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SINGAPORE: The National University of Singapore (NUS) plans to set up a College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS) next year as part of a push towards broad-based and interdisciplinary education. Students admitted to the college will belong to both the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) and the Faculty of Science (FOS). They will have access to major and minors offered in both faculties, as well as the three types of four-year honours degree programmes - Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Social Sciences and Bachelor of Science. Preliminary consultations with members of both faculties are under way, said NUS on Tuesday (Sep 22), adding that the new college, if approved, could begin accepting students as soon as academic year 2021/2022. "The proposal is a work in progress and expected to evolve, as internal and external consultations by the university leadership and the deaneries of FASS and FOS take place over the next few months," said NUS. The university said the … [Read more...] about NUS plans to form College of Humanities and Sciences next year

REUTERS: Even as dealmakers bicker over who will actually own TikTok Global, another question emerged after President Donald Trump agreed over the weekend to keep the wildly popular video-sharing app running in the United States for another week: how can they possibly create 25,000 new jobs in the United States? That vow, repeated by the president on Saturday at a campaign rally in North Carolina, was part of a concession that dealmakers offered to convince Trump to green-light a transaction in which a new board comprised of U.S. citizens would oversee a new U.S.-based company and co-owned by Oracle Corp and Walmart Inc. But the lofty hiring target will be tough to justify, experts said. Such a high number suggests an expectation for massive revenue growth at a time when TikTok faces unprecedented global challenges. If TikTok operated at anywhere near the efficiency of other internet companies such as Twitter, TikTok would need to generate up to 19 times more revenue over the … [Read more...] about TikTok’s promise of 25,000 new US jobs sets lofty goal

SINGAPORE: Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed three COVID-19 swabs to meet a surge in demand, both globally and in Singapore. These nasopharyngeal swabs are a key element in testing for SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – but are often out of stock due to supply chain disruptions, NUS said in a news release on Monday (Jul 13). “As countries progressively emerge from lockdowns and reopen their economies, mass, repeated, testing is being widely adopted as a key public health strategy to prevent a resurgence of COVID-19 infections,” NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye said. To address the shortage and ensure Singapore has a sustainable supply of these swabs, two multidisciplinary research teams from NUS developed three swab designs that are “comparable to the current ‘gold standard’ swabs”. The three are a 3D-printed swab named Python and two other designs, IM2 and IM3, that can be manufactured using a process called injection … [Read more...] about NUS researchers develop 3 new COVID-19 swabs to address shortage

REUTERS: U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal on Friday called on AT&T Inc to stop pursuing plans to offer cellphone plans partially subsidized by advertising that he said would undermine consumer privacy. The request on Friday afternoon follows a Reuters interview with AT&T Chief Executive John Stankey this week in which he discussed a plan to discount cellphone bills as early as a year from now. "I believe there's a segment of our customer base where given a choice, they would take some load of advertising for a US$5 or US$10 reduction in their mobile bill," Stankey said in the interview. While Stankey said AT&T was not yet announcing a new product available to consumers, he discussed how the company was building toward such an offer as it doubles down on the advertising business. "Consumers expect that their phone and broadband providers are not spying on their phone calls and web browsing or using their private data for commercial gain," Blumenthal, Democrat, … [Read more...] about US Senator Blumenthal demands AT&T drop push for ad-subsidized cellphone plans

TAIPEI: Rights groups and gay couples called on Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday (Jan 21) to cement the island's reputation as a bastion of LGBT rights by recognising international same-sex marriages following her landslide re-election victory. Taiwan is at the vanguard of the burgeoning gay rights movement in Asia and became the first place in the region to legalise gay marriages last year after a bruising political fight. Nearly 3,000 couples have since wed as of December but rights advocates say the law still contains restrictions not faced by heterosexual couples. Same-sex couples can only wed foreigners from countries where gay marriage is also recognised and can only adopt their partners' biological children. "I hope President Tsai can see the difficulties international couples face," said Lai Kai-li, whose partner is from conservative Malaysia. "We feel like our futures are in limbo right now and we can't really make any plans," she added. A 26-year-old … [Read more...] about Taiwan gay couples urge foreign marriage rights after Tsai win