New Delhi: The United States is understood to have reiterated its desire for India to play a key role in the Afghan peace process, given New Delhi’s strong relationship with the Afghan Government. Strengthening its ties with Kabul amid the Coronavirus pandemic, New Delhi meanwhile has dispatched a consignment of 10,000 tonnes of wheat on Thursday to Afghanistan through the Iranian port of Chabahar and this brings...

Washington: The US is working to temporarily ban the issuance of some work-based visas like H-1B, popular among highly-skilled Indian IT professionals, as well as student visas and work authorisation that accompanies them, amidst the high level of unemployment due to the coronavirus, according to a media report on Friday. The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers from countries like India and China in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical...

MARKET NOTICE 08 May 2020 Bank of Jamaica FX Swap Arrangement Report for Week Ended: 08 May 2020 For...

Earlier this week, the Internet revisited clips of America’s Next Top Model, which premiered in 2003 on UPN and has aged pretty badly ever since, in which host ... More » ......

Washington: Vice president Mike Pence’s press secretary has the coronavirus, the White House said Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week. President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide, said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex. Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller, who tested positive Friday, had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the president. She is...

With states opening even as Covid-19 rages on, the president is rolling the dice on his career – and tens of thousands of lives Coronavirus – latest US updates C oronavirus – latest global updates On Monday the Republican governor of Nebraska, Pete Ricketts, a close ally of Donald Trump and frequent...

Washington: Several American lawmakers have introduced a legislation in Congress to offer the 40,000 unused green cards to thousands of foreign nurses and doctors to meet the urgent needs of the overstretched healthcare sector in the US, the worst hit nation by the coronavirus pandemic. The US has nearly 1,284,000 cases of confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 77,000 people have died due to the highly contagious disease. The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act would allow for recapturing green cards that were approved by...

Donald Trump has been bullish about a coronavirus vaccine – so much so that experts have had to talk him off a more aggressive...

The settlement report said that in strange and reprehensible statements that reflect the Zionist colonial and racist ideology, the American ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, urged the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz to accelerate the announcement of the annexation of areas in the occupied West Bank to Israel. He told an Israeli newspaper that “if the government of Israel announces this, the United States will be prepared to recognize, in the coming weeks, Israel’s sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and Israeli settlement in Judea and Samaria, and that it will recognize 30% of the occupied West Bank as areas of Israel within the deal of the century in the...

President Nicolas Maduro has accused the US of being the mastermind behind the planned incursion in Venezuela, but Washington denies any involvement in the botched raid. ......

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Many people saw more than the last moments of Ahmaud Arbery’s life when a video emerged this week of white men armed with guns confronting the black man, a struggle with punches thrown, three shots fired and Arbery collapsing dead. The Feb. 23 shooting in coastal Georgia is drawing comparisons to a much darker period of U.S. history — when extrajudicial killings of black people, almost exclusively at the hands of white male vigilantes, inflicted racial terror on African Americans. It frequently happened with law enforcement complicity or feigned ignorance. The footage of Arbery’s death was not the only thing that rattled the nation’s conscience. It took more than...

Photo from Fredy Builes/VIEWpress via Getty Images) Colombian delivery app Rappi is testing pilot robot deliveries in Colombia. Rappi operates in several Latin American countries, and last year SoftBank invested one billion dollars into the startup. Deliveries are made using Kiwibot, a delivery robot from a Colombian owned company in California. Visit Business...

To mark Mother's Day 2020, the hosts and reporters of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network expressed their appreciation to their mothers and all the moms across America who are helping their families through the coronavirus pandemic. ......

FALMOUTH, Maine (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic has canceled dozens of spring traditions, from college basketball’s Final Four to Easter Sunday services, but there’s one rite that’s going on largely unfettered — turkey hunting. Every state except Alaska, which is the only state with no turkeys, hosts a spring turkey hunt each year. The birds, whose domesticated cousins grace Thanksgiving tables from Hawaii to Maine, are among America’s greatest conservation success stories. The hunt is taking on a new look in some parts of the country this year due to social distancing laws. Many states, including Maine, are requiring out-of-state residents to self quarantine for two...

Little Richard, the flamboyant, piano-pounding showman who injected sheer abandon into rock ’n’ roll in its early days, only to abandon the music again and again because it conflicted with his religious yearnings, died Saturday. He was 87. Pastor Bill Minson, a close friend of the singer, confirmed his death to the Associated Press. Minson said he also spoke to Little Richard’s son and brother. Minson added that the family is not releasing the cause of death. In hits such as “Tutti-Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally” and “Good Golly, Miss Molly,” the singer pushed the limits of tempo and vocal intensity, creating frantic explosions of sonic confetti. His records entered a pure, primal realm that...

NASHVILLE (AP) — Little Richard, the self-proclaimed “architect of rock ‘n’ roll” whose piercing wail, pounding piano and towering pompadour irrevocably altered popular music while introducing black R&B to white America, has died Saturday. He was 87. Pastor Bill Minson, a close friend of Little Richard’s, told The Associated Press that Little Richard died Saturday morning. Minson said he also spoke to Little Richard’s son and brother. Minson added that the family is not releasing the cause of death. Born Richard Penniman, Little Richard was one of rock ‘n’ roll’s founding fathers who helped shatter the color line on the music charts, joining Chuck Berry and Fats Domino in...

They have left behind royal life as they knew it, swapping Britain for the sunnier climes of Los Angeles. But former Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not quite slumming it, as they join the Hollywood elite in a reported $18m (€16.4m) Beverly Hills mansion owned by a...

Nteranya Sanginga is Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

The post Pandemic Lays Bare Africa’s Deficits, but Youth Will Grow the Future appeared first on Inter Press Service.

On April 17, the Alberto Ángel Fernández administration in Argentina officially unveiled its offer for debt restructuring on USD 66 billion foreign currency-denominated bonds. Starting on that date, the offer is valid for 20 days, a period during which difficult negotiations with bondholders are expected to take place. Based on the first reactions from some […]

The post Argentina’s Debt Restructuring “Groundhog Day”… or Maybe Not? Three Key Points appeared first on Inter Press Service.

80 young African scholars are tackling the business of agriculture through the innovativeness and freshness that comes with youth — while obtaining their masters or doctoral degrees in the process.

The post Africa’s Youth Scholars Harvest Ideas on the Business of Agriculture appeared first on Inter Press Service.

1. Loss Of Smell and Taste Now Recognized Symptoms Of COVID-19  ABP Live
2. 8-year-old rushed to hospital due to mystery illness linked to COVID-19  ABC News
3. New coronavirus symptom stumps doctors  WJW FOX 8 News Cleveland
4. Mystery illness appearing in children linked to coronavirus, doctor says  KLAS - 8 News Now
5. Boy tests positive for coronavirus antibodies after hospitalization  ABC News
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Keh Gayi Sorry teaser: Shehnaaz Gill pairs up with Jassie Gill in new music video, watch  Hindustan Times
2. Keh Gayi Sorry Teaser: Fans can't wait for the full music video featuring Shehnaaz Gill and Jassie Gill  PINKVILLA
3. Bigg Boss 13's Shehnaaz Gill curses Coronavirus for ruining her dreams in this new hilarious TikTok video  Bollywood Life
4. Shehnaz Gill curses corona for ruining her dream of signing autographs after Bigg Boss 13; watch hilariou  Times of India
5. PHOTOS: Shehnaaz Gill proves she can pull off any look with panache; Check out  PINKVILLA
6. View Full coverage on Google News

Phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan sharpens focus on CPEC  Todaynewspaper

1. US to temporarily ban work-based visas including H-1B  Deccan Chronicle
2. US lawmakers want H-1B visas and foreign students internship suspended to protect American jobs  Times of India
3. US Mulls Temporary Ban on Work Visas Amid Unemployment: Reports  The Quint
4. US likely to temporarily ban work-based visas like H-1B due to rise in unemployment  Zee News
5. 5 US lawmakers ask Trump to suspend new H-1B visas  The Tribune India
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Coronavirus: Do not anticipate worst case situation like developed countries in India, says govt  Livemint
2. Government Tweaks Rules For Testing As COVID-19 Cases Rise. Details Here  NDTV
3. Only ‘severe’ coronavirus patients to be tested before discharge from hospital as India braces for infection surge  The Tribune India
4. Health ministry says learn to live with coronavirus as India's COVID-19 count crosses 56,000  Livemint
5. 116 vs 66: Mismatch between Covid toll of Delhi govt, hospital data  The Indian Express
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Coronavirus India News LIVE | Tamil Nadu COVID-19 tally zooms to 6,535 with 526 new cases; 44 die  Moneycontrol
2. Retirement age hiked for all Tamil Nadu government staff  Deccan Chronicle
3. With 45% National Intake, Southern States Draw 10-15% Revenue From Liquor: Report  News18
4. In Pictures | Day-45 of coronavirus lockdown leaves people in limbo  The Hindu
5. With 45% of national intake, southern states draw 10-15% revenue from liquor: Report  Moneycontrol.com
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Tamil Nadu: All private establishments outside Covid-19 containment zones to open from Monday  The Indian Express
2. Coronavirus: Tamil Nadu relaxes lockdown measures further  Times of India
3. Major Relaxations For Non-Containment Zones In Tamil Nadu From Monday  NDTV
4. 1,589 cases linked to Koyambedu so far  The Hindu
5. Tamil Nadu moves Supreme Court against Madras high court order to close Tasmac liquor shops  Times of India
6. View Full coverage on Google News

OIL, IT HAS been said, is the blood coursing through the veins of the world economy. In 2020 the economy is bleeding red. As covid-19 keeps workers at home and planes on the ground, demand for oil has fallen faster … read more

ALMATY: Two Nasa astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut on Friday made a safe return from the International Space Station to find the planet transformed by the coronavirus pandemic. Andrew Morgan, Jessica Meir and Oleg Skripochka touched down in central Kazakhstan … read more

Manuel Manonelles is Associate Professor of International Relations, Blanquerna/University Ramon Llull, Barcelona

The post Hegemony Shift in Times of COVID-19 appeared first on Inter Press Service.

President Donald Trump’s threat to abruptly cut all US funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) has been described as ‘reckless and deadly”—particularly at a time when the Geneva-based UN agency was engaged in an uphill battle against the spreading coronavirus. The US president, who has dismissed WHO as “China-centric”, has also been accused of […]

The post In His Fight Against WHO, Trump Plays Politics with Human Lives appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is President of the Republic of Ghana and Co-chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Eminent Group of Advocates for the SDGs and Erna Solberg is Prime Minister of Norway and Co-chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Eminent Group of Advocates for the SDGs

The post Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, SDGs are Even More Relevant Today Than Ever Before appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Nearly 400 Rohingya refugees have been rescued in Bangladesh after being at sea for two months.  Bangladesh coast guards reported rescuing 382 Rohingyas, including many women and children, who were starving and stuck on a boat as they were trying to reach Malaysia, the BBC reported on Thursday.  Coast guard spokesman Lt Shah Zia Rahman […]

The post Concerns for the Nearly 400 Rohingya Refugees Rescued off the Coast of Bangladesh appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The deadly coronavirus COVID-19, which has shut down the UN secretariat in New York, along with 32 of its agencies globally, has forced over 37,500 UN staffers worldwide to work from their homes. Asked about a decision to re-open the Secretariat building after nearly a month-long hiatus, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said: “I don’t know. […]

The post As US Unemployment Hits a Staggering 22 Million, Will UN Layoffs Be Far Behind? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury is a former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the UN (2002-2007), Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to UN (1996-2001) and Chairman of the UN General Assembly’s Administrative and Budgetary Committee (1997-1998)

The post UN Faces Financial & Liquidity Crisis as Global Pandemic Rages appeared first on Inter Press Service.

With much of the global economy stalled amid an unprecedented lockdown of nations grappling to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the author of a new United Nations report on the disease’s impact on poverty told IPS that hundreds of millions more could be pushed into poverty and we can expect to see social unrest. “A lockdown […]

The post Q&A: Continued Social Distancing and Hundreds of Millions More in Poverty – A New Normal for the World? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), described as an integral part of its highly-ambitious development agenda, may be in deep trouble. Aimed at addressing some of the global challenges the world faces– including extreme poverty and hunger, inequalities in incomes and gender, climate change and environmental degradation– the SDGs now seem threatened by a […]

The post UN’s Development Goals Threatened by a World Economy Facing Recession appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The oil slump, global recession and uncertainty about the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic will fuel the appetite for cheaper fossil fuel energy and delay investments in renewables, affecting the targets of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The countries of the developing South, and in particular oil exporters, […]

The post The Crises of 2020 Will Delay the Transition to Clean Energy appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Jay Collins is Vice Chairman Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory, Citigroup*

The post Only Sustainable Investment & Global Cooperation Can Counter COVID’s Blow to SDGs appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Humankind has outlived multiple pandemics in the course of world history. The kingdoms and states of Central and Western Europe abolished the institution of serfdom once it had become clear that medieval rule in the aftermath of devastating pestilence would founder without ending the dependency and servitude that characterized the Dark Ages. The vulnerability of […]

The post COVID-19 in the Time of Insecurity appeared first on Inter Press Service.

For a Bangladeshi woman, who has worked as a sex worker since childhood, her future post-COVID-19 looks hopeless. Shilpy, who works at Daulatdia, the largest brothel in the country, told IPS how she now also fears for the future of her two daughters. “When I was born, the woman my mother worked for gave everyone […]

The post Alive Amidst the Mayhem of COVID-19 – A Sex Worker’s Story appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Arti Zodpe is from the Tamasha (folk dance-drama) theatre in Sangli, in India’s Maharashtra state. After evening performances, some of the singers and dancers offer sex work services to the audience. “We [Tamasha sex workers] live outside of the city as people feel disturbed by the sound of our ghunghroo [anklet bracelets with bells] and […]

The post India’s Liberal Abortion Law, Nullified by Social Stigma appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Ensuring sex workers’ rights was essential, not just for the workers themselves, but for any country’s wider society, including public health

The post Ensuring Russia’s Sex Workers’ Rights Essential for Wider Gender Equality appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Turkey’s longest-running traditional sports event, Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling competition, has started in the northwestern province of Edirne. The annual event, which is organized for the 657th time this year, attracts thousands of people. Click through for the story in photos...

Those who have not been able to go on vacation over the summer or those who wish to extend their vacation can check Hürriyet Travel’s list for the best holiday destinations in Turkey in the month of September. Click through for the story in photos...

Tripadvisor’s annual list of best hotels has been published. Click through for the top 15 hotels in Turkey that won Travellers’ Choice 2018 awards with the votes of the website’s users.

Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey

Turkey is frequently described as a paradise when it comes to cuisine. Along with that, it also has hidden treasures in its streets as well. Click through for the top 29 Turkish street foods from "wet" hamburger to roasted chestnut, selected by the gastronomy jury of daily Hürriyet...

Daily Hürriyet’s travel supplement, Seyahat, has listed the top 10 boutique hotels in Turkey. Click through for the story in photos...

The Hürriyet newspaper's jury of experts has created the "Pearly Gastronomy Guide" to rank Turkey's best restaurants. Click through for the top 20 restaurants in Istanbul, according to the 2018 guide...