Good morning! Morning Minutes is a round-up of stories that will break on Friday, Oct 2, and which we think you'd be interested in.

It appears on weekdays, available by 7am.

New Finance Minister Heng to meet local start-ups

Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat will visit JTC LaunchPad@One-North today to observe and interact with key local start-ups. He will highlight the growing need for firms to internationalise and restructure so as to thrive in a dynamic economic landscape. - RENNIE WHANG

Asean ministers to discuss extremism in the region

Ministers at the Asean Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime will hold a special meeting on radicalisation and extremism on Friday (Oct 2). The region has become a hotspot for recruitment of Islamic militant groups, especially the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which has threatened to widen its attacks beyond the Middle East. The meeting comes a week after three suspected terrorists were arrested following alerts of a possible attack in Kuala Lumpur.

New attempts to restart Ukraine peace process

French, German, Russian and Ukrainian leaders will meet in Paris on Friday (Oct 2) to try to rekindle Ukraine's peace process. While a ceasefire has largely held between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels since the start of September, there has not been a lasting political solution. The brokering of peace will top the agenda today, along with ensuring access to international observers to rebel zones and the removal of heavy weapons from the front line.

Release of US employment report

The United States Bureau of Labour Statistics will release today its non-farm payrolls or employment report, which will determine the health of the nation's job sector. Last month, the economy added 173,000 jobs, well below market expectations. The bureau is also set to release the unemployment rate, which measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force.