Month: November 2021

Rarely has there been a case of holiday blues of such monumental proportions.On Saturday, a large group of VIPs in Singapore were attending the official unveiling of a 42-metre-long inflatable outdoor sculpture, Companion, created by celebrity artist Kaws as part of a two-week, government-sponsored spectacle called “Kaws: Holiday”.But at 4.30pm, a court injunction ordering both the immediate suspension of the artwork’s display and the accompanying sale of merchandise was delivered to the event…

Sri Lanka has slapped a tax on road accidents in a drastic austerity budget as the country faces a major foreign exchange crisis.“It is proposed to impose a fee on vehicles meeting with accidents,” Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa told parliament on Friday. “Through this initiative, it is expected to reduce the number of motor vehicle accidents.”As Sri Lanka braces for a perfect economic storm, will China send a lifeline?Rajapaksa said accidents would be taxed under new proposals to keep the…

A series of fires at Indonesia’s Komodo National Park have prompted safety concerns for the endangered giant lizards that live there, while also highlighting the pitfalls and confusion surrounding the government’s plan to re-brand the park as a “super-priority” tourist destination.The latest blaze on November 2 took a team of 32 park rangers and 11 residents of Rinca Island – one of three main islands that make up the park in East Nusa Tenggara Province – to put out. The source of the fire is…

The development of major infrastructure projects, the way water companies manage their networks, and the design of consumer products are just some of many aspects of life that will all be impacted by wide-ranging new environmental laws passed earlier this week by the UK parliament.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal will take effect on 1 January 2022 following ratification by Asia-Pacific counties.

It is possible to raise court proceedings in Scotland, to avoid losing a right to pursue money claims, under some NEC contracts even if the contractual requirement to pursue those claims in adjudication first has not been met, according to a recent ruling by a court in Edinburgh.

Armistice remembrances took place around the world on Thursday after the coronavirus pandemic wiped out ceremonies twelve months ago to mark the 1918 end of World War I.Dignitaries and government leaders across the Western Front in Europe stood still and pondered the losses of millions during the four-year war, whose end 103 years ago harboured the seeds of an equally cruel World War II a little over two decades later.In Paris, President Emmanuel Macron was joined by US Vice-President Kamala…

King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand has returned to Germany – together with 30 poodles – after spending more than a year away from his adopted home in the Bavarian alps, according to German media reports.The tabloid-style Bild newspaper published a picture of what it said was the 69-year-old monarch wearing a dark brown and orange Adidas track suit on the way to the public swimming pool of the Hilton Airport hotel in Munich. The newspaper said the king had arrived in Munich on Monday and that…

Aisleen Pugh tells HRNews how remote working has created a data protection risk with employees printing off documents at home

The governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) has written to financial institutions highlighting statutory obligations and supervisory expectations relating to climate issues.