A senior civil servant overseeing the distribution of reusable masks to all Hongkongers has promised to put the production of their replacement filters out to tender after admitting to shortcomings in the transparency of the original contract awarded by the government.Annie Choi Suk-han, permanent secretary of the Innovation and Technology Bureau, on Friday rejected suggestions the government had intentionally hidden the identity of the manufacturer chosen for the HK$320 million (US$41 million)…

After almost three months of hectic preparation, Denis Huen Yin-fan’s Hong Kong factory started delivering masks to customers last week to help protect them against the Covid-19 pandemic.Just as the supplies began reaching his clients, the Hong Kong government announced it will be distributing reusable and disposable masks to all households, free of charge, within weeks.Every household will receive reusable masks that can be washed up to 60 times, as well as a pack of 10 disposable masks.1.5…

Hong Kong recorded zero new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, as a government adviser suggested that border control measures between the city and Macau could be the first to be lifted.It was also the 20th day in a row without any local infections, although a handful of imported cases over the past week had taken Hong Kong’s tally to 1,044 with four related deaths.Health experts earlier raised the prospect of Hong Kong being declared free of local transmission if there were no such cases after 28 days…

A top police officer told me an interesting story about the siege of Polytechnic University last year, when anti-government protesters of the militant persuasion had occupied the campus. He recalled intercepting and arresting a group of youngsters trying to flee the war zone and how he was struck by the reaction of a petrified teenager among them when she was being booked. “Absolutely terrified, shaking,” was how he remembered her. “She thinks I will take her around the back and shoot her…

Press freedom in Bangladesh has been in decline long before the coronavirus came to our shores. Over the last decade, thanks to increasingly repressive media laws and highhanded measures adopted by the authorities, the health of journalism has been deteriorating in such a way that even the stalwarts of the fourth estate began to worry […]

The post Blocking media access during Covid-19 appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Director, Division on International Trade and Commodities, UN Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD)

The post Impact of COVID-19 on Tourism in Small Island Developing States appeared first on Inter Press Service.

ONLINE HIGH-LEVEL DIALOGUE Moderated by Jorge Ramos (journalist & author, Univision)

 
4 May 2020, 17:00-18:15 CET (GMT+2) / 11:00am-12:15pm EDT

 
JOIN LIVE: http://en.unesco.org/commemorations/worldpressfreedomday
 

The post Press Freedom and Tackling Disinformation in the COVID-19 context appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The new coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to wreak havoc across the world, as the number of infections and deaths rapidly rise. It has the potential to infect anybody regardless of age or gender. There are grave concerns that the economic fallout from COVID-19 may be comparable to that of the Great Depression. According to Johns Hopkins […]

The post Global Impact of New Corona Virus and Population Issues appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Interruptions to vaccination programmes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could result in new waves of measles or polio outbreaks, health experts warn. A growing number of one-off immunisation campaigns and national routine vaccine introductions are being delayed amid social distancing and other measures to curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2, leaving millions unprotected. Uptake of routine […]

The post Polio, Measles Outbreaks ‘Inevitable’, Say Vaccine Experts appeared first on Inter Press Service.

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.

Steven Broad is Executive Director, TRAFFIC, the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network

The post COVID-19 & Human Health Risks Linked to Wildlife Trade Practices appeared first on Inter Press Service.

As the COVID-19 pandemic worsened in April, many Americans were shocked by the extent that black Americans were being disproportionately impacted: higher infection rates, more deaths and greater job loss. But many black Americans were not surprised. This is not new. The same dynamic has been going on at times of crisis for decades and […]

The post Black Americans are Bearing the Brunt of Coronavirus Recession – This Should Come as no Surprise appeared first on Inter Press Service.

A former Pakistani child bride, who was wrongly accused of killing her husband at 13 and subsequently spent almost two decades in prison, is making history by being the first victim of a miscarriage of justice to seek compensation from the state, say legal human rights experts.   This March, Rani Tanveer, who was released in […]

The post Former Child Bride Holds Pakistan to Account for Wrongful Imprisonment in Historic Legal Challenge appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Kenya has accused the UN of bowing to pressure from other countries by setting up an investigation that pins the blame for peacekeeping failures in South Sudan on the Kenyan force commander.

A Kenyan official says a South Sudanese rebel spokesperson has been deported to South Sudan over a Facebook posting, while colleagues fear for his life and human rights workers say he was a UN-registered refugee.

Seized illicit shipments of elephant ivory are almost entirely made up of tusks from recently poached animals rather than siphoned from government stockpiles, scientists using a forensic technique reported on Monday.

Bomet Governor, Isaac Ruto who was being treated for injuries at Nairobi Hospital after clashes with police will be transferred a hospital in South Africa, a report says..

Bomet County Commissioner, Benard Lebarmarai has lambasted Governor Isaac Ruto for falsely accusing the police of causing harm to him.

A high school teacher in Kisii County was arrested on Tuesday for impersonating a 20-year old girl during a KCSE exam.

José Ramón Machado Ventura, second secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) Central Committee, received on the morning of December 4, the general secretary of El Salvador’s Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN), Medardo González Trejo, who is leading a delegation visiting Cuba on the invitation of the PCC.

Open markets in Limassol, Dherynia, and Larnaca began operating again on Saturday for the first time since the lockdown measures were enforced. The openings followed similar moves in Nicosia after the government decided to ease restrictions last week. “There is order, safety, calm and people are shopping,” Limassol Mayor Nicos...

The post Coronavirus: Open markets back in business after lockdown (updated) appeared first on Cyprus Mail.

Two-minute silence held for father-of-four Augustine Agyei-Mensah, a highly regarded learning disabilities nurse

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Tributes have been paid to a learning disabilities nurse who died after testing positive for coronavirus.

Augustine Agyei-Mensah, known to his colleagues as Gus, was described as a “highly regarded team member” at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS foundation trust (NHFT).

Katrina Kaif accidentally started a live video on Instagram, winning audience’s hearts with her adorable expressions

Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai have stood strong through thick and thin

Ananya Panday joined James McVey to spread awareness against online bullying's detrimental impact

Rekha and Amitabh Bachchan and their longstanding history together is no news for fans

Saif Ali Khan said they were shooting for a song with director Rahul Rawali as well as Kajol

Sridevi died on February 24, 2018 and Irrfan Khan passed away on April 29, 2020

Salman Khan shared the video of the interview also featuring Tere Bina co-star Jacqueline on his Instagram handle.

Irrfan Khan shared the screen with Deepika in 'Piku'

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The deadly impact of Covid-19 on Europe's care homes

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Get to work on a bike - European governments work to put in place wider and more cycle paths

ISLAMABAD: The Petroleum Division has admitted that it has violated the marginal gas policy guidelines 2013, and the terms of reference set by directorate general petroleum concessions , while...

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