Category:

Disaster & Management

Global food emergency imminent; 49 mn may fall into extreme poverty: UN

“There is more than enough food in the world to feed our population of 7.8 billion people. But, today, more than 820 million people are hungry. And some 144 million children under the age of five are stunted — more than one in five children worldwide. Our food systems are failing, and the Covid-19 pandemic is making things worse,” the UN chief said in his video message for the launch of UN policy brief on the impact of Covid-19 on food security and nutrition on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

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French govt to probe its own COVID-19 response

“The government is accountable to parliament. If parliament thinks (the outbreak) has been handled badly, then it must challenge the government’s response,” Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet told RTL radio.Belloubet was speaking after Paris prosecutors opened a preliminary inquiry into government actions to determine whether any criminal offences may have been committed.

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Virus pummels global economy, jobs – even without 2nd wave

Gurria argued that “presenting the problem as the choice between lives and livelihoods, meaning a choice between health and the economy, is a false dilemma.

If the pandemic is not brought under control, there will be no robust economic recovery.”In case of a second wave of contagions, the OECD forecast that the average unemployment rate across the 37 developed countries that it represents would double this year to 10% and see “little recovery” in 2021. In the more optimistic scenario, the figure would be 9.2%. In poorer countries, the numbers are often higher, and informal workers are especially vulnerable.

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80% of working Indians have experienced income loss: Generali study

95 per cent  of Indians surveyed expect some form of relief in the case of income loss. 53 per cent of those who have experienced losses expect help from the government. 60 per cent are planning to dig into their savings and investments, while 39% expect help from family members. Significantly, 40 per cent  of Indians expect their employers to step in with some form of relief.

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India’s economy to shrink further in fiscal year 2020-21:World Bank

International rating agencies like Moody’s Investors Service, Fitch Rating and S&P Global Ratings have all predicted a 4-5 per cent contraction in India’s economic growth rate during April 2020 to March 2021 fiscal. Crisil has said this would be the country’s fourth recession since Independence, first since liberalisation, and perhaps the worst to date.

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