<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/47552464.cms" /> The <keyword id="109212" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Food-Safety">Food Safety</keyword> and <keyword id="179673" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Standards-Authority-of-India">Standards Authority of India</keyword> (FSSAI) is a <keyword id="2885008" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="strict-headmaster">strict headmaster</keyword> this time. Being in sticky wicket after lead was found excessively in its flagship product Maggi, Nestle have now been asked to submit compliance report within three days. The govt body to ensure safety standard of food in India has asked magi to “furnish progress reports on the recall process on a daily basis thereafter till the process is completed." 
 
Not only so. Nestle has also been asked to "withdraw and recall all the 9 approved variants of its Maggi Instant Noodles from the market. Having been found unsafe and hazardous for human consumption, and stop further production, processing, import, distribution and sale of the said product with immediate effect." 
 
As per a news report in The Economic Times, FSSAI has stated, "Three major violations have been noted (a) presence of Lead detected in the product in excess of the maximum permissible levels of 2.5 ppm, (b) misleading labelling information on the package reading "No added MSG", and (c)release of a non-standardised food product in the market, viz. "Maggi Oats Masala Noodles with Tastemaker" without risk assessment and grant of product approval." 
 Meanwhile, Nestle's <keyword id="203686" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="global-CEO">global CEO</keyword> <keyword id="225478" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Paul-Bulcke">Paul Bulcke</keyword> on Friday said that Maggi noodles are safe for consumption. Bulcke said, "We withdrew the product from shelves because consumers' trust was shaken. We want Maggi noodles back on shelves as soon as possible." 
 
(Image: IndiaTimes)

FSSAI gets stricter: 9 variants of Maggi unsafe, 'No added MSG' is misleading

Amaravati, The <keyword id="37102" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="andhra-pradesh" source="Orion">Andhra Pradesh</keyword> government has banned the use of mobile phones in schools across the state. The school <keyword id="63592" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="education-department" source="Orion">education department</keyword> has issued orders prohibiting students from bringing mobile phones to the schools. The department has also banned use of mobile phones by the teachers in classrooms. The teachers have been directed to deposit their cell phones with the headmaster before going to the classrooms. The department said the ban has been imposed to ensure that there is no disruption to teaching. Officials said that the action has been taken in accordance with the <keyword id="3495316" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="global-education-monitoring-report" source="Orion">Global Education Monitoring Report</keyword> of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The U.N. body endorsed banning smartphones from schools. It noted that globally one in four countries has imposed such bans either as law or as a policy out of concern for data privacy, safety and child's well-being. The UNESCO warned against an uncritical rush toward embrace of digital products in educational settings, noting that "there is little robust evidence on digital technology's added value in education" and that "a lot of the evidence comes from those trying to sell it". The school education department had already asked the teachers to stop using mobile phones in the classroom but the orders were not being followed strictly. The ban on using mobile phones by teachers in the classrooms is a part of guidelines of the Education Department. With teachers using mobile phone during class, the students are forced to study and understand lessons on their own. --IANS ms/shb

No phones for Andhra students in school, teachers face new rules too

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Trump's hush-money trial pauses Wednesdays for Manhattan mental health court cases.</li><li>It's a completely different world once Trump and journalists decamp.</li></ul>For the past six weeks, the person in the chair has been the former president of the United States.It is padded and made from weathered leather. The former president, who is also the presumptive Republican nominee in the next presidential election, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-struggles-stay-awake-sleeping-criminal-trial-2024-4">makes himself comfortable</a>.He sits there for hours, leaning back, his eyes narrowed to slits, listening to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-michael-cohen-hush-money-trial-testimony-2024-5">his enemies testify against him</a>.He is flanked by a team of lawyers. Behind him are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/which-republicans-attended-trump-hush-money-trial-2024-5">politicians from Washington, DC, paying fealty</a>. Behind them, rows and rows of journalists sit for hours in hard, weathered wooden benches, shifting in their seats for a better look.But on this day, a Wednesday, the chair was filled with a succession of anxious New Yorkers who had admitted to their crimes. They were there to get help.The jury in Donald Trump's hush-money trial, over a payment to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stormy-daniels-takes-stand-donald-trump-hush-money-trial-2024-5">adult film star Stormy Daniels</a>, is known not to sit on Wednesday. While the judge, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, is currently presiding over arguably the highest-profile criminal case in American history, he keeps the middle of his week clear for Manhattan's mental health court.It is a completely different world. For Trump's trial, journalists and members of the public spend hours lining up outside the court, hoping to snag a seat in the courtroom or in a spillover room where they watch the proceedings on large TV screens. Hundreds are turned away.On the two recent Wednesdays at the mental health court, in the same linoleum-tiled 15th-floor courtroom during the trial's off days, a Business Insider reporter was the only journalist there. But for these Wednesday defendants, the stakes are no less high. They have effectively won the lottery to be offered another chance and avoid time in prison. It is hard.In some respects, Merchan is his same old self in these sessions. He moves briskly and is on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-lawyer-court-behavior-consequences-manhattan-criminal-hush-money-trial-2024-3">high alert for lawyerly evasiveness</a>.But in other ways, Merchan carries a different attitude.Merchan plays the role of a strict headmaster in Trump's trial, holding high standards and keeping all the lawyers and witnesses on track. After a month of testimony, jurors will begin deliberating this week.<div type="image" title="trump cameras manhattan courtroom" height="2000" width="3000" msid="110438394" hostid="261" sizebytes="253284"></div>Merchan has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-hit-gag-violation-judge-threatens-jail-time-2024-5">held Trump in contempt 10 times</a> for violating his gag order and threatened jail time, remaining vigilant after the former president's lawyers <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-lawyer-scolded-bigly-after-botched-hush-money-delay-bid-2024-3">tried numerous attempts to delay the trial</a> (and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-first-felony-trial-hush-money-stormy-daniels-april-2024-3">succeeding once</a>).In his mental health court, though, Merchan, who has presided over felony criminal trials since 2009, is more like a kindly uncle. He appears to genuinely want everyone to succeed. When a defendant shares a promising update, he cheers them on. When he chides, he does it gently."Keep it up," he tells defendants who give updates showing their lives are on track."You definitely turned it around since the last time I saw you, and I'm very glad to see that," he recently told one defendant after their lawyer said their client was improving after a rocky start to the program.Not everyone has such good news to share.The weather outdoors during two recent sessions was warm, but Merchan blasted the air conditioning, keeping the courtroom, which Trump derisively calls "the icebox," chilly.On one day, a court employee wore a heavy black parka that reached past her knees. The hangers on the courtroom's coat rack remained untouched.One defendant living in a treatment facility was caught with a contraband nicotine vape pen under her pillow. She was unable to get her usual prescription medications because her therapist had a "computer issue," she said. Merchan appeared let down, but remained sympathetic rather than skeptical, as some other judges might be.In turn, the woman opened up to him about her depressive struggles to get out of bed, to go to group treatment sessions, or do much of anything. She was frozen with anxiety when she thought about the future, she said."I'm going to be honest with you, your honor," she said. "I'm not doing too great."Sitting high above her at the bench, Merchan expressed his own frustrations about the world's unfairness and told her she didn't need to apologize for anything. The pressure of the future she was feeling, he said, was really the pressure of the responsibility she'll have for her own life once she graduates from the program."The future is going to be there," he said. "And you're going to be ready for it."But he was still firm, reminding her that nicotine's addictive nature could put her back on the wrong path."You shouldn't be doing that," he said. "And we need to move past that.""She is strong, and she can do this," her lawyer said."I agree," Merchan responded, beaming, before moving on to the next defendant.<h2 id="11b37eac-4b51-4426-a88c-00c15e56316b">Getting accepted is just the start</h2>The Manhattan mental health court is one path available to those who plead guilty to felonies.Few are able to take advantage of it.Merchan is the sole judge of the mental health court in all of Manhattan, and has presided over it since its founding in 2011.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/01/nyregion/new-york-veterans-court.html">He is also the only judge overseeing another specialized court in Manhattan, which caters to veterans</a> and has historically had a smaller caseload. Other specialized courts focus on defendants dealing with substance abuse issues and human trafficking. An Alternatives to Incarceration program, the largest diversion program in the borough, is also available as something of a catch-all, offering a holistic approach to criminal justice."No one's ever come out of prison better than they went in," Eliza Orlins, a New York City public defender who has represented several defendants in the mental health court, told Business Insider. "And so if there are things that we can do to help people rather than just punish them, obviously it's much, much better for everyone."<div type="image" title="juan merchan manhattan judge" height="5760" width="8640" msid="110438395" hostid="261" sizebytes="1176462"></div>The mental health court has 56 ongoing cases in various stages, a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office told Business Insider. The figure represents a small percentage of the thousands of felony cases it brings each year. Defendants need to demonstrate they have a history of mental illness and might need to speak to the district attorney's office about their past traumas. If the office allows it, a mental health court treatment plan can become part of their plea agreement, which includes different consequences for failures. And once that's hammered out, Merchan needs to accept the plea."It's really hard, a huge burden to even get so far as to be accepted into mental health court," said Orlins. "And that's just the start of it."For those who Merchan approves to enter the program, he refers defendants to a psychiatrist, who then comes up with an individualized plan to address mental health and potential substance abuse issues. Often, it involves living in a mental healthcare treatment facility.The defendants check in every few weeks, and if they complete the program to the Merchan's satisfaction, the indictment is dismissed.But if they commit new infractions or don't successfully complete the program, they can be hit with the recommended sentence in their plea agreement, which can mean time in state prison.<div type="image" title="juan merchan empty courtroom" height="1666" width="2500" msid="110438396" hostid="261" sizebytes="136952"></div>Between 2014 and 2021, 300 individuals were referred to the Manhattan mental health court, according to a report from the district attorney's office. In that time, 190 were accepted into the program. Of them, 100 participants graduated, a process that typically takes between 12 and 24 months.Recovering from mental health episodes, Orlins said, is simply hard. Not everyone can do it."In theory, they're good. And if people are successful, sure, great. But it's hard," she said,Merchan declined an interview request for this story, telling Business Insider he couldn't set aside any time during the ongoing Trump trial. In <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-criminal-trial-judge-merchan-c227f5eab200cccffb19ed931b4dac92">an interview with the Associated Press,</a> before the trial began, he said the mental health court let him "see people through a different lens" than he did while presiding over only ordinary criminal cases.<h2 id="7579c873-314d-49d9-a8d7-c6a4fed31b3b">'If you are ever struggling and having a hard time, just speak up'</h2>Merchan might have a dozen cases each morning, spending as little as a few minutes on each defendant. The appearances look different than a normal criminal case.In addition to the prosecutors and defense attorneys, there are case managers, standing at the lectern where lawyers normally question witnesses, who give updates about how each defendant is progressing in their mental health treatment program.Each defendant has a story. Merchan listens carefully, looking directly at them and giving his full attention. When their lawyers make a request, he covers his hand with his mouth, as he often does during the Trump trial, a tic for when he is thinking about how to rule.On a recent Wednesday, Merchan accepted one man's plea and inducted them into the mental health court."You're now in Manhattan mental health court," he said. "Welcome.""If you are ever struggling and having a hard time, just speak up," the judge offered in a friendly voice.Another defendant seemed like he would be headed for prison.He had "absconded," according to his lawyer, after telling his chaperone, "Sorry man, I need to see my wife" and then slipping away. No one could find him."As far as we know, he doesn't have a wife," his lawyer said.<div type="image" title="juan merchan courtroom sketch" height="2268" width="3024" msid="110438397" hostid="261" sizebytes="614716"></div>The case manager seemed to tear up a little. The backlog of people trying to get into the defendant's treatment facility was long. And so even if he returned, he wouldn't be allowed back in. If you fail the mental health court program in such a dramatic fashion, the next step can be a sentencing hearing.Merchan allowed law enforcement to go after him."Bench warrant entered," he said solemnly.Another woman appearing before the judge had a more upbeat update. She spends an hour reading every day and recently subscribed to the Wall Street Journal's weekend section, her lawyer said. She befriended a woman named Iris at her local library, who helps her interpret sports statistics, according to the lawyer.Merchan was encouraged. The future held promise."I would like to adjourn the case for graduation," he said, which would be held on June 26. It would be long after Trump had left, to return only for a possible sentencing.The woman was the last case scheduled to be heard that day. But before everyone gathered their belongings, there was one more matter to address.A tall, elderly, lanky lawyer had approached the well. He had a client who graduated from the program two years ago, he said, during which the client enrolled in business school. The client was now set to graduate from school and was seeking a job, and was worried that having the case on the books — even though the indictment was dismissed — would hurt his employment prospects.Could the judge seal the case?The prosecutors didn't object. "The case is sealed," Merchan said."Tell him I said hello and wish him well," Merchan said, smiling warmly.

When the crowd leaves Trump's hush-money trial, the judge spends his day in a very different kind of court

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11911533" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="boris-johnson" source="Orion">Boris Johnson</keyword> is under pressure over "<keyword id="13495783" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="partygate" source="Orion">partygate</keyword>" after more Tory MPs called for him to quit.</li><li>Roger Gale, who previously said it was wrong time to change leaders, has said he should resign.</li></ul>Boris Johnson is under fresh pressure after a series of leaked pictures were published showing him apparently drinking at a lockdown-breaching event. The images, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-photos-show-boris-johnson-at-party-in-lockdown-2022-5?r=US&amp;IR=T">published by ITV News</a>, have triggered questions about the prime minister's previous insistence that he believed no rules were broken, as well as why the Met Police has only handed him one fine, for a different event. Several backbenchers told Insider they believe a vote in Johnson's leadership — triggered if 54 letters of no confidence are submitted to 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady — could take place this summer. One MP told Insider: "I think he's finished — this is the start of the beginning of the end for sure... it's always the silent assassin who gets you." Here's the current tally of MPs who have spoken out: <h2>Sir Roger Gale</h2>The North Thanet MP first submitted a letter of no confidence over Dominic Cummings' controversial trip to Barnard Castle, but withdrew it at the outset of the war in Ukraine, saying it was the wrong time to change leader. However the pictures <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tory-mps-call-for-boris-johnson-quit-partygate-list-2022-4?r=US&amp;IR=T">changed his mind again</a>. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Sir Roger Gale MP (@SirRogerGale) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1529003927957606400">May 24, 2022</a></blockquote><h2>Steve Baker</h2>The Brexiteer and former minister — who previously had backed Johnson — said he had changed his mind when it become clear that the prime minister's contrition "only lasted as long as it took to get out of the headmaster's study."The influential MP told the Commons in April: "The prime minister now should be long gone … Really, the prime minister should just know the gig's up." Baker is seen as one of the potential kingmakers for a future leader, given his standing among Tory backbenchers. On Monday night, he pointedly tweeted a picture of one of the many government COVID-19 posters designed to shame people who broke the rules.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Steve Baker MP FRSA (@SteveBakerHW) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1528779027472863233">May 23, 2022</a></blockquote><h2>William Wragg</h2>The chairman of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee had previously described Johnson's position as untenable.Last month the MP for Hazel Grove went further, revealing he had submitted a letter of no confidence in December because the prime minister was "no longer fit to govern."<h2>Anthony Mangnall</h2>The MP for Totnes confirmed he still had no confidence in the prime minister, having submitted a letter to Brady in February.Speaking in the Commons in April, Mangnall said he forgave Johnson for making mistakes "but I do not forgive him for misleading the House."<h2>Mark Harper</h2>A former chief whip, Harper is also seen as possible rebel leader and kingmaker.Back in April, he was brutal in his response to Johnson's statement about the fixed penalty notice he received for a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-rishi-sunak-fined-attending-lockdown-breaching-parties-2022-4">birthday party</a> that breached the rules.The Forest of Dean MP told the Commons: "I am very sorry to have to say this, but I no longer think he is worthy of the great office he holds." Harper then published his letter of no confidence. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Mark Harper (@Mark_J_Harper) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1516453716899029009">April 19, 2022</a></blockquote><h2>Craig Whittaker</h2>The former whip, who quit his post in February, said both Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak should "do the right thing and resign" after they received their fines, <a href="https://twitter.com/LBC/status/1516866325876035592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1516866325876035592%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fpost%2Fpreview%3Fpost_id%3D6262840ded6d0d40b70ae3c9mode%3Ddesktop">telling LBC</a>: "You can't make rules and then have one rule for us and one for them." However, the Calder Valley MP says submitting a letter would be "futile" because he believed Johnson would ultimately win any confidence vote.<h2>Nigel Mills</h2>The Amber Valley MP called for Johnson and Sunak to resign after they were fined, saying: "I don't think his position is tenable," <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/apr/13/tory-mps-boris-johnson-position-untenable-partygate-fine">The Guardian reported</a>.Mills submitted a no confidence letter in April, saying: "I don't think the prime minister can survive or should survive, breaking the rules he put in place and was on TV every few nights reminding us all that we should observe."<h2>Tobias Ellwood</h2>The former minister and chair of the Defence Committee submitted a letter of no confidence back in February, and in April tweeted that colleagues should "stop drinking the Kool Aid".He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there would be "a steady trickle of letters, of resignations" and that a confidence vote was "now when, not if."<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Tobias Ellwood MP (@Tobias_Ellwood) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1517168767528321024">April 21, 2022</a></blockquote><h2>Caroline Nokes</h2>There is little love lost between Johnson and the former Home Office minister, who lost the whip during the late-stage Brexit struggles of 2019.She has previously called for the prime minister to resign and said in April she had submitted a no-confidence letter "a very long time ago."<h2>Gary Streeter</h2>The South West Devon MP called for Johnson to go in February, saying then that he had submitted a no-confidence letter."I cannot reconcile the pain and sacrifice of the vast majority of the British public during lockdown with the attitude and activities of those working in Downing Street," he wrote.<h2>Peter Aldous</h2>The Waveney MP caused a stir in February when he revealed he had submitted a letter of no confidence.In April he said he had not withdrawn it <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2022-04-22/suffolk-conservative-mp-renews-call-for-boris-johnson-to-go-as-prime-minister">and told ITV</a>: "It would be best for the country, and indeed the Conservative Party, if there was a change in leader."<h2>Aaron Bell</h2>In January, the Newcastle-under-Lyme MP asked if the prime minister thought he was "a fool" for having followed strict lockdown rules for his grandmother's funeral. He later revealed he had submitted a letter of no confidence. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Aaron Bell MP (@AaronBell4NUL) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1489617282968002570">February 4, 2022</a></blockquote><h2>David Davis</h2>The former Brexit secretary, another staunch Leaver, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tory-mp-christian-wakeford-defects-labour-boris-johnson-2022-1">surprised a packed PMQs in January</a> by telling Johnson: "In the name of God, go."The veteran MP has stood by his comment, but since suggested that <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/david-davis-interview-boris-johnson-ukraine-b989045.html">dealing with the crisis in Ukraine should take priority</a>.<h2>Neil Hudson</h2>Similar thoughts were expressed by the Penrith MP, who issued a statement after Johnson received his fine, saying: "The fact that the law makers went on to break those very laws they brought in to keep us all safe is deeply damaging for our democracy.""That situation is untenable moving forward," he added. "That said, I do not believe it would be prudent or responsible to change the leadership of the Government in the midst of the <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international" source="Orion">international</keyword> crisis that is the war in Ukraine." <h2>Karen Bradley</h2>Former Cabinet minister Karen Bradley has stopped short of calling for Johnson to go, but after Johnson's fine was issued, she said: "I do wish to make it clear that if I had been a minister found to have broken the laws that I passed, I would be tendering my resignation now."<h2>Andrew Mitchell</h2>Mitchell, who has butted heads with the Government over cuts to overseas aid, said in January that Johnson "no longer enjoys my support," having previously backed him.<h2>Nick Gibb</h2>Nick Gibb, the long-standing schools minister who was sacked by Johnson in September 2021, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/02/04/boris-johnson-must-go-bitter-pill-swallow-win-back-voters/">wrote in The Telegraph</a> on February 4 that Johnson should resign. <h2>Tim Loughton</h2>The former children's minister said in January that he "regretfully" believed Johnson should go. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Tim Loughton MP (@timloughton) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1482463465629495297">January 15, 2022</a></blockquote><h2>Back in the fold</h2>The list is growing, but it is not all bad news for the prime minister — some of those who have previously spoken out against him have since returned to the fold.Andrew Bridgen, who was one of the first to submit a letter, has withdrawn his, saying now was not the time to change leader given the instability caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-mps-stil-plotting-despite-ukraine-sources-2022-3?r=US&amp;IR=T">Tory backbenchers have previously told Insider</a> that the war should not deter colleagues from ejecting Johnson. One said: "We changed prime minister in World War II and the Gulf War — I don't think you can use the current situation as an excuse to do nothing."

All the Tory MPs who have publicly called for Boris Johnson to quit over partygate

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/537537af69beddaf6f03fe49-1429/japanese-student.jpg" alt="japanese student" />Kyodo/ReutersA Japanese student in a classroom from in Ofunato city, Iwate prefecture.In the US, dress-code violations might include an offensive t-shirt or a mini skirt. In Japan, a dye job can do you in.According to <a href="http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201705010035.html?utm_content=buffer8ede3&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer">a new survey</a> published by Tokyo news outlet The Asahi Shimbun, 57% of public high schools in the city require students to prove that their hair color is natural.The measure is designed to uphold strict Japanese standards regarding physical appearance: In addition to prohibiting students from perming or dyeing their hair, many Japanese schools mandate crisp, respectable dress and don't allow overly long or unkempt hair.According to Asahi Shimbun, 98 of the 170 schools surveyed by the paper had such a policy in place. The number of children who'd been made to prove their hair color was real ranged from a few to a few dozen during the most recent school year."Some students insist that their hair is natural even though it is dyed," one teacher told Asahi Simbun. "We ask their parents to confirm these claims as their responsibility."Unlike the US, Japan's population is fairly homogeneous. As a result, the culture often <a href="http://www.creativeboom.com/inspiration/japans-struggle-between-uniformity-and-individual-identities-caught-on-film/">places a premium</a> on uniformity - even slight deviations from the norm tend to stand out, and provoke criticism in more conservative circles. Natsuko Fujimaki, a Tokyo-based entrepreneur, says this is where the Japanese concept of majime comes into play. The term refers to a preference for order, tidiness, and often perfectionism. It tracks closely with a desire to stay reserved and sensible in comportment."They try to follow the rules for everything," Fujimkai tells Business Insider.In order to prove that a student's hair is natural, schools will often ask parents to submit childhood photos depicting the kid's hair color. In less extreme cases, parents only need to verify in writing (with a signature) that their child's hair hasn't been treated in any way.The practice is not new. Even a decade ago, some schools required students to prove they hadn't dyed or curled their hair. In extreme cases, schools would even require foreign-born students to dye their hair to conform to the rest of the student body as part of a forced assimilation process. "Every week teachers would check if Nicola was dyeing her hair brown," a Brazilian-born student named Maria <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2007/07/17/issues/schools-single-out-foreign-roots/#.WQnY_FPyt7M">told Japan Times</a> of her sister, Nicola, in 2007. "Even though she said this is her natural color, she was instructed to straighten and dye it black. She did so once a week. But the ordeal traumatized her. She still has a complex about her appearance."Hair dye and perms aren't the only beauty choices subject to Japanese dress-code standards. Many male students can't wear spiky or messy hairstyles, allow their hair to cover their eyes, or let it grow past their collars. Some schools require female students to pin their hair back "in a way that does not interfere with classroom instruction," as <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2007/07/17/issues/schools-single-out-foreign-roots/#.WQnY_FPyt7M">one school's code</a> put it.According to Asahi Shimbun, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-japan-can-solve-huge-sex-problem-2017-2">Japan's falling birth rate</a> plays a role in these rules. With fewer students to fill the schools, public and private schools have started competing for parents' attention. One strategy they've adopted: Highlight their strict hair policies to show how majime they are about education, in hopes parents will be impressed by the rigor.Some critics say the requirement that students prove their hair is natural violates their privacy.Meanwhile, advocates allege it does the students a favor, since one verification process can prevent headmasters from constantly asking whether a child's hair is real. They say asking for initial proof <a href="http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201705010035.html?utm_content=buffer8ede3&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer">ends up sparing kids</a> even greater psychological harm. <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/realistic-animals-made-from-rolled-paper-glue-2016-12">This Japanese artist creates life-size animals from thin rolls of newspaper</a></h3> Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Japanese high-school students are sometimes required to prove their hair color is natural - here's why

<ul class="summary-list"><li>When other countries issued lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, <keyword id="23050" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sweden">Sweden</keyword> bucked the trend, mostly relying on citizens to make their own responsible decisions to control the novel <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>. </li><li>Now, the country is even closer to the old normal, with more kids returning to preschool and residents <a href="https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/the-public-health-agency-of-sweden/communicable-disease-control/covid-19/">told to wait only two days</a> after symptoms subside to return to work or school. </li><li>A preschool teacher outside of Stockholm told Insider the situation is worrying some colleagues, parents, and students, who are being forced to attend schools under risky circumstances. </li><li>"I always wonder how many people will die because of me," said the teacher, a leader of the #SaveSweden movement. </li></ul>Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sweden-coronavirus-strategy-explained-culture-of-trust-and-obedience-2020-4">life in Sweden has looked pretty normal</a> compared to most places: Bars and restaurants have stayed open, most offices expect employees to show up, and elementary and high schools remain in session. These days, it's looking even more like the pre-pandemic days, with parents who previously kept their kids home from preschool sending them back, and already-light government guidelines loosening further to encourage even people with a dry cough to <a href="https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/the-public-health-agency-of-sweden/communicable-disease-control/covid-19/">go to work and school if other COVID-19 symptoms subsided two days prior</a>.As Andreia Rodrigues, a preschool teacher outside of Stockholm, says, it's "business as usual." But she and other members of the #SaveSweden movement, wish it weren't: Contrary to perceptions of Sweden as a place where the government trusts people to make their own good decisions, she says that's not the case for parents and <keyword id="6356089" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="teachers">teachers</keyword> who want to stay home to keep themselves and their families safe. Rather, parents are faced with real threats from child protective services, while teachers fear being fired if they don't go to school or wear a mask when there, she says. Rodrigues worries this could lead to more people contracting the coronavirus, making the pandemic worse in a country that's already seen some of the highest <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sweden-coronavirus-per-capita-death-rate-among-highest-2020-5">death per capita rates</a> in the world.What's more, she said, residents' lack of autonomy is driving serious mental <keyword id="6354750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="health">health</keyword> concerns, and pushing some families to consider fleeing the country.Her movement, which is currently only visible as a collection of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/Children-of-Sweden-Covid19-pandemic-100108378380830">testimonials on Facebook</a>, doesn't necessarily aim to shut schools down entirely, but to give people a choice if they feel safer at home. "Do whatever you want," Rodrigues said of the group's philosophy, "but let people protect themselves." <div type="image" title="stockholm" height="800" width="1200" msid="75849574" hostid="261"></div><h2>Rodrigues says Swedish schools aren't practicing strict physical distancing or hygiene measures </h2>Rodrigues works with a class of 22 preschoolers. She believes she's been exposed to the virus from her live-in fiance, who experienced the telltale symptoms and works in an airport, but she was still required to report to work when she alerted her boss she was living with a presumptive COVID-positive person. Sweden's public health agency <a href="https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/the-public-health-agency-of-sweden/communicable-disease-control/covid-19/">says people can continue going to work</a> or school if they live with someone with the disease as long as they're not showing symptoms. The World Health Organization, meanwhile, has emphasized that asymptomatic people <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2009758">can and do</a> spread the disease. Rodrigues doesn't wear a mask because she worries she'd get fired for spreading fear. She said she can't even attempt to keep the little ones apart. "What's the point of them being there if they cannot play with each other?" she said. She's simply told to take the class outside as much as possible, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/risk-of-coronavirus-transmission-lower-outdoors-evidence-2020-5">where the risk of COVID-19 transmission is lower</a>. "I always wonder how many people will die because of me," she said. Other parents in the Facebook group say their kids' schools follow uncomfortably light physical distancing and hygiene practices, like simply keeping a chair between (mask-less) students while eating but not in the classroom. School nurses have told multiple parents in the group taking further precautions is unnecessary because "all of us are going to get Covid19."But Rodrigues and other experts believe that attitude is insufficient to safeguard people from the coronavirus."Each infected child infects two to three other children a week, who then infect their parents and grandparents," Jorn Klein, an associate Professor in Microbiology and Infection Prevention, at the University of South Eastern Norway, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-sweden-education/swedish-parents-fret-as-schools-stay-open-amid-european-virus-shutdown-idUSKBN21E2NX">told Reuters</a>. "From a pure infection prevention perspective, it does not make sense to keep the schools and kindergartens open."In France, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/70-new-coronavirus-cases-reported-after-french-schools-begin-reopening-2020-5">70 new cases of the coronavirus were recently reported</a> after the country opened some preschools and elementary schools, even with social distancing in place. <div type="image" title="egalia sweden preschool" height="2448" width="3264" msid="75849576" hostid="261"></div><h2>Parents in Sweden can have their kids taken away if they keep them home from school </h2>Elementary and middle schools were never shut down in Sweden, and homeschooling was never an option in the country.But at first, families were more or less left alone if they chose to keep their kids home, anecdotes from the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/Children-of-Sweden-Covid19-pandemic-100108378380830/about/?ref=page_internal">#SaveSweden movement's Facebook page</a> indicate. The government also granted people 21 days home from work or school if they had symptoms without a doctor's note, which parents took advantage of, Rodrigues said. More recently, though, enforcement of school attendance seems to have ratcheted up. One single mom in Sweden on the movement's Facebook page said that she has kept her 8-year-old son home because she has asthma and smokes, and doesn't know who would care for him if she got sick or died. But while the school allowed him to stay home until around Easter, she says the headmaster is now threatening to report them to social services if he doesn't show up. Another mom in the movement wrote that she quit her job in February to stay home and protect her family. While her kids' school played along at first, school administrators recently called a meeting and told them their refusal to send the children to school was illegal. On May 15, she says that social services called. "Money comes before health here and they play with our kid's and with older people's lives," she wrote. "My parents ran away from a dictatorship and many years later Sweden has become one too, what they are doing is genocide." Many others have similar stories. <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpermalink.php%3Fstory_fbid%3D104208161304185%26id%3D100108378380830&amp;width=500" width="500" height="535" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpermalink.php%3Fstory_fbid%3D103148578076810%26id%3D100108378380830&amp;width=500" width="500" height="708" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe>"I have talked to people who have mentioned suicide because they had to quit because they refuse to work under these conditions in schools," Rodrigues said. "They say, 'It's no point living like this, and I feel stuck here.'"<h2>In a different country, 'this would be a humanitarian crisis' </h2>When Rodrigues talks to friends in other countries, they often comment on how lockdown-free life in Sweden looks pretty good. "If you refuse to admit there's a problem, it might seem like there is no problem, but it's not like that in reality," Rodrigues said.Sweden's COVID-19 death rate is 12.3%, about triple that of Sweden's Nordic neighbors, Finland and Norway. The Swedish<a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality"> case-fatality rate</a> also surpasses some of the hardest-hit countries: Spain (11.5%), and the US (5.9%), Business Insider's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sweden-coronavirus-strategy-explained-culture-of-trust-and-obedience-2020-4">Hilary Brueck reported</a>. <div type="image" title="FILE PHOTO: A sign assures people that the bar is open during the coronavirus outbreak, outside a pub in Stockholm, Sweden March 26, 2020. REUTERS/Colm Fulton/File Photo" height="2259" width="3014" msid="75849579" hostid="261"></div>And yet, Rodrigues and other people in the movement, which has about 400 members on Facebook, appear to be in the minority. Most Swedes go along with the cultural expectation to follow government guidelines; questioning it by, say, keeping your kid home from school or wearing a mask suggests you are special and know better than the authorities, according to Rodrigues. "Had this been in a third-world country, then this would be humanitarian crisis," said Rodrigues, who is from Portugal and has lived in Sweden for three years. "But since it's Sweden, it's like, 'Let's see what they come up with!'"While she doesn't expect her advocacy to change much, if anything, at this point, she does want her group's message to be heard. "We are really screaming as much as we can," she said. "Even when we get heard, it doesn't make a difference." Read the original article on <a href="https://www.insider.com/sweden-preschool-teacher-warning-of-school-outbreaks-2020-5">Insider</a>

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