TOPIC

National University of Singapore (NUS)

National University of Singapore (NUS): A prominent Singapore-based public research university, NUS is dedicated to providing world-class education and high-impact research with a focus on Asian perspectives. Headquartered in Singapore across three main campuses, it offers diverse undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in fields like engineering, medicine, law, and business. NUS is renowned for its significant contributions to research in areas such as Smart Nation initiatives, biomedical science, and sustainability. Consistently ranked among the top global universities, NUS is recognised for nurturing leaders and driving societal impact through its commitment to innovation and enterprise.

Seeram Ramakrishna’s research has focused on areas such as medical technology and wearable devices. Photo: Handout

Science

Top Singaporean scientist Seeram Ramakrishna joins China’s Tsinghua University

The ‘father of electrospinning’, who taught for almost 30 years in the city state, will continue his research in Beijing.

27 Mar 2026 - 7:00PMvideocam

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s refusal to host US warplanes before Iran war risks trade backlash

25 Mar 2026 - 5:31PMvideocam

China trade

Chinese island province wants more than beachgoers as it chases economic growth

24 Mar 2026 - 9:38AMvideocam

China exports

China cuts some hi-tech metals sent to Japan – but magnet exports rise. Why?

Exports of gallium and germanium have slowed, yet rare earth magnet shipments have increased amid strained ties.

23 Mar 2026 - 7:06PMvideocam

Blocks with symbols and atomic numbers of rare earth elements in this illustration taken on February 6. Photo: Reuters

Artificial intelligence

Too hot to handle? Southeast Asia’s AI data centre gold rush strains power grids

Data centres crave cold. Southeast Asia is anything but. Now, the AI boom is pushing tropical engineering to the limit.

18 Mar 2026 - 6:06PMvideocam

Singapore

Singapore’s Lawrence Wong seeks stronger ties with Japan amid global tensions

Wong and Takaichi are expected to discuss economic stability and AI, and tread cautiously amid superpower rivalries, analysts say.

17 Mar 2026 - 11:15PM

Malaysia

Deal or no deal? Malaysia-US trade pact in turmoil after minister ‘misspeaks’

First, a minister called the deal dead. Then his ministry backtracked. Now the opposition is demanding answers.

16 Mar 2026 - 9:53PMvideocam

US President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim pictured in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last October. Photo: AP

Asean

‘We will go to war’: why #SEAblings became a Southeast Asian rallying cry

The hashtag went viral following a row over a South Korean band’s concert in Kuala Lumpur in January and protests in Indonesia last year.

5 Mar 2026 - 4:58PM

China-Middle East relations

How will China adjust Israel ties as US-led strikes on Iran reshape Middle East?

Beijing is unlikely to abandon ‘balanced diplomacy’ in the region despite killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, analysts say.

4 Mar 2026 - 12:12AMvideocam

Singapore

Singapore strives to stay non-aligned amid US-China rivalry, new conflicts

Foreign minister says the city state must assert its distinctiveness to remain relevant and will not act as a proxy for any major power.

2 Mar 2026 - 7:00PMvideocam

Singapore

As Deliveroo leaves Singapore, spotlight turns on city state’s tight market

The platform’s departure has underscored the challenge of turning a profit in a dense, tightly contested market.

26 Feb 2026 - 4:36PMvideocam

A Deliveroo rider in Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong, in 2025. The UK-founded food delivery platform has been scaling back in parts of Asia in recent years, including Hong Kong, as competition intensifies in the region. Photo: Sam Tsang

Singapore

Singapore prime minister attacked by hundreds of Chinese-language fake AI videos

The videos targeting Lawrence Wong spread false narratives about his leadership being under threat and political infighting in Singapore.

25 Feb 2026 - 9:31AMvideocam

Corruption in China

Exclusive | China widens anti-corruption net to catch ‘quasi-naked officials’

Top graft-busters quietly step up scrutiny of officials with children living overseas, with some losing promotion opportunities and jobs.

18 Feb 2026 - 10:00PMvideocam

US-China relations

How ‘policy convergence’ could pave the way for US-China cooperation on AI

Two nations could work together on areas like global governance and safety and promote local-level collaboration, according to researchers.

23 Feb 2026 - 2:57PMvideocam

China and the United States have been locked in an intense rivalry over artificial intelligence. Photo: Reuters

India

‘Structural reality’: why US tariff deal cannot sever India-Russia defence ties

While the pact demands a halt to Russian oil imports, analysts say New Delhi’s military dependence on Moscow is non-negotiable.

9 Feb 2026 - 5:51PM

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (left) speaks with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi in December 2025. Photo: AFP

China-India relations

Could India’s twin trade agreements set back its improving ties with China?

Analysts expect the deals with Washington and Brussels to give New Delhi leverage with Beijing and may even slow the thaw.

6 Feb 2026 - 4:45PMvideocam

Science

North America’s top computer vision scientist Liang Jie returns to China

Brain behind leading Microsoft tech products used by millions across the globe and sensor systems for elderly care joins Chinese university.

2 Feb 2026 - 3:28PMvideocam

Central Military Commission

Was General Zhang Youxia one of the ‘big rats’ eating China’s military budget?

A PLA Daily article links corrupt practices with damage to combat readiness – Xi Jinping’s top priority.

1 Feb 2026 - 9:14PMvideocam

Zhang Youxia was vice-chairman of China’s Central Military Commission before his downfall was announced last weekend. Photo: EPA

Singapore

A tale of two cities: Singapore, Hong Kong and their contrasting paths

Historian Wang Gungwu reflects on how political legacies have shaped Hong Kong and Singapore, two of Asia’s economic ‘tigers’.

2 Feb 2026 - 5:07PM

Hong Kong politics

Starmer stresses Hong Kong’s stability as key to stronger ties in meeting with Xi

Meeting focused on shared interests to bolster Sino‑British relations, with Jimmy Lai’s national security case also touched upon in ‘respectful’ discussions.

31 Jan 2026 - 12:07PM

Semiconductors

Beijing weighs H200 imports amid uncertainty for China tech giants

More than 400,000 H200 chips reportedly approved for ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent as China balances AI needs with tech self-reliance push.

29 Jan 2026 - 7:27PM

The first batch of Nvidia chip shipments is expected to go to China’s Big Tech companies. Photo: Shutterstock

Chinese overseas

Being Chinese | A Chinese Singaporean’s dilemma: should I change my surname?

My grandparents lost their original surnames by force of circumstance. Now that I have the luxury of choice, do I restore my family name?

24 Jan 2026 - 9:30AM

Door gods glower at Thian Hock Keng, Singapore’s oldest Hokkien temple, in 2022. Now a national monument, the temple was built and dedicated to Ma Zu, the protector of seafarers, in the 1840s, an era when long journeys could only be made by sea. Photo: Shutterstock

US-China trade war

‘Not sustainable’: China central bank adviser flags US debt risk

As concerns mount over America’s ballooning debt, one of Beijing’s economic advisers warns fiscal discipline may not be on cards.

22 Jan 2026 - 12:00PM

US-Asean relations

Foot in the door or trap? Risks of Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for Southeast Asia

Nations are likely to try to avoid early commitment while steering clear of outright rejection to minimise US retaliation, analysts say.

21 Jan 2026 - 2:30PMvideocam

Education in Hong Kong

HKU ranks seventh globally for education as East Asia ‘makes strides’

Times Higher Education releases latest annual subject rankings, with Peking University entering top 10 for computer science for first time.

21 Jan 2026 - 8:33AM

The University of Hong Kong performed the best among the city’s universities, with its education studies being the only local programme to make a top 10 ranking. Photo: Eugene Lee

Singapore

US ambassador to Singapore’s much ‘larger gifts’ call to mark July 4 rankles

In light of recent US actions, Anjani Sinha’s call could be deemed as the embassy trying to ‘shake down businesses’, an analyst says.

21 Jan 2026 - 10:54AM

Then ambassador-nominee to Singapore, Anjani Sinha, facing questions from Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth at a US Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in July. Photo: YouTube/Tammy Duckworth

China society

Outside In | We are speeding towards a demography of loneliness

The swarming sociability of family life is fading as one-person households and lonely deaths rise. Coping with loneliness is now a life skill.

20 Jan 2026 - 4:04PMvideocam

India

Why India is losing ground over Bangladesh and Myanmar to regional rivals

Pakistan and China have been drawing closer to Bangladesh and Myanmar in areas such as defence and trade at India’s expense, analysts say.

16 Jan 2026 - 6:35PMvideocam

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National University of Singapore (NUS)

Top Singaporean scientist Seeram Ramakrishna joins China’s Tsinghua University

The ‘father of electrospinning’, who taught for almost 30 years in the city state, will continue his research in Beijing.

Sri Lanka’s refusal to host US warplanes before Iran war risks trade backlash

Chinese island province wants more than beachgoers as it chases economic growth

China cuts some hi-tech metals sent to Japan – but magnet exports rise. Why?

Exports of gallium and germanium have slowed, yet rare earth magnet shipments have increased amid strained ties.

Too hot to handle? Southeast Asia’s AI data centre gold rush strains power grids

Data centres crave cold. Southeast Asia is anything but. Now, the AI boom is pushing tropical engineering to the limit.

Singapore’s Lawrence Wong seeks stronger ties with Japan amid global tensions

Wong and Takaichi are expected to discuss economic stability and AI, and tread cautiously amid superpower rivalries, analysts say.

Deal or no deal? Malaysia-US trade pact in turmoil after minister ‘misspeaks’

First, a minister called the deal dead. Then his ministry backtracked. Now the opposition is demanding answers.

‘We will go to war’: why #SEAblings became a Southeast Asian rallying cry

The hashtag went viral following a row over a South Korean band’s concert in Kuala Lumpur in January and protests in Indonesia last year.

How will China adjust Israel ties as US-led strikes on Iran reshape Middle East?

Beijing is unlikely to abandon ‘balanced diplomacy’ in the region despite killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, analysts say.

Singapore strives to stay non-aligned amid US-China rivalry, new conflicts

Foreign minister says the city state must assert its distinctiveness to remain relevant and will not act as a proxy for any major power.

As Deliveroo leaves Singapore, spotlight turns on city state’s tight market

The platform’s departure has underscored the challenge of turning a profit in a dense, tightly contested market.

Singapore prime minister attacked by hundreds of Chinese-language fake AI videos

The videos targeting Lawrence Wong spread false narratives about his leadership being under threat and political infighting in Singapore.

.css-19im5qg{color:#c79a00;}Exclusive | China widens anti-corruption net to catch ‘quasi-naked officials’

Top graft-busters quietly step up scrutiny of officials with children living overseas, with some losing promotion opportunities and jobs.

How ‘policy convergence’ could pave the way for US-China cooperation on AI

Two nations could work together on areas like global governance and safety and promote local-level collaboration, according to researchers.

‘Structural reality’: why US tariff deal cannot sever India-Russia defence ties

While the pact demands a halt to Russian oil imports, analysts say New Delhi’s military dependence on Moscow is non-negotiable.

Could India’s twin trade agreements set back its improving ties with China?

Analysts expect the deals with Washington and Brussels to give New Delhi leverage with Beijing and may even slow the thaw.

North America’s top computer vision scientist Liang Jie returns to China

Brain behind leading Microsoft tech products used by millions across the globe and sensor systems for elderly care joins Chinese university.

Was General Zhang Youxia one of the ‘big rats’ eating China’s military budget?

A PLA Daily article links corrupt practices with damage to combat readiness – Xi Jinping’s top priority.

A tale of two cities: Singapore, Hong Kong and their contrasting paths

Historian Wang Gungwu reflects on how political legacies have shaped Hong Kong and Singapore, two of Asia’s economic ‘tigers’.

Starmer stresses Hong Kong’s stability as key to stronger ties in meeting with Xi

Meeting focused on shared interests to bolster Sino‑British relations, with Jimmy Lai’s national security case also touched upon in ‘respectful’ discussions.

Beijing weighs H200 imports amid uncertainty for China tech giants

More than 400,000 H200 chips reportedly approved for ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent as China balances AI needs with tech self-reliance push.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Being Chinese | A Chinese Singaporean’s dilemma: should I change my surname?

My grandparents lost their original surnames by force of circumstance. Now that I have the luxury of choice, do I restore my family name?

‘Not sustainable’: China central bank adviser flags US debt risk

As concerns mount over America’s ballooning debt, one of Beijing’s economic advisers warns fiscal discipline may not be on cards.

Foot in the door or trap? Risks of Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for Southeast Asia

Nations are likely to try to avoid early commitment while steering clear of outright rejection to minimise US retaliation, analysts say.

HKU ranks seventh globally for education as East Asia ‘makes strides’

Times Higher Education releases latest annual subject rankings, with Peking University entering top 10 for computer science for first time.

US ambassador to Singapore’s much ‘larger gifts’ call to mark July 4 rankles

In light of recent US actions, Anjani Sinha’s call could be deemed as the embassy trying to ‘shake down businesses’, an analyst says.

Outside In | We are speeding towards a demography of loneliness

The swarming sociability of family life is fading as one-person households and lonely deaths rise. Coping with loneliness is now a life skill.

Why India is losing ground over Bangladesh and Myanmar to regional rivals

Pakistan and China have been drawing closer to Bangladesh and Myanmar in areas such as defence and trade at India’s expense, analysts say.

Exclusive | China widens anti-corruption net to catch ‘quasi-naked officials’

Being Chinese | A Chinese Singaporean’s dilemma: should I change my surname?