University of Bristol admissions controversy

Cambodian strongman Hun Sen wins another 'landslide' election. Will succession to his son be just as smooth?

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Monday, July 24, 2023
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The meeting saw his eldest son, Hun Manet, 45, unanimously selected to be the future prime minister.

Key Points: 
  • The meeting saw his eldest son, Hun Manet, 45, unanimously selected to be the future prime minister.
  • After years of speculation over the identity of the strongman’s political successor, it was both an unsurprising and uninspiring choice.
  • Up against a mix of 17 emasculated, feeble and grovelling opposition parties, Hun Sen’s party quickly boasted it had won in a “landslide”.

Preparing for a sham election

    • In May, the National Election Committee barred the leading opposition Candlelight Party from competing in the election because it had failed to provide the necessary documentation.
    • This documentation, ironically, had been taken in a police raid years earlier.
    • In early June, the National Assembly amended the election law to bar non-voters from ever running for office, as well as penalise anyone who calls for election boycotts.

How do dictators stay in power?


    How has he accomplished this feat over the past 38 years? Based on my research in the field of authoritarian politics, two significant factors stand out. The first thing Hun Sen did was personalise power by following the “playbook” of other strongmen like Paul Biya in Cameroon, Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Idi Amin in Uganda. Among his actions across four decades of authoritarianism:
    • The second thing Hun Sen did was entrench a harsher form of dictatorship in Cambodia, transforming the country in recent years into a genuine one-party state.
    • In July 2015, the government rammed through a bill designed to suppress civil society groups.
    • The law used arcane compliance requirements related to funding, reporting, registration and political neutrality to limit their operations.

How does one dictator pass the reins to another?

    • The process can sometimes encourage infighting among political elites and potentially plunge a country into chaos.
    • 2) Security: they have a paramilitary force or formal position at the apex of the security apparatus.
    • Having so far satisfied all but the need for immunity, Hun Sen is now well-positioned to pass power onto his son.
    • There is nothing to suggest Cambodia’s next prime minister won’t also have a sham election up his sleeve.

Valneva Reports Positive Phase 3 Results for Inactivated, Adjuvanted COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate VLA2001

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Monday, October 18, 2021
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Saint Herblain (France), October 18, 2021 Valneva SE (Nasdaq: VALN; Euronext Paris: VLA), a specialty vaccine company, today announced positive topline results from the Phase 3 pivotal trial Cov-Compare of its inactivated, adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine candidate, VLA2001.

Key Points: 
  • Saint Herblain (France), October 18, 2021 Valneva SE (Nasdaq: VALN; Euronext Paris: VLA), a specialty vaccine company, today announced positive topline results from the Phase 3 pivotal trial Cov-Compare of its inactivated, adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine candidate, VLA2001.
  • The tolerability profile of VLA2001 was significantly more favorable compared to the active comparator vaccine.
  • Thomas Lingelbach, Chief Executive Officer of Valneva, said: These results confirm the advantages often associated with inactivated whole virus vaccines.
  • VLA2001 is currently the only whole virus, inactivated, adjuvanted vaccine candidate against COVID-19 in clinical trials in Europe.

The review of university admissions

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
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Wednesday, April 10, 2019This House of Commons briefing paper discusses the university admissions system and the review of admissions practices which was announced by the Education Secretary on 5 April 2019. The paper focuses on the use of predicted grades for university admissions, the increase in unconditional offers by universities and issues around a post qualification admissions system.

Key Points: 
  • House of Commons Library

    This House of Commons briefing paper discusses the university admissions system and the review of admissions practices which was announced by the Education Secretary on 5 April 2019.

  • The paper focuses on the use of predicted grades for university admissions, the increase in unconditional offers by universities and issues around a post qualification admissions system.
  • The university admissions system has been under scrutiny for decades and reviews have been conducted such as the Schwartz Review in 2004.
  • On 5 April 2019 the Education Secretary, Damian Hinds announced that the Department for Education would conduct a review of university admissions practices with a focus on unconditional offers and widening participation.