NewsLite

MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia's online safety watchdog has filed legal action against messaging app Telegram, saying the platform failed to remove extremist content including videos of white supremacist mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and the New Zealand city of Christchurch as well as Islamic State group beheadings.

The UAE-based app, which reports having one billion users worldwide, faces a fine of up to 54.6 million Australian dollars (S$49million) if convicted in the Australian Federal Court for "alleged failure to detect and remove pro-terror material", eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said Thursday.

The civil action is a test of Australia's 2021 law requiring tech platforms to work to keep illegal and pro-terrorism material off their networks.

Telegram denied the claims. "We reject these allegations and will contest them in court," a spokesperson said in a written statement sent on Telegram.

The Public Service Division (PSD) has announced that Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, who has served over four decades in public service, will retire on Sept 1.

This is among two other announcements relating to permanent secretary appointments announced on Thursday (July 30).

Prof Tan, 67, is currently Permanent Secretary of National Research and Development (NRD), and Public Sector Science and Technology and Plans Office (S&TPPO) in the Prime Minister's Office.

He graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1983 and began his medical career as a renal physician, later taking on concurrent hospital and academic roles at NUS and the National University Hospital (NUH).

George Clooney and Amal Clooney have been forced to evacuate from their home in France as wildfires continue to rage across Europe.

The couple and their nine-year-old twins, Alexander and Ella, live in Brignoles, located in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region of the country, which has been threatened by fires that are spreading across France, Spain, Italy, and Greece.

In a letter to the mayor of Brignoles, Didier Bremond, the 65-year-old Oscar-winning actor confirmed that he, the 48-year-old human rights lawyer, and their children have evacuated from their home, and vowed to support their town regardless of the impact from the wildfires.

According to People, George penned: "Dear Didier, At this point we have no idea whether our beautiful home makes it through this terrible moment," the letter began.

Michael J Fox is set to receive one of television's most prestigious humanitarian honours at the 78th Emmy Awards where he will be the recipient of the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.

The Television Academy has announced Michael will receive the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award during the primetime Emmy ceremony, which will air on Sept 14.

The award will recognise his "transformative contributions to Parkinson's disease research and advocacy" through his work with The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, which he founded in 2000 after publicly revealing his diagnosis with young-onset Parkinson's disease in 1998.

Television Academy chair Cris Abrego praised the Back to the Future star's impact both on and off screen.

A former Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) captain was sentenced to 21 months and two weeks in jail for cheating almost $87,000 from five colleagues and vaping.

Benjamin Song Yong Pang was also fined $6,000. The 38-year-old pleaded guilty to five counts of cheating and four vape-related charges on Wednesday (July 29), including the possession of vaping devices.

Song began using e-vaporisers in late 2021 and openly vaped in his office at Nee Soon Camp, reported The Straits Times.

Investigations found that his conduct normalised vaping among his subordinates. He even introduced vaping to a female colleague by giving her a vaping device and supplying vape pods to her.

SINGAPORE — Sheng Siong may review its prices and product range to retain shoppers ahead of the opening of the cross-border rail link with Johor Bahru in January 2027, which could intensify competition in Singapore’s grocery sector.

“The retail grocery industry remains competitive, and with the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link set to open in 2027, we stand ready to adapt our pricing, promotions and product mix as necessary to remain competitive,” Sheng Siong chief executive Lim Hock Chee said on July 29.

The RTS Link may intensify price competition, particularly for selected packaged groceries and household products, Sheng Siong said as it announced its financial results for the first half of 2026, filed with the local exchange after markets closed.

It said the actual impact on the supermarket chain will depend on factors such as fares, travel time, exchange rates, relative pricing, and consumer behaviour after operations commence.

On our radar is Michelin-approved carbonara, an exclusive Peach Oolong-flavoured gelato, personalised skincare consultations, and all-new beauty boutiques. Shoppers and foodies, rejoice, because Tampines Mall just got a major upgrade!

From dining favorites like Casa Vostra and Yeah Gelato to beauty and wellness retailers like Judydoll, L'Occitane, Elemis, and Shiseido, you'll find yourself in a haven of exclusive experiences when you head for Tampines Mall next.

Here are the newest openings, plus East-side-only exclusives to look out for.

You may have already dined at Casa Vostra's immensely popular outlets in Singapore, but the Tampines Mall outlet is the first and only one in the East. Plus, it's worth visiting for a bite, as this outlet has Tampines Mall-exclusive dishes you won't find anywhere else. This includes the Frittatina alla Scamorza ($11), a decadent ball of deep fried scamorza cheese, smokey Margherita Affumicata ($19), spicy Prosciutto e Nduja ($24) pizza, Italian Coast-inspired Agnolotti al Branzino e Gamberi ($27) pasta, and the giant egg yolk, ricotta and spinach-stuffed Raviolone ($23).

SEOUL — South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics on Thursday (July 30) reported a record operating profit of 89.5 trillion won (S$80 billion) for the April-June period, a day after crosstown rival SK Hynix also reported record earnings, as the world's two largest memory chipmakers continue to ride the global artificial intelligence boom.

Despite their soaring profits, the companies' shares have fallen sharply this week in South Korea's volatile stock market, where retail investors often drive sharp swings in share prices, as concerns grow over their plans to spend massively on increasing manufacturing capacity and the prospects of intensifying competition from China.

Samsung's second-quarter operating profit was a more than 19-fold increase from a year earlier, and nearly all of it came from its semiconductor business, which benefited from rising chip prices driven by demand for AI servers and increased shipments of advanced high-bandwidth memory chips used to power AI applications.

That outweighed an operating loss in its mobile, TV and home appliances division, partly due to higher component costs.

Jared Leto has slammed the "absolutely and categorically false" sexual assault claims levelled against him by multiple women in his first statement since news of the allegations went public.

The 54-year-old actor is the subject of a new BBC documentary, Jared Leto: Hollywood's Dark Secret, in which four women accuse him of criminal sexual conduct and allege the offences took place when they were teenagers.

Jared hadn't responded to multiple attempts to contact him for the BBC programme, but has now issued a statement to People in which he made his stance clear.

He said: "I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life. These claims are absolutely and categorically false."

TOKYO — Sony is set to be a major beneficiary of the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI but the highly anticipated game is landing as the PlayStation maker grapples with rising prices of memory chips.

The Japanese entertainment conglomerate, widely seen as the winner of the high-end console wars as Microsoft's Xbox business retrenches, has a long history with Take-Two Interactive Software, which will launch its delayed GTA VI on November 19.

"GTA VI will be console only and the vast majority of new users will choose a PlayStation 5," said Serkan Toto, founder of Kantan Games consultancy.

Sony launched the PS5 in 2020 and weathered Covid-19 pandemic supply chain disruption. More recently, it has been buffeted by AI investment-driven memory price rises and has repeatedly raised prices for its consoles.