2019 was the year that the new regulatory landscape for Higher Education came to fruition.  Although the Office for Students (OfS) was established on 1 January 2018, it was not until 1 August 2019 that all its powers were fully implemented. So ...

Two important announcements this week are relevant to the UK’s immigration requirements for several years. Brexit is, of course, scheduled for 11pm on 31 January 2020. In addition, a report published yesterday makes recommendations for the fut...

The decision to shelve detailed advice from the nation’s top disease control experts for reopening communities during the coronavirus pandemic came from the highest levels ...

[Shabelle] The Somali health ministry on Tuesday confirmed 79 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections to 835.

[Dalsan Radio] The International Rescue Committee has warned that many cases are going untested and undetected. Somalia has faced decades of violence and cycles of drought and floods, leaving its health care system ill-equipped to respond to this outbreak. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been preparing for the spread of coronavirus by training health care staff to screen patients for symptoms and safely isolate potential cases.

[RSF] Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for a full and thorough investigation into the way a Somali journalist was stabbed to death on a Mogadishu street yesterday evening, because the initial evidence suggests that he was the victim of a premeditated murder.

[Africom] As part of the command's commitment to transparency, U.S. Africa Command is implementing a quarterly report on the status of ongoing and completed civilian casualty allegations and assessments. This initiative was directed by U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command, to increase transparency regarding civilian casualty allegations that are reported to the command while demonstrating the U.S. military's constant commitment to minimizing collateral damage in the pursuit of

The UK Government could be set to announce a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all passengers into Britain as part of measures aimed at avoiding a second Covid-19 peak, according to reports in British media.

The report cited findings that suggest that even past severe influenza pandemic viruses, such as the Spanish Flu, were less infectious than the novel coronavirus

No new deaths were reported on Saturday morning, marking the first full day Israel has gone without a COVID-19 related death in over a month.

The headquarters are being moved from within the city to a new area in the city’s outskirts due to fears of being targeted by Israeli airstrikes.

Kylie Moore-Gilbert is among the many foreigners held in Iran's notorious Evin prison on espionage charges.

An exclusive report, citing sources on the ground in Syria and Libya, says Syrian teenagers are being sent to Libya to take part in the civil war there.

Signs of a growing split between Australia and the United States over an unproven theory that the coronavirus came from a Wuhan laboratory have emerged, amid claims the US embassy may have leaked a dossier linked to the allegations.The Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday reported that Canberra was increasingly concerned the Trump administration’s promotion of claims that the novel coronavirus began in a lab could undermine its push for an independent inquiry into the origins of the pandemic and a…

South Korea confirmed 12 new coronavirus cases on Friday, its first increase above 10 in five days, as authorities warned numbers would increase as it had identified a new cluster of infections linked to a 29-year-old man.The IT company employee had spread the virus to at least 14 others as he wandered around the capital Seoul and four neighbouring cities over a long weekend period at the start of the month, said the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.While the 12 cases were those…

There was a collective sigh of relief when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach shook elbows over the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. What with the unprecedented postponement of an Olympics and subsequent uncertainties over athletes, logistics, sponsors, a Tokyo 2020 main office employee contracting Covid-19, and the increasing friction between Abe’s and Tokyo governor (and…

More than 31,000 people who have tested positive for coronavirus have now died in Britain.

Lawmakers on both sides of the political divide are considering whether to report their rivals to police after a row in Hong Kong’s legislature over control of a key committee descended into chaos in the chamber.Two opposition legislators revealed on Saturday they planned to make formal allegations of assault, while the pro-establishment camp was mulling filing complaints of its own to the force.It follows a turbulent meeting of the Legislative Council’s House Committee on Friday, when a pro…

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday highlighted crimes against humanity and grave mismanagement of the law in Libya during a release of their latest report on the North African nation.  Fatou Bensouda, Chief Prosecutor of the ICC, said enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, hate speech, and severe maltreatment of detainees remains a massive concern in […]

The post Enforced Disappearances, Arbitrary Detentions, Hate Speech & Attacks on Civilians – ICC Report on Libya appeared first on Inter Press Service.

On Friday the province conducted 397 COVID-19 tests. Since the outbreak began New Brunswick has conducted a total of 17,426 tests.

A powerful American faith rights watchdog has called for India, which claims to be a multi-religious democracy, to be globally blacklisted over concerning major breaches of religious freedoms,...

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A powerful American faith rights watchdog has called for India, which claims to be a multi-religious democracy, to be globally blacklisted over concerning major breaches of religious freedoms,...

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SUKKUR: Another confirmed polio case was reported at Union Council Dhigano of Taluka Sajawal in Qambar Shahdadkot.Reports said the stool sample was collected from a 36-month-old girl, a suspected...

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A powerful American faith rights watchdog has called for India, which claims to be a multi-religious democracy, to be globally blacklisted over concerning major breaches of religious freedoms,...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

BEIJING: China should expand its stock of nuclear warheads to 1,000 soon, Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin said on Friday, even as US President Donald Trump repeats his call for China to join an...

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Oprah Winfrey has reportedly arranged for the Duke and Duchess to move into Tyler Perry's mansion

Kim Kardashian on Friday said she has started missing her sisters.

BEIJING: China should expand its stock of nuclear warheads to 1,000 soon, Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin said on Friday, even as US President Donald Trump repeats his call for China to join an arms control treaty, foreign media reported.The Global Times is published by the People’s...

BEIJING: China should expand its stock of nuclear warheads to 1,000 soon, Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin said on Friday, even as US President Donald Trump repeats his call for China to join an arms control treaty, foreign media reported.The Global Times is published by the People’s...

Britain plans to introduce a 14-day mandatory quarantine for most international arrivals, reports said Saturday, despite growing pressure on the government to relax virus lockdown measures.

The Central Government has approved around 93 percent of the total planned housing units under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U). By far, as many as 1.03 crore housing units have been sanctioned across the country under the said scheme. To provide affordable pucca houses to the homeless population of the country, the Central Government has approved over 1 crore houses in urban parts of the country under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U). Against the humongous target of 1.2 crore units, the Government has sanctioned nearly 1.03 crore units across the States and Union Territories (UTs). Of the approved units, approximately 61 lakh units are under-construction and nearly […]

Safeguards due diligence reports are prepared as part of safeguard due diligence and review to ensure compliance with ADB safeguard policy due diligence requirements. This document dated May 2020 is provided for the ADB project 51039-002 in Afghanistan.

Safeguards due diligence reports are prepared as part of safeguard due diligence and review to ensure compliance with ADB safeguard policy due diligence requirements. This document dated May 2020 is provided for the ADB project 2020-05-07 in Afghanistan.

Environmental monitoring reports describe the environmental issues or mitigation measures of a project. This document dated May 2020 is provided for the ADB project 43319-022 in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

ADB has released the 13th annual performance report of its corporate results framework, the Development Effectiveness Review, a management tool that monitors performance and progress during 2019.

ISLAMABAD: The country witnessed a record rise in Covid-19 cases on Friday, a day before lifting of the nationwide lockdown in phases announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Although the decision to lift the lockdown from Saturday was taken in consultation with all the provinces, Punjab and Sindh on Friday expressed their desire to extend the lockdown restrictions for some more time.

With the addition of 2,000 new cases during the last 24 hours, the total number of infections in the country on Friday stood at 26,954.

Prime Minister Khan, after chairing a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Thursday, announced the lifting of the lockdown by opening several industries, businesses and markets from Saturday (today).

Punjab, Sindh express wish to extend lockdown restrictions; Umar dismisses Murad’s claim about unilateral decisions by Centre; PM reviews economic situation

On Friday, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan said they wanted to extend the lockdown but agreed to the Centre’s call at the NCC meeting that the restrictions should be lifted from Saturday.

“It was our desire that the lockdown should be extended, but we agreed to whatever decided at the NCC meeting on Thursday,” CM Shah said at a press briefing.

The PTI-led Punjab government took a step forward and recommended that major cities of the province should remain under lockdown as there was an increasing trend of the viral disease there. “We want continuation of lockdown in eight to 10 cities, including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan and Gujranwala,” Mr Chohan said at a press conference.

In a related development, the federal government expressed its surprise and dismay over Sindh chief minister’s remarks that Islamabad was imposing its decision regarding ending the lockdown. Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, who also heads the National Command and Operation Centre, in a television programme categorically on Friday evening, said that all decisions were made with the approval of the provincial governments. He even said that some of the federal government’s proposals on which there were objections, or difference of opinion, were not included as the government wanted to have complete consensus on the matter.

Prime Minister Khan has urged people to follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) evolved by the government when the lockdown is lifted, otherwise there will be trajectory of Covid-19 and then the government will have no option but to enforce another lockdown.

The prime minister presided over a meeting on Friday to review the economic situation and its future outlook in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The finance ministry briefed the meeting on the overall situation and the performance of various macroeconomic indicators during the last nine months of the current financial year, as well as the impact of coronavirus on the economy, an official press release said.

The meeting reviewed the progress and impact of the Rs1.25 trillion economic stimulus package announced by the government to provide relief to the poor and vulnerable segments of society and support various sectors of the economy affected by the pandemic.

The prime minister appreciated the efforts made by the finance ministry to ensure financial discipline and provision of relief during the Coved-19 situation. He emphasised that greater attention should be paid to supporting small and medium enterprises and the agriculture sector, enabling them to create greater job opportunities for people. “The process of reforming public sector organisations should be expedited to plug leakages of the economy,” he added.

The prime minister said the process of provision of subsidies should also be reviewed to make these interventions more effective and target-oriented. “Out of the box solutions are needed to meet the present day economic challenges,” he emphasised.

Reviewing the future economic outlook, Mr Khan said all-out efforts should be made to provide maximum possible relief to the people. He emphasised that priorities and targets for the next Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) should be clearly defined with a focus on completion of projects rather than mere initiation. He stressed the need for maximum utilisation of the public-private partnership model and involving international development partners to enhance and broaden the PSDP scope.

Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said the government had signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Organisation of Migration, which helps connect countries with expatriates.

At a press conference, he said the government wanted to develop a networking system with overseas Pakistani doctors in order to learn from their experiences and expertise even after the coronavirus crisis is over.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

ADB has released the 13th annual performance report of its corporate results framework, the Development Effectiveness Review, a management tool that monitors performance and progress during 2019.

Iran warned Saturday that coronavirus infections were rising in the southwest despite falls in other regions, as it announced more than 1,500 new confirmed cases.

This guideline specifies framework for validating technical assistance completion reports (TCRs) to capture lessons learned from completed technical assistance (TA) operations and to improve accountability for achieving results, the quality of completion reports, and the independence of project ratings.

This report covers the period January to December 2019 and presents the performance for the year against the annual work program and the cumulative performance to date.

By end of 2019, the Urban Financing Partnership Facility (UFPF) assistance has led to a total of 152 completed projects, comprised of investment grants, technical assistance, direct charge activities, and project preparation studies.

Rep. McSally Visits Microchip Executives to Discuss Semiconductor Supply Chain Resilience in the U.S. Amid Defense Industrial Base Report Findings

This publication provides estimates of purchasing power parities (PPPs) and real expenditures for 22 economies in Asia and the Pacific. These are summary regional results from the 2017 cycle of the International Comparison Program (ICP).

MUMBAI: Indian real estate market witnessed a significant change in the last decade mainly backed by opening up of FDI in the sector and shift in preference to high-rises over traditional low-rise structures, according to a report. The opening up of the sector to foreign direct investment in 2005 initiated the entry of new avenues for funding, and capital inflow witnessed a spike, property consultant CBRE said in its report titled ‘Inflection Point: Ten years of organised real estate in India (2005-2014)’. Restrictive legislations till 2004 provided limited scope of funds for the sector. However, opening up of the sector to FDI in 2005 opened up new avenues for investment, […]

Across the world, new roads, railways, dams and power lines are encroaching on previously virgin territory – with untold consequences for Earth’s wildlife

Nearly 90 cases of the novel coronavirus have been recorded among employees of Polyus Krasnoyarsk, a unit of Russia's largest gold producer Polyus , the regional branch of Russia's consumer health watchdog said on Saturday.