UK Higher Ed: Prestige at a Discount

The competition is heating up and getting fiercer as UK higher education desperately fights to hold onto crashing foreign student enrollment. 

At least 22 universities are offering guaranteed tuition-fee discounts of up to £8,000 for overseas students. This shift is driven by a 17 percent drop in postgraduate enrollment in the two years leading to March 2026, stricter visa rules, and a 2024 ban on family members accompanying students. 

The reduced net fee at these varsities is likely to fuel concerns about the education sector's approach to recruiting overseas students, on whose fees it already depends.

The University of Nottingham, which set out plans to trim more than 600 jobs, offers an immediate £3,000 scholarship for 2026 taught master’s courses with no application needed, replacing merit awards. 

Meanwhile, the University of Aberdeen, where 100 jobs could be cut as part of a £10m savings plan, introduced an £8,000 scholarship directly deducted from the tuition bill. 

Furthermore, the University of Kent are offering a pre-approved £5,000 discount for master's degree entrants from 14 specific countries – including China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, and Vietnam – requiring no separate application process. 

The University of Leeds are also providing a hassle-free £5,000 regional scholarship reduction directly to eligible international undergraduate students, such as applicants from Kenya. 

Zeenat Fayaz, founder of The Brand Education, which advises universities on branding, said this “pricing war” could backfire by sparking competition between institutions on the basis of a degree’s cost rather than their own strengths. 

“Higher-tariff universities are not only offering scholarships, but they’re also reducing their grade requirements to allow students in... It’s a race to the bottom”.

Donald Trump's Truth Social War Stats

US President Donald Trump published the post immediately below on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, July 21, 2026: 

He captioned the visual data by writing, “These are the real facts. REPORT THEM!” to push back against congressional critics regarding the costs and objectives of the current Middle East operations.

He has been roundly denounced for the post because he belittled the deaths of service members in the listed conflicts. 

Former supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene said Trump was “bragging about killing 18 US soldiers”. California Governor Gavin Newsom called the president a “disgusting Little Man”, while commentator Brian Krassenstein said Trump was minimizing “18 soldiers [who] have died from his stupid Iran war”. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the post “beneath contempt”, and Senator Chris Van Hollen said Trump was “downplaying” the loss of American lives. 

On Wednesday, Trump courted controversy once again when he appeared to dismiss the conflict, referring to it as a "skirmish".

It shouldn't come as a surprise. He's a deviant. A degenerate. A sicko. 👿👿👿

More World Leaders Flock to Beijing

On February 02, I blogged that in January, world leaders had flocked to China. In fact, five of them. 

The visits to China – China Daily refers to them as the "China travel rush" – have not stopped. 

In February, two leaders descended upon the Middle Kingdom (Zhōngguó, 中国). They were Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi (1st-7th) and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (25th-26th). [Note that the month was relatively quiet owing to the Spring Festival break].   

And in March, Chinese President Xi Jinping's diplomatic schedule was focused domestically during this month. He and other senior officials were engaged in the annual "Two Sessions" political meetings, which are the annual plenary sessions of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. 

The following month, distinguished travelers who journeyed to China included: Thailand’s Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn (April 04-11); Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (April 11-15); Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi (April 12-14); To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President of Vietnam (April 14-17); and Mozambican President Daniel Chapo (April 16-22).

And in May, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon was in China, completing a four-day state visit to Beijing from 11th to 14th. 

Of course, the US didn't want to be left out. And so, its president invited himself to China. He was there from May 13 to 15, and incredibly, he was well-behaved.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was there as well for a two-day state visit, running from May 19 to May 20. And more than 40 documents and cooperation agreements were signed between China and Russia.

Then, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif travelled to China for a four-day official trip from May 23 to 26.

And Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić too from May 24-28. 

This isn't just about China being "open". 

As global uncertainty deepens, the world is gravitating toward a country that, weathering its own storms, continues to project a clear sense of purpose and progress.

The high-profile visits to Beijing by world leaders underscore China's leverage and centrality in shaping a multipolar world order. And Xi Jinping is at the centre of it all.

China's real power comes through Xi championing initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Global Development Initiative, and the Global Security Initiative – in fact, the country offers an alternative model for economic growth and state relations without political conditionality.

Asia’s Biggest Food Staple is Under Threat

Harvest-ready rice fields are lying idle and farmers are deciding whether to skip planting for the coming season, as spiking fuel and fertiliser costs from the war in the Middle East hit one of the world’s biggest rice-growing regions. 

Across Southeast Asia, tens of millions of smallholders are struggling to find affordable crop nutrients as well as the diesel needed to run tractors, irrigation pumps and rice planters. In Thailand, some farmers are leaving the crop in the ground as it is too expensive to harvest. 

The scarcity of supplies underscores how the six-week war in Iran has upended global trade and raised concerns around food shortages. As well as driving oil prices higher, the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz – which remains largely blocked despite a temporary ceasefire – has choked a vital route for fertiliser and fuel deliveries, with Asia particularly affected. 

“There’s a lot of panicked farmers”, said Patrick Davenport, a director and co-founder of BRM Agro, an integrated rice farmer and miller in Cambodia, where roughly three-quarters of the population lives in rural areas. “Most are involved in agriculture – and they are all hurting”, he said. 

Rice is a staple for more than half of the world’s population, as well as a livelihood for rural communities across a region where agriculture still accounts for a large share of economic activity. Farmers struggling with input costs that have doubled or even tripled are also finding themselves squeezed by persistently low prices, at least for now. 

Weighed down by ample inventories, benchmark prices for Thai white rice 5% broken fell to a decade-low in late October and have recovered only a little since then, spending most of last month below $400 (RM1,586) a ton. 

“Margins are super tight, and that means they will plant less”, said Máximo Torero, the chief economist of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, noting that a further 20- to 30-day closure of Hormuz would affect the availability of food as soon as the second half of the year. The input shortages can only be resolved if vessels can begin moving through the strait again. “I don’t see any other solution”, he said. 

In Cambodia, some growers are reluctant to proceed this month without a guaranteed return, said Davenport, whose company works with about 2,000 farmers. Around a tenth have said they won’t plant unless they can secure a fixed price for the new crop. 

In the Philippines, the world’s top rice importer and also a major producer, paddy-rice output could fall by at least 10% this year, according to Raul Montemayor, the national manager for the Federation of Free Farmers Cooperatives Inc. That could amount to about two million tons of lost rice given projected national output of 20.3 million tons. 

“That’s a very big possibility, and the reduction will be felt during the next harvest season in September or October”, said Montemayor. 

The shortage of inputs couldn’t have come at a worse time for rice farmers in Southeast Asia, many of whom grow two or more crops a year and are currently straddling the seasons. Harvesting of dry-season fields is in progress, while planting is beginning for the main wet-season paddy crops in Thailand and the Philippines. 

“That’s when all these fuel costs start mattering a lot. Fertiliser costs will matter a lot. Availability will matter a lot”, said Alisher Mirzabaev, a senior scientist for policy analysis and climate change at the International Rice Research Institute. “On the food-security side, we are buffered by the existing stocks – but we should not get complacent”. 

Elsewhere in Asia, the main plantings in India – a major grower – remain a couple of months away, while China has been more insulated from the energy and fertiliser shocks. 

But in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, where rice is grown three times a year, farmers are barely breaking even as they collect the main paddy crop. With production costs surging, some growers are considering scaling back to just two crops, said Pham Van Nhut, a 63-year-old farmer in the southern province of Vinh Long. 

Some farmers in Thailand, meanwhile, have chosen not to harvest the rice crop that’s ready now or are delaying collection, leading to a decline in quality. The dry-season crop in March-April could fall by around 19% from the same year-earlier period, according to a March 31 report by the Bangkok-based Kasikorn Research Center. 

Planting for this year’s main crop in Thailand is due to start in weeks, and while it is unlikely that growers will halt production entirely, output will be limited by how much fertilisers can be procured, said Pramote Charoensilp, the president of the Thai Agriculturist Association, which represents tens of thousands of farmers across much of the country. 

With the disruptions set to last, farmers are seeking creative ways to reduce their dependence on imported fertilisers and fuel. Some are switching from rice to corn, which needs less water from diesel-fed irrigation machines. BRM, the company in Cambodia, is accelerating plans to scale up bio-organic fertiliser production and seeking suppliers of electric tractors and solar-powered water pumps to reduce fuel use. 

But options are limited for many others who depend on rice for their livelihoods, leaving them little alternative but to continue planting – even if that means absorbing losses. 

“We have no choice”, said Ruel Bantugan, a rice farmer in the Philippines’ Bataan province. “We just need to gamble and plant again, rather than leave the land idle”.

Ancestral Spirits Help Save a Crocodile Species

When village conservation teams find a Siamese crocodile nest in the Xe Champhone wetlands of central Laos, they move fast, collecting eggs within 24 hours before poachers, predators or floods can reach them. 

But before they touch the eggs, there’s a ritual, and offerings are made to the spirits. With the spirits appeased, villagers carry the eggs to hatch in the village, where the baby crocs’ chances of hatching are nearly five times higher than in the wild. 

Oudomxay Thongsavath, program manager at Wildlife Conservation Society and a native of the region, has been involved with the program since its start. He told Mongabay that locals make an offering and explain to the spirits, “We collect the egg, we incubate it in the village, and we return your children back to your area… Please take care of them. Make sure they are safe in the future when they go back to their habitat”. 

Of the world’s 27 crocodilian species, the Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) is among just four classified as critically endangered. Fewer than 1,000 are thought to survive on the planet. 

Locals say that to harm a Siamese crocodile is to risk illness, misfortune or death. Not because the crocodiles are particularly dangerous (as crocodiles go), but because these scaly beings are the living embodiment of their ancestors. That spiritual connection to crocodiles, upheld for generations in a landscape stripped of most large wildlife, may be the single most important reason this species still exists here. A decade-long conservation program built on the cultural bedrock of that belief is restoring a globally significant population of this critically endangered crocodile species to central Laos. 

The heart of the conservation initiative is its head-starting program, in which village conservation teams are paid what WCS calls a “modest stipend” to collect wild eggs, hatch them in village facilities, and raise the young crocs past their most vulnerable stage before releasing them back into the wetlands. 

On March 19, the conservation team released 56 juvenile Siamese crocodiles back to the Xe Champhone wetlands. The program has released 294 individuals since 2013. Another 191 are being reared for future release. 

“This species is very strong for the culture in the area,” Oudomxay said. “They believe it protects the wetland and protects the community. If you do bad behavior in the wetland or speak not nicely, something can happen to that person. Can get sick. In big cases, can die”. 

“The people there still believe and they take this very seriously”, said Steve Platt, associate conservation herpetologist with WCS, who has helped lead the project since 2011. “That’s why those crocodiles are still there”.

It’s very hard to count crocodiles in the wild, but nest surveys from 2022 to 2024 suggest between 60 and 225 individuals inhabit the area, making this likely the largest remaining wild population in mainland Southeast Asia, according to a special report by the Crocodile Specialist Group at the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. 

Once widespread across mainland Southeast Asia, the Siamese crocodile was driven to the brink of extinction by illegal hunting for its skin and meat, government extermination campaigns, habitat loss, and mass collection for commercial farms. Now, the species occurs in very small populations in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia.

From mid-May through early August, village conservation teams, each comprising five to 20 local recruits, search for crocodile eggs. They examine microsites used by nesting females in years past and search for other suitable nesting habitats. Many nests are also found by team members engaged in their day-to-day lives while fishing, harvesting snails, or cultivating rice fields. 

Drones, deployed since 2022, have made nest surveys much more effective. “We can see the whole landscape and identify if the grass starts to dry or if a mound has been made,” Oudomxay said. “The drone is very good because it doesn’t disturb the crocodile, the sound is not very loud, so we can identify the mother and the nest clearly”. 

Clutch sizes average around 27 eggs, and the village teams often leave a small number of eggs, up to five, in the nest mound to “avoid offending the attending female crocodile”, according to the report. In 2025, the teams collected half of each clutch from a total of seven nests.

Once they locate the eggs, workers alert the main office, which quickly sends out research techs. At the site, they mark each viable egg and pack them in Styrofoam boxes with sand and nest material, and transport them to incubation facilities in the villages of Tan Soum and Dongyanong. The eggs incubate in ambient conditions for about 75 days. An estimated 53% of collected eggs hatch — a much higher rate than the 13% in the wild, where flooding and predators are the main causes of eggs failing to hatch. 

In 2025, the teams collected eggs from nine nests, incubated 114 viable eggs, and hatched 61. After hatching, the juvenile crocs grow in village pens for roughly 30 months, where they’re hand-fed fish, eels, frogs, and crushed golden apple snails. Once they reach about 75 centimeters (2.5 feet) in length, big enough to avoid most predators, they’re ready for release into the water. Here, they stay in submerged acclimation pens to adjust to their surroundings and have a safe retreat as they explore their new home. Gradually, over the course of weeks, they disperse to live out their lives in the wetlands. 

Releasing the young crocodiles back into the wetland is a significant event for the community. They hold a ceremony attended by government officials and members of neighboring communities, during which Buddhist monks bless the small reptiles as they enter the water. 

This year, on March 19th, 56 crocodiles were moved into bamboo-and-netting acclimation pens and gradually released. Another 191 await release, once they are big enough. 

“[The ceremony] focuses government attention on this, and they realize the significance of what they’re doing”, Platt said. “For the communities that house the facilities, it lets them see that the work they’re doing is important”.

Parallel efforts, led by a mix of NGOs and government agencies, are also seeing promising results in Cambodia and Thailand. In 2025, conservationists released 10 captive-bred Siamese crocodiles into Cambodia’s Virachey National Park. And 15 crocodiles were released in Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary in eastern Thailand. 

“Reintroduction efforts in Vietnam and Thailand are greatly restricted by habitat availability, and the ability to establish large populations is also restricted”, Charlie Manolis, co-chair of the IUCN’s Crocodile Specialist Group, who isn’t involved with the Laos project, told Mongabay. “In Cambodia and Laos, where habitat is still available, these countries are thus very important in a regional context for conservation of the species”. 

In Laos, one of the program’s most significant milestones, Platt said, came in 2022. A female crocodile, hatched from an egg collected in 2013, head-started and released in 2015, was found defending her own nest. It was the first confirmed breeding by a known-age, captive-reared Siamese crocodile there. She returned to the same nesting site in 2024 and again in 2025. 

“We’ve gone full circle. Which is great!” Platt said. “It took 10 years for that to happen. But when you work with long-lived animals, you don’t expect immediate results”.

China’s Tourists Turn Away From Japan to Southeast Asia

Ren Zihan, a resident of the northern Chinese city of Dalian, feels as if all her friends are vacationing in Southeast Asia lately. Pictures of durians and hawker food have filled her social media feed, the 32-year-old tells The Business Times. 

“It seems as if everyone is in Malaysia and Singapore at the moment”. 

Beyond the usual phenomenon of travellers seeking warmer destinations during the winter months, a new factor is pushing Chinese tourists south. Southeast Asia has been a popular destination for some time, but Chinese travellers are now flocking to the region in greater numbers. 

This follows the diplomatic spat last November between China and Japan. 

“There’s a dramatic shift under way”, notes Mayur Patel, commercial and industry affairs leader for the Asia-Pacific at aviation analytics firm OAG. “Aircraft freed from suspended Japan routes are being redeployed to Southeast Asian leisure destinations, where Chinese demand is holding up”.

FYI, Japan was a major destination for Chinese tourists – prior to Beijing unleashing a diplomatic and economic offensive against the country, freezing bilateral travel – these travellers made up a significant share of the arrivals in the country. From the start of 2025 to October, 8.2 million visitors – nearly one-quarter of Japan’s total arrivals – were from mainland China, based on OAG data. 

All that has changed. In January and February 2026, after the flight cancellations, one-way seat capacity from China to Japan fell by between 47 and 50 percent compared with the year-ago period. And flights from China to Southeast Asia experienced a significant increase in seat capacity – in the first two months of 2026, it rose about 15 to 20 percent year on year, indicates Alton Aviation data. 

In the wake of Beijing’s travel advisories, South Korea, Europe and Australia have also overtaken Japan as preferred destinations among the Chinese, based on survey data from China Trading Desk. 

But Southeast Asia’s combination of value, variety and accessibility makes the region particularly attractive to them, notes Edmund Ong, senior regional director for Southeast Asia at online travel agency Trip.com. 

Shorter flight times mean easier connectivity to the region, he adds. There is also a seasonal boost, as Southeast Asia’s warm climate is especially appealing during the colder Spring Festival period in China. 

Eric Zhu, Asia aviation and defence analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, agrees. “We do expect Chinese travellers to be budget-conscious this year, which favours the lower-cost, short-haul options found within Southeast Asia”. 

Within the region, some countries have received a stronger boost than others. In February 2026, the greatest year-on-year increases for flight bookings from China were to Vietnam (41 percent) and Malaysia (38 percent), according to OAG. 

Singapore’s and Malaysia’s popularity could also grow further, says China Trading Desk, whose survey found that the two countries have overtaken even South Korea in the list of destinations most respondents plan to visit. 

Interestingly, demand for regional travel has also diversified, with greater flight connectivity between Southeast Asian destinations allowing tourists to hop between cities or countries. Chinese tourists in the region have increasingly been drawn to what Trip.com calls “second-tier destinations”, the likes of which include Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia and Phu Quoc island in Vietnam. 

“They are taking longer trips and spreading their travel across multiple destinations, such as visiting Singapore and Malaysia in a single trip”, says Ong. 

And Vietnam is a key beneficiary, Patel of OAG observes. The country now boasts 51 route connections – including from secondary cities such as Danang and Phu Quoc – to other Southeast Asian destinations, up from 45 in 2019. 

For Japan, the economic consequences are considerable. Tourism accounted for 7.5 percent of Japan’s gross domestic product in 2024, or about 44.6 trillion yen, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). 

With China making up about 23 percent of all tourists to Japan in 2025, prior to November, a pullback from this major source will hurt overall GDP substantially. China Trading Desk’s Bhatt predicts that Japan will lose between $9 billion and $10.5 billion in revenue this year, compared with a scenario in which the diplomatic spat never happened. As for Southeast Asia, WTTC estimates that the tourism sector contributed $374 billion to the region’s combined GDP in 2024, or around 9.4 percent. 

Diverted Chinese demand could amplify this further. Bhatt believes that overall Chinese tourist spending may grow by 10.2 percent in 2026 to $280 billion, with about $35 billion of this spent within Southeast Asia. 

The region’s hospitality and tourism sector has been courting Chinese travellers for a while. On Trip.com – which originated as a travel agency for Chinese tourists – hotels can be filtered by “Chinese-friendly” offerings such as Mandarin-speaking service staff. Global hotel chain Hilton has integrated Chinese platforms into its booking processes. WeChat is offered as a payment option, and rooms are listed on Alibaba’s travel platform, Fliggy. 

“Mandarin-speaking team members in key gateway destinations also help to make stays more familiar and comfortable”, says Sebastien Kaeuffer, vice-president for Southeast Asia at Hilton. 

Let's hope the expanding interest in Southeast Asia stays because the region benefits economically. Especially Malaysia.

Malaysia's Asian Cup Dream is Over

Malaysia has been knocked out of contention for the 2027 Asian Cup after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Tuesday overturned their qualifying wins over Nepal and Vietnam, saying the national team fielded players who were not eligible to represent the country. 

The AFC’s disciplinary ruling converted both matches into 3-0 forfeits for Malaysia, leaving them six points behind Vietnam at the top of Group F and removing any mathematical possibility of advancing, with one game to go. 

The Football Association of Malaysia were also fined $50,000 to be paid within 30 days. The association did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The sanctions from the continent's football governing body came in the wake of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) partially upholding the sanctions laid down by FIFA on the seven footballers who played for Malaysia using falsified naturalisation documents, ruling they would serve a 12-month suspension from official matches only. 

The CAS also upheld FIFA's 350,000 Swiss franc ($444,275) fine on FAM.

Liverpool had beaten Brighton & Hove Albion twice this season, winning 3-0 against them in the Premier League and 2-0 in the FA Cup. Therefore, you'd be forgiven for believing that it would be a walk in the park for the reigning champions again in yesterday's match in Sussex.

It wasn't to be. Liverpool suffered a 2-1 loss.

The Reds conceded as early as the fourteenth minute. It's entirely their own doing. Giorgi Mamardashvili lost the ball carelessly and from the resulting throw-in, the Seagulls nodded in from close range. 

But Reds levelled sixteen minutes later when a Brighton defender decided to head back a high ball without looking behind him and that was costly as Milos Kerkez nipped in to flick the ball over the goalie.

In the 56th minute, the same Brighton scorer netted again from close range. 

This was their 10th Premier League defeat of the season; you have to go back a decade to find the last time they lost that many times in the league. 

The defeat leaves Liverpool in fifth place in the Premier League table, but could drop further down the standings if results elsewhere go against them. 

They will be back in action only on April 04, when they face Manchester City in the quarter-final of the FA Cup, with their next league fixture on April 11 against Fulham.

Canadian Army Prep for a Potential US Invasion

Canadian media outlet The Globe & Mail uncovered that the Canadian military has been modeling what an American invasion might look like. 

Of course, modeling isn't the same as having a battle plan – nonetheless, it points out that Canada cannot stop a southern invasion. In fact, within hours, American military superiority would crush any resistance.

However, occupying Canada becomes the real problem. Canada is massive. No nation has the numbers to dominate and hold it sustainably. Even if the government surrendered, military and civilian resistance could disappear into the wilderness or rural areas where hunting them down would prove difficult. 

The CAF model suggests Canadian forces could continue fighting using 'unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military or armed civilians would resort to ambushes, sabotage, drone warfare or hit-and-run tactics'. 

Sound familiar? Think Taliban in Afghanistan or Vietcong in the 1960s and 1970s. Hit-and-run attacks, IEDs, blending into the civilian population – tactics that proved nightmarish to counter. You can't measure success or predict where the next ambush comes from. 

With NATO countries sending troops to Denmark's colony, that is Greenland, to counter Donald Trump's annexation threats, other formerly friendly nations are reconsidering what to do if America comes knocking.

Malaysia's Sivasangari Subramaniam kept the country's hopes alive at the Tournament of Champions 2026 after producing a gritty comeback to reach the quarter-finals in New York. 

The fifth seed overturned a two-game deficit to shut the door for homester Amanda Sobhy, winning 6-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-4 in a thrilling 55-minute second-round clash on Sunday.

The Kedah-born player will next take on fourth seed Olivia Weaver,

China’s ‘Flying Aircraft Carrier’ Makes First Flight

China's Jiu Tian unmanned aircraft, commonly referred as the world’s first ‘drone mothership’, has been confirmed to have made its first flight in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, marking a major milestone in a unique program that promises to revolutionise unmanned air operations. 

With a 25 metre wingspan and 16.35 metre length, the large aircraft has the capacity to carry 100 small drones, which it can launch while airborne. 

Its 7,000 kilometre range and 15,000 meter operational altitude, the aircraft was designed to launch drone swarms far from Chinese waters, with the drones carried launching from high in the air allowing them to reach targets further away. This endurance places targets across East Asia within targeting range, and raises the possibility that it could be used for strikes as far as Guam, a central hub of US military operations in the region.

The aircraft’s capabilities are expected to prove to be highly complementary to those of China’s growing blue water navy, its vast arsenal of long range ballistic and cruise missiles, and its fighter fleet which is increasingly able to operate in the far seas due to improved ranges and greater aerial refuelling support. 

The possibility of several Jiu Tian aircraft being deployed to complement missile attacks on adversary carrier groups, for example, would complicate air defence efforts, and allow attack drones to be deployed from multiple unexpected directions, for which determining the point of launch may prove more challenging. 

Its development has occurred at a time when China has demonstrated increasingly distinct global leadership in unmanned aviation, and as a fast growing number of unmanned long range aircraft able to support power projection are also entering flight testing stages or being brought into active service. Other examples include the GJ-11 unmanned stealth bomber, the CH-7 unmanned high altitude stealth reconnaissance aircraft, and an unnamed intercontinental range stealth aircraft which is expected to serve as a strategic bomber. 

I didn't know this but according to VnExpress International, Malaysia imported $2.6 million worth of durian from Vietnam in the first 11 months of 2025, five times higher than the previous year, despite itself being a major producer of the fruit. 

It was the fastest growing market for Vietnamese durian but only accounted for a tiny share of exports, according to customs data. 

The second largest increase was seen in exports to Hong Kong, whose purchases doubled to $47 million. 

Dang Phuc Nguyen, secretary general of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, said Malaysia usually imports Vietnamese durian to make up for a shortfall outside May-August, its main harvest period, while Hong Kong does not grow the fruit. 

During the eleven months, exports from Vietnam rose 17% year-on-year to $3.65 billion, with the bulk of it obviously going to China.

Mixue Expands Footprint in US

A second Chinese beverage brand – the first was Luckin Coffee – expands its footprint in the United States.  

Mixue, known for serving ice cream, pure tea, fruit tea, milk tea, and freshly brewed coffee, opened its first store in Los Angeles, California on December 19. 

“Mixue is actively advancing its global strategy. Given the substantial market potential in the United States, the first store serves as a starting point”, the company said in a statement. 

Located at 6922 Hollywood Blvd Suite 107, menu pricing lists the brand’s signature ice cream at $1.19, iced lemonade at $1.99, lattes at $2.99, and bubble tea starting at $3.99, with most items priced between $1.19 and $4.99. 

Mixue has expanded internationally over several years since opening its first overseas store in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2018. There are approximately 45,000 stores across mainland China and 4,700 stores across 13 other countries, including Australia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Its parent company, MIXUE Group, were included this year in Time magazine’s list of the “100 Most Influential Companies in the World", where they were the only restaurant chain recognized. 

“(They're) the biggest fast food chain you’ve likely never heard of – at least, if you live in the Western hemisphere", Time wrote. 

It was no "new year, new me" for Liverpool yesterday as they played out a dire 0-0 draw with relegation candidates Leeds United to kick off 2026 – with the same problems on show. 

Reds saw 66 percent of possession in a dominant first half, with nine shots on goal to Whites‘ two and 1.55xG, but their clinical edge was again lacking against a deep-sitting side determined to frustrate them.

Nothing consequential happened in the second half either; in fact, the English champs' performance went from bad to worse. Even the desperate introduction of two more attackers in Federico Chiesa and Rio Ngumoha in the 79th and 84th minutes respectively did little to improve the Reds’ run of play.

And sure, there might have been boos at Anfield at full time but a point means Liverpool still sit fourth in the Premier League table.

International Students Are Turning Away From The West

The US, UK, Australia and Canada, long considered the “Big Four” destinations for international students, are steadily losing their dominance as visa rules tighten and new education hubs rise across Asia and the Middle East. 

Recent data show dramatic declines in international enrollment in the traditional hubs: Canada has seen a 60% drop in incoming students this year, the steepest since the Covid pandemic, while the US and Australia's both fell by nearly 20%. Only the UK managed to hold relatively steady. 

Before Covid-19, students from major markets like China and India overwhelmingly chose one of these four countries. But that picture has changed. 

According to a joint report by Studyportals and the British Council analyzing 51 million prospective students, demand for study abroad in Japan and China has surged, while Malaysia and India also show strong growth. 

"The global market for academic talent is as dynamic and complex as it has ever been", said Edwin van Rest, CEO and co-founder of Studyportals, as cited in the report. "International students have proven to be of broad and unique contribution to their host countries, and some upcoming destinations are effectively making use of the current market situation to advance talent attraction". 

In the same report, Fanta Aw, CEO of NAFSA-Association of International Educators, added, "Amid sweeping political shifts in the US, this survey offers a powerful snapshot... The message is unmistakable: international students are paying attention and increasingly turning away from the traditional ‘Big Four’ destinations in search of stability, opportunity, and affordability. It is really about the ‘Big Ten’ now". 

Experts say Asia and the Middle East–North Africa are not only keeping more of their local students, but also attracting learners from abroad, a sign of a broader realignment in global higher education. 

Tightened visa and immigration rules have accelerated that shift. Australia and Canada have capped foreign-student numbers, the UK now bans most master’s students from bringing dependents, and the US has added stricter visa checks, including social media reviews. 

Rising tuition and living costs in the West have only pushed more students toward culturally familiar and affordable options closer to home. 

Among the fastest-rising markets is Hong Kong, where up to half of non-local students can receive government subsidies. Investment in higher education has also boosted universities there in global rankings. Other ascendant destinations include Ireland, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, the UAE and Vietnam.

Top seeds Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan cruised into the quarter-finals of the Kumamoto Masters after dispatching South Korea's world No. 20 Jeong Na Eun-Lee Yeon Woo 21-14, 21-9 today. 

The world No. 2 were dominant throughout the 31-minute encounter, extending their flawless head-to-head record against the Koreans to 4-0 this season.

From Department of Defense to Department of War

It is no surprise that the Trump administration are cultivating and promoting a "warrior ethos" within the Pentagon. The US is, after all, a warmongering nation. 

If you don't already know, the country has been involved in conflicts for most of its history, though not necessarily a "non-stop" war in the conventional sense; however, the period since the Vietnam War (1955–1975) has seen continuous US military engagements. Examples include the First Gulf War (1990–1991), the Somali Civil War (1992–present), the Kosovo War (1998-1999), the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), and the Iraq War (2003–2011). Not to mention that the US is still presently waging a proxy war in Ukraine.

In this year itself, the US even joined Israel to go against Iran. In an operation called "Midnight Hammer", on June 22, the US deployed B-2 stealth bombers with the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), also known as a "bunker buster", to strike Iran's nuclear facilities. In fact, 125 aircraft were involved, including refueling and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft. 

Israel's strikes on Iran came against the backdrop of its ongoing war in Gaza and a broader escalation of its military actions across the region, including Israeli military activity in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and the occupied West Bank. And the US is complicit because it is a primary supplier of weaponry to the Zionist regime, much as it does for the [Z]elensky regime in Kiev.   

And so, on Friday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to rebrand the Department of Defense as the Department of War, reverting to the agency’s former namesake which came into being way back in 1789. 

I certainly agree with him because the name change is more “appropriate”, given the US propensity to wage war, whether overtly or covertly. 

The said order authorizes the Secretary of Defense, the Department of Defense and subordinate officials to use secondary titles such as “Secretary of War”, “Department of War”, and “Deputy Secretary of War” in official correspondence, public communications, ceremonial contexts, and non-statutory documents within the executive branch, according to a White House fact sheet. 

The order also instructs Pete Hegseth (now the "secretary of war") to propose both legislative and executive actions to make the name permanently US Department of War.

World No. 8 Sivasangari Subramaniam's bid to defend her London Squash Classic crown came to an end in the semi-finals after falling to Egypt's Amina Orfi. 

The Malaysian battled for 68 minutes before going down 11-7, 11-7, 7-11, 11-5 yesterday. It was the 26-year-old's fourth defeat in five meetings with 18-year-old Amina, a three-time world junior champion.

China’s 80th Anniversary's V-Day Military Parade

Japan, in spite of its best efforts – refer my post "Unapologetic Japan Wants Countries to Boycott September 03" published August 27 – failed to dissuade countries from skipping China's World War II commemorative events, officially the Conference to Commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. 

On Wednesday, leaders of 26 countries as well as other foreign dignitaries joined Chinese President Xi Jinping in what AP calls "a show of solidarity among nations friendly to Beijing". 

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who made a rare foreign trip to attend were clearly the VVIPs. The others included Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni, Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Myanmar’s military leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Nepali Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, and Maldives’ President Mohamed Muizzu. From Central Asia came Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon, Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Turkmenistan’s President Serdar Berdimuhamedow, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and not forgeting Mongolia’s President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa. From Africa, Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the Republic of Congo’s President Denis Sassou Nguesso were present as well as Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, the only leader from the Americas to attend. And from Europe, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan graced the event. 

Also on the guest roster were former Romanian prime ministers Adrian Năstase and Viorica Dăncilă, former New Zealand prime ministers Helen Clark and John Key, as well as Daniel Andrews, the former premier of the Australian state of Victoria. 

Not surprisingly, leaders from the US, Western Europe, Japan (obviously) and India (probably in deference to Japan because in the present global scenario, India's closest strategic partner is said to be Japan; besides, being the largest bilateral donor to India) were absent but not missed. And pro-Western countries like South Korea and Singapore sent lower-level officials. 

Since Wednesday, images of China's V-Day military parade have been trending on the front pages of major global media outlets. According to Global Times, this solemn moment to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, China, being a potent force for peace, sent a clear message to the world: The Chinese people will always remember this great victory, which stands as a monument in the history of the Chinese nation and the cause of world peace. 

In his opening address, Xi said the world was facing “a choice between peace or war” and "dialogue or confrontation", warning that China was a great nation that “is never intimidated by any bullies”. [I read it as a reference to the US and its allies]. And he stressed that the past showed that Chinese people always rallied together “to defy the enemy” when faced with adversity. 💪💪💪

The mammoth military parade – the 70-minute spectacle displayed a huge amount of military hardware. From tanks and drones to long-range and nuclear-capable missiles, fighter jets and stealth aircraft, the parade also revealed advances in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) weapons and assets – drew an almost immediate reaction from US president Donald Trump (right). 

“Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong-un, as you conspire against the United States of America”, he posted on his Truth Social account. 

A very ungracious and rude comment from an uncivil and disrespectful person. That's Trump alright!

Donald Trump Declares Global Tariffs Victory

I'm sure Donald Trump is smirking and grimacing. I'm sure he has declared victory in this global tariff war. I'm sure he believes the US will reap the benefits of new revenue, rekindle domestic manufacturing, and generate hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign investment and purchases.

And so, while the short term result might be – as Trump sees it – a triumph, the impact on his overarching goals is far less certain. As are the long-term repercussions, which could well pan out rather differently for Trump – or the America he leaves behind after his current term. 

Methinks, nobody benefits from a tariff war. And right now, it is too soon to come to any conclusions yet because there will always be a lag before impact is fully seen. For now, the potential economic fallout (for the US and elsewhere) has not been realised. 

These are the major deals supposedly in the bag: 

• United Kingdom agreed to a 10 percent tariff rate on its exports to the US. It also received a 25 percent sectoral tariff on steel and aluminium – half the 50 percent being imposed on other countries.
• The European Union have agreed to a 15 percent tariff on most of their exports to the US, including cars and pharmaceuticals, in exchange for zero tariffs on select US exports and commitments to buy US gas and increase investments. Initially, Trump had threatened a 30 percent rate. 
• Japan has secured a 15 percent reciprocal tariff on its goods exported to the US, reduced from a threatened 25 percent, with Japan promising to invest $550 billion in the US economy.
• Philippines has agreed to a 19 percent tariff on its exports to the US, with zero tariffs on US exports to the Philippines, alongside commitments for enhanced military cooperation. A poor deal for the country as I had alluded to in my July 28 post.
• Vietnam has agreed to a 20 percent tariff on most exports to the US, with an additional 40 percent levy to be applied to “transshipped” goods – those entering the US via another location – while also agreeing to zero tariffs on US imports like large-engine automobiles.
• Indonesia has negotiated a 19 percent tariff on its exports to the US, down from a threatened 32 percent, by making a commitment to buy US Boeing aircraft and to remove or reduce trade barriers.
• Malaysia enjoys a reduced tariff of 19 percent on its exports and which is lower than the initially scheduled 25 percent. And I'm pretty sure the country, like Indonesia, made similar-type commitments too.
• South Korean exports to the US will enjoy a lower 15 percent tariff, in return for a $350 billion investment pledge and zero tariffs on US imports like cars and agricultural products.
• Pakistan struck a deal to jointly develop oil reserves with the US, but specific tariff rates on goods still remain unclear.

You may think there is a method to his madness. But no, actually, it boils down to his arbitrariness, his capriciousness, his volatility. And I have this nagging feeling that these tariffs are not cast in stone. With Trump, he has a propensity to amend, change and revise according to his whim and fancy, and the world should brace for it. 

We should recall that, originally, Trump has justified these tariffs as being necessary to redress US trade imbalances as well as to boost US manufacturing and jobs. Even though economists point out that deficits are not direct evidence of unfair trade practices. 

But now, it has gone beyond trade. In fact, Trump is weaponizing tariffs to blanket broader agendas, e.g., curbing immigration, combating the opioid and fentanyl crisis, and pressing allies and partners on geopolitical issues, including India’s energy ties with Russia or Brazil’s legal action against Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro. 

And lest we forget, many of the deals that have been struck have been verbal, as yet unsigned. Moreover it is uncertain if and how the strings attached to Trump's agreements – more money to be spent purchasing American energy or invested in America – will actually be delivered on. 

Not to mention that the colossal issue of China, subject to a different deadline, remains unresolved. And Mexico, on Thursday, secured a negotiating extension. And I read that Canada and Taiwan supposedly still have an opportunity to hammer out a deal. [At this point, I also can't help thinking about the penguins. 😜😜😜]. 

Putting aside all of the above, I reckon Trump's own voters will still have to pick up the tab – through higher prices, less choice and slower growth.