Technology relied upon by HR and finance teams within UK government departments is to be consolidated as part of a new drive towards ‘shared services’, the Cabinet Office has announced.
Asia in 3 minutes: A song for bitcoins in Japan, a cardboard cutout for Thai journalists, and a palace for Indian gays
Reuters journalists charged with colonial-era secrets law in Myanmar
Two Reuters journalists were charged in Myanmar this week with violating a colonial-era secrecy law, and now face 14 years’ jail if found guilty. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested on December 12 after police accused them of acquiring “important secret papers” from two officers who had worked in Rakhine state, where Myanmar forces are blamed for rights abuses against Rohingya Muslims – a conflict…
Japan confirms bird flu has been found in livestock and now will cull 91,000 chickens
An outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu was confirmed on Thursday at a poultry farm in western Japan’s Kagawa Prefecture, according to the prefectural government, making it the first bird flu case affecting livestock in Japan this season.
The Kagawa prefectural government plans to cull around 91,000 chickens at a farm in the city of Sanuki, after genetic tests showed that they had become infected. The farm notified the prefectural government of a suspected bird flu case on Wednesday,…
Bali’s ‘highly intense’ volcano erupts again, spewing ash 2.5km into the sky
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.