Must-reads

With lines between the workplace and home getting blurred amid the pandemic, employers have been advised to address the mental health needs of their workers who are under more stress and facing a higher risk of burnout. An advisory called on firms to recognise the need for their staff to have adequate rest outside work hours.

Technology has been central to Singapore's Covid-19 response, and more broadly to the Government's work, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday during the Singapore Tech Forum. He added that biomedical science has been key to understanding genomes and disease patterns, and developing tests and treatments.

Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said yesterday that Japan and Australia had reached a broad agreement on their defence pact to facilitate more joint operations and exercises on each other's soil. The pact was announced during a news conference with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is visiting Tokyo.

Fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (above) has claimed that millions of dollars misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) were just "loans" to him, according to recordings released by Al Jazeera. In the recordings, Low also blamed former prime minister Najib Razak for the fund's downfall.

China's next development plan is a response to external and internal challenges that also carries an ambition to double the size of its economy in 15 years. To attain that goal, it has to make critical choices, not least how much latitude to give market forces in the economy, says global affairs correspondent Goh Sui Noi.

Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (Nodx) shrank last month, snapping four straight months of growth, owing to fewer shipments of non-monetary gold and electronics. Nodx fell 3.1 per cent after expanding a revised 5.8 per cent in September, according to data from Enterprise Singapore.