The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created an unprecedented human and economic crisis. Governments are taking strong actions, enforcing quarantines to reduce contagion, testing populations, building emergency intensive care units. Governments have also launched large fiscal stimulus plans to protect jobs and the economy, as well as temporary social protection programs such as income/food support, subsidies […]

The post Citizen Action is Central to the Global Response to COVID-19 appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The govt says it is facilitating those whose travel plans were disrupted by pandemic.

In Surat, a textile hub in India’s western state of Gujarat, losses are mounting for Bhagwandas Maloo, whose five garment factories producing traditional festive outfits have been shut for seven weeks due to the coronavirus lockdown.He was relieved when the government announced it would allow some businesses to resume production this week. But traumatised by the lockdown, Maloo’s group of about 250 migrant workers, who are skilled craftsmen from India’s northern and eastern regions, announced…

Throughout Asia and the world, digital solutions are being found for urban problems. Policymakers and city leaders should ensure that the poor do not get left behind in this digital transformation of cities.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday reserved its judgement on a petition filed against the National Database and Registration Authority’s (Nadra) notification of revoking the citizenship of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Hafiz Hamdullah.

Nadra in its written reply referred to intelligence reports claiming that Mr Hamdullah is not a Pakistani national.

On Oct 11 last year, Mr Hamdullah lost his citizenship when Nadra declared him an ‘alien’.

Subsequently, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) banned his appearance on TV channels.

As per the Oct 26 Pemra directive, Nadra had in a letter dated Oct 11 conveyed that “Hafiz Hamdullah Saboor is ‘confirmed alien’ as he is not a citizen of Pakistan”.

It further said Nadra had “cancelled and digitally impounded” the CNIC [computerised national identity card] issued to Mr Hamdullah.

“Since it is established that the said person is an ‘alien’, all the TV channels (news and current affairs) are directed to refrain from inviting and projecting Mr Hafiz Hamdullah Saboor in their programmes/talk shows, news, etc,” the authority said in its letter.

In October, JUI-F leader lost his citizenship when Nadra declared him an ‘alien’

Nadra took the stance before the IHC that the intelligence agencies claimed that Mr Hamdullah’s credentials were also fake and subsequently his computerised national identity card had been cancelled.

Mr Hamdullah, who was a senator from Balochistan between March 2012 and March 2018, frequently makes appearances in evening talk shows on different news channels.

The directive banning his TV appearances came at a time when the JUI-F’s Azadi March was about to start.

Advocate Kamran Murtaza, who filed a petition on behalf of Mr Hamdullah, informed the court that the petitioner was born in the province of Balochistan and that his father, children and other family members also held CNICs. One of Mr Hamdullah’s children is serving in the armed forces of the country as a commissioned officer.

According to the petition, Mr Hamdullah has also remained member of the Balochistan Assembly and “Nadra is not vested with jurisdiction to adjudicate upon the citizenship of citizen which otherwise has to be dealt with the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951. It shows that Nadra’s order was issued without any lawful authority,” the petition said.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, after hearing the arguments of petitioner’s counsel and other respondents, reserved the judgement.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government is set to substantially ease norms for foreign investment in the construction sector, hoping to drum up interest in the prime minister’s plans for 100 smart cities as well his affordable housing initiative. The government is seriously considering the removal of all restrictions on size and minimum capitalisation for the smart cities as well as affordable housing projects. “The discussions are on for exempting smart cities from all FDI conditionalities. We need to give them a push by making it attractive for investors,” said a government official. The new policy is also expected to provide easier exit windows.The proposal could be moved for the […]

Please join us for our Smart Cities & Connected Communities Think Tank Roundtable on Wednesday, May 19. Clint Vince, Chair of Dentons' US Energy practice and Co-chair of Dentons' Global Energy sector, will moderate this event along with a panel of industry leaders for a discussion on the future of cybersecurity concerns.

The worst invasion by desert locusts in decades has hit Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. The swarms are destroying crops and could cost millions of dollars to contain

Through the jungle, airborne lasers have spotted ruins of long-lost ancient civilisations in Asia. Archaeologist Damian Evans reveals all.

A mobile video game called Sea Hero Quest has been used to test navigation abilities, showing that people who grew up in cities are worse navigators than others

As the number of connected devices within the Internet of Things grows, 5G technology could soon become the foundation for greener, safer, more sustainable cities worldwide.

Title: The Worst Cities in the U.S. for Asthma
Category: Health News
Created: 5/2/2012 11:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/2/2012 12:00:00 AM

Title: Some Cities' Smog Can Ruin Your Vacation
Category: Health News
Created: 12/3/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 12/3/2019 12:00:00 AM

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, which was first reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, has caused 80 904 confirmed cases as of 9 March 2020, with 28 673 cases being reported outside of China. It has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), has exhibited human-to-human transmissibility and has spread rapidly across countries [1]. Although the Chinese government has taken various measures to control city-to-city transmission (e.g. shutting down cities, extending holidays) and many other countries have implemented measures (such as airport screening and testing patients who have reported symptoms), the number of cases is still increasing quickly throughout the world.

According to Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Viet Sinh, Vietnam will have at least 3 smart cities in 3 key economic regions: North, Central and South. Thus, by the next 6 years, Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City will become smart cities.

Electric scooters are a nightmare. Rented by the minute, they clog up pavements and are an ungainly eyesore, but we still need them, says Donna Lu

As always, our coverage will feature the coolest, weirdest, and most interesting things that we find at this massive robotics conference

Sierra Leone's president Julius Maada Bio has accused the main opposition party of orchestrating a spate of violent incidents, deepening a political standoff that risks undermining the country's efforts to contain a coronavirus outbreak.

A new global simulation model offers the first long-term look at how urbanization -- the growth of cities and towns -- will unfold in the coming decades. The research team projects the total amount of urban areas on Earth can grow anywhere from 1.8 to 5.9-fold by 2100, building approximately 618,000 square miles.

Air pollution levels have dropped by more than 40 per cent in a number of UK cities as transport use plummets during the coronavirus lockdown, studies have shown.

The ride-hailing company is cutting 3,700 jobs. It's the latest U.S. tech company to turn to layoffs to deal with fallout from the coronavirus crisis.

From Tashkent to Samarkand and Bukhara, travel writer Caroline Eden believes Uzbekistan offers a dazzling mix of traditional style and a modern outlook

Twenty five years after the fall of the USSR, it’s interesting how the Soviet-era hangover lingers in Uzbekistan. Hulking apartment blocks are gradually being upgraded, and while you won’t spot statues of Lenin (they’ve been replaced by the nomadic conqueror Tamerlane and celebrated medic Ibn-Sina) you will see plenty of samovars (Russian kettles) and Soviet military medals for sale in the markets. But you will also see master ikat weavers reviving weaving traditions, and many musicians and artists are now turning to their Islamic heritage for influence. This mix of Soviet legacy and Uzbek Islam is one of the things that makes the country so fascinating.

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has approved amendments to the country's state of emergency that grant him and security agencies additional powers, which the government says are needed to combat the coronavirus outbreak. An international rights group condemned the amendments, saying the government has used the global pandemic to “expand, not reform, Egypt’s abusive Emergency Law.” The new amendments allow the president to to take measures to contain the virus, such as suspending classes at schools and universities and quarantining those returning from abroad.

Emily Berch

The post Iowa’s Republican Governor Sacrifices Citizens to Trump appeared first on The Nation.

Time to catch up on some of the greatest movies ever made.

'It has become too difficult to make the 12-acre project financially viable'

From Berlin to Bogotá there are new footpaths and bike lanes – but not in London

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A growing number of cities around the world are temporarily reallocating road space from cars to people on foot and on cycles to keep key workers moving and residents in coronavirus lockdown healthy and active while socially distancing.

Limited urban park space and leisure trails are under increasing pressure, with many closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus, further limiting urban dwellers’ access to outdoor space. While traffic has dropped around the world, and with it nitrogen dioxide levels, there are widespread concerns over a rise in speeding drivers endangering those walking and cycling.

As the NHL looks for ways to salvage its regular season that was suspended by the COVID-19 pandemic, one option on the table is for a select group of so-called hub cities to host all the games. Three Canadian cities have expressed interest in the role.

To mark our 175th anniversary year, we feature a different front page each week from past editions of the Ottawa Citizen.

Smart debut skewers millennial manners

Laura Hampson chats to Megan Ziems, founder of cult Australian bridalwear brand Grace Loves Lace, about the joy of living on the coast and why she's swapped Spanish beaches for hiking in New Zealand

A note to politicians: Stop blaming an entire race, creed, religion or any other social group for the actions of the radicalised. 

Australia's Lebanese Muslim Association President, Samier Dandan, said as much Tuesday when he responded to claims by Australia's own Immigration Minister Peter Dutton. 

The minister called out Lebanese Australians during parliament on Monday, responding to the wry question "Which group of people, from which country, does the minister believe should not have been allowed into Australia?"

His response was unbelievable. "The advice I have is that out of the last 33 people who have been charged with terrorist-related offences in this country, 22 of those people are from second and third generation Lebanese-Muslim background." Read more...

Lockdown has allowed us a glimpse of how different our cities could be in a carbon-neutral world

• Read more stories from our wild cities week

“When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere.”

Never can John Wyndham’s opening lines from The Day of the Triffids have been quite so apt. My friends in London tell me that the heart of the city, like other great conurbations all around the world, is eerily quiet. It is almost as if a neutron bomb has struck, removing in an instant all signs of human life, while leaving buildings, roads and other man-made artefacts perfectly intact.

It comes after white men with guns swarmed the state house.

Uber and Lyft bring plenty of drawbacks to cities, but solutions aren't easy to find.

Twitter said it would suspend 70 accounts posting content supporting the Michael Bloomberg campaign in a pattern that violates company rules.

"The Last of Us Part 2," a game, in part, about the breakdown of society due to the spread of a highly contagious virus, has been delayed indefinitely by Sony Interactive Entertainment -- despite the success of 'Animal Crossing' and more games in coronavirus quarantine.

Canadian Music Week has abandoned plans for a 2020 festival after initially postponing the spring event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the past several years, a collaboration at HLRS has been developing a digital twin of Herrenberg, a small city just outside of Stuttgart, Germany. The Herrenberg study has already provided valuable information for city planners and government officials in the state of Baden-Württemberg, and paves the way for improving the model to include additional kinds of data.