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Why are critical minerals suddenly at the centre of global politics?
As the 2026 U.S. proxy season draws to a close, both the volume of shareholder proposals brought to a vote and the level of investor support they received show a dramatic change from previous years in the shareholder proposal landscape. Early in 2025, the SEC issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14M (SLB 14M), revising shareholder […]
The amount of land burned in the world's largest rainforest was the smallest since MapBiomas records began in 1985.
The amount of land burned in the world's largest rainforest was the smallest since MapBiomas records began in 1985.
The amount of land burned in the world's largest rainforest was the smallest since MapBiomas records began in 1985.
A ‘reasonable worst-case scenario’ suggests need for large-scale movement of populations away from reshaped coastUp to 13 million people in the UK face the long-term risk of coastal flooding due to the climate crisis, scientists have warned, with a “reasonable worst-case scenario” suggesting the need for the large-scale movement of populations away from a dramatically reshaped coast.Even if today’s global pledges to cut carbon pollution are met, about 1.4 million more people will be exposed to coastal floods in 2200 and 1.7 million in 2300 due to the sea level rise driven by melting ice caps and warming oceans. Continue reading...
About 23 million people across country affected by water-saving measures with ‘prolonged dry weather’ in eight areasHow can I water my garden in a hosepipe ban and will there be drought this summer?Thames Water investors offer ‘golden share’ in bid to head off nationalisationAbout 23 million people will be banned from using hosepipes by this weekend, as England and Wales moves closer to drought status.On Tuesday Thames Water became the latest water company to announce a hosepipe ban, covering the more than 10 million customers it supplies water to across London and the Thames valley. Continue reading...
The Trump administration is undoing fuel-saving efforts even as war in Iran, data centers and heat waves are pushing up gasoline and electricity costs.
The companies knew they were releasing more of the greenhouse gas than they publicly reported, according to industry files cited by the Center for Climate Integrity, an activist organization.
HONG KONG, July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Honours Academy (HA) at The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong (HSUHK) has concluded the high‑energy Student Leader Global Summit 2026 (7–10 July), underscoring HA's leadership in cultivating ethical, impact‑ready student leaders. Co‑hosted with the International Association of Student Affairs and Services (IASAS), the programme convened nearly 40 student leaders from 13 countries, joined by 14 Student Affairs professionals, for an immersive live‑learn experience in HSUHK's Residential Colleges (RC).
At the Welcome Dinner on Day 1, HSUHK President Professor Simon Ho opened the Summit with a warm, heartening address. Vice‑President (Learning and Student Experience) Professor Jeanne Fu spearheaded HSUHK's successful bid to bring the IASAS Summit to Hong Kong for the first time, making this inaugural local hosting possible. Provost and Vice‑President (Academic and Research) Professor Joshua Mok served on the judging panel for the Design a Sustainable City finale on Day 4 and delivered the Closing Ceremony address, drawing together lessons from across the programme.
The Summit fused rigorous problem solving with human‑centred practice. Field‑based learning across Hong Kong Island and Kowloon connected theory with street reality, complemented by expert talks on Chinese art and culture, urban planning, heritage, and sustainability. Mixed, cross‑institutional teams applied systems thinking and design methods to prototype sustainable‑city concepts addressing five global challenges: youth opportunity; mental health and belonging; healthy ageing; ending poverty through inclusive livelihoods; and climate action and resilience. Evenings in RC sustained reflection, mentoring, and peer support, turning campus life into a 24/7 learning ecosystem that linked classroom, city, and community.
HA students set the tone from start to finish. Serving as peer leaders and co‑designers, they lived and learned alongside international delegates in RC and modelled an inclusive, caring community. They led a fun and meaningful City Hunt in Kowloon that trained teams to read density, mobility, public space, and social textures in real time. The exercise sharpened observational skills while surfacing practical questions about shade and heat, first‑ and last‑mile connectivity, public seating, micro‑retail, and access to green‑blue infrastructure, making the city itself a studio for inquiry.
To keep participation lively and purposeful, HA students introduced a Summit‑long, sustainability‑themed token system that rewarded climate‑friendly choices (such as lower‑carbon meals and transit), community listening, and collaborative problem solving. The mechanism nudged behaviour, made progress visible, and converted abstract goals into daily practice.
The token system culminated in the finale programme, Design a Sustainable City. Five mixed‑university teams entered a Hong Kong‑style marketplace of kiosks where they used earned tokens to "purchase" interventions and services for their concept cities. Laughter, friendly competition, and focused problem solving fuelled a memorable close as teams presented actionable roadmaps with named partners, timelines, and quick tests that can begin immediately. Judges assessed proposals on feasibility, equity, scalability, and potential to catalyse local partnerships, prioritising solutions that combine measurable outcomes with community ownership.
What distinguished the four‑day experience was not only the diversity of perspectives in the room but the integration of living and learning. Residential life rituals—shared meals, late‑evening reflections, and peer mentoring—were intentionally designed to reinforce daytime insights. Delegates reported stronger confidence in navigating complexity, deeper empathy for stakeholders, and a clearer sense of how personal wellbeing and sustainability intersect with urban form: shade and heat management affecting stress; walkability shaping social connection; transit access enabling opportunity; and small, high‑quality public spaces supporting mental health.
Behind the scenes, HA's student team ensured a seamless participant journey—from wayfinding and time‑boxing to care for accessibility needs—so that visiting delegates could focus on learning and collaboration. The result was a programme that balanced ambition with hospitality, and analysis with action.
Impact extends beyond the four days. Several renowned universities have expressed strong interest in modelling their own interdisciplinary, long‑term leadership hubs on the HA framework, citing the capable and caring leadership demonstrated by HA students. Building on this momentum, HSUHK is launching the HA Alliance, a growing network that connects kindred leadership incubators worldwide to amplify student leadership and cross‑country community engagement. The Alliance will share curricula, co‑design pilots, and coordinate data on student learning and community outcomes—turning proof‑of‑concept ideas into replicable, locally adapted interventions.
Rather than a one‑off event, the Summit serves as a founding moment for an ongoing, multilateral community of practice. Participants depart with toolkits for systems mapping, rapid prototyping, and stakeholder engagement; a shared vocabulary for equity and inclusion; and relationships strong enough to carry collaborative projects forward across borders. Host‑city partnerships—spanning cultural institutions, community organisations, and urban practitioners—will remain engaged as mentors and testbeds for future student‑led pilots.
By hosting IASAS and sparking the HA Alliance, the Honours Academy has moved from local innovation to global reference point, advancing HSUHK's identity as the "bamboo university": fast yet rooted, flexible yet strong. The Summit demonstrates how a live‑learn model, anchored in ethical leadership and measurable community impact, can translate global aspirations into local action—linking student growth to public good and positioning Hong Kong as a living classroom for the world.
PASAY CITY, Philippines, July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The SM Group received 24 awards from Hong Kong-based publication Corporate Governance Asia, underscoring the conglomerate's performance in governance, sustainability, investor relations, and corporate leadership amid an increasingly complex global operating environment.
SM Investments Corp. (SM Investments), the parent company of the SM Group, received eight awards, including the Sustainable Asia Award, Asia's Best CSR, Best Corporate Communications, and Best Investor Relations.
SM Investments President and Chief Executive Officer Frederic C. DyBuncio was named Asia's Best CEO (Investor Relations), while Executive Vice Presidents Erwin G. Pato and Franklin C. Gomez were recognized as co-awardees for Asia's Best CFO (Investor Relations). Timothy Daniels, consultant and head of investor relations and sustainability, was also cited as Best Investor Relations Professional.
"We are honored to receive this recognition from Corporate Governance Asia. Governance and sustainability remain embedded in how we operate, helping strengthen resilience, support disciplined decision-making, and enable long-term value creation for our various stakeholders," Mr. DyBuncio said.
The awards come as companies across the region navigate heightened economic volatility, geopolitical uncertainty, and growing climate-related risks.
BDO Unibank received nine awards while SM Prime Holdings Inc. received seven awards.
The recognitions were conferred during the 16th Asian Excellence Awards, which carried the theme "Reshaping Asian Leadership in a Changing Global Economic Landscape and Climate Change."
Corporate Governance Asia is a regional publication focused on corporate governance, sustainability, investor relations, and boardroom leadership across Asia.
About SM Investments Corporation
SM Investments Corporation (SM) is an owner-operator of market-leading businesses in retail, banking, and property, with investments in high-growth opportunities in the Philippine economy. Through its portfolio, SM generates resilient cash flows and reinvests with discipline to compound value over the long term.
Its retail operations are the largest and most diversified in the country. Its property arm, SM Prime Holdings, Inc., is the largest integrated property developer in the Philippines. Its banking interests include BDO Unibank, Inc., the country's largest bank, and China Banking Corporation, one of the country's largest private domestic banks.
For more information, please visit www.sminvestments.com
NANJING, China, July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from InJiangsu.
More than 500 international students, scholars, entrepreneurs, and cultural envoys from 57 countries gathered today at Nanjing University's Enling Theater for the inaugural "2026 Dialogue with the Future for Global Youth from Sister-cities." Under the theme "Sci-Cultural Synergy for a Shared Sustainable Future," the event turned Nanjing into a vibrant crossroads of ideas, bridging continents through the power of youth-led conversation.
Leveraging Jiangsu Province's vast network of 376 international sister-city partnerships, the forum offered a rare platform where academic rigor meets grassroots innovation. The message was clear: global challenges demand borderless solutions, and young people are ready to deliver them.
The morning session culminated in a stirring moment as Chinese and international youth delegates jointly released the Sister-City Youth Initiative, a public commitment to tackle climate, equity, and cultural divides with openness and action. "This is not a declaration of intent—it is a handshake across time zones," said one signatory.
Four distinctive voices then took the stage in the "Youth Dialogue" segment, each offering a unique lens on sustainability. Shen Zhijun, director of Nanjing's renowned Hongshan Forest Zoo, shared how urban wildlife corridors and community engagement have transformed animal conservation into a citywide movement. A Malaysian lecturer at Nanjing University's Business School, moved the audience with stories of cross‑cultural classrooms—where empathy, not curriculum, becomes the true bridge. Architect and heritage specialist Zhao Xiaoxin brought his fieldwork to life, revealing how ancient craft techniques can power modern rural revitalization. And from Russia, Nanjing Normal University student Lisa spoke with raw sincerity about her volunteer journeys across three continents—showing that growth happens when we step into others' shoes.
As dusk fell over the Xianlin Campus, the dialogue had already sparked something larger: a growing alliance of young changemakers determined to turn shared values into shared futures. Organizers confirmed that the initiative will roll out year‑round virtual exchanges and incubation grants, ensuring that today's conversations become tomorrow's collaborations.
In a world often divided by differences, Nanjing proved that sister cities are more than diplomatic ties—they are living bonds of trust, learning, and hope. And for the youth who filled Enling Theater, the future is not a distant horizon. It is a story they are writing—together.
