Technology, Policy & regulation, Climate & environment, Education
402 storiesTrump signs order allowing tax-free red-dyed diesel on highways
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday temporarily allowing off-road red-dyed diesel to be used for highway driving and deferring the federal excise tax on that fuel through the end of 2026 without interest or penalties.…
French teen loses hand in school protest clash; over 5,000 detained
A 15-year-old male student lost a hand in a serious injury during a clash with security forces in the northern French city of Reims on Oct. 5, as high-school students continue blockading schools in protests across France. A police crowd-con…
Supreme Court hears Boulder climate suit as justices question both sides
The Supreme Court heard nearly two hours of arguments Monday on whether the city and county of Boulder, Colorado, can sue Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy in state court to recover costs tied to climate change. Conservative justices questioned…
Defense minister: arts, sports military service exemption to be cut and abolished
South Korea's defense minister said on Oct 7 that the goal is to gradually reduce the arts and sports military service exemption and ultimately abolish it, after controversy over remarks by Asian Games football gold medallists about the exe…
ASUS unveils Zenbook 14 UX3480 line with Intel, AMD or Qualcomm chips
ASUS announced the Zenbook 14 UX3480 series, a 14-inch laptop line that lets buyers choose between Intel Core Ultra series 3, AMD Ryzen AI 300 and Qualcomm Snapdragon X processors. PC Watch reported the models go on sale in Japan from Octob…
Kazakhstan considers blocking social media accounts of children under 16
Kazakhstan's government has prepared amendments restricting online platforms for users under 16, and Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said in a reply to a parliamentary inquiry that temporarily blocking social media accounts of children under…
South Korea forecasts a cold, windy Oct. 6 with a 15C day-night temperature gap
South Korea's weather agency forecast a chilly, clear Oct. 6 with morning lows of about 3-14°C and a day-night temperature gap of roughly 15°C in most regions. Gangwon's inland and mountain areas were expected near or below 5°C, with winds …
Apple and LG Electronics jointly develop smart home devices under LG brand
Apple and LG Electronics are jointly developing smart home devices — a camera-equipped video doorbell, a smart door lock, a security camera and a smart temperature sensor and thermostat — to be sold under the LG brand, according to Bloomber…
South Korea unveils 1,000 trillion won green transition plan to 2035
South Korea announced a “Korean-style Green Transition” (K-GX) strategy on Oct 7, pledging about 1,000 trillion won over ten years to 2035 — 200 trillion won in fiscal support and more than 790 trillion won in climate finance through five p…
Moscow court fines Zoom 65.9 million rubles for repeat violation of Russian law
A Moscow court fined Zoom about 65.9 million rubles (65,936,494 rubles) for a repeat violation of Russian legislation on foreign internet companies, Interfax, Vedomosti and Kommersant reported. The case was heard under part 3 of article 13.…
More Than 250,000 Rally Across France as Student School Protests Escalate
More than 256,000 people rallied across France on Tuesday and hundreds of schools were shut or blockaded as students, parents and teachers demanded more education funding. Police fired tear gas in Paris and other cities, and Fox News, citin…
South Korea's Lee orders CPTPP talks restarted from the beginning amid farm concerns
President Lee Jae-myung instructed at a cabinet meeting on Oct 6 that the government should not fix a conclusion on joining the CPTPP and should “restart dialogue from the beginning,” saying the pact's strategic value is cited alongside ver…
French student protests widen to teachers and universities; hundreds of schools shut
High school students across France are protesting poor education conditions, and classes have been suspended at hundreds of schools. Education Minister Édouard Geoffray said on Oct 4 that about 400 to 500 high schools would be fully or part…
Russia proposes letting businesses register at an email address
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko said a draft law has been prepared that would allow legal entities to register a business using an address in a state email system for official correspondence instead of a physical address. He said th…
Turkey's Aselsan announces Astralink network of 198 low-orbit satellites
Aselsan CEO Ahmet Akyol said at the International Astronautical Congress in Antalya that Turkey is building Astralink, a low-orbit satellite constellation of 198 spacecraft, with the first launch planned within two years. Akyol said work be…
University of Arizona suspends fraternity activities over misconduct reports
The University of Arizona has placed its 21 Interfraternity Council chapters on “interim activities suspension” after persistent reports of misconduct including physical assault, hazing and drug and alcohol-related behaviour, Dean of Studen…
FT: EU weighs broad corporate levy to raise taxes on US tech groups
The European Commission is considering a new mechanism to raise more tax revenue from large US technology companies without singling them out as a separate category, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources. Under discussion is …
Finland's finance ministry proposes raising retirement age to 70
Finland's Ministry of Finance has proposed raising the minimum retirement age to 70, according to a report titled “Trust in the Future”. The plan would increase the threshold by six months for each successive age group and forms part of a b…
Russia establishes Kurchatov and Alexandrov scholarships for students
The Russian government has established two named scholarships in honour of Soviet scientists Igor Kurchatov and Anatoly Alexandrov. Students will receive 30,000 rubles a month and postgraduates 50,000 rubles, with the Ministry of Education …
Hoban Construction develops AI design tech to auto-apply per-unit buyer options
Hoban Construction said it developed AI-based design technology that automatically reflects apartment buyers’ option contract choices in each unit’s building information model (BIM). The technology was developed jointly with building and in…