Author: viking

Offshore wind could provide 30% of Britain’s electricity generation by 2030, while supporting increased UK exports and three times as many jobs, under plans published by the UK government.

India and Pakistan announced their arrivals as nuclear powers with a flurry of weapons testing in 1998. The two countries have since refrained from testing their nukes but have nevertheless been generally accepted as de facto nuclear states and continued to invest heavily in their respective nuclear capacities.Neither is party to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the arms control agreement signed by 189 other nations. In exchange for access to peaceful uses of nuclear…

Frenzied pre-election campaigning in Thailand will come to a brief pause on Thursday afternoon, as the politically divided country anxiously awaits a court verdict on whether the party behind an abortive bid to make King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s elder sister the next prime minister should be dissolved for that controversial proposal.With the March 24 election just over two weeks away, observers say the possible dissolution of the Thai Raksa Chart party by the Constitutional Court will deal a body…

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has opened a consultation on how new rules that will make businesses liable for determining the tax status of contractors who work through personal service companies (PSCs) will operate once they are extended to the private sector in April 2020.

India has dominated the rankings of a new report on air pollution, with 22 out of the top 30 most polluted cities in the world located in the South Asian nation.The readings from 3,000 cities, analysed by Greenpeace and AirVisual, were measured against the World Health Organisation’s annual exposure guideline for PM2.5 fine particulate matter – tiny airborne particles, measuring about a 40th of the width of a strand of human hair, that are linked to a wide range of health problems.All the…

The term “fake news” became widespread after the 2016 US elections but it resonates widely in Asia.In several instances, social media rumours and hoaxes have contributed to the spread of ethnic tensions, violence and political confrontation.Some regional governments have started enacting “fake news laws” to tackle the problem but critics worry such legislation will be used to stifle freedom of speech.What is fake news and how does it affect Asia?According to PolitiFact, fake news is “made-up…

The UK’s impending exit from the EU was a leading factor in a High Court judge’s recent decision to seek immediate clarity from the EU’s highest court on how to interpret EU intellectual property (IP) laws concerning supplementary protection certificates (SPCs).

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he intends to end India’s preferential trade treatment under a programme that allows US$5.6 billion worth of Indian exports to enter the United States duty free.Trump, who has vowed to reduce US trade deficits, has repeatedly called out India for its high tariffs.“After intensive engagement between the United States and the Government of India, I have determined that India has not assured the United States that it will provide equitable and reasonable…

The joyous congregation falls into a quiet hush as the music fades away. With an outstretched arm, the sharply suited pastor strides across the stage holding a microphone, giving thanks to God and calling for his presence to fill the hall.Almost in unison, the congregation around me, a significant portion of whom are young ethnic-Chinese Indonesians, raise their hands in fervent concentration to echo their pastor’s call. It is hard to tell if the waft of cold air descending upon our skins is…

EU law makers have endorsed plans to give regulators scope to issue GDPR-style fines against businesses that breach consumer law.