To reduce air pollution, national and city government policy makers, their development partners, academe, and the private sector need to work with young people. 

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

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...

A recent study outlined Colorado's most lightning-struck corridors, and it highlights much of the Denver metropolitan area as the most vulnerable part of Colorado to lightning.

The Sindh revenue department has written a letter to Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah for sanctioning extra incentives to the officials and officers of different departments participating in the battle against COVID-19.The letter, which was sent to the CM on Friday, reads that as the...

ADB has approved $30 million in extra financing for a health sector project in Mongolia to strengthen the country’s preparedness and response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri Thursday dismissed as not useful the meeting held the previous day at Baabda Palace to discuss the economic financial rescue plan which he and his parliamentary Future bloc boycotted.

Over 50 flights are scheduled to return stranded Lebanese citizens in the third phase of citizen repatriation set to begin May 14, Middle East Airlines said in a statement Friday.

A verbal altercation took place on a crowded flight from London returning Lebanese expatriates to Beirut, as passengers were angered by the lack of distancing measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, local media reported Saturday.

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations called on governments, companies and billionaires on Thursday to contribute to a $6.7 billion fund for immediate needs in fighting the coronavirus pandemic in vulnerable countries, warning that a failure to help could lead to a hunger pandemic, famine, riots and more conflict.

UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said that Covid-19 has now affected every country and almost every person on the planet. He said the UN’s initial $2 billion appeal unveiled March 25 was being increased because there is already evidence of incomes plummeting and jobs disappearing, food supplies falling and prices soaring, and children missing vaccinations and meals. He added that the peak of the pandemic isn’t expected to hit the worlds poorest countries for three to six months.

Lowcock said in a video briefing launching the new appeal that the poorest countries face a double whammy the health impact of Covid-19 and the impact of the global recession and the domestic measures taken to contain the virus.

We must be prepared for a rise in conflict, hunger, poverty and disease as economies contract, export earnings, remittances and tourism disappear, and health systems are put under strain, he warned. Lockdowns and economic recession may mean a hunger pandemic ahead for millions.

The executive director of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, said there are two keys to averting the possibility of 265 million people being on the brink of famine by the end of the year: providing money and keeping supply chains running smoothly.

The UN appeals to wealthy nations for funding all the time, he said, but the pandemic is a one-time phenomena, a catastrophe were hitting, so its not unreasonable to ask the wealthiest people and the wealthiest companies to give.

I don’t mean just a few million. I’m talking about hundreds of millions of dollars, billions, Beasley said.

He also urged action to address the breakdown of supply chains globally. Nations must ensure that we don’t have export-import bans, restrictions at borders, shutdown of ports, shutdown of distribution points, he said, saying that some countries have already imposed export bans that are having ripple effects on food supplies.

As an example, Beasley said that if young people in urban areas in Africa lose their jobs as a result of the economic impact of the pandemic, they don’t have bank accounts to fall back on. And if they don’t have food, you’re going to have protests, riots, unrest and destabilisation. Its going to cost the world a hundredfold more to react after the fact, he warned.

He said that if the world doesn’t respond with sufficient funding, it will be catastrophic.

Were facing famine of biblical proportions,” he said. We can avert famine if we act and we act now.

The UN’s initial $2 billion appeal has so far raised $1 billion, including a lot from Europe Germany, Britain, the European Commission with contributions also from Japan, Persian Gulf countries, Canada and others, Lowcock said.

The updated appeal adds nine vulnerable countries to the 54 nations covered in the initial appeal Benin, Djibouti, Liberia, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Togo and Zimbabwe.

Lowcock said more countries are being monitored for possible addition to the list.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Saturday that Saudi Arabian authorities recently detained and are holding incommunicado Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, who had previously been netted in an anti-corruption drive and released in late 2017.

The US-based rights group, citing a source with ties to the royal family, said Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, a son of late monarch King Abdullah, was detained by security forces on March 27 while self-isolating due to the coronavirus pandemic at a family compound northeast of the capital Riyadh.

Reuters could not immediately independently verify the detention. The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a detailed Reuters request for comment.

Earlier in March, authorities had detained King Salman’s brother, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, and former crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who was replaced in a 2017 palace coup and placed under house arrest, sources had told Reuters.

Sources with royal connections said at the time that the move was a preemptive effort to ensure compliance within the ruling Al Saud family ahead of an eventual succession to the throne by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman upon the king’s death or abdication.

It was not clear if the reported detention of Prince Faisal was related to those in early March, which also saw Ahmed’s son Nayef and Mohammed bin Nayef’s brother Nawaf detained.

Saudi authorities have not commented on those detentions, which follow crackdowns on dissent in which clerics, intellectuals and rights activists have been arrested, and an anti-corruption drive launched in 2017 that netted scores of royals, ministers and businessmen.

Critics have said the campaigns were part of moves by Crown Prince Mohammed, the king’s son and the kingdom’s de facto ruler, to consolidate his grip on power.

“Now we have to add Prince Faisal to the hundreds detained in Saudi Arabia without a clear legal basis,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at HRW.

The kingdom has regularly denied allegations of unfair detention.

Authorities said last year the government was winding down the anti-corruption campaign after 15 months, but would continue to go after graft.

HRW said Prince Faisal’s whereabouts or status are not known.

“The source said that Prince Faisal has not publicly criticised authorities since his December 2017 arrest and that family members are concerned about his health as he has a heart condition,” it added.

In late December 2017, a senior Saudi official said Prince Faisal and another royal, Prince Meshaal bin Abdullah, were released from Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotel, where people nabbed in the anti-corruption drive were being held, after reaching an undisclosed financial settlement with the government.

"The COVID-19 pandemic is not an excuse for human rights violations. Excessive force and brutality are unacceptable from any of our enforcement or security forces."

Benin drops 17 places in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index, following the withdrawal from a key document of the African Charter of Human and People's Rights.

ADB has approved a $177 million loan to India to upgrade 450 kilometers (km) of state highways and major district roads in Maharashtra State.

ADB has approved a $346 million loan to India to help provide efficient and reliable power connection to rural agriculture customers in the state of Maharashtra.

ADB has approved $30 million in extra financing for a health sector project in Mongolia to strengthen the country’s preparedness and response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

After a lacklustre first half, home sales across the top six cities in the country are expected to rise 26 per cent in the second half of 2014 compared to a year ago, according to a research report by property advisory firm Knight Frank. A negative sentiment among home buyers due to the slow economy, high interest rates, inflation and also political uncertainty had tempered home sales in the first half of the year. While new launches in the period dropped 32 per cent, sales volume was down 27 per cent. But now, with a positive election result, a stable government at the centre and sops for the housing sector […]

The United States has approved a $2.3 billion deal on attack helicopters for Egypt, but an official insisted Friday that Washington was still pressing on human rights concerns.

Responding rapidly to the COVID-19 situation in Pakistan, ADB is providing much-needed medical supplies and equipment to medical facilities and health workers on the frontline.

Approved project 52298-001 in India.

Approved project 50193-003 in India.

This handbook shows how the Asian Development Bank (ADB) piloted futures thinking and foresight to understand entry points to support transformational change and finance the future of Asia and the Pacific.

In order to expedite the completion of eight stalled residential projects in Noida and Greater Noida, the National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC) would soon issue a tender. The NBCC has plans to float a tender for completing the eight stalled housing projects of Amrapali, which includes over 23,000 residential units in Noida and Greater Noida with a total investment of over Rs 5,000 crore. The decision to issue the tender was made after the directive issued by the Supreme Court (SC) to take over the stalled projects in the region. Last year, the apex court had given the responsibility to State-owned NBCC to complete the delayed projects in NCR at the […]

STAMFORD, CT – HARMAN, the award-winning maker of outstanding audio and entertainment solutions, announced today that eight new products have been named CES Innovation Award winners for 2014. The awards were presented by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA®), producer of the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow. Products from HARMAN’s JBL, Harman Kardon, Infinity, AKG, and Aha brands were recognized for outstanding design and engineering in consumer electronics.

Media guests, bloggers and influencers were recently invited to travel through Hungary and Slovakia on the Kia x JBL Sound Tour, an exclusive behind-the-scenes experience of the two brands’ sound-filled partnership. Organized from July 2-4, the Sound...

360° JBL sound. Vibrant lightshow. JBL’s Pulse 4 is here; party time or chill, you create the mood. From living room to beach party (and everything in between), the new JBL Pulse 4 provides incredible sound, with visuals to match.

360°-Sounderlebnis mit dynamischen Lichtshows! Das ist der JBL Pulse, der ab sofort in der vierten Generation verfügbar ist. Ob Party-Modus oder einfach zu m Chillen, der JBL Pulse 4 schafft die perfekte Stimmung. Im Wohnzimmer oder am Strand (und überall dazwischen), der neue Lautsprecher garantiert unglaublichen Sound und die passende Atmosphäre.

360° JBL sound. Vibrant lightshow. JBL’s Pulse 4 is here; party time or chill, you create the mood. From living room to beach party (and everything in between), the new JBL Pulse 4 provides incredible sound, with visuals to match.

In 2012, mathematician Shinichi Mochizuki produced a proof claiming to solve the long-standing ABC conjecture, but no one understood it. Most mathematicians still don't, but it will now be published in a journal

NEW YORK – Building on a busy year of new automotive technology introductions, HARMAN, the premium global audio, visual, infotainment and enterprise automation group (NYSE:HAR), will have a strong presence at the 2015 New York International Auto Show. From the company’s Clari-Fi™ digital music restoration technology to its next-generation QuantumLogic™ Surround Sound – HARMAN technology and solutions will be showcased in a host of new vehicles debuting at the show, highlighting HARMAN’s longstanding automotive partnerships and unmatched industry–leading innovations.

In September, the 41st Cannes Yachting Festival brought together some of the world’s most dazzling vessels in a luxurious, iconic setting. As the official car of the Cannes Yachting Festival for the second consecutive year, Maserati, together with the...

Vicente Piratapuia, 69, of the Piratapuia tribe had a high fever and could hardly breathe, but he refused to leave his home on the outskirts of the Amazon rainforest's biggest city.

Nigerian comedian Maryam Apaokagi has a sure-fire way of getting people to listen to her coronavirus health advice - she delivers it with a hard slap in the face.

Countries must return to "basic principles" of public health surveillance if they are to bring the coronavirus outbreak under control, the World Health Organization's (WHO) top emergency health expert Mike Ryan said on Friday (May 8).

Sorry. A short dip in carbon emissions won’t save the planet after all. Things may even get worse, say the experts.

June 16 - With attention focused on the world's greatest soccer stars in Brazil, conservationists are working hard to promote the plight of the animal being used as the official World Cup mascot. Known as Fuleco on posters and banners throughout the country, the three-banded armadillo is in decline, and conservation groups say FIFA and the Brazilian government should be doing more during the World Cup to ensure the animal's long term survival. Rob Muir reports.

Arizona-based company World View Enterprises says it has taken a major step towards launching commercial balloon flights to the edge of space, with a successful unmanned test flight that reached an altitude of about 23 miles. The company hopes to begin taking tourists to near space in 2016 with advanced technology it says will open up a new view of the Earth. Sharon Reich reports.

The late Devonian mass extinction around 375 million years ago may not have really happened, according to an analysis using machine learning

We know viruses invaded animals’ genomes in the ancient past, but only now have we actually witnessed it happening and the DNA being passed to offspring

We know some birds use fluorescent pigments to enhance the brightness of their feathers or beaks – and now it seems some dinosaurs might have done this too

A 99-million-year-old skull recently discovered in amber might actually belong to a lizard, rather than a tiny bird-like dinosaur as first thought

Apollo 11, Take Your Pills, Pandemic: How to prevent an outbreak, and Icarus are all great documentaries available to stream at the moment

In what now seems like a galaxy far, far away, Republican lawmakers routinely talked up the idea of raising the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67. In fact, we were in that galaxy just three...

If you got your stimulus payment this week from the IRS and it is still in your account, are you afraid to spend it?

U.S. brokers should not be forced to sign an agreement that could make them liable for breaches of a massive new industry trading database that they have no control over, a leading financial industry...

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday made an indirect dig at President Donald Trump's Navy Blue Angels flyover this weekend, saying that political leaders have 'no right to praise them and then ignore their needs.'

Countries must return to "basic principles" of public health surveillance if they are to bring the coronavirus outbreak under control, the World Health Organization's (WHO) top emergency health expert Mike Ryan said on Friday (May 8).