“It is a duty of a society of solidarity in times of crisis to ensure that migrant citizens have access to health and social security,” the Minister of Internal Affairs said.
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s socialist party returned the country to economic growth while reversing austerity policies. | Photo: EFE (Photo fromteleSUR’s article).
29 March 2020 (teleSUR)* — The current socialist government in Portugal decided to grant citizenship rights to all migrants and asylum seekers with pending residency applications from Monday until July 1 at least due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s authorities announced Saturday [28 March 2020].
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 30 2020 (IPS)* – As coronavirus makes its way through different continents, countries, and communities around the world having claimed more than 23,000 lives, experts are ringing alarm bells about the implications of the disease as it hits South Asia, which hosts almost 2 billion of the world’s population.
The first case of coronavirus was found near Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.Over a million Rohingya refugees are now cramped in hilly terrains of Ukhiya in southeastern regions of Cox’s Bazar along Bangladesh border with Myanmar. Credit: ASM Suza Uddin/IPS
FAO’s Chief Economist maps the ways the world can mitigate shocks to agriculture and food systems (*).
Global food supply chains are complex and include these kale farmers in Uganda.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put the world on a crisis footing, with unprecedented actions to restrict movements and plans for radical deployment of public funds to combat the threat posed by a novel coronavirus that knows no boundaries.
Amnesty InternationalResponding to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement it would indefinitely suspend enforcement of environmental laws due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Richard Pearshouse, Amnesty International’s Head of Crisis and the Environment, said:
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“The Trump administration is cynically abusing this crisis to achieve its pre-COVID-19 goal of gutting US environmental regulations.
The headlines provide abundant details about economic shutdowns in order to slow the spread of the COV-19 virus.
Dr. David Adams
But behind the headlines, there is another story more important in the long run: the global economy is a house of cards based on speculation and military spending.
It seems likely that the house of cards will come crashing down as a result of the global economic shutdown.
The details of how this will come about in economic terms are difficult to predict since there are so many interacting factors.
But even more important is how this can play out in political repercussions and opportunities.
Will it provide us with the opportunity to make the transition from the culture of war to a culture of peace?In the novella that I wrote ten years ago, I foresaw a global economic crash in the year 2020, which opened the possibility for this radical transformation.
24 March 2020 — (Wall Street International* — Chinese astrology and constellations were mostly used for divination. Chinese astrology is perhaps the oldest known horoscope system in the world.
“This is a population that has a poor nutritional status, and also has diseases that have not been treated, so they are more likely to contract the virus.”
Homeless Chileans live in tents in public spaces | Photo: Twitter/@RendirseJamass
26 March 2020 (teleSUR)* — Chile’s government requested the homeless population to “stay at home” and to maintain hygiene to prevent Covid-19. The administrative request generates mockeries and polemic reactions.
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Chile’s Social Development and Family Minister, Sebastian Sichel, affirmed that his administration is asking the ones who live on the streets to go back to their houses.
“I came from a big family and I am the youngest girl. My parents never wanted me to leave and work abroad. We are very close, and they used to tell me “you are here – you don’t know how to live abroad.” (*).
KURDISTAN, Iraq, 26 March 2020 (UNFPA)* – Intisar* was only 15 years old when her parents forced her into a marriage. She described it as an act of commerce: They sold her to another family to pay off a debt. “It is the worst feeling in the world to be traded off like that by the people who are supposed to protect you,” said the now-37-year-old Intisar, during a recent interview.
Her husband was 25 years her senior, and immediately abusive. He never missed an opportunity to remind her that she was “just a bargaining chip,” she said.
March 2020 (FAO)* — Do you see the world in numbers? Do you study charts like an art lover studies Renoir? Do you love statistics in all its forms? Well, FAO does too! When it comes to food and agriculture data, FAO is one of the world leaders in knowledge.
Subject experts and in-house statisticians work day in and day out to collect, validate and disseminate data and information on food and agriculture, from hunger, malnutrition and rural poverty to food systems and the sustainable use of natural resources.
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s socialist party returned the country to economic growth while reversing austerity policies. | Photo: EFE (Photo from teleSUR’s article).
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