A university in Japan said it would not hire professors or teachers who smoke, a move that apparently is a first by a state-run university, Asahi Shimbun reported. However, Nagasaki University officials said exemptions to the rule will be allowed if applicants promise to quit the habit after taking up the post. The new policy announced on April 19 reflects… Read more »
Shanghai is looking to be the primary global destination for science and technology efforts, after burnishing its credentials as a hub for finance and shipping. To achieve that goal, Shanghai will construct a national science centre and develop several key industries including integrated circuits, biomedicine and artificial intelligence, the authorities said during a recent news briefing on Shanghai’s high-quality growth…. Read more »
Japan on Tuesday (April 23) dropped the push to apply “maximum pressure” on North Korea from its official foreign policy, an apparent softening of Tokyo’s position as major powers engage with Pyongyang. In last year’s Diplomatic Bluebook, published when tensions on the Korean peninsula were soaring, Japan said it was coordinating efforts with its allies to “maximise pressure on North… Read more »
Ties between Singapore and China have grown tremendously since they were established in 1990, and there is great potential for them to develop further, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said. He drew attention to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), saying Singapore was well-placed to make a “modest contribution” in this area. He said Singapore hoped to be able… Read more »
Prosecutors in Japan are now questioning Carole Ghosn who is the wife of the former chairman of Nissan. She is alleged to know about the illegal activity that her husband Carlos Ghosn conducted while during his job. This suspicion is following his fourth arrest for breach of trust. Carlos has supposedly been funneling funds from Nissan sent to anOmani dealership… Read more »
There’s a new addition to the family tree: an extinct species of human that’s been found in the Philippines. It’s known as Homo luzonensis, after the site of its discovery on the country’s largest island Luzon. Its physical features are a mixture of those found in very ancient human ancestors and in more recent people. That could mean primitive human relatives… Read more »
Chinese social media users are voicing their outrage after the prosecution of an American who stole a thumb from a Chinese Terracotta Warrior ended in a mistrial. Michael Rohana, 24, admitted taking a thumb from a statue in Pennsylvania in December 2017. It was during a visiting exhibition at the Franklin Institute museum His lawyer argued that Mr Rohana was… Read more »
Australians will vote in a general election on 18 May, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced. The poll will decide whether the conservative government wins a third term or is replaced by a Labor administration led by Bill Shorten. All 151 seats in the House of Representatives will be contested, and half of the 76 seats in the Senate. The… Read more »
Australian actor Geoffrey Rush has won a defamation case against the publisher of a Sydney newspaper which accused him of inappropriate behaviour towards a former co-star. Judge Michael Wigney said he was “not satisfied” that the incidents detailed in The Daily Telegraph, published by Nationwide News, had occurred. He said Mr Rush’s former co-star Eryn Norvill’s evidence was “inconsistent”. He… Read more »
HOHHOT, April 11 (Xinhua) — North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region launched its first desert ecological and meteorological center Thursday to strengthen desertification control. The center, co-founded by the regional meteorological bureau and Alxa League, will conduct long-term monitoring on the weather, soil, hydrology and vegetation in the region, and provide basic data for the study of its desert ecosystem…. Read more »