James M Dorsey Gulf states are in a pickle. They fear that the emerging parameters of a reconfigured US commitment to security in the Middle East threaten to upend a more-than-a-century-old pillar of regional security and leave them with no good alternatives. The shaky pillar is the Gulf monarchies’ reliance on a powerful external ally that, in the words of Middle East scholar Roby C. Barrett, “shares the […]
Microsoft and SkillsFuture Singapore partner to help local small and medium enterprises close skills gap by tailoring skills paths and transforming workplace learning practices SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 12 October 2021 – Since the launch of the Let’s Skill Up program earlier this year, Microsoft Singapore has enabled more than 30 local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in their partner ecosystem to uplift skills capabilities and strengthen workplace […]
By James M. Dorsey Two separate developments involving improved relations between Sunni and Shiite Muslims and women’s sporting rights demonstrate major shifts in how rivalry for leadership of the Muslim world and competition to define Islam in the 21st century is playing out in a world in which Middle Eastern states can no longer depend on the United States coming to their defence. The developments fit into […]
Facilitating technology advancement by strengthening ICT connectivity and scaling in the cloud HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 5 October 2021 – DYXnet, a member of NEOLINK (sub-brand of VNET) and a leading carrier-neutral network service provider in Greater China, is pleased to be named the winner in the ICT Technology category of the HKB Technology Excellence Awards 2021 by Hong Kong Business magazine for its comprehensive IT […]
James M Dorsey On their way from Tel Aviv airport to Jerusalem in 1977 then Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Yigael Yadin asked President Anwar Sadat, the first Arab leader to ever officially visit Israel, why the Egyptian military had not moved deeper into the Sinai during the 1973 Middle East war. “You have nuclear arms. Haven’t you heard?” Mr. Sadat replied. Mr. Sadat’s strategic calculations in the war, the […]
James M Dorsey For at least the last two decades, the United Arab Emirates, aided by some of the world’s foremost consulting and public affairs companies, has waged one of, if not the Middle East’s most successful nation branding campaign. The campaign has been supported by cutting edge technological and economic initiatives; a bold and assertive foreign policy backed by the UAE’s financial and military muscle; a […]
The whitepaper, created with the Open Data Institute, captures lessons from governments and organizations in Asia that have embarked on data sharing initiatives Building a foundation of trust, greater public-private collaboration, and a proactive approach by governments will unlock new opportunities to innovate and solve Asia’s biggest challenges SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 28 September 2021 – Microsoft today, with support from the Open Data Institute (ODI), released a whitepaper […]
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 28 September 2021 – Lenovo™ today announced that ThinkSmart™ Core is now available in Hong Kong. As a collaborative solution built for the next phase of hybrid work, ThinkSmart Core is Lenovo’s first modular room kit for meeting spaces that enables both flexibility and scalability, powered by the 11th Gen Intel vPro® platform designed to deliver high performance and comprehensive hardware-based security features. […]
With recent data privacy trends and rising advertising costs, companies must reevaluate how they can be found by their customers without escalating marketing spend. SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 24 September 2021 – Stridec Worldwide (“Stridec”), a Singapore-based SEO agency recently awarded by Clutch as one of the top SEO companies in Singapore for 2021, is advocating for businesses to adopt a SEO-centric approach to their digital […]
Imagine yourself having a leisurely breakfast knowing that you can easily commute to work or bring your kids to school. Or perhaps you can picture yourself having a business meeting at a nearby café then doing a spot of shopping on the way home? You can even go as far as fantasising about a day of fun and leisure as you sweat it out with friends at […]
The introduction of radio frequency identification or RFID has streamlined most business activities, improving efficiency and reducing costs. For instance, it can be used for inspecting business equipment, controlling manufacturing processes, managing assets, and tracking and distributing goods. Typically, an RFID system employs three components: a transceiver, a scanning antenna, and an RFID tag. It operates using a small device with a microchip that can hold massive […]
By James M. Dorsey A paradigm shift in jihadist thinking suggests that the US invasion of Afghanistan may prove to have achieved more than many counterterrorism experts would want policymakers and military strategists to believe. Similarly, the paradigm shift also hints at the possibility that the presence in a Taliban-governed Afghanistan of various militant Islamist and jihadist groups could turn out to be an advantage in efforts […]
Global logistics player eyes strong growth in Asia Pacific (APAC) through strategic expansion of its fixed schedule network HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 21 September 2021 – GEODIS, a global leading transport and logistics services provider, is extending its AirDirect service with the addition of a twice weekly flight routed London Stansted (STN)/Amsterdam (AMS)/ Hong Kong (HKG)/STN/AMS. With the new schedule coming into effect from October, GEODIS’ […]
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 20 September 2021 – With the growth of e-commerce, more and more individuals are becoming accustomed to signing contracts with strangers over the Internet. As a result of the epidemic’s impact, businesses have begun to perform intelligent business operations more regularly via online meetings or papers. Electronic signatures, as a key component of online contracts, play a vital role in safeguarding the rights […]
Manish Rai The Taliban after much wait has announced its 33-member interim cabinet. This new government is exclusively Taliban, and almost all the ministers are of Pashtun ethnicity. Women have no positions in this new setup. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs has been dissolved. And the sinister Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has been re-established. This clearly illustrates that the Taliban […]
James M Dorsey Indonesian religious affairs minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas set the bar high for President Joko Widodo as well as Nahdlatul Ulama, the religious backbone of Mr. Widodo’s government when he laid out the agenda for his country’s presidency of the Group of 20. The G20 groups the world’s largest economies. Speaking to the G20 Interfaith Forum in Bologna as Italy prepared to handover its presidency to […]
HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM – Media OutReach – 17 September 2021 – Proparco, the French Development Finance Institution, has granted a US$50 million loan to HDBank to finance green projects and promote sustainable development in Vietnam. It marks the first collaboration between Proparco and HDBank. A pioneer in green lending, HDBank has in past years helped foster Việt Nam’s economic development while minimising the impacts on the environment. The loan will […]
Ransomware remains primary threat as threat actors evolve tactics HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 15 September 2021 – Global cybersecurity leader Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704) announced today that it blocked 40.9 billion email threats, malicious files, and malicious URLs for customers in the first half of 2021, a 47% year-on-year increase. To read the full report “Attacks from All Angles: 2021 […]
Highest scores possible in fourteen out of eighteen criteria include product vision, innovation roadmap, and user experience and navigation SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 15 September 2021 – Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA), the leading independent provider of identity, announced that the company has been named a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Identity-As-A-Service (IDaaS) for Enterprise, Q3 2021, a report published by Forrester Research, Inc. The report evaluates eleven Identity-As-A-Service (IDaaS) for […]
James M Dorsey The Taliban’s record in recent weeks on making good on promises to respect human and women’s rights as well as uphold freedom of the press is mixed at best. Afghanistan’s neighbours and near-neighbours are not holding their breath even if some are willing to give the Central Asian country’s new rulers the benefit of the doubt. A litmus test of Taliban willingness to compromise […]
James M Dorsey The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan may help Iran reduce its international isolation. At least, that’s what the Islamic Republic hopes when leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) gather in Tajikistan next weekend. Members are admitted to the eight-member China-led SCO that also groups Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, by unanimous consensus. Iran, unlike its rivals in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia and the […]
“CCG Accel – Powered by HKSTP” is a pioneering programme to help tech ventures close the critical gap between innovation and commercialisation and advance smart property and retail operations in Hong Kong HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 9 September 2021 – Chinachem Group (the Group) and Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) took another step forward in its pioneering pilot-first accelerator programme today by announcing […]
Skills mismatch continues to be the most prevalent form of mismatches (63%) according to business leaders Workers with skills gaps are not the top priority for training (15%), as compared to workers with high potential (45%) SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 10 September 2021 – As companies and workers transition into an endemic world, upskilling remains a key driver to build new capabilities and soar forward. According to business […]
ClayOPS, Velocity Business Solutions and Riley will join NCS NEXT to strengthen data analytics and cloud capabilities SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 9 September 2021 – NCS has reached agreements to acquire three companies – ClayOPS, Velocity Business Solutions, and Riley – with capabilities in data analytics and cloud that will support NCS’ regional expansion strategy in Asia Pacific. The move is in line with Singtel’s strategic reset announced in […]
