A new taskforce to help support school leavers’ transition into higher education can deliver real improvements to students’ mental health and wellbeing, according to legal experts active in the higher education sector.
North Korea condemns new military drills between South Korea and United States
North Korea on Thursday attacked ongoing joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington as an “open challenge” to moves towards peace on the Korean peninsula.The US and South Korea agreed on Sunday to replace two major war games which take place every spring – the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle drills – with a shorter “Dong Maeng” or “Alliance” exercise that started this week.The move was designed to further ease tensions with the North following the dramatic detente since early 2018.There…
Racked with guilt: Philippine exhibition displays clothes worn by sexual assault victims to highlight culture of victim-blaming
A teenage student’s crisp blouse and plaid skirt uniform, a sleeveless top and brightly patterned skirt and a baby’s white bodysuit – these are among the outfits on display at an event in Metro Manila to highlight sexual violence.The Don’t Tell Me How to Dress (DTMHTD) exhibition, which begins on Friday – International Women’s Day – at a mall in Taguig City, also presents harrowing testimonies from 11 girls and women together with the clothes they were wearing when they were targeted.Maica…
Offshore wind sector deal targets 30% of UK electricity generation
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.
Explained: how India and Pakistan became nuclear states
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…
In Thailand, will the Thai Raksa Chart party suffer the same fate as Princess Ubolratana’s bid for prime minister?
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…
HMRC consults on extending off-payroll working rules to private sector
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.
22 out of 30 cities that have the world’s worst air pollution are in India, says report
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…
Explained: fake news in Asia
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…
Brexit a factor in patents court reference to CJEU
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).