The move highlights booming people-to-people exchange between the Asean and China, and shows their flourishing relations have developed beyond just commercial ties.

In China, Thailand is the largest source of Asean students. More than 23,000 Thai students went to study in China in 2016.

Sitting close to Shanghai and in the heart of Yangtze River Delta region, China’s major economic hub, Duke Kunshan University is ideal and a unique option for those who wish to pursue world-class education while having chance to live and study in China.

Students from Asia and the rest of the world are “especially welcomed”, said Denis Simon, executive vice chancellor of Duke Kunshan University, which is “committed to bringing together a diverse cohort of high-quality students from across the world”.

“We are building a truly global university in China, which makes us unique in the Chinese context,” Simon said, noting Thailand, as well as Japan, Korea and Singapore, have been influencing the region for years.

“Each country across Asia – and the world – has their own unique learning culture. The multiple perspectives students from across Asia will bring to Duke Kunshan will contribute greatly to ensuring we create a rich and dynamic learning environment.”

As a product of the collaboration between Duke University, an institution consistently ranked among the top 10 universities in the United States, and Wuhan University in China, Duke Kunshan will begin to offer a wide range of undergraduate majors starting in August 2018.

Located in Kunshan in the eastern part of China’s Jiangsu Province, Duke Kunshan is seeking to recruit at least 50 overseas students as part of its initial class of 225 cohorts. The university previously only has offered postgraduate courses and a non-degree undergraduate program called the Global Learning Semester.

Russell Davis, Director of Global Student Recruitment at Duke Kunshan, said the university provides students with a unique opportunity to live and study in China and the US while pursuing a high-caliber education culminating in a degree from both Duke University and Duke Kunshan University.

“Students will study in a truly global environment. The undergraduate academic program spans two continents – in Kunshan, at a state-of-the-art campus; and a two-semester experience at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina,” he said. At Duke Kunshan, non-Chinese students also will be required to take Mandarin courses to help them deepen their knowledge of Chinese culture and society.

Over the summer, the university’s recruitment team traveled across Asia visiting high schools to introduce Duke Kunshan and specific details about the undergraduate program. This fall, they will have another extensive recruitment trip to cities all over Asia to conduct information sessions and further introduce the program to prospective applicants and parents.

Davis said there has been exponential growth in the number of international schools across Southeast, South and East Asia in recent years, many of which are utilizing various international curriculum that provide an excellent academic background for attending Duke Kunshan.

Education is a key area in China-ASEAN cooperation. Now over 190,000 Chinese and ASEAN students are studying in each other’s universities. More than 80,000 ASEAN students have studied in China as of the end of 2016.

Nearly 60% of all 442,773 foreign students currently in China come from Asia, according China’s Ministry of Education.

Jiangsu, home province of the Duke Kunshan, is the third largest destination for foreign students, behind Beijing and Shanghai only.

In China, there are 10 joint-venture universities between Chinese and overseas institutions. Duke University is the only one among the top 10 universities in the US that has established a joint-venture university in China. Duke’s venture into China is a key part of its overall globalization strategy.

When graduating from Duke Kunshan, students will receive a Duke degree and join Duke’s global network of 170,000 alumni; they also will receive from Duke Kunshan University, a bachelor’s degree which is approved by China’s Ministry of Education.

The four-year bachelor’s degree program is based on an innovative, interdisciplinary highly integrated liberal arts and sciences curriculum that allows students an opportunity to explore a variety of subjects and build a broad base of knowledge before selecting a major towards the end of their second year.

“They will learn critical thinking and problem-solving skills that can be applied in any career path, either today or tomorrow. Our graduates will design, create and shape the jobs of tomorrow–jobs that likely don’t exist yet. And, equally important, they will learn to work across borders and cultures with people from different backgrounds and disciplines,” said Simon, the executive vice chancellor.

“Overall, they will become more sensitive, understanding and empathetic–critical attributes that are key to a fulfilled life professionally and personally.”

Davis said that Duke Kunshan also would increase steadily the class size over the following years. At full capacity, Duke Kunshan will have 2,000 undergraduate students with a mix of 60% from the Chinese mainland and 40% from other international destinations.

By the time Duke Kunshan’s inaugural class of students declare their majors in 2020, the university will have about 20 majors from which to choose. Students will be well prepared to apply for graduate study or secure jobs in China or abroad.

The first batch of majors that has been approved by the Ministry of Education include applied mathematics and computational sciences with a focus in math, and material science with a focus in physics. These majors were designed to equip students for either further study or immediate employment in settings where they will be expected to draw on knowledge from multiple fields in order to succeed.

Additional majors to be introduced over the next two years, include humanities majors that integrate history, philosophy, literature, and the arts, as well as social science majors integrating economics, sociology, anthropology, and psychology. Duke Kunshan also will offer a strong number of programs in science and mathematics.

“The world continues to change quite rapidly and new technologies are being introduced at an accelerated pace,” said Simon. “Successful graduates will need to have a highly agile mindset so they can respond quickly to the new demands of the workforce in the coming years.

Prospective students may apply to Duke Kunshan through the Common Application system.

All applicants will be automatically considered for available scholarships, up to and including full scholarships, Davis said.

“Duke Kunshan is deeply committed to attracting and enrolling a highly talented, diverse international student body. As such, scholarships, both merit and need-based, are available to support these goals,” he added.

The spokesperson of IOJ said the organisation supports advertisement and campaign launched by Facebook on newspapers to highlight the issue of fabricated news and increasingly alert the public.

He said IOJ is currently discussing with Facebook to explore whether both can launch some form of measures to handle fake news.

“Once we come to a conclusion we will be announcing some of the measures in the next few months.”

IOJ and Facebook placed a full page advertisement in Sin Chew Daily on Aug  24 offering ten ways to identify fake news and information such as paying attention to the headline, check the website address, check on the reliability of the source, observe the unusual format, identify whether the photographs or visuals are genuine, check the date of incident, verify source of evidence, check other news reports and judge the quality of news. Read and think about the news, only share news with friends after making sure that the news is genuine and reference is available.

On April 12, Facebook, through social media platform, proposes to offer tips to spot fake news for users to verify information in a bid to stop the widespread of untrue news.

Since undergoing transformation in 2013 that witnessed intense strategic planning to better equip Brunei to facilitate multi-faceted aspects of day-to-day living and operations that rely on quality Internet connection, 80 per cent of TelBru’s subscribers are now reaping the benefits of high speed internet access.

With FTTH customers now receiving at least 10Mbps based on TelBru’s minimum bandwidth package, Brunei is now poised to efficiently implement the Internet of Things (IoT) initiative that requires fast internet connectivity that has potential applications in fields such as education, health, transportation, finance, resource conservation as well as, among others, for the home.

In the four years since introducing high speed broadband, the company has seen an uptake in its services with many either opting for, or migrating to, TelBru’s 15Mbps broadband package.

These Volume Based Broadband (VBB) packages were revamped to increase the minimum bandwidth speed from 1Mbps to 10Mbps and with infrastructure that can withstand higher capacities, TelBru has the capability to offer 2.5Gbps should clients require such an arrangement, whilst 10Gbps ports have already undergone testing.

With roll-outs still underway, the remaining 20 per cent of TelBru’s clients still on copper will eventually be connected to fibre or alternative technology that can deliver high-speed Internet similar to available infrastructure for Brunei’s Water Village that utilises Fixed Wireless Broadband.

As part of the company’s proactive endeavour to connect strategic areas that aims to benefit residents and business customers, several areas are currently in the planning stages of fibre connectivity of which includes the up and coming Pulau Muara Besar that will benefit from dependable Internet access, while areas such as pre-existing housing projects including Bukit Beruang and Meragang are currently being fitted with FTTH networks.

Additionally, the recently completed Lugu housing area is undergoing preparations for FTTH as TelBru continues to meet residential requirements for data.

Moving forward, TelBru will continue to keep abreast with the country’s needs in line with the company’s responsibility towards nurturing a tech-savvy population as outlined in Brunei Vision 2035.

Annan said in his statement that he was too worried about the terrorist attacks currently occurring in Rakhine State and he publicly denounced the unpleasant situation as well as he felt so sad to hear the deaths of security guards.

The terrorist attacks were severe. Terrorist attacks are happening at an alarming rate. The conflicts may accelerate among the communities.

“Cruelly meaningless killings will never bring justice. Those committing crimes must be responsible for their illegal acts. Security guards need to handle the situation without hurting innocent people. I strongly demand all organizations not to accept terrorist acts. Terrorism is not a solution to challenges facing in Rakhine State following the disappearance of security and stability,” Annan said.

“I strongly condemn today’s brutal attacks by terrorists on security forces in Rakhine State.”

“I would like to commend the members of the police and security forces who have acted with great courage in the face of many challenges. My thoughts are with the members of the police and security forces who have lost their lives, and their families, friends and colleagues.”

The government had been aware of the risk of attacks to coincide with the release of the Commission’s final report yesterday and had issued instruction to relevant Union Ministers.

“It is clear that today’s attacks are a calculated attempt to undermine the efforts of those seeking to build peace and harmony in Rakhine State. We must not allow our work to be derailed by the violent actions of extremists.”

The government remains firm in its commitment to finding meaningful and lasting solutions to the issues in Rakhine. I welcome the constructive approach taken by the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State in their final report yesterday.

I welcome also the strong condemnation of the attacks today by the Commission’s Chairman, Dr. Kofi Annan, she said.

The firing occurred at Ghumdhum border post where the villagers have been stranded since Friday after fresh violence broke out in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state.

An AFP reporter in Ghumdum witnessed civilians running for their lives as the troops opened fire.

It was not immediately clear if there were any injuries.

“They have fired on civilians, mostly women and children, hiding in the hills near the (border) zero line,” Border Guard Bangladesh’s (BGB) station chief Manzurul Hassan told AFP.

“They fired machine guns and mortar shells suddenly, targetting the civilians. They have not consulted with the BGB,” he added.

Rakhine State has become a crucible of religious hatred focused on the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority, who are reviled and perceived as illegal immigrants in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

Violence has again scorched through the region, leaving at least 92 dead since early Friday and forcing thousands of civilians — Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine — to flee their homes.

Unwanted by Myanmar, the Rohingya are unwelcome in Bangladesh, which already hosts tens of thousands of refugees from the Muslim minority.

On Saturday up to 2,000 displaced Rohingya women and children gathered at the ‘zero line’ marking the border with Bangladesh but were denied entry, according to authorities.

In desperate scenes, many were left without shelter in a no-man’s land on the border, or forced to return to villages trapping them in between militants and security forces.

“All of them were women and children. Seeing the (border guard) patrol, they did not enter Bangladesh,” head of the Bangladesh border guard for Ukhia town, Manzurul Hassan Khan, told AFP.

However, an AFP reporter at the scene said hundreds made it across the porous border early Saturday when border patrols were relaxed due to heavy rains, with some swimming across the Naf river.

An emergency ward doctor also said that two Rohingya men who had been shot in Myanmar entered Bangladesh and were taken to hospital.

“One of them, aged 25, died hours after he was admitted here,” the doctor said on condition of anonymity.

Militancy growing

The latest violence started on Friday as hundreds of men purportedly from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), ambushed Myanmar police posts using knives, some guns and homemade explosives to kill at least a dozen security forces.

At least 77 Rohingya militants died in the ensuing fight back, according to the office of Myanmar’s de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi — the highest declared single day toll since ARSA emerged as a force last year.

The group says it is fighting to protect the Rohingya from abuses by Myanmar security forces and the majority-Buddhist Rakhine community who they accuse of trying to push their roughly 1 million-strong community out.

Attacks on police posts last October sparked a wave of deadly ‘clearance operations’ by Myanmar’s army and forced some 87,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh.

The UN believes that military crackdown may have amounted to ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya.

The army denies the allegations which included civilian killings and mass rape.

Rights groups fear a similar crackdown may take place following Friday’s brazen attacks.

Bloodshed continued on Saturday with residents fleeing remote villages to the town of Maungdaw, only to be greeted with more violence there.

Three village officials were killed overnight near Maungdaw, according to the office of State Counsellor Suu Kyi.

Hours later residents inside the town, which is close to the Bangladesh border, ran for safety as gun shots rang out as a local administration office came under attack by militants.

“Our situation is urgent,” Myint Kyaing, a Maungdaw administrative officer told AFP on Saturday afternoon before hanging up the phone.

Ethnic Rakhine Buddhists armed themselves with knives and sticks as tension soared in a town that has repeatedly been the epicentre of religious violence since 2012.

With panic spreading, scores of Hindu villagers fled from surrounding villages to Maungdaw after rumours they were also a target for the militants.

“There is no security in the villages,” Buthon, a Hindu man in Maungdaw told AFP.

The government has declared the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) a terrorist organisation.

Myanmar says the group is headed by Rohingya jihadists who were trained abroad but it is unclear how large the network is and they appear to be using homespun weapons in addition to guns seized during their raids.

Harvey, the most powerful storm to hit the US mainland in 12 years, roared ashore late Friday at the town of Rockport — near Corpus Christi, a major US oil industry hub — as a Category Four hurricane on the five-level storm scale, packing sustained winds of 130 miles per hour (215 kilometers per hour).

A few hours later the storm made a second landfall just north of Rockport as a Category Three hurricane, with winds of 125 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.

Over the next hours Harvey lost strength as it moved inland over south Texas and eventually dropped to a still-dangerous Category One storm, with winds of 85 mph.

“Additional weakening is forecast, and Harvey is likely to become a tropical storm later today,” the NHC said at 1200 GMT.

More damage however is expected from the heavy rain than from the strong wind: the NHC warned of likely “catastrophic and life-threatening flooding” due to the massive rainfall forecast and the huge storm surge, which could reach 13 feet (nearly four meters) in some places.

“Harvey is expected to slow down through the day and meander over southeastern Texas through the middle of next week,” the NHC said.

President Donald Trump granted Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s request to declare a “major disaster” zone in the state to speed federal aid to the millions in harm’s way. Abbott in turn activated more than 1,000 National Guardsmen to help with evacuation and recovery.

Oil production crippled

Meteorologists warned that tornadoes were possible through Saturday from Texas into Louisiana, which is also expected to take a major hit.

The powerful storm has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes and crippled oil production in the Gulf.

There was widespread tree damage in Rockport and vehicles damaged “all over the place,” as well as 10 people injured from roof collapses, City Manager Kevin Carruth told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

As he headed to the Camp David presidential retreat for the weekend with his family, Trump said: “Good luck to everybody.”

Supermarkets stripped bare

Harvey, the most powerful hurricane to hit the mainland since Wilma struck Florida in 2005, could dump up to 40 inches (more than one meter) of rain on the area over the next few days — and cause billions of dollars in damage.

2005 was a huge year for hurricanes — before Wilma, Hurricane Katrina pummeled New Orleans, leaving more than 1,800 dead and becoming one of the greatest domestic headaches for then-president George W. Bush.

Coastal Texas is a fast-growing area, with some 1.5 million people moving into the area since 1999.

Authorities said the combination of dense growth and perhaps a year’s worth of rain falling in just four or five days could prove deadly.

Supermarket aisles were stripped bare, homes and shops had boarded up windows.

The NHC warned of the “complete destruction of mobile homes,” of many buildings “washing away,” and some areas being left “uninhabitable for weeks or months.”

Some 213,000 customers in the storm region were left in the dark after Harvey struck, the local utility company, Ercot, said Saturday.

“Much road debris and downed power lines,” Corpus Christi police said via Twitter. “Most traffic lights are out. Please be patient.”

‘More powerful than projected’

In 2005, Bush faced severe criticism after FEMA appeared unprepared for the devastating damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina.

Wary of any accusation of complacency, Trump said he was fully engaged with relief efforts.

“Closely monitoring #HurricaneHarvey from Camp David. We are levaving nothing to chance. City, State and Federal Govs. working great together”, he wrote on Twitter.

Many residents who fled the worst-affected areas headed for the city of San Antonio where temporary shelters run by the fire department.

“I felt like I didn’t want what happened to the guys in New Orleans…I didn’t want that to happen to me,” Michael Allen, an evacuee from Corpus Christi, told AFP.

“I only got what you see me with. Everything I had, I had to leave. Everything. It was bring it with me or lose my life and I felt like I should save my life.”

Sheriff Frank Osborne of Matagorda County, where evacuations were mandatory, told local TV station KHOU that he would not risk the lives of his deputies “to save somebody that didn’t leave when they were asked to.”

Officials in Houston, the most populous city in the storm’s path, closed its port but did not anticipate mass evacuations.

FEMA’s Long said the most pressing danger was the storm surge, but also said many inland counties should prepare for “significant” flooding.

US authorities said about 22 percent of crude production in the Gulf of Mexico was shut down as of Friday — accounting for more than 375,000 barrels a day.

But total US production stands at 9.5 million barrels a day, experts say.

Meteorologist Eric Holthaus told AFP the prospect of the storm stalling on the coast, lashing it with heavy rain for days, was “just terrifying.”

In Louisiana, Governor John Bel Edwards issued an emergency declaration for his entire state, as authorities in New Orleans — where Katrina did the most damage — readied high-water rescue vehicles and boats.

The state is bisected by religious hatred focused on the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority, who are reviled and perceived as illegal immigrants in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

The office of de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi said 12 security officials had been killed alongside 77 militants — the highest declared single day toll since fighting broke out last year.

Friday’s fighting exploded around Rathedaung township which has seen a heavy build-up of Myanmar troops in recent weeks, with reports filtering out of killings by shadowy groups, army-blockaded villages and abuses.

Some 20 police posts came under attack in the early hours of Friday by an estimated 150 insurgents, some carrying guns and using homemade explosives, Myanmar’s military said.

“The military and police members are fighting back together against extremist Bengali terrorists,” Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing said in a statement on Facebook, using the state’s description for Rohingya militants.

One resident in Maungdaw, the main town in northern Rakhine, said gunfire could be heard throughout the night.

“We are still hearing gunshots now, we dare not to go out from our house,” the resident said by phone, asking not to be named.

Footage obtained by AFP showed smoke rising from Zedipyin village in Rathedaung township where fighting was ongoing Friday.

Rohingya militancy

Despite years of persecution, the Rohingya largely eschewed violence.

But a previously unknown militant group emerged as a force last October under the banner of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which claims to be leading an insurgency based in the remote May Yu mountain range bordering Bangladesh.

A Twitter account (@ARSA_Official) which purports to represent the group confirmed its fighters were engaging Myanmar’s military in the area and accused the soldiers of carrying out atrocities in recent weeks.

Myanmar says the group is headed by Rohingya jihadists who were trained abroad but it is unclear how large the network is.

Suu Kyi’s office posted pictures of weapons that had been taken from militants, mainly home-made bombs and rudimentary knives and clubs.

Friday’s violence pushed new waves of Rohingya to flee towards Bangladesh.

But border guards there said they would not be allowed to cross.

“More than a thousand of Rohingya women along with children and cattle have gathered near the land border between Myanmar and Bangladesh since this morning,” Manjurul Hasan Khan, commander of Ukhiya town’s border guards, told AFP.

The flare-up came just hours after former UN chief Kofi Annan released a milestone report detailing conditions inside Rakhine and offering ways to heal the festering sectarian tensions there.

Commissioned by Myanmar’s own government, it urged the scrapping of restrictions of movement and citizenship imposed on the roughly one million-strong Rohingya community in Rakhine.

In a statement Annan said he was “gravely concerned” by the latest outbreak of fighting.

“The alleged scale and gravity of these attacks mark a worrying escalation of violence,” he said.

New crackdown fears

The UN’s top official in Myanmar, Renata Lok-Dessallien, called on all sides to “refrain from violence, protect civilians (and) restore law and order”.

The wedge of Rakhine closest to Bangladesh has been in lockdown since October 2016.

Deadly attacks by the militants on border police sparked a military response that left scores dead and forced some 87,000 people to flee to Bangladesh.

The UN believes the military crackdown may have amounted to ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya.

But the army and Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government vehemently deny allegations of widespread abuses, including rapes and murders.

They have so far refused to grant visas to UN investigators tasked with probing the allegations.

Amnesty International said there were now fears over how Myanmar’s notoriously abusive security forces might respond.

“This cannot lead to (a) repeat of last year’s vicious military reprisals responding to a similar attack, when security forces tortured, killed and raped Rohingya people and burned down whole villages,” said Amnesty’s regional campaigns director Josef Benedict.

Myanmar security forces have conducted sporadic operations to flush out suspected militants this year, often resulting in casualties among Rohingya villagers.

They have spoken of their fear at being trapped in between security forces and the militants, who are accused of conducting a shadowy assassination campaign against those perceived as collaborators with the state.

Access to the area is severely restricted and verifying information is difficult.

Activists and supporters on both sides of the sectarian divide have a history of posting false images and footage online.