Archive
International News Services archives articles supplied to clients one year or more after initial publication. These articles are protected by a password and not made available to readers without permission from clients. They are used as a background resource by agency journalists. Upon client requests, International News Services will remove such articles from the archive or not upload them in the first place. They are included to demonstrate the breadth of topics undertaken by the agency and also to help promote clients’ coverage.
AUSTRALIA’S ENERGY ‘TRANSITION ROADMAP’ HEAVILY RELIANT ON GAS
AUSTRALIA has chosen an unorthodox path in transitioning to a low carbon economy. Its centre-right government has advised the country’s clean energy agencies to decrease investment in renewables such as solar and wind and instead increase investment in hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, microgrids and energy efficiency.…
COVID-19 PANDEMIC FUELS INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT FOR ANTI-VIRAL COATINGS
The Covid-19 pandemic is set to drive a near threefold surge in the antiviral coatings market as researchers and developers say they now realise how little they know about effective materials combatting such threats.
The search for more universal antiviral materials “should be continued with even higher intensity”, said Professors Ken Ostrikov and Ziqi Sun from Queensland University of Technology, in Australia, in their September (2020) report, ‘Future antiviral surfaces: Lessons from COVID-19 pandemic’, featured in the publication ‘Sustainable Materials and Technologies’.…
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT VOTES TO TOUGHEN EU CARBON EMISSIONS REDUCTION LAW
ENERGY companies are facing the likelihood of tougher carbon emission reduction targets within the European Union (EU) after the European Parliament voted to stiffen commitments within a proposed climate neutrality regulation. MEPs backed setting an EU-wide carbon emissions reduction goal of 60% by 2030, up from the 55% already proposed by the European Commission (itself an increase from the EU’s existing 40% target for 2030).…
EU ROUND UP – MAJOR EU TOXIC CHEMICAL STRATEGY COULD IMPACT PAINT AND COATING SECTOR
A FRESH round of restrictions on what chemicals can be used by the paint and coatings industry has been flagged by a detailed and comprehensive policy paper released by the European Commission. This ‘Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability Towards a Toxic-Free Environment’ flags changes that the EU executive intends to make to European chemical legislation.…
NEW CAMPUS TO PUT CAPE VERDE ON GLOBAL MAP OF RESEARCH AND INTERNATIONALISATION CENTRES
THE NEW campus of the University of Cape Verde (Uni-CV), which has cost almost USD60 million to build and should open next March (2021), is expected to attract more national and international students and researchers to this island country. The launch of this modern facility has been delayed from July (2020) because of Covid-19, but it is hoped the March opening will stick.…
TOGO TURNS TO ONLINE LEARNING TO AUGMENT ACADEMIC STUDIES WHILE IT MULLS SLOW PHYSICAL REOPENING OF UNIVERSITIES
In the west African state of Togo, universities have been relying on the internet to engage students in academic activities as remote learning has replaced in-person teaching under lockdown measures to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus. But tertiary education examinations have nonetheless had to be held within physical facilities because of limitations within the country’s online infrastructure.…
TAIWAN GOVERNMENT PRESSING AGGRESSIVE ANTI-TOBACCO LAW, INCLUDING DOUBLING DOWN ON VAPE BAN
Taiwan’s government seems determined to push ahead with an aggressive stance against tobacco and nicotine products, pushing a control law that would, for instance, ban e-cigarettes, which have never been formally authorised for sale on the island.
The ministry of health and welfare’s Health Promotion Administration (HPA) is pushing amendments to Taiwan’s Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (THPA), which would also ban flavoured tobacco products, enlarge pictorial warnings to 85% of packaging area and raise the legal age to buy tobacco from 18 to 20.…
ETHIOPIA POSED TO REOPEN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES NATIONWIDE, ENDING COVID-19 LOCKDOWN
The Ethiopian government is preparing to re-open the country’s 45 public universities as it ends a Covid-19 lockdown that began in March, despite the disease continuing to expand nationwide along with growing concerns about social discord and violence.
Ethiopia has so far recorded 90.490 Covid-19 cases (as of Wednesday, October 21), the largest number of Covid-19 cases in east Africa.…
STATE CUTS IN EDUCATION FUNDING PUSHES UP STUDENTS’ COSTS, WORSENS EDUCATION
State cuts in funding for public higher education within Zambia have pushed more costs onto students, making it harder for them to learn and graduate, the country’s education union leader has said. The cuts have also encouraged a sprouting of private universities offering poor quality education, he told UWN.…
RESEARCH EXPANSION CONSTRAINED BY ISLAMIC INSURGENCY IN MOZAMBICAN UNIVERSITIES
The Islamic insurgency experienced in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique’s northernmost province, since 2017, which has already displaced more than 250,000 people and killed more than 1,500, is damaging operations within the region’s higher education institutions.
While confirmed casualties have yet to include academics and students at the region’s higher education institutions, local higher education leaders are concerned about the risks.…