Five Aussie universities ban Indian students after surge in fraudulent student visa applications

Several Australian universities are cracking down on fraudulent student visa applications from India. Victoria University, Edith Cowan University, the University of Wollongong, Torrens University, and Southern Cross University are among the universities that have implemented bans on Indian students from certain states to preempt potential government restrictions. The Australian government applies ratings to countries it considers a higher risk of visa fraud, and many students from these countries have been found to work illegally after arriving in Australia. Education agencies that recruit international students in exchange for commissions have been accused of misleading conduct.

Bloomberg: India producing graduates with worthless degree

Bloomberg reported India’s $117 billion education industry generates unemployed graduates with worthless degrees, attending substandard private colleges offering outdated curriculums and lacking practical experience. As a result, half of all Indian graduates are deemed unemployable due to systemic issues in education.

Stallholders regret taking up stalls at Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar due to high rent, low traffic and heavy competition

Stallholders at Singapore’s Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar regret taking up stalls, citing high rent and low traffic. The consortium organising the bazaar on behalf of the People’s Association defends itself by saying its rates are “within market rental rates” and that they incurred additional costs to enhance visitors’ experiences.

Singapore gets caught up by Chinese clandestine propaganda operation in India

Indian journalists and researchers have been approached by alleged Chinese agents who offered them monetary rewards to cooperate on projects or write articles on security and foreign policy, according to reports in the Indian media. The agents reportedly used fake credentials and claimed to be from Singapore-based institutions. Two individuals, who claimed to be working for the National University of Singapore and Singapore Institute of International Affairs respectively, contacted journalists and researchers via social media and email. Singapore High Commissioner Simon Wong later confirmed that the individuals in question did not exist and their accounts were fake. Experts believe the incident is part of a clandestine propaganda operation by China, with the aim of influencing Indian journalists and researchers in their writings.

DBS CEO, who received S$15.4 million in pay in 2022, feels embarrassed over technical disruption

DBS CEO Piyush Gupta felt embarrassed at the Annual General Meeting due to the bank’s digital banking service disruption for the second time in 16 months. DBS Chairman Peter Seah also apologized to shareholders and convened a special board committee to investigate the incident. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has condemned DBS for its reliability and said it would take supervisory actions after gathering facts. Gupta’s total pay for last year increased by 13.2% to S$15.4 million, including club, car, and driver benefits, according to the bank’s annual report released last month. Ironically, in the report, Gupta said that DBS needs to continue strengthening its technology in areas such as site reliability engineering.

Desmond Lee says Singaporeans accept high-price BTO flats in mature estates

Singapore’s National Development Minister, Desmond Lee, believes that location and other attributes should be taken into account when setting prices for Build-To-Order (BTO) flats, which should remain affordable and accessible to eligible Singaporeans. The affordability of BTO flats, even for upper-middle-class families, has been questioned based on the Housing Price to Annual Income Ratio (HPI), with an HPI of more than three being considered unaffordable. Netizens commenting on the Straits Times’ Facebook post of the report questioned the definition of affordability by Mr Desmond Lee, arguing that being able to afford does not mean that the price is affordable. 

Singaporean retrenched from Meta competes with other retrenched foreigners for jobs

Channel News Asia reported earlier this month (10 Mar) that many of…

Foreign students petition UK PM to retract ‘unjust’ visa revocation order

Foreign students deliver a petition to the British PM Rishi Sunak, requesting the revocation of an “unjust” visa revocation order. The order was issued in response to a decade-old English test scandal undercovered by BBC.

Canada to deport 700 Indian students found to have used fake college acceptance letters in visa application

Over 700 Indian students are facing deportation from Canada after the Canadian Border Security Agency discovered they had entered the country using fake admission offer letters to study. The students had applied for study visas via an agency in Jalandhar, paying at least INR1.6m ($19.4k) each for expenses, including admission fees for Toronto’s Humber College. However, when they landed in Toronto, they were told the courses were full, and were advised to enrol at another institution, which the CBSA has deemed fraudulent. The fraud was discovered when the students applied for permanent residency after completing their courses.

Ex-ST editor Warren Fernandez leads Edelman, reveals survey on high trust in Govt and Media in Singapore

Warren Fernandez, former editor of Straits Times, now leads Edelman Singapore, which released a survey indicating high trust in the government and “comparatively high” trust in Singaporean media.