Author: viking

While biometric technologies can offer operational and security benefits, sports clubs and sporting venue operators need to be able to justify why they are necessary, demonstrate that they are proportionate, and ensure appropriate safeguards are in place given the sensitivity of the data involved, experts have said.

Asian economies heavily dependent on imported energy are facing an even sharper squeeze after the shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline removed a key escape route from the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, deepening an energy shock that has already pushed crude oil above US$100 a barrel.
Analysts said the loss of that bypass would hit Asian refiners first before feeding through to inflation, currencies and economic growth across the region.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil…

Singapore Airlines was awarded the title of world’s best airline in the annual rankings by Skytrax, taking the top spot from Qatar Airways in a year that saw Middle Eastern carriers come under significant pressure from the ongoing war in Iran.
The award, which is based on a survey of almost 25 million travellers, was announced in London on Friday, with a list dominated by Asian carriers. Only one European airline – Air France-KLM – made the top 10, and not a single US company, despite their…

As investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure accelerates, lenders are beginning to ask whether access to computing power could emerge as a financeable asset class in its own right

The Himalayan disaster that tore through the China-Nepal border last month was a human calamity before it became a media story. A torrent of ice, rock, mud and debris swept through valleys, destroying key infrastructure, severing roads and communications, and leaving families desperate for news.
In Gyirong county in the Tibet autonomous region, the disaster hit a major border crossing and created a rescue environment as physically difficult as any imaginable. The human toll extends beyond the…

A Malaysian woman has died while scuba diving after she was caught in strong currents in Bali, Indonesia.
According to local media portal Bali News, the victim, Siti Nuraini Rusidi, 40, was on a diving trip with a divemaster, boat captain and several other divers when the incident occurred at 11.10am local time on Wednesday.
The trip’s divemaster, Eugenius Franciso Ray, 33, had reportedly raised concerns over her health when he noticed her coughing when the group was at the first dive site at…

Struggling to breathe through the acrid haze emanating from wildfires on Indonesia’s Borneo Island, residents said on Wednesday they feared for their health but had little to do but wait out the foul-smelling hazard.
Indonesia, which shares Borneo with Malaysia and Brunei, is grappling with forest fires that have ravaged swathes of the island, partly caused by the El Nino climate phenomenon that has also affected other countries in Southeast Asia and beyond.
In Pontianak, the capital of West…

A recent ruling by the Upper Tribunal affirms the UK financial services industry’s zero-tolerance approach to non-financial misconduct, an expert has said.

Efforts to reduce the EU’s dependency on others for economic, military, and energy security will be reflected in new policy businesses can expect to see in the year ahead.

Malaysia will formally invite Myanmar leader Minh Aung Hlaing to visit Kuala Lumpur to discuss efforts to repatriate nearly 200,000 refugees from the war-torn nation that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says have placed a heavy social and economic burden on his country.
Refugees from Myanmar, particularly ethnic Rohingya, have faced worsening hostility in recent months in Malaysia, where they are accused of causing social problems and taking over small local businesses in areas where they have set…