplomatic tools for the city state. Videos of Chan at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum quoting ancient philosopher Mencius, or Mengzi in Mandarin, have gone viral on platforms such as Weixin and Baidu, with users hailing his command of the language and...South China Morning Post
WORLDSep 18All aboard: Some Singapore athletes housed on cruise ship during Asian GamesWith no dedicated athletes' village, the Asian Games' organisers are relying on a cruise ship, temporary wooden containers and hotels to house participants.channelnewsasia · japan
BUSINESSSep 18Why Singapore’s big-box gyms are losing to niche fitness studiosProperty agent Raymond Heng had suspected True Fitness was struggling, but he did not expect the gym he had visited for more than a decade to disappear overnight. The closure was not entirely surprising given the region’s fiercely competitive fitness industry, but its abruptness left Heng, 47, in disbelief after paying S$8,800 (US$6,900) for a lifetime membership in 2013. “I guessed that they might not have been doing that well since branches have been closing over the years, but I did not...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHSep 18Waymo targets Singapore robotaxi launch in 2028Waymo plans to launch its robotaxi service in Singapore by 2028, indicating a significant expansion of autonomous vehicle technology into a new geographic market. This development marks a step forward in the global adoption of self-driving transportation.Seeking Alpha Tech
WORLDSep 18Singapore’s Tan Siyou Talks Teenage Rebels Tackling A Conformist Society In Award-Winning Debut, ‘Amoeba’Tan's debut feature, which won three awards at Pingyao festival, questions Singapore's conformist society through the story of four teenage girls.headtopics · united states of america
SCI & TECHSep 18US firm Waymo to launch robotaxi service in Singapore in 2028Waymo plans to launch its robotaxi service in Singapore in 2028, giving the US company its first foothold in Southeast Asia. Fully electric Jaguar I-Pace vehicles were due to arrive in the city state in the coming months, ahead of preparations for a commercial launch, the company said on Friday. From 2027, trained autonomous specialists will manually drive the vehicles to help Waymo adapt its technology to Singapore’s road layouts, monsoon conditions and other local features. The service is...South China Morning Post
WORLDSep 17‘Depraved’ Singaporean paedophile, who abused daughter, granddaughters, jailedA diagnosed paedophile who sexually abused 11 girls over 33 years, with the acts ranging from molestation to rape, was sentenced by a Singapore court on Thursday to 21 years’ jail. The victims were as young as five, and included his daughter, granddaughters, nieces and students at an enrichment centre he ran with his wife. The judge noted that the jail term should not be crushing or amount to a life sentence for the 71-year-old man, who suffers from a rare blood cancer called myelofibrosis. At...South China Morning Post
WORLDSep 16Singapore court rejects 90-year-old’s spousal support claim against ex-wife, 89A Singapore family court rejected a 90-year-old man’s claim for spousal maintenance from his 89-year-old wife, noting that both of them are in the twilight of their lives. The court also noted that the man would receive more than S$2 million (US$1.6 million) from the matrimonial pool, comprising the couple’s assets to be divided in the divorce, and his wife was a retiree living on a pension. The former couple were married for more than 64 years and have three children, all aged above 60, a...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 16Singapore ministers earn millions. What do other Asian leaders make?Singapore’s ministers are among the world’s highest paid, a system its leaders have defended as necessary to attract capable people into public service and reduce the temptation of corruption. Its latest salary review has once again put the spotlight on that approach, while highlighting a wider regional divide over how Asian governments value political leadership and public service. Under the city state’s formula, the prime minister’s salary is pegged at twice the benchmark for an entry-level...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 15Thais stage rare Israel protest; Singapore ministers get pay rise: 7 Asia highlightsWe have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘Not for sale’: Thais take to streets in rare protest against Israel Hundreds of Thais, led by a veteran political activist, rallied outside the Israeli Embassy in Bangkok in a rare public protest against a group of foreign nationals. 2. Singapore ministers set for pay...South China Morning Post
SCI & TECHSep 15Top Singaporean chemist Lu Yixin to join Chinese university EIT next yearSingapore’s most decorated chemist has confirmed he will leave his present position to join the fledgling Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, eastern China. Lu Yixin, a professor with the National University of Singapore (NUS), said he planned to move to the private research institute in early 2027, in a full-time role. Lu is a fellow of the Singapore National Academy of Science and president of the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry, in addition to his...South China Morning Post
DISASTERSep 15Air quality across Singapore reaches unhealthy levels from Indonesian wildfiresSingapore was shrouded in haze on Tuesday, with smoke from wildfires in neighbouring Indonesia raising island-wide pollution to levels that pose a health risk. All five regions of the city state recorded unhealthy air quality levels, the first time that has happened since September 2019, according to the National Environment Agency. Singapore’s air currently ranks among the 10 most polluted cities in the world, according to IQAir data, with the capitals of Malaysia and Indonesia also among the...South China Morning Post
WORLDSep 15Singapore jails armed Malaysian gang for US$3.9 million ‘lightning heist’ at bungalowAfter learning that a woman regularly hosted high-stakes poker games at her home in Singapore’s affluent Bukit Timah area, two men plotted to rob the house, recruiting a group of people from Malaysia and conducting surveillance before carrying out the plan. Prosecutors said seven men entered the King Albert Park good class bungalow in the early hours of April 18, 2024, in a “lightning heist”, some of them armed with machetes and baseball bats. They tied up the people inside and stole about S$4.9...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 14Singapore’s Chan Chun Sing to visit China, speak at defence forumSingapore’s Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing is set to visit China from Tuesday to Thursday at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun and will speak at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum for the second consecutive year. His visit comes as defence analysts tell This Week in Asia that ties with Beijing are important for the city state’s balancing strategy with Washington. Singapore and the United States are close strategic partners with deep defence cooperation. Singapore’s defence ministry...South China Morning Post
HEALTHSep 14Singapore is open to chemical castration, but what are ethical, health concerns?Singapore’s openness to chemical castration for sex offenders has cast light on the ethical questions surrounding the treatment, with the discussion centred on whether it would fill any gap left by existing legislation. Experts point to how safeguards would be set regarding who receives the treatment, the duration of the process and if resulting medical consequences would be proportional to the offence. The debate comes after Senior Minister and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam’s written...South China Morning Post
POLITICSSep 13Benchmarking and bonuses: why Singapore pays its politicians like bankersThe city-state has some of the best-paid ministers in the worldFinancial Times
CONFLICTSep 12Is Singapore psychologically prepared for a terror attack ? The article questions Singapore's psychological readiness for a terror attack. This assesses public resilience and preparedness for potential security threats.channelnewsasia.com · United States
POLITICSSep 11As Singapore weighs joining China-led AI body, does it risk US retaliation?As Singapore considers joining a China-led body on artificial intelligence, analysts say membership would give the city state a bigger say in global governance matters related to the technology but may invite an unfriendly response from Washington. Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo revealed in parliament earlier this week that Singapore had received an invitation to join the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (Waico). Singapore would consider the...South China Morning Post