“We are alarmed that soon, other media outlets would follow. Without the freedom of the press, there is the danger of other freedoms to be lost. God forbid, these are the first 'test signs' of curtailing other rights.”

The post ABS-CBN shutdown may lead to curtailing of more rights, says press freedom fighter Edita Burgos appeared first on Bulatlat.

NEW DELHI: Under lockdown and far apart, Sushen Dang and Keerti Narang went online to say their marriage vows -- and pulled off a spectacular Indian wedding complete with thousands of guests and raucous Bollywood dancing.In a country famous for lavish weddings that last for days, the young couple...

NEW DELHI: Under lockdown and far apart, Sushen Dang and Keerti Narang went online to say their marriage vows — and pulled off a spectacular Indian wedding complete with thousands of guests and raucous Bollywood dancing.In a country famous for lavish weddings that last for days, the young...

NEW DELHI: Under lockdown and far apart, Sushen Dang and Keerti Narang went online to say their marriage vows – and pulled off a spectacular Indian wedding complete with thousands of guests and raucous Bollywood dancing.In a country famous for lavish weddings that last for days, the young...

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah declared that the Sindh government will work alongside the Centre to implement the new lockdown measures for the mitigation of the coronavirus outbreak."We will implement the federal government's lockdown decisions to the extent of 99pc if not...

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah declared that the Sindh government will work alongside the Centre to implement the new lockdown measures for the mitigation of the coronavirus outbreak. “We will implement the federal government’s lockdown decisions to the extent of...

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah declared that the Sindh government will work alongside the Centre to implement the new lockdown measures for the mitigation of the coronavirus outbreak. "We will implement the federal government's lockdown decisions to the extent of 99pc if...

Governance can be a complex, broad topic but its basic underlying definition is deceptively simple.

Public work programs can build much-needed infrastructure while helping lift people out of poverty and shield them from the effects of natural disasters and economic crises

Skills training, civic engagement and youth forums will help young people become active players in society’s shared efforts to grow and improve.

Carefully designed social programs offer the best chance to avoid corruption, inefficiency and other governance problems. 

Các doanh nghiệp nhà nước phải đối mặt với những thách thức riêng khi mời gọi tài chính nước ngoài cho các dự án cơ sở hạ tầng. Nhưng không phải không có giải pháp.

Blockchain technology offers great promise and great risk. We need to better understand how it works and how to use it safely and effectively.

Performance assessments help people in Southeast Asia determine how well their government is performing and how they can be improved.

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.

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

The delivery of services – such as clean water, reliable public transport, schools and hospitals – through economic and social infrastructure is among the most important functions of government. Resources must be well spent to ensure quality.

The exponential growth of data and artificial intelligence is creating a tug-of-war between data for profit and data for the common good. In this struggle, it is fundamental that we protect our basic human data rights.

Asian cities act as engines of economic growth, providing jobs, expertise, and the sharing of resources. But in some cases, these powerful engines are sputtering due to insufficient infrastructure, inadequate planning, and poor governance.

The Asia Pacific region is standing together to cooperate regionally to address the transnational threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

NEW DELHI: Since the election results were announced last week — handing out a clear mandate to the Narendra Modi-led BJP — real estate brokers across the country have been prodding buyers to book their dream homes fast, since with a stable government on the cards, builders could increase prices any time soon. Business for thousands of brokers has been thin over the last year or so as negative sentiment engulfed the market and home sales tanked. Investors fled and genuine home buyers waited anxiously to see if a new stable government can infuse life into the economy. “It might just be a case of brokers trying to perk up […]

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

Despite the global outcry against animal sacrifice in Nepal, the tradition persists.

The government will stockpile 100 million face masks to prepare for a second wave of coronavirus but will also send them to about 70 countries in need."We've already allocated the budget necessary to stock up 100 million masks," Minister of Food and Drug Safety Lee Eui-kyung said Thursday. "Some 70 ...

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.

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...

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...

There is a growing perception among the people of Karachi that they are being intentionally deprived of their fundamental rights by both the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf -led federal government and the Pakistan Peoples Party -led Sindh government.Pak Sarzameen Party Chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal said...

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.

Providing safely managed sanitation services for all requires extending the partnership between the public and private sectors.

NEW DELHI: India’s top medical research body has turned down a proposal by the Modi government to test water from the Ganges river as a cure for coronavirus, ThePrint news portal said on Thursday.

It said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) turned down the government’s “request” to conduct research on a theory that Gangajal, or water from Ganges river, could possibly cure Covid-19.

Speaking to ThePrint, a source in the ICMR said the agency has refused to get involved as it is focussing on the Covid-19 battle and doesn’t want to waste time on other research amid the pandemic.

The move came after the country’s apex medical research body received a “request” from the Ministry of Jal Shakti to conduct “further research” on a proposal by an NGO, Atulya Ganga, said an ICMR official, who didn’t wish to be named.

In its letter last month, Mr Atulya had cited the presence of a “ninja virus”, called bacteriophage, in Ganges water that could cure Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Bacteriophage is a special type of virus that eats harmful bacteria, the letter said.

According ThePrint, the NGO asked the government on April 3 to conduct a study on the possibility of this virus acting as a cure. It sent a copy each to the ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The ministry’s National Mission for Clean Ganga, the department administering the Modi government’s ambitious Namami Gange programme, then wrote to ICMR on April 30 requesting a clinical trial.

The ICMR then held a meeting to discuss the idea, but refused to proceed, offering only its “help” to the NGO, ThePrint said. “We had indeed received a letter from the Ministry of Jal Shakti for such research. The experts at ICMR also held a meeting on this matter. Then we asked those proposing this research that you should tell us about hospitals and doctors that are ready and willing to conduct some research on it. We will certainly help them in this regard,” said the ICMR official.

“As of now we are still treating plasma therapy as a trial for treatment for corona (Covid-19), then how can we so quickly accept a virus called bacteriophage, found in the water of Ganges, as a cure? Right now, there is no logic in the argument that the virus found in Ganga’s water can indeed fight the coronavirus disease,” added the official.

However, he added that if the ministry takes an initiative into the matter then ICMR will extend its assistance to it.

Speaking to ThePrint, Dr Rajnikant Srivastava, ICMR’s head of the Department of Research Management, Policy Planning and Communication, in Delhi and Director of Regional Medical Research Centre, Gorakhpur, said: “A presentation was made after the Jal Shakti ministry’s proposal. The matter is at a very preliminary stage. Nothing has been decided on the future course of action. We will support the Jal Shakti ministry in all the work it does on this front.”

A senior official of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, meanwhile, said there are several special properties in the river and many people were demanding research on them.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 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 […]

Colorado Republican Party Chair Ken Buck, a U.S. representative from Windsor, pressured a local party official to submit incorrect election results to set the primary ballot for a state Senate seat, according to an audio recording of a conference call obtained by The Denver Post.

The Weld County GOP chairman has filed a complaint with the local district attorney and the Secretary of State’s Office accusing an aide to Republican U.S. Rep. Ken Buck and three others of election fraud and corruption.

ADB has approved a $100 million loan to help supply renewable energy to Mongolia by installing its first large-scale advanced battery energy storage system.

ADB and the Government of Mongolia today signed $40 million in loans and a $2 million Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction grant to support the modernization of government-owned irrigation networks and vegetable production in Mongolia.

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.

Alastair Hughes, CEO (Asia Pacific) of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), who was in Bangalore to hold a board meeting of the Asia Pacific region comprising China, Japan, Australia, South East Asia and India, spoke to BusinessLine to share the real estate market sentiment and key issues on corporate leasing. How is the realty market in India as compared to other countries in Asia Pacific ? India has seen a dramatic recovery. The hangover did not last very long as it had in 2010-2011. The market is very dynamic here right now. While Asia-Pacific began to recover in 2012-2013, India went through a lull, largely due to lack of business confidence, […]

Tunisia said it inspected a Turkish plane headed for Libya with medical aid that landed at an airport near the border.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Israel in a show of support for the new coalition government, resuming travel after a coronavirus suspension, the State Department announced Friday.

The head of Libya’s U.N.-supported government Friday warned of an escalation in the battle for Tripoli after rockets struck near foreign embassies in the capital, drawing sharp condemnation from the European Union and United Nations.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Public Management Officer (Governance) in the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department. The deadline for submitting applications is on 18 May 2020.

ADB, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is providing more sanitary water-tight pit latrines for 330 homes in Mongolia's Arvaikheer city.

This working paper proposes flood footprint and accountability to coordinate risk management projects through appropriate spatial planning at river basin scale.

This publication provides essential information on the planning, implementation, and management of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in schools, particularly for small and isolated rural settlements in Mongolia.

Providing safely managed sanitation services for all requires extending the partnership between the public and private sectors.

Dentons’ Real Estate team advised CPI Property Group (CPI), the largest commercial property owner in the Czech Republic, Berlin and the CEE region, on the acquisition of a 50.3% share in the ownership of Chałubińskiego 8 office building in Warsaw. The divestment was made by First Property Group, an investment company and the manager of real estate funds operating in Great Britain and Central Europe.

New Delhi: Nearly 60 percent of Indians think that next one month would be a good time to buy real estate with improvement in consumer sentiments following formation of a stable government, according to a survey by global research firm Ipsos. “Almost six in ten (57 percent) Indians think the next 30 days will be a good time to buy real estate, such as a house, vacation property or investment property,” Ipsos said in a statement. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. “With the formation of a new stable government at the Centre, the consumer sentiment which was […]

While the the stock markets, the corporate world and a large section of the country’s citizens are celebrating the election verdict, 45-year-old Shailesh Singh, a Delhi-based executive, is a worried man. Singh has been hunting for an apartment in the National Capital Region (NCR) for the past six months but has not been able to zero in on one. Now he is afraid that in the euphoria generated by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) decisive victory, real estate prices may start rising again, making his purchase more expensive. Why prices won’t move up Singh’s worries might be premature. Realty experts are of the view that while there might be some […]

The real estate sector is pinning hopes on the new government for revival. Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) Chairman Lalit Kumar Jain expressed hope that the new government would bring in a positive change to real estate developers and buyers by introducing reforms given the challenges of slump in sales, high prices and liquidity crunch that the sector has been facing. ‘Housing for all’ “We expect the government to take concrete steps to implement its promise given in the BJP manifesto of ensuring ‘Housing for All’ in eight years,” he added. For an immediate plan of action, Jain suggested efficient and accountable governance in building approval […]