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The housing unaffordability crisis in Asia -- by Matthias Helble

The poor and middle class are struggling to find affordable housing across the region, but there are some basic steps cities can take to improve the situation.




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Estimating the value of women’s unpaid work in Asia’s homes -- by Valerie Mercer-Blackman

Work done within the home, including caring for children, is extremely important to society but undervalued and poorly tracked. 




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How governments can halt the rise of unfriendly, unstoppable super-artificial intelligence -- by Wim Naudé

Artificial intelligence could be enormously beneficial to society, and it could also lead to catastrophe. Governments can play a role determining the outcome of AI’s development.




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Five myths about population, aging and environmental sustainability -- by Jane O'Sullivan, Francesco Ricciardi, Susann Roth

For sustainable development, universal wellbeing should be the goal, rather than endless growth. Minimizing further growth in human populations is only part of the solution, but an essential part. 




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Worsening climate emergency and tepid COP25 underscore need for urgent global action -- by Preety Bhandari

After a disappointing 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference, there is a need to restore confidence that the intergovernmental process can deliver on mitigation, adaptation, and finance.




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How can we help the millions displaced each year by disasters? -- by Steven Goldfinch, Rebekah Beatrice Ramsay

Governments in the region need to invest more in prevention and response to the long-term impacts of disaster displacement.




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How Asia can ride the digital wave to spur financial development -- by Bambang Susantono

The ‘app economy’ provides potential risks and benefits for developing countries. The right policies are needed to bring out the best in these emerging economic trends.




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Think services, not only manufacturing -- by Matthias Helble, Sameer Khatiwada, Ben Shepherd

To offset the declining benefits of manufacturing, governments must increase the productivity of the services sector. This will boost growth and offer employment opportunities.




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Here are three ways to help small countries get the energy they need -- by Yoji Morishita

Complex, carefully managed financing structures can provide the funding needed for island states and others seeking to develop energy projects.




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Đây là cách chúng ta có thể thúc đẩy các Mục tiêu Phát triển bền vững tại Châu Á và Thái Bình Dương -- by Bart Édes

Châu Á và Thái Bình Dương chưa có được tiến độ cần thiết để đạt được các Mục tiêu Phát triển Bền vững nhưng vẫn còn một thập niên để bù lại thời gian đã mất.




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Charting Sri Lanka's aging population -- by Utsav Kumar

These charts illustrate how Sri Lanka’s elderly population is increasing while the number of working-age people to help support them is declining. Forward-thinking policies are needed to address the challenges arising from this imbalance.




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Building Viet Nam’s bridge to greater economic growth and development -- by Donald Lambert

There are three key strategies that can help Viet Nam achieve its ambitious development targets in the coming years.




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Health care must be affordable and accessible, but also high quality -- by Valerie Shelly, Susann Roth, Kirthi Ramesh

Universal health coverage must be high quality to improve patients’ health outcomes




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The right policies can help manage foreign debt in Asia -- by Irfan A. Qureshi

A high level of external debt is linked with decreased economic growth but there are policy options that can help economies keep growing.




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Proper disposal of medical waste can help us cope with pandemics -- by Stephen Peters, Christine P. Chan

Medical waste disposal is a key part of pandemic planning and recovery that we must get right during the COVID-19 outbreak.




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How can Asia avoid fallout if COVID-19 triggers a debt crunch? -- by Cyn-Young Park (朴信永)

Asia’s economies have generally maintained sound macroeconomic policies that can help the region withstand this latest challenge and emerge even stronger.




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Правильная утилизация медицинских отходов может помочь нам справиться с пандемией -- by Stephen Peters, Christine P. Chan

Утилизация медицинских отходов является основной частью планирования в условиях пандемии и последующего восстановления, которую мы должны иметь прямо во время вспышки COVID-19.




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Leverage development experience to beat COVID-19 -- by Ramesh Subramaniam

COVID-19 is uncharted territory but development professionals bring a wealth of experience from past crises to rebuild lives, livelihoods, and economies. 




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სამედიცინო ნარჩენების სწორი გატანა პანდემიებთან გამკლავებაში დაგვეხმარება -- by Stephen Peters, Christine P. Chan

სამედიცინო ნარჩენების გატანა პანდემიის წინააღმდეგ ბრძოლისა და ჯანდაცვის მნიშვნელოვანი ნაწილია, რაც კოვიდ-19-ის აფეთქებისას განსაკუთრებით გასათვალისწინებელია.




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Let’s use the pandemic to expand our transport options -- by Lloyd Wright

The COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity to embrace the future of work-from-home and the greater adoption of walking and cycling. 




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Three ways to support businesses and their workers during a pandemic -- by Paul Vandenberg, Matthias Helble

Many workers will be displaced and many businesses will close as a result of the slowdown caused by COVID-19. Providing support to those affected gives them a fighting chance.




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Amid COVID-19, the time to act is now to protect food security -- by Hans Woldring, Susann Roth

With the impacts of the pandemic on food and nutrition being felt around the region, planning is needed to avoid higher food prices, decreased nutrition and reduced food security. 




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To survive the pandemic, Indonesia’s urban poor need economic support and help with basic services -- by Joris van Etten, Tiffany M. Tran

For many of Indonesia’s urban poor who work in the informal sector, social distancing is nearly impossible if they want to maintain their income. Two key policies can help.




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新冠肺炎疫情下,保障食品安全刻不容缓 -- by Hans Woldring, Susann Roth

新冠肺炎大流行已经影响到亚洲的粮食和营养状况,要避免食品价格上涨、营养状况恶化和粮食安全水平降低,就需要进行规划。




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The response to COVID-19 should also be a response to the climate crisis -- by Preety Bhandari, Arghya Sinha Roy

Now is the time to ramp up actions on resilience so that society can beat the COVID-19 crisis while reducing the impact of climate threats.




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The pandemic combined with climate change is hitting the poor hard -- by Nathan Rive

The global response to COVID-19 should also be a springboard for action on climate change resilience so we can narrow the divide between rich and poor and keep everyone safe.




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Rebooting the economy during COVID-19 -- by Patrick L. Osewe

Governments in Asia and the Pacific must think about two things when restarting their economies: when to do it and how.




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COVID-19 highlights the need for safe, nutritious, and affordable food -- by Akmal Siddiq

Hunger and malnutrition were an increasing problem worldwide before the pandemic. Restrictions imposed to curb disease spread have disrupted local and international food supply chains, making the problem even more urgent.




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During COVID-19, countries need to work together to ensure the supply of protective equipment -- by Susann Roth, Jesper Pedersen

As the pandemic continues, the supply chains producing vital personal protective equipment are starting to fail, causing shortages. Countries and international organizations can fill these gaps by working together.




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Mapping Asia’s epidemics -- by Ilan Noy, Benno Ferrarini, Donghyun Park

Countries can minimize the economic risk of epidemics by investing in the tools needed to predict disease emergence.




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Central Asian countries are moving forward together to beat COVID-19 -- by Xinglan Hu, Kirthi Ramesh, Mariya Khatiwada Savchuk

A forward-looking, regional approach is needed for countries in Central Asia to respond to the pandemic and prepare for future public health threats.




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Региональное сотрудничество может эффективно противостоять угрозам здоровью в Центральной и Западной Азии -- by Xinglan Hu, Kirthi Ramesh, Mariya Khatiwada Savchuk

Странам Центральной Азии необходим перспективный региональный подход для реагирования на пандемию и подготовки к будущим угрозам для здоровья.




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Build green to help fend off the next pandemic -- by Anouj Mehta, Naeeda Crishna Morgado

Investments in climate-resilient infrastructure should be the centerpiece of the billions of dollars in economic stimulus being used to rebuild Asia’s economies.




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Trinidad & Tobago's ‘Bike Man’ takes cycling to new heights

Trinidad and Tobago loves its "heights" -- and a skilful cyclist on a homemade bike that reaches 10-12 feet in height does not disappoint.





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Hong Kong protesters make online game their new home during pandemic

Hong Kong's protesters are aching to take to the streets again. In the meantime, they are taking to their screens.




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Nagpur civic body to levy triple tax on buildings without OC

The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has proposed a penalty of threefold property tax on residential structures lacking the Occupancy Certificate (OC). As the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) plans to levy threefold property tax on residential structures lacking the Occupancy Certificates (OCs), it may affect as many as 90 percent of the buildings in the city. Tukaram Mundhe, Commissioner, NMC, avers that the occupancy certificate is mandatory as per the building byelaws stated under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966. Therefore, all the building owners should obtain OC to avoid penalties. Nagpur has around 3,000 buildings that were served notices under the MRTP Act, but penalties were not levied until […]



  • Real Estate India

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ASEAN Intervenes to Fight Death Spiral of Food Export Restrictions

Few images conjure the 1930s Depression like people standing in soup lines while farmers dump food they can't sell. That is a tragedy Southeast Asia is fighting to avoid, though it is starting to happen in pockets around the world in the midst of COVID-19. Supply chain disruptions, driven by the pan...




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Comatose Samsung Chairman Still Korea's Richest Man

The nominal Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, who is in a vegetative state, remains Korea's richest man and one of only four Koreans on Bloomberg's list of top 500 billionaires in the world. The others are acting Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong, Seo Jung-jin, CEO of biopharmaceutical company Celltrion, and K...




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Unanimous Supreme Court Throws out 'Bridgegate' Convictions

A unanimous Supreme Court on Thursday threw out the convictions of two political insiders involved in the "Bridgegate" scandal that ultimately derailed the 2016 presidential bid of then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The justices found evidence of deception, corruption and abuse of power in the sch...




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Korea Ships Coronavirus Test Kits to over 100 Countries

Korea's exports of coronavirus test kits last month amounted to more than US$200 million, or eight times the month before, according to the Korea Customs Service on Thursday.They were exported to 103 countries.Brazil imported US$30 million worth of test kits, which is the biggest proportion of 13 pe...




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Escape from Pretoria (2020)




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Escape from Pretoria (2020)

Genres: Thriller Running Time: 106 min. Directed by: Francis Annan Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Ian Hart Synopsis: Based on the real-life prison break of two political captives, Escape From Pretoria is a race-against-time thriller set in the tumultuous apartheid days of South Africa.




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Korea Suffers Biggest Decline in Private Consumption

Korea saw the biggest drop in private consumption on record last year even before the coronavirus epidemic struck.According to Statistics Korea on Thursday, the average monthly spending of households fell 3.2 percent to W2.46 million in 2019 (US$1=W1,226). That was the biggest decline since the gove...




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British PM Delays Lifting Coronavirus Restrictions

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will keep Britain under a coronavirus lockdown until at least next month -- to the frustration of some in his Cabinet, who behind the scenes are arguing that Downing Street now needs to prioritize the economy, which is heading for its worst recession in 300 years.Cabinet...




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Golfer Greg Norman’s Colorado ranch — featuring seven lakes, a dance hall and 11,600 acres — can be yours for $50 million

Surrounded by the White River National Forest, the 11,600-acre Seven Lakes Ranch located in the Meeker Valley is up for sale three years removed from extensive renovations.





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Pak Post distributes Rs21.5 billion

Rawalpindi : Pakistan Post has distributed Rs21.5 billion to more than 6.5 lakh military pensioners and family pensioners in two weeks in the second phase of pension distribution to pensioners at their doorsteps, which is a unique service of its kind and such huge sums of money. Rawalpindi Circle...




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Impact of govt relief fails to trickle down to grassroots level

Islamabad : It has been rather unfortunate that despite a huge relief package of Rs50 billion for Utility Stores Corporation and a cut in POL products by almost 31 rupees in a month by the federal government, its impact has not trickled down to the grassroots level, as the general public is still...




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Cash payments to category-III beneficiaries begin

Islamabad : Ehsaas Emergency Cash payments to category-III beneficiaries which were identified through district administrations began on Friday.The Ehsaas Emergency Cash disbursements have been ongoing for the last one month and so far, Rs89.143 billion have been distributed cumulatively for...