CNA938 Rewind - France and Singapore enter a comprehensive strategic partnership
France and Singapore will grow cooperation in areas like civilian nuclear energy, intelligence sharing and defence technology. This upgrades the two nations' relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership (CSP) – marking Singapore's first CSP with a European country. Lance Alexander and Daniel Martin speak with Dr Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow, Singapore Institute of International Affairs.
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Work It - Hiring for chemistry or capability – how much should personality matter?
Beyond KPIs and productivity, Gen Z workers also value healthy corporate culture. But is there a place for colleagues whose main contribution is their energy and charm? CNA TODAY columnist Kelvin Kao shares his research on the phenomenon of 'personality hires' - what do they bring to the table, and what we can learn from the way they work?
CNA
an hour ago
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Safe spaces for him: Why men need support groups run by other males for their well-being
It started as a regular workshop about building confidence in the workplace. Facilitators Toh Zi Kit and Brian Liu had participants digging deep into their doubts and worries, confronting unhelpful narratives they had internalised that were holding them back. To close the session, the pair invited everyone in the room to complete the sentence: 'If I was more confident, I would …' with a personal reflection. The responses were heartfelt: If I was more confident, I would stop doubting myself. If I was more confident, I wouldn't be so afraid to tell people what I thought or share my ideas. 'And then we got to this guy … the typical finance bro archetype,' Toh recalled. This man had displayed a 'nonchalant, laidback, lackadaisical persona' throughout the workshop. 'He got up and said: 'If I was more confident, I would have bought Nvidia stock a year ago.' And at that point, me and Brian just kind of sighed. We could see the whole room filled with a little of that half-nervous laughter, and we were a bit frustrated because we felt that's not the spirit of the exercise.' Just like that, Toh felt a wall go up. The rest of the room, who hadn't shared yet, followed with responses that became 'a little more surface-level'. They weren't 'vulnerable' anymore. The incident was part of a larger pattern that Toh and Liu, who work in the corporate learning and development space, recognised. The participants seemingly more resistant to deeper conversations in such workshops were often men – faced with perceived emotional vulnerability, they would 'armour up'. And such behaviour starts young, they realised after speaking with their friend and early childhood educator Titus Ting. 'Titus would notice it in the way that young boys are parented. Some parents would tell off their son for crying, for dressing a certain way, for asking for a toy that's not predominantly a boy's toy,' said Toh. These insights became the foundation for Bros Before Woes, which the three friends co-founded in November 2023. The initiative aims to give men a safe and supportive environment to reflect on their lives, struggles and the man they want to be. 'We were fortunate enough to feel that if times got hard and if we needed to get called out on certain things, we had men in our lives we could trust to give a good opinion or be a solid sounding board," said Toh, 30, who shared his team's experiences with CNA Lifestyle. "And we felt the problem with a lot of men is that they don't." Since July 2024, Bros Before Woes has hosted monthly 'Bro's Night' gatherings. These are structured and intentional sessions, allowing men to express and confront themselves openly. 'What men's spaces really give men is the ability to be seen by other men; to be accepted, embraced and supported by other men. Then you'll know it's not just you (dealing with an issue). Other men are going through it too, and they see you as no less of a guy. That's powerful,' Toh said. Movement coach and dance choreographer Hafeez Hassan hopes to provide a similar space with The Brothers Circle, which he founded in April 2021. The support group for men is centred on meditative movement and group activity, tapping into fitness culture, which Hafeez believes men tend to already be interested in. 'Most men, including myself … we all aim to have a certain kind of status. There's a lot of worry about what we would lose when we make ourselves vulnerable. Because of that, our walls have become too thick to the point that we need lots of different kinds of intervention,' said the 42-year-old. 'So it's good for men to be back in their bodies to regulate their nervous system, because most are always in their heads,' he added. 'I encourage them to move so that their energy gets distributed well in their system. And when they can feel regulated and safe, then they can express themselves.' And such spaces may be equally, if not more, important for elderly men, noted Melissa Teo, a senior volunteer management executive with Methodist Welfare Services (MWS). Tasked with understanding why older men weren't participating in community programmes, she found out that many viewed seeking help from active ageing centres as a sign of weakness. They also didn't enjoy activities that appeared to cater to women. What they valued was instead a sense of freedom and friendly competition – which shaped the Men-Only Happy Hour programme she launched in August 2023 for the MWS Active Ageing Centre at GreenTops@Sims Place. The programme ended up attracting men in their 70s and 80s – a group often more socially isolated – as both participants and volunteers who now run the show. It's held every Wednesday at a void deck beside the centre; the open and informal location is unlike, say, a community centre which can feel more confined. To keep things lively, there is the occasional mini challenge to tap into their competitive nature. 'You can (have) many good programmes, but if you're not specifically targeting these men because you're only concerned about not being seen as sexist, you're not reaching out to the needy,' Teo added. The need for such spaces has never felt more urgent. A total of 314 suicides were reported in Singapore in 2024, the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) said earlier this month. Of these, 202 were men. Men's well-being entrepreneur Ian Tan, whose background is in psychology, launched TheBrotherBu earlier this year. He runs one-on-one coaching sessions for now, and has realised men often anchor their identity to productivity. This shapes the language they use to talk about – and to – themselves. 'If the voice in your head – which is the one that you talk to most – isn't encouraging, and it just berates you, tells you you're not enough, tells you that everyone else is doing much more and you need to do more, then it's very difficult to have some self-respect,' said the 38-year-old, speaking from experience. He'd helmed boutique gym chain Ritual as its co-founder until it collapsed and closed during the pandemic. 'But if you adjust your self-talk, you'll feel more respect for yourself, then I think we have an opportunity to detach self-worth from productivity.' UNDERSTANDING THE EXPECTATION TO PROVIDE Yet, unlearning cultural norms might take a painful reckoning. According to provisional data from SOS, the largest increase in suicides was observed among adults aged between 30 and 39. Individuals in this age group experience a range of complex pressures linked to "family issues, job stability and mental health challenges", the suicide prevention centre said. These pressures add up to what Toh calls the 'provider expectation' – the common thread in conversations during Bros Before Woes sessions about what makes being a man 'so difficult and isolating at times". Being the 'man of the house' implies a constant need to remain reliable and steady. This expectation can even affect how men allow themselves to experience joy, as one participant's sharing highlighted. 'I just wish I could get married to the girl I love without (thinking about the) ring and wedding, and questions like whether your career is stable or whether you're ready to start a family. I wish that 'I want to marry you' was enough, but many times, it seems like it's not,' he had said. But more often than not, it results in a weighty expectation to 'be strong', despite the growing narrative in mental health spaces that it's okay for men to cry. 'Sometimes women put pressure on us to be emotional. They want to see us cry, to be vulnerable … but how can I do these things that you say I should do?' said Toh, articulating a common internal monologue among men. 'I don't have the chance to. I don't have the permission to. If I stop, if I give up, if I take a break, everything crashes around me.' TheBrotherBu's Tan has had similar conversations with '100 per cent' of his clients so far. For years, many would go out of their way to schedule countless work meetings in a week, while reserving the whole weekend for their family. But what they consistently left out was time for themselves. The result is a build-up of 'unnecessarily aggressive' self-talk and a deeply ingrained habit of emotional suppression, especially within relationships. And when those bottled-up feelings finally surface, the process is rarely smooth. 'A guy might think: I want to talk but I don't know what to say. I have to connect the feelings to the words. It's very difficult. Then you have your partner who's so ready to talk and you feel overwhelmed,' said Tan. 'Or, your partner, because they've also been waiting to connect, they have frustrations. So they open up. Then you open up the floodgates. You get overwhelmed. It sometimes feels like being slammed down.' But it's not as though men don't know the importance of sharing their feelings. They have simply been taught to 'just not deal with it, be strong about it, brush it off, not cry', Tan added. 'So what's a typical thing that a guy would do? I'll hold it until I just cannot take it. Then when I see (my wife) and something small happens, I have a blowup or a meltdown or something. 'And then now, for the first time in a decade of being with this person, she sees her husband cry.' A "UNIQUE NEED" FOR MEN TO SUPPORT MEN As such, male spaces serve as a practice ground of sorts for men to hone their listening and communication skills, helping them build their own 'psychologically safe environment' beyond these groups. 'To practise with your female friends or female partner, many times it feels like they might not understand, or they might try to tell me how to do it and guide me through,' said Tan. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ian Tan | Men's Wellbeing (@thebrotherbu) Likewise, Toh has learnt from running Bros Before Woes that men process and express emotions 'extremely differently' from women. Contrary to the stereotype that men aren't good at expressing emotion, 'we found that guys are so deep and so in touch with how they're feeling', he said, having seen the power of sharing and listening to each other's stories. Many just don't have the words for feelings, until they 'hear other dudes express their feelings and tell stories about their experiences'. Then they remember their own similar experiences and how they felt. 'It gives us that permission to share, but also sometimes gives us the language,' Toh said. And while he stresses that any work that men are willing to do – such as seeing a female therapist, which is common – is a 'massive step in the right direction', he sees a 'very unique and important need for men to help and support other men'. Chiefly, these interactions are opportunities to reflect on and define the masculinity they want to embody. 'We (believe) that most men would choose to be good fathers, to be good partners, to live a life of fulfilment,' he added. 'Many times, the shortcoming is due to men feeling like they don't have the ability to choose and they're subconsciously forced into certain narratives or traditional roles.' BEYOND MALE-ONLY SPACES Yet, the work cannot stop at male-only spaces, for men's well-being doesn't only affect men. Following the pivotal incident with the 'finance bro archetype' in the workshop Toh facilitated, where the participant's answer palpably shifted the vulnerable mood in the room, he recognised such an image that men 'curate' doesn't just affect them individually. 'It actually has a big impact on how other people show up and how safe they feel to be honest, to show vulnerability and to really be authentic in the way they put themselves forward.' Once men become more comfortable expressing themselves in safe, male-only spaces, they must learn to take that emotional fluency into the rest of their lives – whether at home or in the workplace. This can resemble learning how to be emotionally 'soft' with a young daughter, said Tan, who has a five-year-old himself. While the instinct may be to prioritise working hard to provide overshowing affection, many men soon realise that these 'old models' of masculinity fall short. It can mean being a decisive leader at work who also creates belonging – and when there are tough calls to be made, to make them with clarity and compassion. At the Men-Only Happy Hour programme by Methodist Welfare Services, it has led to elderly men feeling less intimidated to walk into an active ageing centre to seek financial help, said Teo. Getting this demographic to overcome that mental hurdle in the past would have been near impossible. Another 'unexpected result' she's observed is the chance to mend and strengthen family relationships. 'Their wives now find it easier to ask their husband to join them on their outings,' she said, adding that one even managed to heal his strained marriage. 'It's not just a programme but it provides a platform to change their mindset, to correct themselves … and eventually they get very comfortable in coming. The men will find themselves a second home here.'
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
EU, US strike biggest trade deal
TURNBERRY, United Kingdom: The United States and European Union on Sunday (Jul 27) clinched what President Donald Trump described as the "biggest-ever" deal to resolve a transatlantic tariff stand-off that threatened to explode into a full-blown trade war. Trump emerged from a high-stakes meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf resort in Scotland to announce that a baseline tariff of 15 per cent would be levied on EU exports to the US. The deal, which the leaders struck in around an hour, came as the clock ticked down on an Aug 1 deadline to avoid an across-the-board US levy of 30 per cent on European goods. "We've reached a deal. It's a good deal for everybody. This is probably the biggest deal ever reached in any capacity," said Trump. Trump said the 15 per cent tariff would apply across the board, including for Europe's crucial automobile sector, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. As part of the deal, Trump said the 27-nation EU bloc had agreed to purchase "US$750 billion worth of energy" from the US, as well as make US$600 billion in additional investments. Von der Leyen said the "significant" purchases of US liquefied natural gas, oil and nuclear fuels would come over three years, as part of the bloc's bid to diversify away from Russian sources. Negotiating on behalf of the EU's 27 countries, von der Leyen had been pushing hard to salvage a trading relationship worth an annual US$1.9 trillion in goods and services. "It's a good deal," the EU chief told reporters. "It will bring stability. It will bring predictability. That's very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic," she said. She said bilateral tariff exemptions had been agreed on a number of "strategic products", notably aircraft, certain chemicals, some agricultural products and critical raw materials. Von der Leyen said the EU still hoped to secure further so-called "zero-for-zero" agreements, notably for alcohol, which she hoped to be "sorted out" in coming days. Trump also said EU countries, which recently pledged to ramp up their defence spending within NATO, would be purchasing "hundreds of billions of dollars worth of military equipment". "BEST WE COULD GET" The EU has been hit by multiple waves of tariffs since Trump reclaimed the White House. It is currently subject to a 25 per cent levy on cars, 50 per cent on steel and aluminium, and an across-the-board tariff of 10 per cent, which Washington threatened to hike to 30 per cent in a no-deal scenario. The bloc had been pushing hard for tariff carve-outs for critical industries from aircraft to spirits, and its auto industry, crucial for France and Germany, is already reeling from the levies imposed so far. "Fifteen percent is not to be underestimated, but it is the best we could get," acknowledged von der Leyen. Any deal will need to be approved by EU member states, whose ambassadors, on a visit to Greenland, were updated by the commission Sunday morning. They were set to meet again after the deal struck in Scotland. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz rapidly hailed the deal, saying it avoided "needless escalation in transatlantic trade relations". The EU had pushed for a compromise on steel that could allow a certain quota into the US before tariffs would apply. Trump appeared to rule that out, saying steel was "staying the way it is", but the EU chief insisted later that "tariffs will be cut and a quota system will be put in place" for steel. "THE BIG ONE" While 15 per cent is much higher than pre-existing US tariffs on European goods, which average around 4.8 per cent, it mirrors the status quo, with companies currently facing an additional flat rate of 10 per cent. Had the talks failed, EU states had greenlit counter tariffs on US$109 billion of US goods including aircraft and cars to take effect in stages from Aug 7. Trump has embarked on a campaign to reshape US trade with the world, and has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariffs if they do not reach a pact with Washington by Aug 1.
