Thursday is the final working day for a British provincial reconstruction team in the Afghan province of Helmand, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said.

Trust must be strong in your team: your trust in your team members; and their trust in you.

1. Kim Jong Un sends Putin letter on WWII anniversary and for virus fight  Times of India
2. Coronavirus | Russia virus surge mutes V-Day celebrations  The Hindu
3. Narendra Modi writes to Russian President; tweets greetings on occasion of 75th Victory Day anniversary  Economic Times
4. Victory Day and Russia's war cult  Al Jazeera English
5. Europeans and Russians should remember what bound them together: anti-fascism  The Guardian
6. View Full coverage on Google News

MONROVIA: Liberian President George Weah has said he will partially lift restrictions on praying in mosques and churches aimed at curbing coronavirus, while extending a lockdown in the capital Monrovia. In a statement on Friday, the former international footballer said emergency measures announced...

The PGA of Australia tour will be extended from this season with tournaments staged well into the new year, the governing body of professional golf in the country announced on Sunday.

Apex Legends might finally be getting a mobile version, at least that's what EA's latest financial briefing seems to suggest

Actors, writers, musicians and even former president Barack Obama will be taking part in virtual graduation ceremonies as the Class of 2020 is still under stay-at-home orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and on “Saturday Night Live’s” “At Home” finale, the NBC late-night sketch series got in on the ceremonial event as well. Alec Baldwin […]

"Responding to their requests for assistance in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, India has sent Indian Naval Ship Kesari to Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles, carrying on board two medical assistance teams, consignments of Covid related essential medicines and essential food items," the MEA said in a statement.

Malaysia's government extended the time frame for movement and business curbs by another four weeks to June 9, amid a gradual reopening of economic activity stunted by the coronavirus pandemic.

A lifelong friendship awaits Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper's sons. The 51-year-old TV host took some time while in quarantine to answer a few fan questions on his Instagram Story on...

It's the first time Baldwin has impersonated the president in an episode of 'SNL at Home'

A lifelong friendship awaits Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper's sons. The 51-year-old TV host took some time while in quarantine to answer a few fan questions on his Instagram Story on...

From being more conscious about travel to an uptick in staycations, Laura Hampson chats to leading travel experts about their predictions for 2021

Sure, it’s great to have clear blue skies but for most of the world the pandemic spells famine and disease, not the planet fighting back

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Cormorants are hunting fish in the now clear waters of Venice. Wild boars roam the avenues of Barcelona and wild goats the streets of Llandudno. Above Los Angeles are blue skies. From smogless Delhi, you can once more glimpse the Himalayas.

“The Earth is healing, we are the virus,” runs the meme spreading fast across the internet. It’s a sentiment echoed by many policymakers, commentators and celebrities.

The news came as the number of daily coronavirus tests fell below the 100,000 target for a seventh day in a row.

A fan-less UFC 249 was weird, and wacky, but ultimately wonderful.

A lifelong friendship awaits Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper's sons. The 51-year-old TV host took some time while in quarantine to answer a few fan questions on his Instagram Story on...

Malaysia's government extended the time frame for movement and business curbs by another four weeks to June 9, amid a gradual reopening of economic activity stunted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Akulaku and Mintos are said to have reached an agreement on a restructured repayments schedule.

The post [Updated] Global P2P platform Mintos suspends Indonesia’s Akulaku over late payments appeared first on DealStreetAsia.

Rubens Barrichello has denied suggestions he recklessly endangered his Formula One rivals at the Monaco Grand Prix

This paper reviews the evidence on emerging thinking and new trends in the sphere of industrial policy. Using a broad and inclusive definition of industrial policy, it proposes a new typology based on the orientation of policy and the policy domain and a framework based on growth accounting, which parallels the evolution of thinking about the rationale for industrial policy interventions.

The Hungarian standard VAT rate is 27.0%, which is above the OECD average. The average VAT/GST¹ standard rate in the OECD was 19.3% as of 1 January 2019. The previous standard VAT rate in Hungary was 25% in 2011. It changed to the current level in 2012. Hungary applies reduced VAT rates of 5% and 18% to a number of goods and services.

The Icelandic standard VAT rate is 24.0%, which is above the OECD average. The average VAT/GST¹ standard rate in the OECD was 19.3% as of 1 January 2019. The previous standard VAT rate in Iceland was 25.5% in 2014. It changed to the current level in 2015. Iceland applies reduced VAT rates of 0% and 11% to a number of goods and services.

A complement to the OECD insurance database, this report monitors and analyses the insurance industry’s overall performance and health in OECD countries and Hong Kong (China), India, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, South Africa and Thailand.

This annual report analyses insurance market statistics collected by the OECD to monitor the insurance industry’s overall performance and health. It covers all OECD countries plus selected Asian, African and Latin American countries.

Interview with Georges Lemaître, OECD international migration expert, on recent migration trends in the European Union.

The tax burden in Luxembourg increased by 0.8 percentage points from 38.5% to 39.3% in 2013. The corresponding figure for the OECD average was an increase of 0.4 percentage points from 33.7% to 34.1%. Luxembourg’s standard VAT rate is 15%, which is below the OECD average. The average VAT/GST standard rate in the OECD was 19.1% on 1 January 2014.

This Policy Paper comprises the Background Report prepared by the OECD for the G7 Environment, Energy and Oceans Ministers (19-21 September, Canada). It provides an overview of current plastics production and use, the environmental impacts that this is generating and identifies the reasons for currently low plastics recycling rates, as well as what can be done about it.

The German standard VAT rate is 19.0%, which is close to the OECD average. The average VAT/GST¹ standard rate in the OECD was 19.3% as of 1 January 2019. The previous standard VAT rate in Germany was 16% in 2006. It changed to the current level in 2007. Germany applies a reduced rate of 7% to a number of goods and services.

Widespread increases in inequality over the past three decades have raised the question of the distribution of the growth dividends.

Norway has made significant progress in its efforts against the bribery of foreign public officials in recent years, according to a new OECD report. But more could be done to strengthen enforcement, including by focusing on the confiscation from companies of the proceeds of bribery.

The Phase 3 Report on Switzerland by the OECD Working Group on Bribery evaluates and makes recommendations on Switzerland 's implementation and application of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and related instruments.

This seminar will provide an opportunity for participants to share experiences on issues such as the influence of accelerated commercialization of education and a knowledge-based society.

Successful education systems guarantee that all students succeed at high levels. As this month’s PISA in Focus notes, some school systems not only do well on international assessments, like PISA, they also manage to minimise the difference between the best- and poorest-performing students.

ICT has influenced almost all aspects of our lives and has changed the way we communicate, work and socialize. Education plays a key role in ensuring that everyone can reap the benefits of our technology-rich world, as well as help mitigate some of the risks.

Did you ever wonder if education has a role to play in stemming the obesity epidemic sweeping across all OECD countries? Or what the impact of increasing urbanisation might be on our schools, families, and communities?

Spain is emerging from a challenging period. The good news is that the economy has returned to moderate growth and unemployment rates are falling. Yet Spain’s progress along the path to inclusive growth may well falter if steps are not taken today to boost skills outcomes.

The Korean economy has seen significant growth in the past decades. However, much of the economic growth has been supported by intensive labour resource utilisation. Korean workers work the second longest hours among OECD countries. This is not sustainable in the long-term because Korea’s working age population is projected to decline from 2017 onwards.

The OECD's work on Trends Shaping Education looks at major social, demographic, economic and technological trends affecting the future of education. The newest edition of the publication will be released on 18 January.

Widespread increases in inequality over the past three decades have raised the question of the distribution of the growth dividends.

Countries have seen a major increase in the educational attainment level of their populations. In 1965, only 43% of young adults aged 25-34 had attained upper secondary education or higher on average across OECD countries. Fifty years later, upper secondary education had almost doubled with attainment levels reaching 84% in 2015.

Inequality comes in many forms, including economic, social, cultural, and regional. Since the 1980s Income inequality has been growing in most OECD countries and is currently at its highest level in 30 years.

International mobility is on the rise, and the growing number of people coming and going across borders leads to increasingly diverse communities. Education has an important role to play in developing the competencies required for our increasingly global world.

Diversity in the classroom includes differences in the way students’ brains learn, or neurodiversity. Neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (asd) and attention deficit hyperactive disorder (adhd) affect increasingly large numbers of students.

The footballers' wives have been at loggerheads after Coleen, 34, accused Rebekah, 38, of leaking stories about her, and their case could now go to the High Court after failing to reach a resolution.

Qantas has suspended all of its flights to China as the deadly coronavirus becomes a global emergency.  

Qantas flights from Sydney to Shanghai will remain suspended until at least the end of May as the coronavirus claims more lives. Services to Hong Kong and Singapore will be reduced.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has defended the decision to stand down 20,000 staff in the face of the coronavirus outbreak which he described as the worst crisis to ever hit the airline industry.

Qantas is preparing to lose $40 million a week until the travel industry recovers from the coronavirus shutdown.