Bali’s Mount Agung erupted again on Thursday, sending thick ash and smoke up to 2.5km (1.5 miles) into the sky, according to Indonesian authorities. The danger zone around the volcano remains at a radius of 6km (3.7 miles) from the crater, according to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for Indonesia’s Disaster Mitigation Agency. The zone was reduced from a radius of 10km (6.2 miles) last week. Nugroho said the volcano still shows a high intensity of volcanic activity, despite…
Automotive ‘sector deal’ focused on a future of low carbon, electric and autonomous vehicles
The UK government and representatives of the automotive industry have agreed a ‘sector deal’ centred on supporting the development of low carbon, electric and connected and autonomous vehicle technologies of the future.
Donald Trump open to talks with North Korea while keeping up ‘maximum pressure’ campaign
US President Donald Trump told his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in in a phone call that the US would be open to talks with North Korea while continuing to maintain a “maximum pressure” campaign against Pyongyang aimed at halting its nuclear and missile programmes. During the call on Wednesday, Moon briefed Trump on the outcome of Tuesday’s meeting between North and South Korea, the first such inter-Korean dialogue in more than two years, and thanked Trump for his…
Fines under GDPR wait for businesses that fail to fix known security flaws now, says UK watchdog
Data breaches that arise after new EU data protection laws take effect but which stem from security flaws that were known about prior to then will be enforced under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the UK’s data protection watchdog has said.
Malaysia signs US$50 million deal with exploration firm to find missing MH370, but will only pay up if aircraft is found
Malaysia signed a deal on Wednesday to pay a US seabed exploration firm up to US$50 million if it finds the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft MH370 in a new search area in the Southern Indian Ocean.
The disappearance of the aircraft en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014 with 239 people aboard ranks among the world’s greatest aviation mysteries.
Australia, China and Malaysia ended a fruitless AUD$200 million (US$157 million) search of an area of 120,000 sq km in January last…
With North and South Korea talking again, should the US be worried?
North Korea is starting off the new year with a fresh diplomatic initiative aimed at wooing South Korea ahead of next month’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. But it is sticking to a decidedly harsh and familiar message for US President Donald Trump: back off and let Koreans solve their own problems. After its first talks with the South in more than two years, the North said that it would not discuss its nuclear weapons with Seoul because they were aimed only at the United States, not…
As EU financial services regulator emphasises impact of a no-deal Brexit, UK institutions signal a more pragmatic approach
ANALYSIS: Whilst EIOPA has reminded regulators and insurance firms not to rely on future trade agreements in their Brexit contingency plans, HM Treasury and the PRA have suggested potential interim measures for service continuity.
Press freedom fears grow in Suu Kyi’s Myanmar as Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo face trial over secrecy laws
Myanmar is set to put two reporters from the Reuters news agency on trial this week after they were charged under a colonial-era state secrets act, in a case that highlights growing concerns about press freedom in the country.
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested December 12 for allegedly acquiring “important secret papers” from two police officers. The officers had worked in Rakhine state, where abuses widely blamed on Myanmar’s military have driven hundreds of thousands of…
Pakistan releases 147 Indians who were jailed for illegal fishing
A Pakistani official said 147 Indians detained for fishing illegally have been released from prison and handed over to Indian authorities.
The South Asian rivals often arrest fishermen suspected of trespassing in their territorial waters and then periodically release large numbers of them in what are billed as goodwill gestures.
Photographs show the men kissing the ground after making it past the Pakistan-India border. The cost of repatriating the men is being paid for by the Edhi Foundation,…
Pension scheme investors ‘considering link’ between corporate culture and executive pay
Pension schemes will be expecting the companies in which they invest to explain the link between firm culture and executive pay, trade body the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has warned.