22:48 Min
Singapore Tonight - Sat 5 Jul 2025
From business to politics, health to technology, we bring you up-to-date with the latest news on Singapore and analyze how these events may affect you tomorrow.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Independent Singapore
3 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
Singapore HDB flats dubbed most 'attainable' homes among APAC's capital cities, but netizen says 'must compare until it's affordable'
Photo: Depositphotos/tang90246 Featured News Property Singapore News SINGAPORE: Singapore's Housing & Development Board (HDB) flats have been named the 'most attainable homes' among Asia Pacific's (APAC's) capital cities, according to the 2025 Urban Land Institute (ULI) Asia Pacific Home Attainability Index. While it sounds like good news, many locals questioned what 'attainable' really means in Singapore, with one netizen remarking, 'Must compare to other countries until it's affordable.' Singapore Business Review reported that ULI defined 'attainable' housing as homes costing no more than five times the median annual household income, which is consistently met by HDB flats. Notably, among 51 urban housing markets surveyed, only seven were found to offer attainable home ownership, and Singapore's HDB system was the only one in a national capital. Despite rising urban costs across the region, the report found that the city-state's public housing system, which houses 80% of the population, remains within reach for median-income Singaporean households, compared to those in Hong Kong, Tokyo, or Sydney. See also Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin's family adopts stray kitten Still, some Singaporeans online said the housing prices in the city-state continue to rise. One said HDB flats are 'public housing, yet prices are so high.' Another wrote, 'Our HDB flats are getting so costly. I worry for the future generations. They will be slaves to the flat for the rest of their lives.' One commenter also pointed to the shrinking sizes of homes in the city-state, saying, 'Look at the new flat sizes. It is not liveable at all. Look up at the windows of the nice new flats. So many clothes [are] hanging there because [there is] no proper laundry space!' The ULI report explained, pointing to Singapore's HDB system, that 'Operating a similar scheme is more difficult in countries where the government has less control of freehold land.' While many cities in APAC face rising prices, limited land, and speculative demand, Singapore's centrally planned and subsidised housing has helped keep home ownership within reach for citizens, although access remains limited for non-citizens due to the 60% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty on foreign buyers. /TISG Read also: 'Why Indonesia?': Singaporean couple share 5 reasons why they moved after their HDB MOP Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only) () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
Independent Singapore
3 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
Nurse says ex-manager didn't return S$1.5k in approved transport claims, seeks advice on Reddit
SINGAPORE: A nurse who recently left her job at a home care company took to social media to share her frustration after her former manager allegedly failed to reimburse her S$1,500 in approved transport claims. In a post on the r/askSingapore forum, the nurse, who has eight years of experience, explained that she had been verbally assured from the start that Grab fares for house visits would be fully reimbursed. 'At the end of the month, I received my payslip, and the reimbursement amount (S$1.5k) is written clearly on the payslip, but in my bank account, I have only received my basic salary,' she wrote. 'There was no reimbursement nor any explanation.' She then reached out to the HR and finance team, who told her they would check and get back to her. However, several days went by with no response. When she approached her manager, the manager claimed she had never seen the transport claim form and referred her back to HR. 'I kept the record of the transport claim form, with the admin's name as the one doing the claims and the manager's name as the approver.' Feeling uneasy about the company's practices, the nurse eventually resigned. Unfortunately, four days after her last working day, the reimbursement still hasn't been paid out. Seeking advice from the local community, she asked, 'Can I raise this issue to MOM/TADM? Would they consider this a case?' adding that she's unsure whether to inform her manager before taking action. 'I'm feeling so alone in this, and I appreciate any advice,' she wrote. 'THREATEN to report to MOM.' In the comments, one Singaporean Redditor advised her to give the company one final follow-up before escalating the issue to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). 'Follow up once more; attach the manager's or company's messages or written policies stating that transport claims are claimable,' they said. 'Also, attach your payslip. THREATEN to report to MOM, and that should be enough to sort this all out.' Another shared, 'I kena this before. The company still didn't pay three months' worth of reimbursement even months after I left. The HR replied with one-word responses, and I was very patient, waiting three to four weeks before asking for an update. In the end, I threatened to report to TADM and MOM, and only then did they quickly pay me.' A third, however, felt that a warning was not necessary at all. 'No need to inform,' they wrote, adding, 'Just go straight to MOM.' Where to seek help Employees who are not reimbursed for work-related expenses outlined in their employment contracts are entitled to seek legal recourse. According to Singapore Legal Advice, they can file a salary-related claim with the Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT) to recover the unpaid amounts. Read also: 'It feels kind of late': Woman says she feels behind in life for only starting to travel in her 30s Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
Google hires Windsurf execs in $2.4 billion deal to advance AI coding ambitions
Alphabet's Google has hired several key staff members from AI code generation startup Windsurf, the companies announced on Friday, in a surprise move following an attempt by its rival OpenAI to acquire the startup. Google is paying $2.4 billion in license fees as part of the deal to use some of Windsurf's technology under non-exclusive terms, according to a person familiar with the arrangement. Google will not take a stake or any controlling interest in Windsurf, the person added. Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan, co-founder Douglas Chen, and some members of the coding tool's research and development team will join Google's DeepMind AI division. The deal followed months of discussions Windsurf was having with OpenAI to sell itself in a deal that could value it at $3 billion, highlighting the interest in the code-generation space which has emerged as one of the fastest-growing AI applications, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in June. OpenAI could not be immediately reached for a comment. The former Windsurf team will focus on agentic coding initiatives at Google DeepMind, primarily working on the Gemini project. "We're excited to welcome some top AI coding talent from Windsurf's team to Google DeepMind to advance our work in agentic coding," Google said in a statement. The unusual deal structure marks a win for backers for Windsurf, which has raised $243 million from investors including Kleiner Perkins, Greenoaks and General Catalyst, and was last valued at $1.25 billion one year ago, according to PitchBook. Windsurf investors will receive liquidity through the license fee and retain their stakes in the company, sources told Reuters. 'ACQUIHIRE' DEALS Google's surprise swoop mirrors its deal in August 2024 to hire key employees from chatbot startup Big Tech peers, including Microsoft, Amazon and Meta, have similarly taken to these so-called acquihire deals, which some have criticized as an attempt to evade regulatory scrutiny. Microsoft struck a $650 million deal with Inflection AI in March 2024, to use the AI startup's models and hire its staff, while Amazon hired AI firm Adept's co-founders and some of its team last June. Meta took a 49 per cent stake in Scale AI in June in the biggest test yet of this increasing form of business partnerships. Unlike acquisitions that would give the buyer a controlling stake, these deals do not require a review by U.S. antitrust regulators. However, they could probe the deal if they believe it was structured to avoid those requirements or harm competition. Many of the deals have since become the subject of regulatory probes. The development comes as tech giants, including Alphabet and Meta, aggressively chase high-profile acquisitions and offer multi-million-dollar pay packages to attract top talent in the race to lead the next wave of AI. Windsurf's head of business, Jeff Wang, has been appointed its interim CEO, and Graham Moreno, vice president of global sales, will be president, effective immediately. The majority of Windsurf's roughly 250 employees will remain with the company, which has announced plans to prioritize innovation for its enterprise clients.
