•Lawrence Wong / BBC

Singapore’s government says it will raise the annual salaries of its ministers and other office holders, including its prime minister who is the highest paid political leader in the world.

Lawrence Wong will see an increase of 1.4 million Singapore dollars ($1.1m; £818,000) in his annual pay package. He has said he will donate this pay increase to charity over the next five years.

Wong said that raising the pay of ministers was necessary to attract better talent.

The government has previously argued that paying ministers high salaries deters corruption.

But the move has attracted criticism in Singapore where there is deep concern about job security and the rising cost of living.

Even before his pay raise kicks in, Wong is still by far the highest paid world leader.

He currently receives an annual salary of S$2.2m and will now see his pay go up by more than 60% to S$3.6m ($2.8m).

Next is Hong Kong chief executive John Lee, who earns about $719,000, followed by Switzerland’s president Guy Parmelin with $606,000.

US president Donald Trump earns $400,000 a year, while British PM Andy Burnham takes in $230,000.

On Tuesday, Wong acknowledged that Singapore ministers’ salaries have attracted scrutiny given that they were much more than what most citizens earn. The median monthly income in the country is S$5,775.

(BBC)

Burundian nationals gather outside their embassy to apply for border passes as they prepare to travel back to their country following the Kenyan government’s directive on undocumented small-scale traders, in Nairobi on September 7, 2026. Photo by SIMON MAINA / AFP.

Kenya warned foreign workers they had 90 days to regularise their status as it sought to backtrack from a panic triggered by President William Ruto’s order to close immigrant-owned small businesses.

AFP reported that as the regional powerhouse, Kenya attracts migrants from across the East African Community (EAC), whose members enjoy freedom of movement within the regional bloc.

But last week Ruto said foreigners were not allowed to be hawkers or run small shops, and gave them until Monday to cease activity.

” We have made efforts to improve the economy, we have not improved investor confidence for hawkers to come to Kenya,” Ruto said in a speech.

It was widely seen as a bid to rally support among Kenyan hawkers ahead of elections next year but it sparked fear among many foreigners, particularly Burundians who make a living through street vending in Nairobi.

On Monday, hundreds of Burundians flocked to their embassy, seeking a return home, amid fears Kenya could see the sort of xenophobic violence experienced in South Africa in recent months.

The government has now backtracked, saying it only wanted to ensure no one was illegally operating a business.

Work permits are free for citizens of EAC countries but many have not gone through the registration process.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the president’s office said it “will conduct an orderly regularisation exercise” over the next 90 days to ensure migrants have the correct work permits and licences.

At the end of the 90-day period, immigration rules “will be enforced firmly and strictly in accordance with the law”, it warned.

Burundi, a country of about 15 million people and one of the world’s poorest, is part of the EAC alongside Kenya. There have been reports some Burundians were attacked following Ruto’s order.

Video footage from Miami shows an Amazon Air cargo plane overshoot the runway while attempting to land at the city’s international airport, killing five people and seriously injuring five more.

The Boeing 767-300 cargo aircraft crashed just before 14:00 local time (19:00 GMT) after departing from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The flight also hit several vehicles on the ground.

BBC