Parliament: EP quota not unthinkable, but probably unwise, says Josephine Teo

SINGAPORE – Imposing quotas on higher-end foreign professionals on Employment Passes (EPs) is not unthinkable, but such a move would probably be unwise, said Manpower Minister Josephine Teo on Tuesday (Sept 1). It is much better to use salary requirements to ensure companies can access foreign professionals of the right…

Decision due ‘very soon’ on delaying GCSEs and A-levels

The government will decide “very soon” whether to delay next year’s GCSEs and A-levels to give students more time to prepare, a minister has confirmed. As children started to return to classrooms across England and Wales on Tuesday, the schools minister, Nick Gibb, said the government would decide “as soon…

Facebook says stepping up efforts to tackle Myanmar hate speech

Platform, accused of fanning hate towards Rohingya, says it removed 280,000 posts that breached rules in second quarter. Facebook said on Tuesday that it was preparing for Myanmar’s general election in November by improving the detection and removal of hate speech and content that incites violence, and preventing the spread…

Japan's August factory activity shrinks at slowest pace in six months: PMI

TOKYO (REUTERS) – Japan’s factory activity contracted at the slowest pace in six months in August, reducing some of the heat on policymakers pressured to take more radical steps to prevent the economy from sliding deeper into recession. The world’s third-largest economy is expected to see a modest bounce in…

Maybank Singapore to offer 100 traineeships to fresh grads, mid-career workers

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Maybank Singapore announced on Tuesday (Sept 1) a new 12-month traineeship programme that will recruit at least 100 fresh graduates and mid-career candidates, as part of efforts to grow its talent pool for a post-coronavirus pandemic recovery. The bank will also give out a one-time…