Hong Kong’s trailblazing kung fu luminary, Sammo Hung will be in town for the 12th Singapore Chinese Film Festival (SCFF) from 26 April to 5 May. He’s slated to participate in the Asian Film Awards Academy’s Masterclass Series on 4 May. SCFF’s “Filmmaker in Focus” will also be screening five of his seminal cinematic works. Having entered the film industry in the 1960s as a stuntman and extra, Hung’s since appeared in hundreds of movies, either as actor, director, stunt coordinator, or sometimes all three. Here’s an opportunity to immerse in the artistry of one of Asia’s most revered filmmakers ..read more

By now, you’ll have seen mentions of the Taylor Swift concert everywhere – especially on social media. She garners a lot of attention wherever she goes, and her Singapore concert demonstrated the power she wields. And it’s not just for her fans, but for the economy of wherever she’s touring. Some are calling this Swiftonomics or the Taylor Swift Effect. Singapore is the only city she’s is performing in in Southeast Asia, thanks to the Singapore government’s generous grant and forward planning. While having Tay Tay perform is a boon for Swifties, the Singapore leg of her performance got a lot o ..read more

As Singapore grapples with the complexities of an ageing population and increasing health challenges, nurses emerge as frontline caregivers, playing a crucial role in providing compassionate and specialised care to individuals across diverse healthcare settings. Their expertise not only contributes to the well-being of patients but also serves as a cornerstone in addressing the evolving healthcare needs of the community. In this dynamic healthcare environment, the significance of nurses in Singapore extends beyond traditional caregiving, encompassing leadership, innovation, and a commitment to ..read more

If you’re ever boggled by the long list of specialists at a hospital, then you’ll know that the human body is something that can never be fully understood by just one doctor (especially when it comes to weird patient behaviour). Here are some very specific – but (maybe) slightly gross – areas in health science that doctors and scientists actually study, but without them we would never truly understand the inner workings of our body. Fart Expert You’d be forgiven for thinking that the study of farts would be some sort of teenage prank, but Dr. Michael Levitt (aka the ‘gas guru’) actually ..read more

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about substantial changes in student expectations from universities, resulting in a transformation of educational norms. A survey, encompassing over 3,000 undergraduate and post-graduate students across 11 countries (including 192 students based in Singapore) sheds light on this shift. Of note is that one-third of students express neutrality or dissatisfaction with their selected university. This highlights a critical concern for university leaders responsible for delivering positive experiences. Falling short of expectations in enhancing career prospects or p ..read more

You may think you know your Chinese New Year traditions, but the festival used to be very strange indeed, with evil ducks, red shields against star wars, pedophilic evil spirits, and yearly disturbances in the spacetime continuum. 1. Wei-ya（尾牙） Unlike Spin the Bottle where the winner gets a kiss, in “spin the duck,” the winner gets fired. In Taiwan, on the 16th day of the 12th lunar month, a big banquet used to be thrown by the company boss during which a roast duck is spun. The unlucky person the bird points to has to voluntarily resign (with a nice severance package), taking the company’s b ..read more

The dynamic Dr. Sheena Ramazanu, 33, is a trailblazer in today’s global healthcare landscape. As a nurse specialising in Clinical Research, Sheena is currently embarking on a new chapter at the Hong Kong Metropolitan University’s School of Nursing and Health Studies as an Assistant Professor. Her journey in nursing has been marked by numerous accolades, including the prestigious Royal Society for Public Health Fellowship (FRSPH), which she was conferred in 2023.  Sheena’s academic journey began a decade ago at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), where she pursued her nursing degr ..read more

In a concerning trend, Booking.com customers have become a popular target for scams in 2023, with fraudsters exploiting the platform to deceive unsuspecting users. With so many people itching to travel after multiple pandemic lockdowns, a number of users have been tricked into handing over their personal and banking details in order to secure their hotel bookings. Since the beginning of 2023, scammers using the online reservation platform’s in-app messaging function have victimised over 30 individuals in Singapore, leading to collective losses of approximately S$41,000 since September. As it i ..read more

Since their secondary school years, Shanice Lim Wei En, 23 and Lee Xuan Ying, 25, have had a profound fascination with nutrition and its influence on individual well-being. In 2019, when the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) introduced its Bachelor of Science with Honours in Dietetics and Nutrition, they seized the opportunity to pursue their passion in the field. They both opted for the SIT programme because it is the first degree course of its kind offered by an autonomous university in Singapore. As the pioneer graduates in the programme, both found employment as dietitians at hospita ..read more

Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” is a film that ambitiously attempts to capture the grandeur and complexity of one of history’s most iconic figures. The movie navigates the tumultuous life of Napoleon Bonaparte, exploring both the political and personal dimensions of the man behind the legend. While the film boasts epic war scenes and moments of awkward humour, it falls short of delivering a cohesive and emotionally resonant narrative. The flow One of the most notable aspects of “Napoleon” is its incorporation of awkward humor into the storyline. Scott, known for his mastery in creating visually stun ..read more