Less than a week before the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Scheme) is due to go live (currently due to open on 20 April), further significant changes have been published in the form of a Treasury Direction (the Direction), setting out the

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A common topic for sector discussion is whether “fitness to study” is an appropriate term to use in connection with an institution’s regulation of its student community where a concern arises about the ability of a student to study...

On top of floods and the COVID-19 pandemic, locust swarms are threatening farms and food. Iran says sanctions are thwarting its response plans.

Women in camps worry they will find little aid if they become victims of physical or sexual violence.

Shattered ceasefires, a $6.7-billion price tag, and Italy’s migrant amnesty: updates on how COVID-19 is disrupting humanitarian efforts around the globe.

A weekly read to keep you in the loop on humanitarian issues.

SPEAKER Alan Peter Cayetano breaks his silence on the closure of media giant ABS-CBN Corp. after a cease and desist order was issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and warned of “reckoning” for those responsible for the “mess”. “Last Tuesday we were all ambushed by the NTC,” Cayetano said in a statement posted on […]

OFFSHORE gaming operators and their service providers must settle all their tax liabilities before resuming operations, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd reiterated on Friday. “In order for POGO (Philippine offshore gaming operators) service providers to be allowed to operate, they must pay their 2019 income tax liabilities, or in the case of POGO franchisees, the […]

THE Supreme Court (SC) junked a petition for mandamus that seeks to compel Malacanang to disclose President Rodrigo Duterte’s state of health. Brian Keith Hosaka, SC Public Information Office chief and spokesman, disclosed that the decision was arrived at following the court’s virtual en banc session on Friday. “I confirm the denial of the petition, […]

TWO sailors were injured after fire broke out from one of the Philippine Navy ships tasked to bring home donated personal protective equipment (PPE) from India. Lt. Cdr. Maria Christina Roxas, Philippine Navy spokesman, said the fire started at the main engine room of the BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS-16), a few hours after leaving Cochin […]

A more equitable and fair society, able to conquer the effects of pandemics, starts with debt-free education and skills development

The post Young people need a bailout: Cancel student debt held by national banks appeared first on The Mail & Guardian.

PATTAYA: Three foreigners have been detained for violating the emergency decree after they were found swimming at a closed beach behind a hotel in this resort city on Saturday.

Five teachers at a public school in Mukdahan have been suspended after being charged in connection with repeated sexual assaults against a 14-year-old girl. Two school alumni are also accused of having taken part, and all are said to have taken video of the acts.

Linda Eckerbom Cole is the Founder and Executive Director of African Women Rising. She shuttles between Santa Barbara, California and Uganda.

The post NGOs Pivot to COVID-19 Prevention in Refugee Camps appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Women Deliver Young Leaders perform vital work on the frontlines of the pandemic response

The post 10 Ways Young People are Leading the Way Against COVID-19 appeared first on Inter Press Service.

“I have never planted a tree in my life,” laughs Jairos Saunyama, a tobacco farmer, revelling at the absurdity of the question of whether he is involved in the country’s afforestation efforts. Sawunyama is one of thousands of farmers who are blamed by local conservationists for turning the country’s forests into deserts and dust bowls. […]

The post Zimbabwe’s Afforestation Challenge appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Vanessa Nakate of Uganda may have been cropped out of a photograph taken at the World Economic Forum, but she along with Swedish activist Greta Thunberg have made the climate crisis centre stage. Women Deliver Young Leader Jyotir Nisha discusses with Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada on how to harness young people to overcome […]

The post Harness Youth to Change World’s Future appeared first on Inter Press Service.

IPS correspondent Jewel Fraser finds out whether a GEF-funded project can really help Trinidad and Tobago quarry companies be environmentally responsible.

The post GEF Project to be Game-changer for Trinidad Quarries appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Leonardo Beltran is Non-Resident Fellow of the Institute of the Americas, Member of the Board of SEforALL, and former Deputy Secretary at the Mexican Department of Energy

The post Walking the Talk on Climate Change after the Pandemic: Reorienting State-Owned Enterprises towards Sustainability appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Dr Mah Hui Lim has been a university professor and banker, in the private sector and with the Asian Development Bank.
Dr. Michael Heng, Former professor in Management Science.

The post Pandemic Crisis May Trigger Societal Restructuring appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The mining sector in Africa is facing radical change as youth activists take action against the environmental degradation caused by mining industries. Tensions between activists and the mining industry have raised, however, concerns over human rights abuses. Kenya’s National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders reported, for instance, cases of harassment and intimidation “against at least […]

The post Growing Youth Activism for Environmental Protection in Africa appeared first on Inter Press Service.

At around 11am on a Saturday, Luke Okomo arrives at Dunga Beach, on the outskirts of Kenya’s Kisumu City, and heads straight to what is known as the ‘Dunga Papyrus Boardwalk’. He pays Sh200 ($2), the daily fee for local tourists and students, and then joins a group of five visitors already taking a tour […]

The post The Boardwalk For Birds: Protecting Lake Victoria’s Dunga Beach Wetland appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Rosa Manzano carefully arranges pieces of wood in a big mud igloo that, seven days after it is full, will produce charcoal of high caloric content. “Our forest also produces oak, which in the past was only sold as firewood and had little value. But with forest management and the work of women who have […]

The post Bioenergy, the Ugly Duckling of Mexico’s Energy Transition appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Epidemic diseases are not random events that afflict societies capriciously and without warning, on the contrary, every society produces its own specific vulnerabilities. To study them is to understand the importance of a society’s structure, its standard of living, and its political priorities. […] Epidemics are a mirror, they show who we really are: Our […]

The post Haunting Forest Spirits – is Mother Nature Striking Back? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

WHO has warned that Africa could be become the next epicentre of the pandemic.

Numbers hurtling towards 1,000 after 55 more people contracted the virus disease.

The state-owned carrier has been fighting for its survival since December.

Soldiers say they suspected aircraft was on suicide attack mission at the airstrip.

Now is not the time to demonize and defund the WHO.

The pandemic has ratcheted Sino-American tensions up to 11.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's legacy depends on how he addresses the challenges raised by the COVID-19 pandemic.

There's little downside for the founder of the collapsed office rental company in taking on his former benefactor.

The U.S.-Japan relationship is going to come through this pandemic even stronger than before.