Social conditions and trends

Letter From Hong Kong

Think S’pore’s education system is competitive? Try Hong Kong’s pre-school admissions interview

Young children have to pass admission interviews to get into pre-schools in Hong Kong.

‘Vibe coding’ named word of the year by Collins Dictionary

The 2025 shortlist highlights a range of words that have emerged in the past year to pithily reflect the changing world.

Beauty influencer tattoos freckles on her face, sparks heated debate online

Beauty influencer Sierra Cannon says she felt her face “was meant to have freckles”.

The Great Lock In: The TikTok trend helping some young people salvage their 2025

On TikTok, young people across the globe have decided to embark on “The Great Lock In”, where targets have to be achieved within the last third of 2025.

While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Oct 31, 2025

King Charles' brother, Andrew, will now be known as simply Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, and will live in private accommodation in eastern England.

Beyond words: ‘67’ crowned Word of the Year

Dictionary.com said the origin of the word might be traced to Doot Doot (6 7), a song by the US rapper Skrilla.

Turning up the heat: New Zealand rolls out first all-women firefighter calendar

Thirteen women from nine fire stations in New Zealand participated in the campaign that seeks to help fund breast cancer research.

Commentary

In China, men are losing confidence and blaming women for it

(FILES) Women use an umbrella to shelter from the sun amid hot weather in Shanghai on May 29, 2023. Heatwaves across Asia and beyond have already broken records this year, while the arrival of the El Nino climate phenomenon will mean even more extreme temperatures (Photo by AFP) / China OUT

Pen pals for 43 years, a Singaporean and a Canadian had never met in person – till now

Penpals Michelle Anne Ng and Sonya Clarke Casey wrote each other letters since they were 12 years, and they have never stopped.

Compact digital cameras snapping back to popularity in Japan

The number of such cameras shipped into the domestic market in 2024 was the first rise in seven years.

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MDDI (P) 046/10/2025. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. No.202120748H. Copyright © 2025 SPH Media Limited. All rights reserved.