Author: viking

India’s ambition to establish itself as a premier global education hub is gathering pace, with top institutions from the United Kingdom and Australia launching campuses under a government policy to internationalise the country’s higher education system.
However, analysts caution that the benefits of educational improvements may not be evenly distributed, as most progress will likely be concentrated in major cities. They also indicate that collaborating with foreign universities is unlikely to…

The First Fools: B-Sides of Lee Kuan Yew’s A-Team is a new anthology about Singapore’s founding leaders. In this excerpt, author Aaron Low spotlights Goh Keng Swee – widely remembered as Singapore’s first finance minister and economic architect – whose lesser-known role as one of the country’s most influential businessmen saw him create a network of state-linked firms that helped define Brand Singapore.
Entrepreneurs start businesses for many reasons. Some do it because of the firm belief that…

For days, the piercing whistle of Cambodian rockets sent 69-year-old Kantapong Prakaew scrambling for cover in his makeshift bunker – a frail fortification against the conflict in Thailand’s Surin province.
He is one of the few elderly residents who refused to flee, holding out as artillery fire ravaged the fields and wrecked the livelihoods of a long underdeveloped region.
Across the borderlands, the recent flare-up of violence between Thailand and Cambodia has claimed dozens of lives and…

Chinese authorities have tightened oversight of imported Vietnamese durians this year after finding “excessive levels” of two potentially harmful substances in the popular, high-value fruit.
The General Administration of Customs of China now requires enhanced pre-export safety checks and compliance testing before shipments leave the source country, with “qualified” test reports to be attached to durians, a customs official told the Post, requesting anonymity due to internal rules.
She said the…

The enactment of new planning and development legislation in Ireland is “very significant” and could prove pivotal in tackling long-standing and urgent issues in the country’s planning system, particularly those that have hindered housing development, an expert has said.

A recent Pensions Ombudsman (PO) determination highlights the importance of planned measures on ‘targeted support’ by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which aim to fill the ‘advice gap’ for pension scheme members who find it difficult to access fully regulated advice.

Collisions and groundings of merchant vessels show no sign of waning, raising questions about the future role of human watchkeepers following a series of tragic collisions, an expert says.

A US$3.2 billion plan by Indonesia’s flag carrier to buy 50 Boeing aircraft has drawn scrutiny over whether the order is a genuine business decision or a political trade-off linked to Washington’s recent tariff cuts on Indonesian imports.
The deal was unveiled by the White House on July 22 alongside news that US President Donald Trump had agreed to reduce his so-called reciprocal tariff on Indonesian imports to the US to 19 per cent from the initial 32 per cent he imposed in April.
The joint…

Singaporean financial adviser Winnie Koh faced a dilemma when selecting her family’s next car – she appreciated the value for money offered by Chinese electric vehicle (EV) brands, but still had lingering concerns about their quality.
But the 30-year-old said her experience driving a Tesla in the US raised doubts about the brand’s battery life and durability, leading her to consider Chinese rival BYD, which was offering incentives such as a 20 per cent discount on charging for three years and…

A recent ruling by the UK Supreme Court has clarified that a cumulative or holistic approach should be applied to the public interest test relating to qualified exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), dismissing an appeal by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).