Sydney airport transport gap, Algeria troops to Niger, luxury firms' weak results
Also: nine firms win 2026 Emerging Enterprise Awards, Africa fuel and fertiliser costs rise, and Indian IT firms hire fewer fresh graduates.
BBC News Asia reports that a single major difficulty faces the new $5bn airport in Sydney, which is that reaching it is hard. For one year, no direct public transport link will serve the airport.
The Business Times reports that nine companies from Singapore and the region bagged top honours at the 2026 Emerging Enterprise Awards. Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia together supplied over a third of the 600 applications received this year.
A long-running downturn in China is adding pressure on the luxury sector, and CNA reports that disappointing results have come from LVMH and from Kering, the owner of Hermes's rival Gucci. This year, the six biggest listed luxury companies in Europe have lost a combined €251 billion in market value. In the third quarter, Kering saw a fall of between 15 and 20 per cent in sales to Chinese consumers across the group.
Al Jazeera reports that Algeria's president has ordered a troop deployment to neighbouring Niger. Algeria would be sending troops abroad for the first time since 1973 if it granted Niger's request for forces to protect energy interests the two countries share.
Kevin Tan and Yeo Kang Shua of the International Council on Monuments and Sites Singapore argue in a CNA commentary that architectural conservation and engineering are short of capacity, which may affect how good heritage studies are.
Trade officials say, as Al Jazeera reports, that across Africa the war on Iran is pushing up the cost of fuel and fertiliser and threatening food security.
CNA reports that as AI changes the skills employers seek, the largest IT companies in India are taking on far fewer fresh graduates. Company reports show that in financial year 2026, TCS took in less than half the number of people it did four years earlier. Experts from the industry told CNA that unless companies and universities do more to develop young talent, experienced workers could become scarce in the future.
BBC News Asia reports that cartoonists in India say satire is getting harder because of online restrictions, yet they are not giving up.
Al Jazeera reports that Zelenskyy says peace talks with Russia and the US will restart.
Sources
- BBC News Asia: Sydney's new $5bn airport has one big problem: Getting there is tough
- The Business Times: Nine companies from Singapore and the region bag top honours at 2026 Emerging Enterprise Awards
- CNA: Chinese shoppers are spending less on luxury. The world’s biggest fashion houses are feeling the pinch
- Al Jazeera: Algeria’s president orders troop deployment to neighbouring Niger
- CNA: Commentary: Singapore is doing more heritage studies – but does it have enough experts?
- Al Jazeera: Africa food security under threat due to Iran war, trade officials warn
- CNA: As AI reshapes entry-level jobs, India's IT industry grapples with developing future talent
- BBC News Asia: India's cartoonists built an audience online - now their posts are being restricted
- Al Jazeera: Zelenskyy says peace talks with Russia, US to restart
