U. K. transport secretary Grant Shapps has announced emergency funding to enable local authorities to pay for “pop-up” cycling and walking infrastructure to enable physical distancing during lockdown. ......

Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See other free reports here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. YAKUTSK, Russia — On the 75th anniversary of the allied victory in the World War II, The Associated Press spoke to veterans in ex-Soviet countries and discovered that lessons they learned during the war are helping them cope with a new major challenge — the coronavirus pandemic. As they recalled the horrors of the war, they also talked about how strength and tenacity were key to survival both then and now. Here is some of their testimony. 'GIVING IN TO PANIC IS LIKE...

Miami: Carolina Vásquez lost track of days and nights, unable to see the sunlight while stuck for two weeks in a windowless cruise ship cabin as a fever took hold of her body. On the worst night of her encounter with COVID-19, the Chilean woman, a line cook on the Greg Mortimer ship, summoned the strength to take a cold shower fearing the worst: losing consciousness while isolated from others. Vásquez, 36, and tens of thousands of other crew members have been trapped for weeks aboard dozens of cruise ships around the world — long after governments and cruise lines negotiated their passengers’ disembarkation. Some have gotten ill and died; others have survived but...

Nteranya Sanginga is Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

The post Pandemic Lays Bare Africa’s Deficits, but Youth Will Grow the Future appeared first on Inter Press Service.

ALMATY: Two Nasa astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut on Friday made a safe return from the International Space Station to find the planet transformed by the coronavirus pandemic. Andrew Morgan, Jessica Meir and Oleg Skripochka touched down in central Kazakhstan … read more

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is President of the Republic of Ghana and Co-chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Eminent Group of Advocates for the SDGs and Erna Solberg is Prime Minister of Norway and Co-chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Eminent Group of Advocates for the SDGs

The post Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, SDGs are Even More Relevant Today Than Ever Before appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury is a former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the UN (2002-2007), Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to UN (1996-2001) and Chairman of the UN General Assembly’s Administrative and Budgetary Committee (1997-1998)

The post UN Faces Financial & Liquidity Crisis as Global Pandemic Rages appeared first on Inter Press Service.

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres on Thursday pleaded with global leaders and families to ensure the protection of the world’s children, millions of whom he says are vulnerable to a myriad of threats as a result of the shutdown arising from the global coronavirus pandemic.  While children are at a significantly lower health risk […]

The post Global Leaders Must Prioritise Children’s Wellbeing amid Coronavirus Pandemic – UN appeared first on Inter Press Service.

A little over half of women across the globe are able to freely make choices about their sexual and reproductive health, according to a latest report based on data from 57 countries.  However, as much of the world has gone into lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, with countries implementing social distancing and restricting the […]

The post **Correction**How the COVID-19 Pandemic is Affecting Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Feminist responses to COVID-19 have been swift, insightful, and numerous. There have been webinars (so.many.webinars), twitter threads, illustrations, press releases and policy recommendations, and online house parties. Analysis pieces cover everything from the gendered impacts of COVID-19 to how to work remotely to the role of neoliberal capitalism. Most strikingly, feminists have mobilized on a […]

The post Autonomous Resourcing: the Engine Room of Feminist Work Amid a Global Pandemic appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Russia's Red Army Choir shot a video at home playing notes from the Ottoman military band Mehter in support of Turkey's fight with the novel coronavirus.

More than 800 Turkish nationals were repatriated on May 8 from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of an initiative by Ankara amid the coronavirus pandemic.

As participants in the EU ETS will be aware, back in 2017, as part of its planning for Brexit, the UK Government amended the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2012 to require UK operators to surrender allowances in respect of their...

Pandemic: ‘(of a disease) prevalent over a whole country or the world’ Fear: ‘an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm’ Management: ‘the process of dealing with or controlling things or people...

Communications need to be clear and timely Constantly review and maintain your customer communications content and strategy.  There is a regulatory expectation that firms will ensure consumers are adequately protected during severe disruption.&...

The restrictive measures on the movement of people to slow the spread of COVID-19 pose specific legal issues for UK Investment Trusts, which are just entering into the reporting and Annual General Meeting (AGM) season.  AGMs have traditionally ...

DNB (the Dutch Central Bank) Banks: Micro prudential, less significant institutions (LSIs) - Banks can use their capital and liquidity buffer. Therefore, banks will be allowed to temporarily operate below the level of capital as defined by t...

A weekly read to keep you in the loop on humanitarian issues.

SURAT THANI: A Spanish man has allegedly stabbed a Chilean man to death on Koh Phangan in this southern province.

Leonardo Beltran is Non-Resident Fellow of the Institute of the Americas, Member of the Board of SEforALL, and former Deputy Secretary at the Mexican Department of Energy

The post Walking the Talk on Climate Change after the Pandemic: Reorienting State-Owned Enterprises towards Sustainability appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Dr Mah Hui Lim has been a university professor and banker, in the private sector and with the Asian Development Bank.
Dr. Michael Heng, Former professor in Management Science.

The post Pandemic Crisis May Trigger Societal Restructuring appeared first on Inter Press Service.

IPBES Expert Guest Article by Professors Josef Settele, Sandra Díaz and Eduardo Brondizio¹ and Dr. Peter Daszak² on 27 April 2020

The post COVID-19 Stimulus Measures Must Save Lives, Protect Livelihoods, and Safeguard Nature to Reduce the Risk of Future Pandemics appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Sexual and reproductive health and pandemics might seem to be unrelated topics, but large and dense populations are drivers of the high velocity transmission of COVID-19, and there are lessons to be learned for the future. Gains made in women’s sexual reproductive health and rights just took several steps backward in the midst of the […]

The post Why Reproductive Rights Must Be a Critical Part of Our Arsenal to Fight Pandemics appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The pandemic presents a golden opportunity for Japan to think outside the box and re-evaluate how to innovate to meet its changing needs.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's legacy depends on how he addresses the challenges raised by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Will Japan end up in the group of countries that is on the way to successfully containing the virus or in the group that experiences ...

The coronavirus crisis has exposed grave vulnerabilities in the nation's medical services.

The U.S.-Japan relationship is going to come through this pandemic even stronger than before.

From exotic animals to spectacles and chandeliers, Michael Laver’s “The Dutch East India Company in Early Modern Japan” shows how well-placed gifts were essential in ...

As coronavirus pandemic continues, Asian actors, directors and social influencers concerned over increased instances of harassment and racism.

For the first time ever, Japan's national broadcaster, NHK, will show a condensed version of its famous year-long period drama in English.

The Fukuoka group has released its first major-label mini-album, and is firmly looking forward.

Shinichiro Ueda reunites the cast of his hit comedy "One Cut of the Dead" for an innovative teleworking sequel

As celebrities reveal details about their charitable giving during the COVID-19 pandemic, some feel it could be the start of a new attitude to donating ...

Since tea cultivation began around 800 years ago in what’s now Shizuoka Prefecture, it has been renowned as Japan’s largest tea-producing region. Benefitea repackages the ...

Japan is blessed with a growing number of artisan bakeries around the city that can fill that pain de campagne-sized hole in our diets.

Since most Japanese apartments are compact, it’s more important than ever to maximize storage space. The Japan Times talked to three experts about how to ...

Many English-speaking leaders have been using war terminology when discussing the coronavirus, but politicians in Japan have their own way of speaking to the ...

With everyone's attention focused on the coronavirus pandemic, you could be forgiven for forgetting that it's Mother's Day this weekend. Just remember, it's never too ...

As coronavirus news floods our social feeds, it's important to take care of our mental well-being as well as our physical conditions.

One thing that's clear about the coronavirus pandemic is that if even one person is left behind, it could prove disastrous to us all.

With the West now taking another look at widespread use of face masks to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, it's worth noting another ...

Have you wondered what it's like to get tested for COVID-19 in Japan? With little Japanese, Joe Oliver learned the hard way after being sent ...

The current coronavirus pandemic has caused school closures around the world. While some have been able to make the jump to digital ways of learning, ...

The UFC is taking various precautions ahead of its first show in over eight weeks.

Some customers are returning to restaurants, bars and other shops in night entertainment districts that resumed operations.

Overtime pay, a barometer of strength in corporate activity, also fell at a record pace in March, data showed.

Parents are being encouraged to monitor and set time limits for children's online and gaming activity as many schools remain shuttered.

Assistance includes returning a portion of students' tuition fees and giving cash for equipment and living expenses.

Small firms whose income has been halved by the contagion can get ¥2 million and independent businesspeople can get ¥1 million.