BT Lens On

Headline news for October 30, 2026: Singapore appoints a seven-member panel, including FTI Consulting and WongPartnership, to examine firms linked to Indonesia’s haze fires, as Indonesian police name 20 suspect companies. Also: Israel’s final election results, China’s party congress date, Malaysia’s budget vote and a Binance-led crypto drop.  Synopsis: A round up of gl...

Headline news for October 29, 2026: Singapore will table amendments to its haze law when Parliament sits on November third, after ministers met ten firms served notices over the fires. A high-speed train collision in Spain kills at least sixty-eight, and the toll may rise. Samsung confirms record profit on AI chips. Synopsis: A round up of global headlines to start your day by The Business Times.&...

Headline news for October 28, 2026: Israel’s election appears to have ended in deadlock, exit polls show, with no final result yet. Meta launches its Muse AI agent in Singapore from today. ASEAN’s Myanmar envoy begins a two-day humanitarian mission, and the Fed decision is due early tomorrow Singapore time.  Synopsis: A round up of global headlines to start your day by The Busines...

Headline news for October 27, 2026: Indonesia defends cutting piped gas exports to Singapore by about 8 per cent, saying the cut is within contract limits. Israelis vote in an election with no result yet, and polls show no clear majority. South Korea’s economy grows 1 per cent in the third quarter. Synopsis: A round up of global headlines to start your day by The Business Times.  Writte...

Headline news for October 26, 2026: Protests over living costs spread across Europe, with one hundred and twenty-eight arrested in Barcelona and hundreds briefly detained in Italy. Singapore’s IMDA issues Simba a notice to show cause over alleged spectrum misuse. Serbia’s ruling party concedes defeat, and Lula wins a fourth term in Brazil.  Synopsis: A round up of global headlines...

Headline news for October 23, 2026: Indonesia’s energy minister says Jakarta will review energy export contracts and could stop supplying countries that disrespect it, without naming any. A magnitude seven earthquake kills at least sixteen people in northern Tibet. Oil holds near a five-month high as Typhoon Champi shuts Taiwan’s stock exchange.  Synopsis: A round up of global hea...

Headline news for October 22, 2026: Russia agrees in principle to resume trilateral peace talks with the US and Ukraine around November 10, releasing American detainee Stephen Hubbard as a goodwill gesture. The US orders diplomats out of Saudi Arabia as Houthi attacks kill three and wound eight. Singapore ranks second in the world for order and security in the World Justice Project’s most re...

Climate change is hitting closer to home, from rising fuel prices to the return of the haze. But financing the climate transition remains a challenge. In this episode of Lens on Singapore, Claressa Monteiro speaks with Leslie Maasdorp, CEO of British International Investment (BII), about why climate funding is not reaching the projects that need it most, how development finance institutions operat...

Headline news for October 21, 2026: Malaysia’s Registrar of Societies deregisters Perikatan Nasional; the main opposition coalition as the Melaka state election looms on October 31. PN has filed a High Court challenge and won a stay pending the legal outcome. South Korea’s exports surge 105 per cent in early October on AI-driven semiconductor demand. India’s Jio Platforms opens i...

Headline news for October 20, 2026: Singapore’s NEA issues preventive notices to three more Indonesian companies linked to the haze bringing the total to ten. South Korea’s central bank is expected to pause rate hikes on Thursday with another move forecast for November. France imposes overnight curfews in Paris, Nice and Lille after its worst urban unrest in decades.  Synopsis: A...

Headline news for October 19, 2026: Singapore’s haze remains in the unhealthy range across four of five regions with rain forecast to bring some relief today. France suffers its worst urban violence in years with at least 2,400 arrested and 1,000 police injured as riots and looting spread across Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux. President Donald Trump signals a possible Russia sanctions w...

Headline news for October 16, 2026: Singapore is investigating which companies may be responsible for fires causing the haze, and will explore joint action with other countries. A report highlighted two Singapore-listed palm oil companies that have been linked to Indonesian plantation areas where fires were detected. Indonesia has accepted foreign assistance to fight forest fires, with arrangement...

Headline news for October 15, 2026: Singapore could take action against companies responsible for haze pollution as air quality remains unhealthy across the island. A Singapore-registered container ship has sunk, and a second was damaged after being hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz. And a long-delayed bridge linking China and North Korea is set to open today, in efforts to boost trade be...

Headline news for October 14, 2026:  Singapore’s economy grows 5.4 per cent in Q3 beating forecasts as MAS surprises markets by pausing its tightening cycle after two moves this year. Iran deploys new Hormuz tactics to keep oil prices elevated ahead of US midterm elections. Bank of America is fined US$1.21 billion for suspicious transaction failures.  Synopsis: A round up of global head...

Headline news for October 13, 2026:  Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport remains closed after a week of attacks kills at least twenty people and wounds more than three hundred, the deadliest sustained assault on Saudi Arabia since the Iran war began. Singapore’s haze remains in the unhealthy range as Indonesia orders more action on land fires. Global smartphone shipments fall to...

Headline news for October 12, 2026:  US President Donald Trump announces an immediate energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. 1 person has been killed and 11 others injured, in an attack on Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh international airport. And Singaporeans can start to receive subsidised care at polyclinics and participating GP clinics for treatment for haze-related conditions. Synopsis: A r...

Headline news for October 9, 2026: Washington rules out military strikes on Iran before the November third midterm elections as Tehran reviews the latest US peace proposal. Singapore’s PSI hits one hundred and seventy in the central region, the highest of the year as the Formula One weekend begins. Forty-four European industry associations urge the EU to act against Chinese trade practices a...

Headline news for October 8, 2026:  Houthis attack two Saudi international airports with three people killed and thirty-six wounded at King Khalid International in Riyadh and Abha airport as Yemen fighting escalates sharply. Singapore's PSI remains in the unhealthy range across all regions one day before the Formula One weekend begins. Hormuz tanker attacks hit their highest weekly count since the...

Headline news for October 7, 2026:  France's biggest student protests in decades sweep the country with more than two hundred and fifty-six thousand on the streets, over six thousand arrested since the movement began, schools closed and one student loses a hand. Philippine President Marcos arrives in Singapore today. Japan's real wages rise for an eighth consecutive month.  Synopsis: A round...

Headline news for October 6, 2026:  Singapore-headquartered DayOne Data Centers files for a Nasdaq IPO as revenue more than tripled year on year to US512 million dollars but losses widened sharply and sixty-nine per cent of revenue comes from a single unnamed customer. Nvidia-backed Reflection AI launches its first open-weight model targeting Chinese AI rivals. Spain calls a snap election for 29 N...

Headline news for October 5, 2026:  Yemen's internationally recognised government launches a major military offensive against the Houthis as the Houthis claim missile and drone strikes on Saudi Aramco sites in Riyadh though Saudi Arabia and Aramco have not confirmed the attacks. Chinese AI models now trail US rivals by just three per cent, the narrowest gap on record. Brazil heads to a presidentia...

Headline news for October 2, 2026:  US President Donald Trump says Iran may have been involved in an incident aboard a Flydubai flight. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto carried out his biggest Cabinet reshuffle to date  And Singapore was eliminated from the FIFA ASEAN Cup yesterday after being defeated by Malaysia 6 to 0.  Synopsis: A round up of global headlines to start your day b...

Headline news for October 1, 2026: A pilot stabs his co-pilot and attempts to crash an Israel-bound flydubai flight carrying one hundred and seventy-four people — passengers overpower the attacker and the plane lands safely in Saudi Arabia. South Korea's exports hit a record monthly high in September, up eighty-three-point-five per cent. HDB resale prices fall for a third consecutive quarter...

Headline news for September 30, 2026: US forces complete their withdrawal from Iraq today ending more than two decades of military presence after four thousand five hundred American deaths. Iran hails it as a victory while Iraqi security officials warn of a potential security vacuum. China's factory activity returns to growth in September after two months of contraction.  Synopsis: A round up...

Headline news for September 29, 2026: Singapore's PSI hits 155 in the central region as haze enters the unhealthy range. Anthropic warns IPO investors that advanced AI could pose catastrophic or existential risks to humanity dedicating eighty pages of its prospectus to risk factors. Malaysia begins repatriating fifteen hundred Myanmar nationals in the first phase of a five-thousand-person programm...