By Ashok Nilakantan Ayers NEW YORK: When Narendra Modi walked into the Knesset and told Israel’s parliament during his visit to Israel on February 25-26, that “peace and stability in West Asia are directly linked to India’s security,” he was doing more than delivering a diplomatic courtesy. He was planting a flag. India, under its […]
A 20-year-old woman has taken the stand in Los Angeles County Superior Court to describe what she says was a damaging childhood addiction to social media platforms owned by Meta and Google, in a landmark civil trial that could reshape how tech companies are held accountable for harm to young users. Known in court as Kaley G. M., the plaintiff testified that heavy use of YouTube from […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Dubai Aerospace Enterprise has agreed to acquire Macquarie AirFinance in an all-cash transaction valued at about $7 billion, marking one of the largest aircraft leasing deals of the year and significantly expanding the Gulf-based lessor’s global footprint. The transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of 2026 subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions, will create a combined fleet of […]
Paramount Skydance has emerged as the probable victor in a high-stakes contest to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, as streaming giant Netflix declined to increase its offer, effectively withdrawing from the pursuit and handing momentum to its rival. Paramount’s revised proposal of $31 per share in cash and commitment to cover substantial termination and regulatory fees was judged superior by the Warner Bros Discovery board, setting the stage […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Dubai Electricity and Water Authority has been named Strategic Sustainability Partner for the Arab Media Summit 2026, strengthening the event’s environmental agenda as organisers position the gathering as a platform aligned with the UAE’s long-term climate commitments. Dubai Press Club, which organises the Arab Media Summit, confirmed the partnership ahead of the next edition scheduled to take place in Dubai under the patronage […]
OpenAI has disclosed that a ChatGPT account with connections to individuals affiliated with Chinese law enforcement was exploited as part of a multi-faceted cyberattack and influence operation, according to its latest threat report on malicious AI use. The account was used to draft, plan and document activities that included online harassment, covert influence campaigns and operational coordination across hundreds of platforms, prompting OpenAI to ban the associated […]
Smartphone shipments across Africa expanded significantly in 2025, with the continent receiving 84.4 million units over the course of the year, marking a 13 per cent year-on-year increase according to market analytics firm Omdia. This performance outpaced many global markets and reflected a phase of recovery and transition as mobile users increasingly adopt smart devices over basic handsets. Fourth-quarter data showed shipments rising 14 per cent to […]
Ellah Lakes Plc, the Lagos-listed agro-industrial group, confirmed its bid to raise up to ₦235 billion through a public offer for subscription did not reach the minimum subscription threshold required to proceed with share allotment, leading to a full refund of investor funds. The offer, which targeted up to 18.8 billion ordinary shares priced at ₦12.50 each, opened in November and closed in December but failed to […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Dubai-based Emirates Gold has marked 34 years in the precious metals industry by outlining plans to deepen its refining capacity, expand international partnerships and strengthen its role in shaping the region’s bullion trade by 2026. Founded in 1992, the company has grown from a local refinery into one of the Middle East’s established minting and gold refining firms, operating from Dubai Multi Commodities […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Dubai Lynx is expanding its academies programme as its partnership with Publicis Groupe Middle East enters a fourth year, signalling a sustained push to cultivate creative talent across the region’s communications industry. Organisers of the annual Dubai Lynx Festival, widely regarded as the Middle East and North Africa’s leading platform for creative excellence, confirmed that Publicis Groupe Middle East will continue as the […]
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 27 February 2026 – Direct Funeral Services, Singapore’s leading funeral service provider, introduces new approaches to grief support with the launch of two pioneering resources: Music for Comfort and The Colours of Missing You.
Music for Comfort is the world’s first music album developed using monaural beats specifically designed for grief support in open spaces, while The Colours of Missing You is a children’s book that guides both young and old through the experience of grief using colour and storytelling. Together, these resources offer gentle, accessible pathways for emotional expression and reflection.
In line with the same commitment to bridging tradition and technology, Direct Funeral Services has also introduced Memory Weave, an AI-driven tool designed to help families honour and celebrate their loved ones through deeply personalised digital tributes, extending remembrance beyond the farewell.
Music for Comfort, a global first in funeral sound healing
Driven by a deep understanding of the needs of grieving families, Direct Funeral Services partnered with The TENG Company to co-develop Music for Comfort. The album is positioned as the world’s first to utilise monaural beats specifically designed for grief support in open environments such as funeral wakes.
Comprising 10 original tracks, the album was developed in collaboration with researchers from the Singapore Institute of Technology, with compositions aligned to the emotional stages of farewell. Early research findings indicate promising reductions in commonly reported grief-related symptoms, including anxiety and emotional overwhelm.
Alongside the album, Memory Weave, an interactive digital tool that offers families and friends a collaborative way to celebrate a life well lived. Attendees can contribute photos, videos, or audio messages via the app. These shared memories are then woven into a personalised digital montage, accompanied by music from the Music for Comfort album and played throughout the wake, offering attendees an intimate and reflective glimpse into the many facets of the departed’s life.
Jenny Tay, Managing Director at Direct Funeral Services, shares, “Every person’s life is a tapestry of stories and moments that deserve to be celebrated. With Memory Weave, we aim to provide families with meaningful ways to remember their loved ones, while creating a deeply personal farewell. By combining innovation with compassion, we hope to honour the beauty of each life lived.”
While Music for Comfort was initially conceived for funeral settings, its therapeutic potential extends beyond death care. The album may also support individuals navigating other forms of emotional loss, including divorce, illness, separation, or major life transitions. Building on The TENG Company’s Music for Mindfulness album released in 2023, Music for Comfort represents a continued exploration into emotional well-being through music. Four of the album’s ten tracks were released on Spotify in the last quarter of 2025:
The Colours of Missing You, a tender guide through loss
Written by Darren, The Colours of Missing You is an exquisitely illustrated book that helps both children and adults navigate the intricate emotions of grief. Inspired by Darren’s personal experience of losing his sister in 2022, and drawing on his expertise as a psychotherapist and leader in the deathcare industry. As the third title in a series of grief-support publications, this book uniquely uses the colours of the rainbow to represent the non-linear nature of grief.
Each colour – from red for anger to blue for sadness and indigo for healing – invites readers to acknowledge and process their feelings without judgment. The book’s captivating visuals were brought to life by Shan Jiang, a Shanghai-born, London-based artist renowned for his collaborations with global brands like Nike and NASA.
“The typical ways of addressing grief through silence, avoidance, or clinical terms can feel heavy and inaccessible. What we need is a softer entry point. Music and story help us feel first, before we think,” said Darren TK Cheng, CEO of Direct Funeral Services.
Together, these initiatives by Direct Funeral Services reflect a growing shift towards more compassionate and inclusive approaches to grief support in Singapore, underscoring how thoughtful integration of art, technology and human care can create meaningful spaces for remembrance, reflection and healing.
Hashtag: #DirectFuneral
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Direct Funeral Services
Established in 1980, Direct Funeral Services began with humble beginnings and has since grown to become a household name in Singapore’s death care industry, providing funeral pre-planning and specialised funeral services for Taoists, Buddhists, Christians, Catholics, and more. With a steadfast commitment to providing thoughtful, professional, and innovative afterlife services, the company has supported generations of families in celebrating and honouring the lives of their loved ones.
Beyond serving families, Direct Funeral Services is dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of death planning and fostering the value of filial piety among the younger community. Through compassionate initiatives and outreach efforts, the company continues to encourage meaningful conversations around end-of-life matters.
Even as Direct Funeral Services embraces innovation, including AI-driven solutions like A Life Well Lived and Memory Weave, the company’s fundamental belief in respect and compassion remains at the heart of everything it does. This guiding principle ensures every service is delivered with care, dignity, and a deep understanding of each family’s unique needs.
To learn more about how Direct Funeral Services is transforming the art of remembrance, visit directfuneral.com.sg or contact their 24/7 helpline at +65 6555 1115. For media enquiries, please contact Direct Funeral at [email protected].
How the UAE Education System Works: Regulators, Curricula, Inspections and School Types The United Arab Emirates is home to one of the most diverse and rapidly expanding education sectors in the world. With over 600 private schools spread across seven emirates, families relocating to the country are met with a system that can feel overwhelming at first glance. Multiple regulators, 17 different curricula, and three distinct school […]
Diplomats from Iran and the United States are preparing to examine a detailed framework for a possible agreement in Geneva, as both sides signal cautious openness to narrowing differences over sanctions relief and nuclear restrictions. The discussions come amid renewed diplomatic activity between Tehran and Washington, with officials framing the meeting as a substantive step rather than a symbolic encounter. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi departed Tehran […]
Gold prices firmed in early trade on Thursday as a softer dollar and renewed demand for defensive assets lent support, with investors assessing signals from Washington on tariffs and monitoring diplomatic exchanges between the United States and Iran. Spot gold rose 0.4 per cent to $5,192.28 per ounce by 0500 GMT, extending gains after touching a more than three-week high earlier in the week. US gold futures […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Lu Daopei Medical has joined forces with Florence Nightingale Hospital Group in Turkey to establish what the partners describe as the Middle East and North Africa’s first dedicated CAR-T stem cell therapy centre, targeting severe forms of leukaemia including paediatric cases. The initiative, backed by Investcorp through its China Pre-IPO Healthcare Fund, signals a push to expand advanced cellular immunotherapy beyond traditional hubs […]
Shell Plc has opened preliminary discussions to sell a minority interest in the North West Shelf liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia, engaging potential buyers that include a unit of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Midocean Energy, according to people familiar with the matter. Talks are centred on Shell’s holding in the A$34 billion development, one of Australia’s longest-running LNG export ventures, located near Karratha […]
Artificial intelligence is triggering frustration across the video game industry as developers deploy automated tools to reduce budgets, only to face backlash from players who say quality and creativity are suffering. Studios under financial strain are increasingly turning to generative AI to assist with coding, artwork, dialogue and quality assurance. While executives argue the technology speeds up production and lowers costs, gamers have highlighted glitches, awkward scripts […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Parkin Company PJSC, Dubai’s principal paid public parking operator, closed the final quarter of 2025 with its strongest earnings performance to date, propelled by an aggressive expansion of paid-for parking spaces and a strategic tariff overhaul that has reshaped the city’s urban mobility revenue landscape. The firm reported a net profit of Dh183.6m for the fourth quarter of 2025, a 53 per cent […]
Nvidia delivered record quarterly and annual revenue, beating Wall Street expectations and pushing back against claims that the artificial intelligence boom is overheating. The Silicon Valley chip designer said revenue for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year ended 26 January 2025 rose to $39.3 billion, up sharply from a year earlier and above market forecasts. Full-year revenue reached $130.5 billion, more than doubling on the previous […]
Treasury manager FG Nexus has intensified its reduction of ether holdings, selling 7,550 ETH valued at about $14 million as part of a strategic unwind that has now crystallised more than $80 million in losses on its corporate crypto portfolio. The firm’s move marks a continuation of a reversal from its earlier accumulation strategy, leaving observers scrutinising the viability of concentrated digital-asset reserves on corporate balance sheets. […]
Adoption of Bitcoin is expanding across institutions, banks, corporations and retail investors even as sharp price fluctuations continue to test market confidence, according to new research from River, a US-based Bitcoin financial services firm. River’s latest report argues that Bitcoin’s long-term trajectory is being shaped less by short-term volatility and more by structural shifts in how capital allocators, payment companies and sovereign actors perceive digital assets. The […]
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 25 February 2026 – Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong SAR Government, delivered his 2026-27 Budget today (February 25), with a range of initiatives to support and diversify Hong Kong’s economic growth, boost innovation and technology (I&T), speed up development of the Northern Metropolis and proactively align with China’s National 15th Five-Year Plan.
The theme of the 2026-27 Budget, the fourth Budget of the current-term Government, is “Driving High-quality, Inclusive Growth with Innovation and Finance”.
Hong Kong SAR’s Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, delivers the 2026-27 Budget today (February 25)
“Over the past year, as a result of the booming economy and capital market, our tax revenue has increased. Coupled with the reinforced fiscal consolidation programme gradually bearing fruit, our public finances have improved sooner than expected,” Mr Chan said.
The Financial Secretary revealed that Hong Kong’s Consolidated Account was expected to register a surplus of $2.9 billion in the current fiscal year, instead of a deficit of about $67 billion as originally estimated. The Operating Account for 2025-26, which was originally estimated to record a deficit of about $3 billion, will register a surplus of $51.3 billion, he said.
It was also confirmed that Hong Kong’s economy expanded by 3.5% in 2025, with growth forecast to be between 2.5% and 3.5% for 2026.
Mr Chan noted that this year marks the beginning of the National 15th Five-Year Plan, and he stressed the need for Hong Kong to actively align with the Plan.
“Our country’s sustained high-standard two-way opening-up, coupled with scientific and technological innovation, have presented us with new opportunities,” he said. “We must embrace the 15th Five-Year Plan with an innovative mindset, fostering new quality productive forces in accordance with local conditions.”
Mr Chan set out a series of measures to drive I&T development, including establishing the Committee on AI+ and Industry Development Strategy; taking forward the Sandy Ridge data facility cluster project; promoting AI training; and accelerating digital intelligence transformation of the Government.
“We are pressing ahead with the industrialisation of AI and deepening its integration across various industries, while encouraging wider AI application, thereby achieving the target of adoption and utilisation by all,” he said.
The International Clinical Trial Academy will, he said, also be established to help enable the Chinese Mainland’s biomedicine technology to go global, attract foreign investment, and help develop Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub.
To facilitate the development of new industrialisation, the Budget has earmarked resources for establishing in Hong Kong the first national manufacturing innovation centre outside the Mainland, and the New Industrialisation Elite Enterprises Nurturing Scheme will be launched.
The Government will promote the full integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation through key infrastructure, including the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone, and the San Tin Technopole in the Northern Metropolis.
To support financial services, Hong Kong will proactively align with national development strategies, advance the internationalisation of the Renminbi, and continuously reform the securities market.
The Government will legislate this year to enhance tax regimes for family offices and funds, as well as establish licensing regimes for digital asset dealing and custodian service providers.
“Despite the complex and ever-changing external environment, Hong Kong’s financial market has performed strongly and our financial system remains robust,” Mr Chan said. “We will continue to consolidate our existing strengths, tap into emerging fields, strengthen market systems and risk control and deepen financial co-operation in the GBA (Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area).”
Noting that Hong Kong saw a year-on-year 12 per cent increase in visitor arrivals last year, which had created business and job opportunities for related sectors, the Budget will allocate $1.66 billion (US$212 million) to the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB).
“The HKTB will scale up its flagship events and promotion, introducing new elements and extending event duration, and organise more signature festive events to highlight Hong Kong’s East-meets-West uniqueness,” Mr Chan said.
The Budget also earmarks an additional funding of $1 billion (US$128 million) for the Built Heritage Conservation Fund to enrich city culture. Elsewhere, the Government will launch the Northern Metropolis Urban-rural Integration Fund as a pilot scheme to support rural tourism projects.
To further promote sports development in Hong Kong, the Financial Secretary will inject $1.2 billion (US$154 million) to the sports portion of the Arts and Sports Development Fund.
Mr Chan said that the global environment has remained volatile over the past year, and Hong Kong has continued to undergo economic transformation.
“Technological innovation, in particular the development of AI, has brought us a mix of opportunities and challenges. Yet, Hong Kong has always thrived amid changes and progressed through innovation. We must make full use of our strengths and leverage the resolute support of our country to speed up and scale up our economic development sustainably for creating better development opportunities for the people and enhancing their quality of life,” Mr Chan said.
For more details on the 2026-27 Budget, click here.
Lucid Group expects production growth in 2026 to moderate as it scales up its new Gravity sport utility vehicle and prepares a broader push into the midsize electric vehicle segment, cautioning that supply-chain risks and cost pressures could restrain expansion. The California-based electric vehicle maker has begun increasing output of the Gravity SUV at its plant in Casa Grande, Arizona, positioning the model as a cornerstone of […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai UAE has emerged as the fastest-growing market worldwide for artificial intelligence hiring, with demand for AI specialists accelerating sharply over the past year as Gulf economies deepen their technology push. New data from the RemotePass 2025 Hiring Report shows AI-related recruitment in the UAE climbed from 32 per cent of total tech hiring in 2023–24 to 48 per cent in 2024–25, marking […]
funeral pre-planning
https://www.linkedin.com/company/brand-hong-kong/
https://x.com/Brand_HK/
https://www.facebook.com/brandhk.isd
https://www.instagram.com/brandhongkong
