Asean News Headlines at 10pm on Sunday (July 27, 2025)
* Judge the govt on facts, not political sentiment, Anwar urges Malaysians
* Anwar defends petrol price reduction for Malaysians / Discourse fuels the country's progress, says Anwar
* Security personnel discharged duties professionally during rally, says Saifuddin
* RM10mil allocated for people-centric programmes in Muar, says Anwar
* Cops question trio over RM1.8mil burglary at Dr M's grandchild's house
* EAIC detects irregularities in issuance of medical visas
* Government aims to reduce national debt, says Anwar
* New Malaysian ambassador reaffirms ties with US
* Let the Health DG handle Penang doctor molest case, says Health Minister
* Two more officers detained over 'flying passport' scheme at CIQ Complex
* Mentri Besar urges Federal Government to test Johor's financial management
* Protests in KL are welcomed as it's good for local economy, say Nga
* Taxi drivers to undergo language, etiquette training ahead of Visit Malaysia 2026
* AI can unlock over US$113bil in productivity gains for Malaysia, says Gobind
* Over RM6mil collected from transport companies with outstanding summonses, says JPJ
* Sabah polls: GRS and Pakatan to continue electoral pact / GRS partners surprised over Hajiji's GRS-PH pact announcement
Volunteers from the Ecological Observation and Wetlands Conservation (ECOTON) collect plastic waste from a mangrove swamp in Surabaya during the World Mangrove Day. -- Photo by Juni KRISWANTO / AFP
Singapore:
* Singapore only car washes will get business licences revoked, says Johor govt
* Singapore skies may sparkle with two meteor showers in coming weeks
* Tanjong Katong Road South in Singapore closed for repairs after car fell into sinkhole
* Singaporean trainee doctor in Melbourne arrested for allegedly filming colleagues in toilets since 2021
* New Singapore advisory cautions against use of electronic shock collars, prong collars on dogs
* Workers used nylon rope to rescue driver of car that fell into Tanjong Katong Road sinkhole in Singapore
* Singapore photographer Lui Hock Seng, who had his first solo exhibition at 81, dies at 88
* Mum at 15: More teens in Singapore gave birth in 2024
Indonesia:
* Indonesia's first high-speed railway is now transforming inbound travel and driving economic growth
* Anwar to visit Indonesia for 13th Annual Consultation with Prabowo
* Indonesia rushing to complete trade deals with Europe, Canada as a hedge against looming US tariff
* Indonesian Govt to scrap rice quality classification to curb illegal blending
* Asean to establish AI safety initiative
* Violence haunts Indonesian children as state fails to provide care
Farmer and village co-leader Keng Pitonam tows grass to feed his cows days after refusing to evacuate from his village despite it being designated a red zone for artillery strikes due to ongoing clashes between Thailand and Cambodia, in the Thai border province of Surin on Sunday, July 27, 2025. Thailand and Cambodia clashed for a fourth day on July 27, despite both sides saying they were ready to discuss a ceasefire after a late-night intervention by US President Donald Trump. -- Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP
Thailand:
* Thailand, Cambodia agree to Malaysia as mediator, talks in KL on July 28
* Thai man mourns wife and children killed in shelling near Cambodia border
* South Korea raises travel alert on Cambodia-Thailand border clashes
* Thai-Cambodia border shelling continues despite Trump's ceasefire call
* Royal Thai Army reports Cambodian shelling outside military zones, vows to respond to threats
* Thailand, Cambodia weigh peace talks after Trump's tariff threat
* UN chief voices concern over Thai–Cambodian border clashes, urges immediate ceasefire
* Trump says Thailand, Cambodia agree to hold immediate ceasefire talks
* 'We are neighbours': fleeing Thais and Cambodians call for peace
Philippines:
* Philippine troops kill seven communist rebels in yet another flare-up of decades-long insurgency
* Monsoon, storms affect nearly 400,000 in south-eastern Luzon in the Philippines
* Philippine troops kill seven communist rebels in 'final push' in Masbate province
* One year after ban, offshore gaming shadow still looms in the Philippines
* Bid to impeach Sara voided by Philippines Supreme Court
* Cyclones death toll in the Philippines surges to 30, seven others missing
Protesters hold an indignation rally a day after the Supreme Court ruled the impeachment complaint against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte unconstitutional, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. -- Photo: REUTERS/Lisa Marie David
Vietnam:
* Defending champions Vietnam to face host Indonesia in Asean U-23 football final
* Vietnam's passport ranking rises to 84th in the world, unlocking new opportunities for global travel and integration
* Criminal case opened after Vietnam's Ha Tinh bus crash kills 10, injures 15
* Bodies of all victims recovered in boat capsizing incident in Vietnam
* Heavy flooding leaves two dead and another two people missing in North Vietnam
Myanmar:
* Myanmar to strengthen digital economy with 2030 roadmap
* Fourteen out of 17 Myanmar prisoners pass university entrance exam with honours
* Human control in AI race
* US drops sanctions on junta allies after general lauds Trump
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, left, and Williams driver Alexander Albon of Thailand during the drivers parade prior to the Formula One Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack in Spa, Belgium, Sunday, July 27, 2025. -- AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert
Cambodia:
* Thailand, Cambodia clash despite ceasefire hopes
* Cambodia-Thailand conflict: Monks, dancers and volunteers offer respite as violence escalates
* Cambodia facing displacement crisis amid border conflict: Think-tank
* Cambodian Culture ministry condemn continued Thai attacks on Preah Vihear Temple
* Thailand-Cambodia clash: Border conflict bloodier than before
Laos:
* Laos urges vigilance as dengue risk rises amid persistent rainfall
* Lao capital cracks down on illegal awnings, signs
* 'Smart Customs' introduced to facilitate cross-border trade at Laos port
Brunei:
* Brunei and EU seek stronger trade and policy ties
* Brunei's total trade hits BND1.8B in May
* Banquet marks royal birthday in Brunei
Gold medallists in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay swimming event Australia's swimmer Flynn Southam, Australia's swimmer Kai Taylor, Australia's swimmer Maximillian Giuliani and Australia's swimmer Kyle Chalmers, and gold medallists in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay swimming event Australia's swimmer Mollie O'Callaghan, Australia's swimmer Meg Harris, Australia's swimmer Olivia Wunsch, and Australia's swimmer Milla Jansen pose for a photo together during an awards ceremony at 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Sunday, July 27, 2025. (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP)
AseanPlus:
* Uni student from China found dead in Sepang hostel
* Asean's new dawn: Malaysia and the rise of Timor-Leste
* UN aid chief welcomes 'humanitarian pauses' in Gaza
* Anna Jobling, Malaysia's favourite next-door sweetheart, is back to tweak the hearts in 'Setia itu Mahal'
* Chinese widow, 23, vows not to remarry, triggers mixed reaction, loyalty discourse
* Preservation work begins on 1,800-year-old tombs in northern Mongolia
* Hong Kong sees 12% YoY growth in tourist arrivals for first half of 2025
* Japan PM Ishiba signals intent to stay on despite calls to quit
* 23 Hong Kong kindergartens plan to close by the end of school year
* Father in South Korea dies after saving three children from drowning
* UK made 'Armageddon scenario' plan for mass Hong Kong exodus in handover run-up
* Could China's Tibet mega dam help boost its sway with South Asian neighbours?
* 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' review: Fresh, fun, and free from the MCU's shadow
* China, EU need to make the right choice as 'two big guys' on world stage, says Xi Jinping
* New Zealand farmers battle pine forests to 'save our sheep'
* Three drones detected in Japan nuclear plant
* Rain in northern China kills two, forces thousands to relocate
* Taiwan move to recall opposition lawmakers fails
* At least 11 deaths linked to scorching heatwave in South Korea
* At 70, Godzilla keeps on smashing expectations and buildings.
* India seeks to take over island in strategically located Lakshadweep to shore up defence
* Jeju Air jet still had a working engine when it crashed, investigation update says
* Crowd surge at Hindu temple in northern India leaves at least six people dead
* Final minutes of Jeju Air flight before South Korea's deadliest air disaster
* More jobless college grads than middle school grads in South Korea for the first time
* Indian tech company TCS to cut workforce by 2%, affecting more than 12,000 jobs
* Australia's PM says easing of curbs on US beef not prompted by Trump
* China and Russia relaunch maritime research missions, eyeing Arctic ambitions
* Indian-origin man attacked with machete in Australia; hand reattached after near amputation
* Open-air jet repair exposes Kathmandu airport's limitations
* Bangladesh government aide pushes 5G project amid graft probe
* Hundreds killed and injured in monsoon-related incidents across Pakistan in past month
* Confusion over Kelantan team's rebranding draws FIFA's attention
* Badminton: China make world ambition clear with four home titles in all-local finals / Aaron-Wooi Yik China Open hopes dashed in final
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
26 minutes ago
- The Star
Is AI causing tech worker layoffs? That's what CEOs suggest, but the reality is complicated
If you read the typical 2025 mass layoff notice from a tech industry CEO, you might think that artificial intelligence cost workers their jobs. The reality is more complicated, with companies trying to signal to Wall Street that they're making themselves more efficient as they prepare for broader changes wrought by AI. A new report Wednesday from career website Indeed says tech job postings in July were down 36% from their early 2020 levels, with AI one but not the most obvious factor in stalling a rebound. ChatGPT's debut in late 2022 also corresponded with the end of a pandemic-era hiring binge, making it hard to isolate AI's role in the hiring doldrums that followed. "We're kind of in this period where the tech job market is weak, but other areas of the job market have also cooled at a similar pace,' said Brendon Bernard, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab. "Tech job postings have actually evolved pretty similarly to the rest of the economy, including relative to job postings where there really isn't that much exposure to AI.' The template for tech CEO layoff notices in 2025 includes an AI pivot That nuance is not always clear from the last six months of tech layoff emails, which often include a nod to AI in addition to expressions of sympathy. When he announced mass layoffs earlier this year, Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach invited employees to consider the bigger picture: "Companies everywhere are reimagining how work gets done, and the increasing demand for AI has the potential to drive a new era of growth for Workday." Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost explained that a need to shift resources to "accelerate investments' in AI was one of the reasons the company had to cut 1,350, or about 9%, of workers. The "Why We're Doing This' section of CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz's announcement of 5% job cuts said the cybersecurity company needed to double down on AI investments to "accelerate execution and efficiency.' "AI flattens our hiring curve, and helps us innovate from idea to product faster,' Kurtz wrote. It's not just U.S. companies. In India, tech giant Tata Consultancy Services recently characterised its 12,000 layoffs, or 2% of its workforce, as part of a shift to a "Future-Ready organisation' that would be realigning its workforce and "deploying AI at scale for our clients and ourselves.' Even the Japanese parent company of Indeed and Glassdoor has cited an AI shift in its notice of 1,300 layoffs at the job search and workplace review sites. AI spending, not replacement, is a more common factor Microsoft, which is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday, has announced layoffs of about 15,000 workers this year even as its profits have soared. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told employees last week the layoffs were "weighing heavily' on him but also positioned them as an opportunity to reimagine the company's mission for an AI era. Promises of a leaner approach have been welcomed on Wall Street, especially from tech giants that are trying to justify huge amounts of capital spending to pay for the data centres, chips and other components required to power AI technology. "It's this sort of double-edged sword restructuring that I think a lot of tech giants are encountering in this age of AI, where they have to find the right balance between maintaining an appropriate headcount, but also allowing artificial intelligence to come to the forefront,' said Bryan Hayes, a strategist at Zacks Investment Research. Google said last week it would raise its budget for capital expenditures by an additional US$10bil (RM42.5bil) to US$85bil (RM361.5bil). Microsoft is expected to outline similar guidance soon. The role of AI in job replacement is hard to track One thing is clear to Hayes: Microsoft's job cuts improve its profit margin outlook for the 2026 fiscal year that started in July. But what these broader tech industry layoffs mean for the employment prospects of tech workers can be harder to gauge. "Will AI replace some of these jobs? Absolutely,' said Hayes. "But it's also going to create a lot of jobs. Employees that are able to leverage artificial intelligence and help the companies innovate, and create new products and services, are going to be the ones that are in high demand.' He pointed to Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, which is on a spree of offering lucrative packages to recruit elite AI scientists from competitors such as OpenAI. The reports published by Indeed on Wednesday show that AI specialists are faring better than standard software engineers, but even those jobs are not where they have been. "Machine-learning engineers - which is kind of the canonical AI job - those job postings are still noticeably above where they were pre-pandemic, though they've actually come down compared to their 2022 peak,' said Bernard, the Indeed economist. "They've also been impacted by the cyclical ups and downs of the sector.' Economists are watching for AI's effects on entry-level tech jobs Tech hiring has particularly plunged in AI hubs such as the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as Boston and Seattle, according to Indeed. But in looking more closely at which tech workers were least likely to get hired, Indeed found the deepest impact on entry-level jobs in the tech industry, with those with at least five years of experience faring better. The hiring declines were sharpest in entry-level tech industry jobs that involve marketing, administrative assistance and human resources, which all involve tasks that overlap with the strength of the latest generative AI tools that can help create documents and images. "The plunge in tech hiring started before the new AI age, but the shifting experience requirements is something that happened a bit more recently,' Bernard said. Microsoft, which is staking its future on AI in the workplace, has also had its own researchers look into the jobs most vulnerable to the current strengths of AI technology. At the top of the list are knowledge work jobs such as language interpreters or translators, as well as historians, passenger attendants, sales representatives, writers and customer service representatives, according to Microsoft's working paper. On the other end, leading in work more immune to AI changes were phlebotomists, or healthcare workers who draw blood, followed by nursing assistants, workers who remove hazardous materials, painters and embalmers. – AP
The Star
26 minutes ago
- The Star
Vietnam, Malaysia Prime Ministers discuss regional and bilateral issues in phone call
FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim receives a courtesy call from Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Rio De Janeiro on July 7, 2025. - Bernama --fotoBERNAMA (2025) COPYRIGHT RESERVED HANOI: Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim held a phone conversation on Wednesday to discuss regional developments and bilateral cooperation, according to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA). During the conversation, Anwar briefed the Vietnamese leader on Malaysia's initiatives as Asean Chair to address escalating tensions along the Cambodia-Thailand border. He emphasised Malaysia's commitment to promoting dialogue and ensuring solidarity and unity in handling the issue. Anwar called on Cambodia and Thailand to exercise restraint, refrain from the use of force, and resolve differences peacefully and satisfactorily in accordance with international law, the UN Charter, the Asean Charter, and the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in South-East Asia. Chinh, for his part, expressed appreciation for the frequent exchanges between the two leaders on matters of mutual concern, stating they reflected the growing political trust between Vietnam and Malaysia, which exemplifies the spirit of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. He hailed the efforts by Anwar, as well as Malaysia, the Asean Chair this year, in promoting the settlement of the Cambodia-Thailand border tensions. He specifically highlighted the July 28 meeting organised between the Cambodian Prime Minister and the Acting Thai Prime Minister, which led to a ceasefire agreement-the first positive step towards controlling the escalation of conflict between the two countries. Vietnam always supports and stands ready to join Asean's efforts and work closely with Malaysia in addressing regional issues while upholding the bloc's solidarity, he said, highlighting that Vietnam is prepared to send representatives to Asean-led mechanisms to ensure the implementation of the ceasefire and to provide humanitarian assistance to affected people in both countries. Regarding bilateral cooperation, the two Prime Ministers agreed to continue exchanges aimed at strengthening trust and implementing measures to deepen their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Priority areas include enhanced collaboration in innovation, science and technology, and energy sectors, with particular focus on power transmission projects connecting Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore to form the Asean power grid. The leaders also discussed expediting the signing of a rice trade agreement, enabling Vietnam to support Malaysia in ensuring food security. The two Prime Ministers exchanged their views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, such as trade and tariff policies, highlighting their commitments to peace, stability and prosperity for their nations, the region and the world. - Bernama
New Straits Times
26 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Taiwan says reached 'a certain consensus' with US on tariffs
TAIPEI: Taiwan has reached "a certain consensus" with the United States on tariffs, a Taipei government official said Thursday, but did not provide details on the agreed levy. US President Donald Trump has given Washington's trade partners until August 1 to reach an agreement with the White House or be hit with his threatened levies. Taiwan faces a 32 per cent tax and possible duties on semiconductor chips, which are a key driver of the democratic island's economy. "We reached a certain consensus on issues including tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, as well as supply chain resilience and economic security," cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee said. Lee added that Taipei was "still waiting for the US government's decision-making process to conclude." "Both sides have also conducted negotiations on a joint statement," she said. "We will report to the public once we have an update." Several economies – the European Union, Britain, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines – have struck initial tariff deals with Washington, while China managed to temporarily lower tit-for-tat duties. "Our negotiators are literally working around the clock to strive to reach an agreement on reciprocal tariffs," Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim told journalists recently. Hsiao said Taipei wanted a trade deal with Washington that "will benefit both sides." "The United States is indeed a very important trade partner for Taiwan," Hsiao said. Washington also "needs Taiwan in supporting resilient supply chains, in supporting manufacturing and some high-end technologies." Trump in April imposed a 10 percent tariff on almost all US trading partners, while announcing plans to eventually hike this level for dozens of countries. But days before the steeper duties were due to take effect on July 9, he pushed the deadline back to August 1. Lee said Taiwanese officials were "continuing negotiations with the US side in Washington." Taiwan is a global powerhouse in chip manufacturing and Trump has previously accused the island of stealing the US semiconductor industry. Soaring demand for AI-related chips in recent years has fuelled Taiwan's trade surplus with the United States – and put it in the cross-hairs of Trump's global tariff war. Around 60 per cent of Taiwan's exports to the United States are information and communications technology, which includes chips. To avoid Trump's punitive tariffs, Taipei has pledged to increase investment in the United States, buy more of its energy and increase its own defence spending.
