Apricity AcademyCurrent Affairs

The Big Read: Saving Singapore’s endangered species, one 'animal bridge' at a timeSINGAPORE — Making a wildlife crossing “animal ready” from day one was no child’s play for a team from the Mandai Wildlife Group (MWG) .

Current Affairs for 6 April

The success of Eco-Link @ BKE (built at a cost of $12.3million) has inspired the Mandai Wildlife Bridge. Clearly, Singaporeans care deeply for our natural forests and wildlife species, and future generations of Singaporeans will do well to remember the words of Mahatma Gandhi that "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."

The Big Read: The rise of the ethical consumer — can it uplift low-wage workers too?SINGAPORE — In 2015, Ms Jasmine Hussain watched a documentary titled Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret, which showed how animal agriculture had become the leading cause of deforestation, water consumption, pollution, and an even greater emitter of greenhouse gases than the transportation industry.

Current Affairs for 4 April

This week's series is from The Big Read (TodayOnline), which provides a much deeper investigation into the issues and various perspectives. To start off, we want to ask if ethical consumerism is as good as it sounds?

The Big Read: Idea of expiry date on degrees rightly panned — question is how do universities up their game?SINGAPORE — Long before Covid-19 made online education a necessity as people around the world sought to minimise face-to-face interaction, platforms offering online courses with open access via the Internet, or massive open online courses (MOOC) as they are called, have already been booming.

Current Affairs for 5 April

"The Fourth Industrial Revolution and ever-changing demands of the job market have created four challenges to the higher education model, according to a World Economic Forum article in 2019.

These are the need for lifelong learning in a non-linear world; being able to cater to the changing demands of students; compete against the growing educational technologies and private education providers; and moving towards a skills-focused model instead of one that is degree-focused."

With this context in mind, consider how universities in SG have upped their game, and in your opinion, are they doing enough?

Commentary: TikTok scores points for its handling of Russia’s invasion of UkraineTikTok’s actions against disinformation on the Ukraine war suggest it has some independence from Chinese parent company ByteDance and has learnt from Facebook’s missteps, says NTU’s Dr Mark Cenite.

Current Affairs for 31 Mar

Can Tiktok possibly be a beacon of (cyber) light in such troubled times?

Current Affairs for 1 April

Till today, there are still punitive regulations that dictate what a woman must wear

Current Affairs for 29 Mar

A 2017 interview with Misty Copeland and Barack Obama - a must-watch!

Commentary: Ukrainian childhood fairy tales are powerful cultural tools in these times of troubleHearing bedtime stories of underdog heroes or tales of magical success may have shaped how much of a fight Ukraine has put up against Russia in the war, say two observers.

Current Affairs for 30 Mar

Let us never underestimate the power of stories and fairy tales

Future evolution: from looks to brains and personality, how will humans change in the next 10,000 years?We’ll probably be less aggressive and more agreeable, but have smaller brains – a bit like a Golden Retriever, we’ll be friendly, but maybe not that interesting or bright.

Current Affairs for 25 Mar

Looking at the human race from the past to the present, and imagining the future. An intriguing anthropological perspective. Really useful for GP students :)

Undercover Asia: Law dean who didn’t 'look Oxford enough’ calls out racismIs there a ‘look’ for Oxford academics? Apparently so. Professor Mindy Chen-Wishart, the dean of the law faculty at Oxford University, was once asked to move out of frame so that a tourist could get an ‘authentic shot of Oxford’. That’s the sort of unconscious racism that Taiwan-born Prof Chen-Wishart is faci

Current Affairs for 28 Mar

What's the 'Oxford look'? Should there even be one?

An interesting phrase was used - "The axe forgets; the tree remembers" - to mean that the person who hurts another forgets about it, but the person who gets hurt remembers it well.

Taxes on sugary beverages are not enough on their own to halt march of obesity in AsiaTo fight against obesity, a huge issue in Asia, governments must promote lifestyle changes through education and improve access to healthy foods.

Current Affairs for 23 Mar

Covid's not the only health crisis, there's soaring obesity rates as well. This severely impacts healthcare and productivity costs, leading countries to wring their hands in despair. Can taxation on sugary foods & drinks be the way out?

War in the time of cryptoIn the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which side is crypto helping? Both.

Current Affairs for 24 Mar

This Ukraine war has also been called as "the world's first crypto war". Definitely a must-read for young people as bitcoin and crypto will be (if not already) your future currency.

The Stop Asian Hate movement is at a crossroadsIn the year since the Atlanta shootings, the Stop Asian Hate movement dramatically changed awareness of anti-Asian racism. Where does it go from here?

Current Affairs for 21 Mar

BLM has taken the world by storm, and yet, there's another parallel movement that seems to go under the radar. Take this opportunity to understand the "Stop ASIAN hate movement" and derive a clearer sense of how various racial minorities struggle so hard for recognition and protection.

What’s behind China’s video game restrictions?China recently limited the time young people may spend playing online games to three hours on weekends. Here's why and what other countries are doing.

Current Affairs for 22 Mar

Particularly interesting for the gamers in our midst! What are the reasons and consequences of China's gaming ban on children and teenagers (below 18 years old)?

Commentary: Is the world on the brink of a food crisis because of the Ukraine war?Amid rising whole grain futures, Russia invading "the breadbasket of Europe" might trigger a price panic, says a Harvard University professor.

Current Affairs for 17 Mar

Globalisation has brought to us affordable food prices. But when this status quo is upended, it is only a matter of time that a food crisis approaches our doors