Better Believe It......Because They Actually Happen(ed) Collection 47
Oxford Uni medical student spared jail for stabbing boyfriend quits degree to pursue barrister dream


Lavinia Woodward plans to study law at unnamed London university, ‘friend’ claims


Lavinia Woodward (credit: everipedia)


By Thomas Connelly


An Oxford University medical student who was spared prison for stabbing her boyfriend with a bread knife now plans to become a barrister after quitting her original degree course early.

Lavinia Woodward, 26, pleaded guilty in 2017 to unlawful wounding and was given a 10-month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months, following an attack on her then partner at her university accommodation at Christ Church College. At the time, Judge Ian Pringle QC, sitting at Oxford Crown Court, said an immediate custodial would damage her career.

Woodward could have returned in September, but it’s now emerged she won’t be completing her medical degree and has formally withdrawn from the university, The Tab reports.

But the story doesn’t end there. Woodward, who was described by Judge Pringle as “an extraordinarily able young lady”, now has her sights set on a career in law.

Full story at Legal Cheek (June 2019)



This Malaysian girl lived up to her late mother's wish. To have a family graduation photo.


By Sukhbir Cheema


Jia Huan was to graduate in a months time when tragedy struck.

Her mother passed away suddenly.

The two share a very close bond with Jia Huan often uploading beautiful and happy photos and videos of herself and her family.



One of her mother's last wish was to take a family photo together as a family when Jia Huan graduated.

Her desire was to see everyone wearing blue colored clothing.

However, due to her passing, Jia Huan's mum would not be there physically to witness an important moment in her daughter's life.

So Jia Huan decided to bring her graduation ceremony to her mother's wake instead.

Full story at Mashable (June 2019)



Banqiao Senior High School to allow male students to wear skirts


Male students in New Taipei's Banqiao Senior High School


Taipei, July 22 (CNA) Starting from the new school semester in September, male students in New Taipei's Banqiao Senior High School (板橋高中) will be allowed to wear skirts to school, in a move to promote gender equality, the school authorities said Monday.

Lin San-wei (林三維), the high school's student affairs division head, said the school authorities decided last month to scrap a regulation regarding students' dress code, which originally stipulated that male students can only wear pants to school.

Scrapping the rule means that male students will be allowed to wear skirts to school should they choose to, without facing punishment, he noted.

Female students can continue to wear either skirts or pants to school.

Full story at Focus Taiwan News Channel (July 2019)



Hong Kong and mainland China students clash at rally at Australian university


• Pro-democracy students staged a sit-in supporting the anti-extradition protests in Hong Kong

• Mainland students singing the Chinese national anthem allegedly attacked the pro-democracy protesters


Hong Kong and mainland Chinese students clashed at the University of Queensland in Australia on Wednesday. Photo: Twitter


By John Power


Students from Hong Kong and mainland China clashed during a pro-democracy protest at a university in Australia on Wednesday.

Scuffles broke out between opposing groups at the University of Queensland in Brisbane after pro-democracy students staged a sit-in supporting the extradition bill protests in Hong Kong and also condemning China’s treatment of Uygurs in Xinjiang.

Student activist Tony Chang said mainland students singing the Chinese national anthem attacked the pro-democracy protesters without provocation.

“They robbed our loudspeaker, and also some of our slogans, and even tore our slogans,” he said, adding that mainland students had punched a number of pro-Hong Kong protesters in the face.

Richard Murray, a journalism lecturer at the university, said he saw punches thrown between several students before campus security intervened.

Full story at South China Morning Post (July 2019)

Cow Surprises University Students By Making A Guest Appearance In Their Lecture


Students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-B) in Bombay had a surprise guest when a cow made an appearance in the middle of their lecture on 27 July


Image via Twitter @MumbaiMirror


By Selena Chua


A video of the incident was shared on Twitter and has since gone viral.

As students actively avoided the cow, the animal took its time to wander around the classroom, even making its way up the side aisle.

mage via Twitter @MumbaiMirror


According to NDTV, students claim that it was raining heavily when the incident happened, and that the cow might have entered the building for shelter.

However, since the lecture hall was located on the first floor, students were confused as to how the cow managed to make its way upstairs.

"It must have entered through one of the slopes that internally connect the lecture halls on various floors," one student told News 18.

Full story at SAYS (July 2019)



Ministry: 'Khat' decision stands, appears even on banknotes




The Education Ministry will proceed with the introduction of a khat calligraphy segment for the Standard 4 Bahasa Malaysia syllabus next year as planned.

In a statement today, the ministry said khat was an integral part of Malaysia's national identity and Bahasa Malaysia which was the national language and the language of unity.

"Apart from this, this form of writing appears on the coat of arms for Malaysia and her respective states. It also appears on Malaysian banknotes.

"The ministry is committed to building a Malaysia which is well-versed in the nation's traditions," said the ministry.

The introduction of khat said the ministry was decided in 2014 and many language and education experts were consulted.

Khat lessons will take up six out of 164 pages of the new Bahasa Malaysia Standard 4 textbook next year.

However, the move has proven divisive.

Full story at Malaysiakini (August 2019)

Schoolchildren in China work overnight to produce Amazon Alexa devices


Leaked documents show children as young as 16 recruited by Amazon supplier Foxconn work gruelling and illegal hours


Workers are seen inside a Foxconn factory in the township of Longhua, in China’s Guangdong province. Photograph: Bobby Yip/Reuters


By Gethin Chamberlain


Hundreds of schoolchildren have been drafted in to make Amazon’s Alexa devices in China as part of a controversial and often illegal attempt to meet production targets, documents seen by the Guardian reveal.

Interviews with workers and leaked documents from Amazon’s supplier Foxconn show that many of the children have been required to work nights and overtime to produce the smart-speaker devices, in breach of Chinese labour laws.

According to the documents, the teenagers – drafted in from schools and technical colleges in and around the central southern city of Hengyang – are classified as “interns”, and their teachers are paid by the factory to accompany them. Teachers are asked to encourage uncooperative pupils to accept overtime work on top of regular shifts.

Some of the pupils making Amazon’s Alexa-enabled Echo and Echo Dot devices along with Kindles have been required to work for more than two months to supplement staffing levels at the factory during peak production periods, researchers found. More than 1,000 pupils are employed, aged from 16 to 18.

Chinese factories are allowed to employ students aged 16 and older, but these schoolchildren are not allowed to work nights or overtime.

Foxconn, which also makes iPhones for Apple, admitted that students had been employed illegally and said it was taking immediate action to fix the situation.

The company said in a statement: “We have doubled the oversight and monitoring of the internship program with each relevant partner school to ensure that, under no circumstances, will interns [be] allowed to work overtime or nights.

Full story at The Guardian (August 2019)



Teacher's remains found buried under Chinese school after 16 years


Chinese television aired footage of investigators digging up the school's running track


The remains of a teacher who disappeared more than 16 years ago in China have been found buried beneath the school he worked at, officials say.

Deng Shiping had refused to approve a new sports facility because he felt it had been poorly constructed.

A man reportedly involved in building the site has now confessed to killing and burying Mr Deng in January 2003, police say. Six men also believed to be builders were arrested along with him.

Mr Deng's remains were discovered beneath the running track of Xinhuang Middle School on Thursday, officials in the central city of Huaihua said.

Footage posted on social media showed investigators cordoning off and examining the area.

Full story at BBC News (June 2019)

A Florida teacher told students if he were a school shooter, he'd have a 1,000-person body count




By Amir Vera


(CNN) A Florida high school teacher was placed on administrative leave after he told students he'd "be the best school shooter" with a "1,000 person body count."

The incident took place at Lakeland Senior High School, about 45 minutes from Tampa, on August 16 during a lockdown drill, according to a Polk County risk protection order.

Police interviewed 16 students about the incident. The teacher told students if he were a school shooter he'd plant improvised explosive devices (IEDs), then "fire a couple rounds and wait for everyone to hide, then press a button and boom -- everyone would die," according to student testimony.

The teacher also said "he would put a bomb in the corner and put nails in it for shrapnel," another student told police.

CNN is not naming the teacher because he has not been charged. When interviewed by an officer, the teacher told police he was a former US Marine and that his statements were a joke.

Full story at CNN (August 2019)