Pay your bills, new deals with updated LiveSmart app

Inquirer.net - Sep 18, 2026

With the rising cost of everyday essentials, from groceries and transportation to household bills, every peso matters more to Filipino consumers. This is why mobile services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) and its value mobile brand TNT are giving subscribers more ways to stretch their budget with the launch of the LiveSmart App, a new

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Sep 18, 2026

CPD: 14.1% of Filipinos still use traditional family planning

MANILA, Philippines — About 14.1 percent of Filipinos still rely on traditional family planning methods such as withdrawal and the calendar method despite the steady rise in modern contraceptive use, the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) said Thursday. Mylin Mirasol Quiray, chief of the CPD Information Management and Communications Division, said the share of

Sep 18, 2026

Pay your bills, new deals with updated LiveSmart app

Sep 18, 2026

Researchers find leptospirosis-causing bacteria across Estero de Paco

MANILA, Philippines — Epidemiological evidence indicates that leptospirosis hospital admissions tend to peak about two weeks after heavy rains, with flooding considered one of the “critical drivers” of transmission. A peer-reviewed study by the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, said the country often sees leptospirosis outbreaks several weeks after Habagat-triggered

Sep 18, 2026

UP Diliman body condemns ‘violent dispersal’ at rally vs Pax Silica

MANILA, Philippines — A University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman committee condemned the alleged violent dispersal by the Philippine National Police (PNP) of a rally decrying Pax Silica. “We hold the Philippine government and the PNP to account for this blatant violation of the right to free assembly and speech,” the UP Diliman committee on

Sep 18, 2026

TCL’s AI home begins with the TV

TCL’s Inspiration Habitat at IFA 2026 is designed to look like a home rather than a conventional technology booth. The company placed its televisions, appliances and other devices in living spaces, giving visitors an idea of how they might actually fit together outside an exhibition hall. The TV will always be front and center for

Sep 18, 2026

Quezon priest urges DOE review of Atimonan coal plant project

LUCENA CITY — A Catholic priest and environmental advocate has urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct a fresh, thorough review of the proposed 1,200-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Atimonan, Quezon, along the coast of Lamon Bay. Fr. Warren Puno, convenor of Quezon for Environment (QUEEN) and director of the Ministry of Ecology at

Sep 18, 2026

Child rights advocates raise concerns over online safety bill

MANILA, Philippines — Children’s rights advocates on Thursday welcomed the House of Representatives’ approval of the substitute bill for the Children’s Social Media and Online Gaming Safety Act but raised concerns over provisions requiring parental consent for children to access social media and restricting short-form videos. The House Committee on Welfare of Children approved the

Sep 18, 2026

Dengue deaths reach 17 in Negros Occidental, Bacolod

BACOLOD CITY — Seventeen people have died of dengue-related complications in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City this year, including 11 deaths reported by the Provincial Health Office (PHO) in the province and five in Bacolod City. The PHO report released Thursday did not yet include the death of an 11-year-old boy who succumbed to dengue

Sep 18, 2026

Korea Times University Rankings focus on universities' internationalization capabilities

The Korea Times University Rankings 2027 focus on universities’ internationalization capabilities rather than their overall institutional strength. Unlike comprehensive rankings such as QS and Times Higher Education (THE), which place greater emphasis on reputation and research, The Korea Times rankings evaluate the diverse resources and achievements of universities from an internationalization perspective. Through the assessment, The Korea Times aims to help international students considering studying in Korea make informed choices and promote healthy competition among universities to strengthen their internationalization capabilities. Differences in evaluation method The Korea Times excluded the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) from its University Rankings, although both rank among Korea’s top universities in global rankings. The exclusion was based on a comprehensive consideration of the number of international students, institutional size and regional balance among Korean universities. In the QS

Sep 18, 2026

Evaluation criteria revised to better assess universities' internationalization

The Korea Times has revised the evaluation criteria for its University Rankings 2027 to provide a more comprehensive and rigorous assessment of the internationalization of Korean universities. This year’s evaluation expanded its coverage from 54 universities last year to 60, while increasing the total score from 190 points across 18 indicators to 200 points across 19 indicators. Notably, The Korea Times introduced a new indicator measuring the proportion of full-time international faculty. It also changed the calculation method for the academic retention rate of international students, focusing the measure on degree-seeking students, and refined the evaluation period for research performance. The new international faculty indicator, worth 10 points, is designed to strengthen the assessment of internationalization in the education and research environment, marking the biggest change in this year’s rankings. Accordingly, the education category’s score increased from 60 points to 70 points. The category now consists of seven indicators, including the ratio of degree-seeking internationa

Sep 18, 2026

New indicators sharpen focus on quality over quantity in university globalization

Academics and industry observers said revision to The Korea Times University Rankings 2027 represent a meaningful step forward, with updated indicators that offer a more comprehensive measure of university internationalization. This year’s revisions placed greater emphasis on faculty diversity, student success and sustained research collaboration. Shin Jang-sup, a professor of economics at the National University of Singapore, said the overall framework has improved from last year, highlighting the addition of an indicator measuring the proportion of international full-time faculty, as well as changes to the international student retention indicator. “Including the international student retention rate is a very desirable change,” Shin said. “It strengthens the rankings’ focus on evaluating universities from the perspective of international students.” Seo Myeong-seok, managing director of the Korea Advancing Schools Foundation, also emphasized that the revisions have strengthened the overall framework. He pointed to the introduction of the international full-time faculty ratio,

Sep 18, 2026

Universities need to do more to support international students

Internationalization is no longer an option for Korean universities but a necessity for their survival, as the nation’s higher education system faces an unprecedented structural transformation. Yet The Korea Times University Rankings 2027 reveal a stark reality: Korean universities still have a long way to go to achieve full-fledged internationalization. Universities have met the basic requirements for internationalization. But investment in faculty recruitment and student support has failed to keep pace with the increasing number of international students, while graduate outcomes remain weak. The Korea Times launched the university rankings last year to assess the level of internationalization among domestic universities. This year’s rankings covered 60 universities using 19 indicators in four categories: education, research, student support and graduate outcomes. Universities were assessed on a 200-point scale, with 70 points allocated to education, 50 points to research, 40 points to student support and 40 points to graduate outcomes. The education category saw the strongest overall

Pay your bills, new deals with updated LiveSmart app

MORE NEWS

CPD: 14.1% of Filipinos still use traditional family planning

Pay your bills, new deals with updated LiveSmart app

Researchers find leptospirosis-causing bacteria across Estero de Paco

UP Diliman body condemns ‘violent dispersal’ at rally vs Pax Silica

TCL’s AI home begins with the TV

Quezon priest urges DOE review of Atimonan coal plant project

Child rights advocates raise concerns over online safety bill

Dengue deaths reach 17 in Negros Occidental, Bacolod

Korea Times University Rankings focus on universities' internationalization capabilities

Evaluation criteria revised to better assess universities' internationalization

New indicators sharpen focus on quality over quantity in university globalization

Universities need to do more to support international students

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