The Japanese yen fell to its weakest level against the Singapore dollar on Jun. 30, 2026.

It slid to 125.49 yen per S$1 before paring some losses.

It was trading at 125.31 yen at 10:48am Singapore time.

The Japanese currency is down about 2.9 per cent against the Singapore currency to date in 2026.

The Singapore dollar has strengthened by more than 52 per cent against the yen in the last five years.

In July 2021, S$1 was equivalent to 81 yen.

Japanese authorities could intervene

The yen is also the weakest against the U.S. dollar since 1986, as it extended its decline to 162.33 as at 10:55am in Tokyo on Jun. 30.

The Japanese government is expected to call for monetary management, Bloomberg reported.

The authorities there have entered the market several times to defend the currency, which started on Apr. 30, 2026.

Analysts differ on the reasons for the yen’s long decline, and if or how it can be halted, it was also reported.

The last time the yen traded at this level against the U.S. dollar was when Japan was experiencing a massive and years-long rally in the 1980s.

A currency accord engineered by the U.S. ensued, which led to a lost generation for the economy.

However, the current currency weakness is boosting the profits of exporters, and in turn helping the nation’s stock market to record highs.

In other words, even as the yen is sliding, Japan is on its way out of an economic funk that lasted for a generation.

On the other hand, import costs are swelling and hurting consumers.

Most notably, oil and gas shipments priced in U.S. dollars is increasing inflation and threatening to undermine the popularity of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government.

Paul Bakery at Paragon has temporarily closed after the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) suspended its licence for two weeks.

The French bakery had reportedly accumulated 12 demerit points within 12 months, "for failing to keep the licensed premises free of cockroach infestation", according to the agency.

Its suspension will last from Jun. 23 to Jul. 6.

A member of the public, who reached out to Mothership, said they had observed the outlet's closure since mid-last week.

They had heard of the SFA suspension "through circulation", the person said.

Licence suspended: SFA

SFA said that based on track records, a licensee who accumulates 12 or more demerit points during a 12-month period may have their licence suspended for either two or four weeks, or cancelled.

The licensee must then rectify all lapses and take necessary measures to improve the food safety practices and cleanliness of its premises.

All food handlers working in the affected premises will be required to re-attend and pass the WSQ Food Safety Course Level 1 before they can resume their work.

All food hygiene officers working in the suspended premises, if any, must also re-attend and pass the WSQ Food Safety Course Level 3.

"Food safety is a joint responsibility. While SFA puts in place and enforces the regulatory measures, food operators must play their part by adhering to good food hygiene and preparation practices...

Members of the public who have concerns about food safety practices by food operators should report to SFA via the online feedback form."

A man arrested on suspicion of slashing a woman in Bangkok on Jun. 27 claimed that he did so because he disliked overweight people.

This confession was shared by the police, according to Khaosod.

The man, a homeless 30-year-old identified as Etsana, attacked the woman with a 23cm-long box cutter, Bangkok Post reported.

He was taken into custody and charged with causing bodily harm.

The attack

The victim, a Vietnamese woman, was walking on a sidewalk around 11:30am that day when Etsana slashed her, according to The Thaiger.

He fled the scene afterwards, and the store manager of a nearby convenience store called the police.

The woman was injured and received treatment at a hospital, then went to a local police station to identify her attacker.

Police officers tracked Etsana down using CCTV footage in the area, arrested him, and seized the box cutter as evidence.

Motive

When questioned by the police, Etsana allegedly admitted to the attack.

He explained that he slashed the woman because he "does not like overweight people", as reported by Thai media.

According to The Thaiger, he claimed he did not want anyone else to be overweight and wanted to be "the only one".

He reportedly weighed 120kg.

He also allegedly told the police that seeing an overweight woman walk past him made him angry, and that prompted him to attack her.

According to some residents in the area, he had attacked other overweight women before this incident.

Japanese actor Nijiro Murakami is under investigation for allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend.

According to reports, the incidents apparently occurred between March and May 2024 at the couple’s home in Shibuya, Tokyo in Japan.

Assault

The 29-year-old allegedly assaulted his ex-girlfriend, who lived with him, on four occasions.

Murakami had apparently grabbed her by her hair and slammed her head against a window.

He also purportedly punched her in the face.

The woman reportedly suffered injuries that took more than a month to heal.

She later lodged a complaint with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police in early 2026.

Her identity has not been disclosed.

Questioning

Murakami apparently underwent voluntary questioning.

“There’s no doubt that I injured her," he reportedly admitted.

Local police referred the case to prosecutors on suspicion of assault, who will decide whether formal charges should be brought against the actor.

Response

The actor has responded to the allegations.

On social media, Murakimi expressed his “sincerest apologies for the considerable concern and inconvenience” he caused.

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Nijiro Murakami (@njrmrkx)

“I will address the circumstances surrounding this matter in my own words in the near future,” the post read.

Nijiro Murakami

Nijiro Murakami is a Japanese actor and voice actor.

He made his acting debut in 2014, playing the role of Kaito in "Still the Water".

He gained recognition for his role as Shuntaro Chishiya in Netflix’s survival drama, 'Alice in Borderland'.

In 2023, Murakami went on hiatus for mental and physical health issues.

He was absent from the "Tokyo Revengers 2" red carpet event and dropped out of the stage play "Evangelion Beyond".

He resumed activities in 2025, with a cameo in the Singapore-Japanese co-production "Lost and Found", and appearing in the third season of "Alice in Borderland".

There are many tricky situations we may find ourselves in that places relationships on the line at work.

One wrong move, a question worded wrongly, a follow-up question that comes across as annoying, and everything could come crumbling down.

And one of the perhaps most common scenarios is asking your colleagues to pay what you are owed – after all, this is an environment where you are expected to be professional and courteous.

How hard exactly should you chase your colleagues for money?

Money and manners maketh the relationships

Sometimes,  it simply feels more polite to pick up a meal’s or group order’s tab first when you are eating together with your colleagues.

This was something I used to do as I thought I was being a good person in the office.

But then you are stuck with the bill, left with the potentially awkward task of deciding how to split it, reaching out to each person, and sending chasers when they ultimately forget to pay you back.

Or you take charge of a group gift for a birthday party and your colleagues have promised to pay you back.

But some time has passed, and now if you start asking for money back, you seem like a cheapskate or petty fellow, especially if the colleagues whom you shared with are those you work closely with on the same team.

Pay up

And I’m tired of feeling this way.

If you keep paying first and people “forget” or take their time to pay you back, it can really add up.

By far, the biggest bane for me is organising the Grab rides for my colleagues back home after work.

While we don’t live right next to each other, sometimes we would take a Grab with multiple drop-offs for those who live nearby for convenience.

Sure, we tell ourselves it is cheaper to split the fare on Grab when you share a ride.

But when people don’t pay you right away, it leaves a pit in your stomach where you have to send the dreaded message to people to get them to pay you money.

You carefully craft the message to show you are paiseh about asking for the money back, and play it cool like it is not a big deal.

And people would still forget to pay me, despite numerous reminders.

Thankfully, Grab has now found a way to make things just that much easier for all of us who used to be the ones who always paid first.

Group Ride

While we might not be able to change people’s habits of not paying back immediately or being forgetful, at least we won’t have to ask for our money back awkwardly.

Grab has rolled out a new feature called Group Ride to save us the headache of chasing people down for the money they owe.

The fare can be split equally or proportionally among riders based on the distance and traffic of each member’s route.

Simply key in your pickup and dropoff, send an invite link to your colleagues/friends, and they can input their own postal code, and the Grab app will automatically optimise the route so you can enjoy the best fares.

Plus, the more people you share the ride with, the more savings you get to enjoy, up to two more members per ride.

There’s the base savings of up to 40 per cent you can enjoy on a Group Ride, compared to taking an individual ride, plus an additional 10 per cent when you invite one more person for the ride and 15 per cent off when you invite two.

The best part? Each passenger will be automatically charged after the ride, saving you the trouble of splitting the bill and sending follow-up messages.

Thank you, Grab.

Sincerely,

all those who paid first and felt bad for chasing our friends/colleagues for money.

This article makes the writer want to hang out with her friends more.

Top photos via Grab

A 71-year-old man was sentenced to 16 months' jail on Jun. 29 for molesting his daughter more than 20 years ago, when she was between the ages of five and seven.

The man's name cannot be revealed due to a gag order protecting the identity of his daughter.

According to a report by CNA, the man had contested two molestation charges but was convicted on both counts of outraging his daughter's modesty.

What happened

The man had been convicted in July 2025 of molesting his daughter twice between 1999 and 2001.

According to an earlier report, the first incident occurred when the victim, who was unwell, woke from a nap at home to find her father molesting her.

In the second incident, the accused molested her when she was sitting with him in the living room, even though her mother had apparently asked him to stop.

During the trial, the victim said her father had molested her an estimated 50 to 100 times.

She confided in two former boyfriends about the abuse before moving out in August 2015 after she "snapped" during a family trip, saying she found it difficult and frustrating to be around her father.

According to CNA, the victim later studied overseas before returning to Singapore, and subsequently filed a police report as an adult.

She said she had been in denial when the offences took place, and even after she came to recognise that she had been sexually abused, she considered it "an extremely shameful thing" and did not want others to find out.

The prosecution had argued that the delay in reporting should not undermine the victim's credibility.

On the other hand, the defence had urged the court to acquit his client, claiming that the victim had told her mother about the abuse in order to obtain financial support to move out.

The defence counsel also said that the victim had attributed many "unfortunate events in her life" to the alleged abuse, adding she had previously been hospitalised after suffering mental breakdowns due to academic-related stress and romantic relationships.

Sentencing

During sentencing, the judge noted that the offences involved skin-on-skin contact and that the victim was very young and was the offender's biological daughter, CNA reported.

She added that though he had no prior convictions, he had claimed trial instead of pleading guilty and was therefore not entitled to any sentencing discount.

The defence had also sought judicial mercy, citing the wheelchair-bound offender's various medical conditions, including end-stage renal failure.

However, the judge said the prisons had confirmed that inmates could be referred to public hospitals for treatment and management of medical conditions where necessary.

She added that the offender would be able to continue receiving dialysis while serving his sentence.

The judge also found that no exceptional circumstances warranted the exercise of judicial mercy.

However, she said she was prepared to give some weight to his ill health in determining the sentence.

For each molestation charge, he faced up to two years' jail, a fine, or both.

He cannot be caned because he is above 50-years-old.

The man intends to appeal against his conviction and sentence.

A 32-year-old mother of five was allegedly stabbed multiple times by two sisters and their friend along a busy Texas street in broad daylight on Jun. 25.

Local police were informed around 9pm that the victim, Caroline Peña, had died.

She is survived by her twin sister and her five children, with her eldest son being 17 and graduating from high school, the New York Post reported.

The suspects have been identified as siblings Kitty Mia Diaz, 21, and Amaya Cookie Diaz, 19, alongside their friend Kyandra Renee Faz, 21.

All three are being held on murder charges while police investigate the motive behind the attack.

What happened

The incident took place in Del Rio, a border city of about 35,000 people next to Mexico.

Surveillance footage showed Peña with a bloodied shirt facing down her three attackers outside a fast-food restaurant drive-through before the assault, according to media reports.

Peña’s close friend, Christina Salinas, later noted that she recognised Peña in a photo circulated on a community page before it was taken down, identifying her by her distinctive hair bun.

"That girl, she was a fighter. She was still standing her ground."

One of Peña's childhood friends told KENS5 that the public nature of the attack raised questions about why no one intervened.

“This wasn’t something that happened in a back alley. This happened at the corner near Sonic on one of our busiest roads in broad daylight.”

In hospital

Following the assault, Peña arrived at a nearby medical centre just after 2pm suffering from multiple stab wounds — two to her back and one to her stomach.

Salinas rushed to the hospital after hearing the news and shared that Peña was still conscious and talking before doctors sedated her, she told KENS5.

Due to the severity of her injuries, Peña had to be flown via helicopter to a specialised medical facility in San Antonio for emergency treatment.

Investigators were notified at around 9pm that same evening that she had succumbed to her injuries.

Arrests

Local police said that surveillance video, processed evidence, and eyewitness accounts led detectives to identify the three suspects.

The Diaz sisters were located and arrested at their home at around 4pm without incident, with Faz detained shortly after.

Footage captured outside the sisters' residence showed a barefoot Kitty Diaz grinning as she was led to a police cruiser.

Her younger sister, Amaya, was also seen smiling widely for the cameras while sarcastically shouting, "Stop recording!"

All three women were taken to the Del Rio Police Department for booking and processing.

Following interrogation, police confirmed that Faz was also formally charged alongside the sisters.

The trio now face murder charges and have been transferred to a correctional facility pending magistration.

According to her social media, Kitty is a mother to a four-year-old son.

Police have yet to establish a motive, and investigations remain active and ongoing.

A fire broke out in a garbage bin at Block 122A Sengkang East Way, but was successfully put out through a collective effort by members of the public.

In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the fire at about 4:45pm on Jun. 28.

No injuries were reported.

Putting out the fire

A Mothership reader who witnessed the incident said that a Grab delivery rider had been passing by when he saw smoke coming from the bin.

He pulled over immediately and ran to extinguish the flames.

Other passers-by soon stepped up to help as well, according to the reader.

Video footage shared with Mothership showed a man in a GrabFood uniform rushing towards the blaze with a bucket of water.

At least three other members of the public were also seen trying to put out the fire.

Moved by the scene, the Mothership reader described the actions as a "fearless" way Singaporeans look out for one another.

"This everyday delivery driver and the community showed us that the kampung spirit is fiercely alive," they said.

Public put it out before SCDF arrived

SCDF said that the members of the public had put out the fire using buckets of water and a fire extinguisher before they arrived at the scene.

The fire involved the discarded items in a bin on the ground floor, they said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

After setting up his stall by the road as usual, a 56-year-old beancurd hawker in Taiwan laid down to rest on a reclining chair.

He was later found dead by passers-by and the police.

According to local media reports, the incident took place on Jun. 28 in Taiwan's Changhua county.

Passers-by noticed that the man, surnamed Zhang (transliteration), was motionless in the chair.

He also did not react when called.

Alarmed, they alerted the police.

Officers and paramedics arrived at the stall and found that the man did not have any signs of life.

A cordon was set up around the stall.

Police ruled out foul play, noting that there were no signs of injuries on the man and that his valuables were still either on him or at the stall.

Nearby residents shared that Zhang had been setting up his stall at the location since before the new year.

They remembered him as a polite man who got along well with others.

Police are looking into whether Zhang's death was due to a heart condition or other acute conditions.

A strata-titled Golden Mile Tower cinema space is up for sale at a guide price of S$31 million.

The sale, which was announced by real estate services firm CBRE on Jun. 29, 2026, will be conducted via an expression of interest exercise, CNA reported.

The sale closes at 3pm on Aug. 4.

Beach Road property

Spanning about 104,991 sqft across multiple levels, the space located at 6001 Beach Road comprises four auditoriums that can seat up to 2,000 people in total, The Business Times reported.

It also includes office spaces on the third and fourth levels of Golden Mile Tower.

Carnival Cinemas is currently occupying part of the premises, according to its website,  and is currently screening Bollywood and regional films.

It is one of two cinema operators at Golden Mile Tower, the other being indie cinema Filmhouse located on the fifth floor, CNA reported.

Earlier reports stated that Filmhouse took over the space occupied by independent cinema The Projector, which shut down in August 2025 after revealing that it would enter voluntary liquidation.

'High degree of versatility'

According to EdgeProp Singapore, foreigners and corporate entities can purchase the commercial space, with no additional buyer's stamp duty imposed.

BT reported Joshua Giam, CBRE's director of capital markets for Singapore, as saying that the property gives incoming buyers a high degree of versatility.

Giam said: "Such a sizeable strata commercial space in a prime location is rarely available for sale, presenting an exceptionally unique opportunity."

He added that subject to approval, the premises could be converted into a single large auditorium, or a space for alternative uses such as an event venue, media production studio, or gym.

Located 200m from Nicoll Highway MRT Station, Golden Mile Tower is also adjacent to the upcoming Golden Mile redevelopment.