“Despite overwhelming evidence of the impact of school closures on children, and despite increasing evidence that schools are not drivers of the pandemic, too many countries have opted to keep schools closed, some for nearly a year”, Henrietta Fore said in a statement.
“As we enter the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as cases continue to soar around the world, no effort should be spared to keep schools open or prioritize them in reopening plans.” @unicefchiefhttps://t.co/16j5bKIIqN
The UNICEF chief highlighted that the cost of closing schools has been devastating, with 90 per cent of students globally facing shutdowns at the peak of the COVID disruptions last year, leaving more than a third of schoolchildren with no access to remote education.
“The number of out-of-school children is set to increase by 24 million, to a level we have not seen in years and have fought so hard to overcome”, she said.
“Children’s ability to read, write and do basic math has suffered, and the skills they need to thrive in the 21st century economy have diminished”, Ms. Fore added.
Closure a ‘last resort’
Keeping children at home puts their health, development, safety and well-being at risk – with the most vulnerable bearing the heaviest brunt, she said.
She pointed out that without school meals, children are “left hungry and their nutrition is worsening”; without daily peer interactions and less mobility, they are “losing physical fitness and showing signs of mental distress”; and without the safety net that school often provides, they are “more vulnerable to abuse, child marriage and child labour”.
“That’s why closing schools must be a measure of last resort, after all other options have been considered”, stressed the top UNICEF official.
Evaluating local transmission
Assessing transmission risks at the local level should be “a key determinant” in decisions on school operations, Ms. Fore said.
She also flagged that nationwide school closures be avoided, whenever possible.
“Where there are high levels of community transmission, where health systems are under extreme pressure and where closing schools is deemed inevitable, safeguarding measures must be put in place”, maintained the UNICEF chief.
Moreover, it is important that children who are at risk of violence in their homes, who are reliant upon school meals and whose parents are essential workers, continue their education in classrooms.
After lockdown restrictions are lifted, she said that schools must be among the first to reopen and catch-up classes should be prioritized to keep children who were unable to learn remotely from being left behind.
“If children are faced with another year of school closures, the effects will be felt for generations to come”, said Ms. Fore.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu confirmed their readiness to continue cooperation to strengthen the Eastern Partnership initiative, especially in the context of preparations for the 2021 Eastern Partnership Summit.
“We consider it necessary to further develop the EU + 3 Associated Partners cooperation format and call on the European Union to deepen the dialogue on the DCFTA [Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas between Ukraine and the EU] and extend it to other aspects of cooperation and gradual sectoral integration, including in the spheres of justice, digital economy, energy, transport and the environment,” the presidents said in a joint statement following the talks in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Continental shelf, territorial waters, airspace, demilitarization of islands, island and islet sovereign status, air traffic control centers (FIR) and jurisdiction of search and rescue operations are on Ankara’s agenda, according to the Anadolu news agency.
“Turkey and Greece begin exploratory talks on Aegean and Mediterranean after five years” is the headline.
The aim, according to the article, is the laying of “the foundations for a just and comprehensive solution in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean”.
In the same time, Turkish President Erdogan referred to the “difficult 2020” for EU-Turkey relations and the obstacles placed by “unilateral actions of Member States” on Turkey’s accession corridor to the Union.
He spoke again about the “strategic blindness” on the Eastern Mediterranean and the Cyprus issue, where his country was “wronged”, while they tried to “imprison Turkey on its shores”.
Regarding relations with Greece, he accused Athens of “airspace violations and illegal activities on the islands in recent years” and called on it to let go of tensions, in order to begin “a new era with the exploratory contacts, in January 25”.
The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, however, threatened Greece and the EU again in view of the start of the 61st round of exploratory contacts.
During his meeting with the ambassadors of the European Union countries, he stated that in case the United Europe supports Greece “as it did at the summitof October “, then Turkey will do what it did until recently, implying that it will return to the tactic of escalating the tensions in the area.
(Photo: Vatican News)A lay woman reads at Mass in the Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican on Feb. 4, 2020.
Pope Francis has formally changed the Code of Canon Law to allow in practice the access of lay women to serve at the altar in the Catholic Church.
“There is nothing new about women proclaiming the Word of God during liturgical celebrations or carrying out a service at the altar as altar servers or as Eucharistic ministers,” said Vatican News on Jan. 11.
“In many communities throughout the world these practices are already authorized by local bishops.”
Pope Francis wanted to formalize and institutionalize the presence of women at the altar said Vatican News.
The ordained priesthood will still be the preserve of men, Francis stressed in the decree., the BBC reported.
It said the law change is official recognition of roles already performed by women in some Catholic services, especially in Western countries.
The announcement is expected to force conservative church leaders to accept greater involvement of women in the liturgy.
NO WOMEN PRIESTS
Although the move is far from the more significant step of admitting women to the priesthood, Francis said it was a way to recognize that they can make a “precious contribution” to the church, The Washington Post reported.
The Post said the new law merely formalizes a role that women in many parts of the world, including the United States, have already been holding.
But until now, they had been serving as acolytes and lectors — as the positions are known — at the discretion of local bishops or priests.
In some cases, conservative bishops have made a point of enforcing male-only altar services, something they will no longer be able to do, said the newspaper.
“Francis, on one side, is merely acknowledging reality on the ground, as it is right now,” said Massimo Faggioli, a professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University was quoted as saying.
“But this is important because the [conservative] bishops have been contradicted, openly, by Pope Francis.”
Cristina Simonelli, president of an Italian association of female theologians, said Francis’s move Monday was a “minimal thing” but still significant, “if you look at how absurd the situation was.”
“We’re still 100 steps behind the historic moment that we live, but [this is] always better than standing still,” Simonelli said.
President of the Republic of Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, will be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day parade on January 26, sources in the central government told News18 on Sunday, days after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled his visit to India. Sources confirmed that Santokhi, who is of Indian origin, will be attending the Rajpath parade.
Earlier this week, Santokhi was the chief guest at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention, held by the Ministry of External Affairs and he delivered the keynote address.
India had initially invited Boris Johnson to be the chief guest but the British PM had to cancel his visit in view of the grim coronavirus situation back home.
Santokhi was sworn in as the president of Suriname in July, 2020, when his party, the Progressive Reform Party, won 20 of the 51 seats in the elections. His win also brought an end to the dictatorial rule by Dési Bouterse. The PRP, known in the Dutch language as Vooruitstrevende Hervormingspartij or VHP by its initials, largely represents the Indian community and had originally been called the United Hindustani Party.
Suriname is a former Dutch colony where people of Indian descent make up the largest ethnic group comprising 27.4 per cent of the population of 587,000.
In an address at the virtual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations, the Indian-origin president expressed readiness to take the first step to end visa permits for visitors from India to Suriname.
‘Suriname is prepared to take a first step in doing so by ending visa permits for visitors from India to Suriname,’ he said.
Santokhi said there is scope to expand cooperation in areas of business, trade and tourism.
Elaborating on historical links between the two countries, the president said the Suriname diaspora is part of India’s soft power and India is also part of Suriname’s soft power.
Large numbers of Indian workers were taken to Suriname to work as indentured labourers in the 19th century.
He said Suriname and India have historical connections going back 148 years, which has shaped the lives of many who travelled from India.
‘I also feel pride in being of Indian heritage, a heritage and culture which was passed on by my parents and grandparents, who 148 years ago, started this adventurous journey from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and sailed from Kolkata in search of their dreams for a better life in Suriname,’ he said.
Religious people facing life crises rely on emotion-regulation strategies that psychologists also use, a new study finds. They look for positive ways of thinking about hardship, a practice known to psychologists as “cognitive reappraisal.” They also tend to have confidence in their ability to cope with difficulty, a trait called “coping self-efficacy.” Both have been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.
The new findings are reported in the Journal of Religion and Health.
“It appears that religious people are making use of some of the same tools that psychologists have systematically identified as effective in increasing well-being and protecting against distress,” said Florin Dolcos, a professor of psychology in the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who led the study with psychology professor Sanda Dolcos and graduate student Kelly Hohl. “This suggests that science and religion are on the same page when it comes to coping with hardship,” he said.
The research was prompted in part by earlier studies demonstrating that people who are religious tend to use a coping strategy that closely resembles cognitive reappraisal.
“For example, when somebody dies, a religious person may say, ‘OK, now they are with God,’ while someone who isn’t religious may say, ‘Well, at least they are not suffering anymore,'” Florin Dolcos said. In both cases, the individual finds comfort in framing the situation in a more positive light.
To determine if religious people rely on — and benefit from — reappraisal as an emotion-regulation strategy, the researchers recruited 203 participants with no clinical diagnoses of depression or anxiety. Fifty-seven of the study subjects also answered questions about their level of religiosity or spirituality.
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The researchers asked participants to select from a series of options describing their attitudes and practices.
“We asked them about their coping styles. So, for religious coping, we asked if they try to find comfort in their religious or spiritual beliefs,” Hohl said. “We asked them how often they reappraise negative situations to find a more positive way of framing them or whether they suppress their emotions.”
The researchers also evaluated participants’ confidence in their ability to cope and asked them questions designed to measure their symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Hohl said she looked for correlations between coping strategies, religious or nonreligious attitudes and practices, and levels of distress. She also conducted a mediation analysis to determine which practices specifically influenced outcomes like depression or anxiety.
“If we are just looking at the relationship between religious coping and lower anxiety, we don’t know exactly which strategy is facilitating this positive outcome,” Sanda Dolcos said. “The mediation analysis helps us determine whether religious people are using reappraisal as an effective way of lessening their distress.”
The analysis also shows whether an individual’s confidence in their ability to handle crises — another factor that psychological studies have found is associated with less depression and anxiety — “facilitates the protecting role of religious coping against such symptoms of emotional distress,” Sanda Dolcos said. “We found that if people are using religious coping, then they also have decreased anxiety or depressive symptoms.”
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Cognitive reappraisal and coping self-efficacy were contributing to those decreased symptoms of distress, she said.
The study should be of interest to clinical psychologists working with religious clients, Hohl said. “It should also speak to clergy members or church leaders who can promote this kind of reappraisal to help parishioners make sense of the world and increase their resilience against stress.”
“I hope this is an example of where religion and science can work together to maintain and increase well-being,” Florin Dolcos said.
Hospitality firm Oyo Hotels and Homes has appointed Martin HP Söderström, the chairman of DIG Investment, as a non-executive director at its European arm, Oyo Vacation Homes.
“As a mark of his trust and commitment towards the company, Martin will also buy shares worth an undisclosed amount in the parent company,” it said on Monday.
Oyo launched its European business in May 2019, focusing on vacation rentals. Vacation homes are a large and critical part of its global business and the firm will continue to expand it and invest in it, Oyo said.
In recent months, 3,400 homeowners from across Europe have joined the platform, adding more than 5,000 units to its portfolio of 140,000 homes.
As a board member, Söderström will work closely with Oyo’s management team to drive growth and offer guidance on potential merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities. He will also help build strategic partnerships with other EU-based companies and lay out its brand positioning strategy as a thought leader in the vacation rental space, Oyo said.
“For Oyo, its customers and homeowners in the EU region, especially in the Nordics, hold immense strategic importance. Given Martin’s deep understanding of the region and strong business acumen, I am elated to welcome him as an investor and a fellow board member at Oyo Europe,” Oyo founder and group chief executive officer Ritesh Agarwal said.
Oyo’s vacation homes business is leading the road to recovery and the preference of small hotels and vacation homes over large five-star properties is leading a structural change in the hospitality industry, he said.
“We are positive that his deep experience in M&As and working with high-growth companies will add a lot of value to our growth journey in Europe, both organic and inorganic, and support us in our long-term goal of an initial public offering,” he said.
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Diplomat author Mercy Kuo regularly engages subject-matter experts, policy practitioners and strategic thinkers across the globe for their diverse insights into U.S. Asia policy. This conversation with Dr. Alexander Vuving – professor at the College of Security Studies at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies and editor of “Hindsight, Insight and Foresight: Thinking about Security in the Indo-Pacific “(APCSS 2020) – is the 254th in “The Trans-Pacific View Insight Series.”
Explain the key outcomes of the EU-China investment deal.
On the penultimate day of 2020, to fulfill a pledge they made in 2019, the top leaders of China and the European Union struck the deal, which is officially called the “Comprehensive Agreement on Investment” (CAI). It was seven years in the making with 35 rounds of negotiations, and will replace the 25 bilateral investment treaties that individual EU members signed with China before 2009. These 25 pacts secured some market access and reduced some legal uncertainty for European investors in China, but they largely accommodated China’s restrictive and highly discriminatory investment regime. Now the CAI makes a step further to broaden the access and tighten the legal framework for European investors in the Chinese market, but it falls far short of achieving a “genuine level playing field” for European businesses and workers and ensuring reciprocity in market access, a major objective set out by the European Parliament in its 2018 resolution. The CAI goes beyond market access and investment protection to include provisions on environment and labor rights protection, but with regard to forced labor and labor rights, what it has secured is just China’s promises.
In a nutshell, the CAI makes the playing field less unlevel but, at the same time, it affirms an asymmetric investment environment that strongly favors China. Seen in a larger picture, the small gains achieved by the CAI are not worth the opportunity loss it causes. By striking the deal now and not waiting a few more years, EU leaders failed to take advantage of favorable dynamics that would significantly strengthen the EU position vis-à-vis China. The EU’s size as the world’s largest market and its high level of technological development could be leveraged to obtain more reciprocity with China. The Biden transition team has indicated that the new US administration will end unilateralism and seek a united front with the EU, Japan, and other allies in its trade fight with China. These opportunities got lost with the agreement on December 30, 2020.
The impact of the CAI on the EU China strategy is large and negative. It robs the EU of a huge leverage in dealing with China. The mindset it embodies locks the EU in an asymmetric game, the end outcome of which is “China defects and the EU cooperates.” The fate of the CAI will resemble those of the Sino-British pact on Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” and the WTO admission of China. All these three pacts share the same strategic structure. Because China’s objective in these games is geopolitical gain while that of its counterpart is China’s cooperation, the games’ outcomes conform to China’s objective. I call this situation the “peace-lover’s dilemma” because its strategic structure ensures the dominance of the more aggressive player.
Identify the deal’s winners and losers.
In purely economic terms, the primary winners are big European firms in various manufacturing and services sectors such as the car, chemical, telecom, and healthcare industries, banking, and transportation. Major German and French companies that already have an entrenched position in China appear to be the largest beneficiaries.
At the geopolitical level, the biggest winner is China. Although the CAI still needs to be signed by the EU members and ratified by the European Parliament, a process that can hardly be concluded before 2022, the 2020 pledge has rescued China from its retreat in the trade war with the United States. Some EU leaders may think that they have gained an advantage in dealing with the United States, but this elusive advantage is more than offset by the entrenchment of the EU’s weaker position vis-à-vis China.
The obvious losers of the deal include those who advocate for human rights and labor rights in China as well as those who advocate for repairing and strengthening the U.S.-EU transatlantic relationship. At the geopolitical level, the United States is the biggest loser.
Assess Germany’s leadership in delivering the deal and implications for Brussels’ leveraging ratification of the deal in EU member states.
Although the European Parliament made high-level transparency of the negotiations one of the preconditions for its consent, many member states “do not exactly know what is inside the deal,” as a Polish expert observed. Germany has leveraged its EU rotating presidency in 2020 and its influence in the EU bureaucracy ̶ the European Commission’s president and director-general for trade are both Germans ̶ to cut a deal that is most beneficial to some big German businesses. With the support of French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was able to bulldoze the deal against some resistance within the EU. With this deal, other EU members gained a small free lunch, although they lost the opportunity to have a bigger dinner. But as they all are very hungry now, they would opt for the free lunch rather than labor to get the dinner.
How might the EU-China deal affect the incoming U.S. administration’s plans to bolster transatlantic relations and security alliances in managing China’s expanding influence across Europe?
The CAI reflects an effort by Chancellor Merkel and some other European leaders to assert the EU as a major pole in a multipolar world. A key message of the deal is “the EU is very independent from the United States.” But this assertion is applied to a wrong place. The EU and the U.S. share some common strategic and political goals: to achieve reciprocity and a level economic playing field with China, to halt China’s abuse of human rights, to discourage China’s assertiveness abroad. By cutting a separate deal with China, the EU has repeated the mistake of the Trump administration when it went solo in its trade war against China. The CAI will damage both the EU’s comparative advantage vis-à-vis China and its transatlantic alliance with the U.S.
Billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola and Founder of MRS Group, Alhaji Sayyu Dantata are some of the first set of Nigerian business leaders to pre-order the yet to be released book on Management and Leadership, ‘Strategic Turnaround’
The book, which chronicles the transformation of a strategic government agency is authored by Dr. Dakuku Peterside, the immediate past Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
Mr. Femi Otedola who preordered 1,000 copies at cover price for distribution to selected institutions across the country expressed his belief In the reformation of public sector institutions as an enabler for private sector performance.
In his words, “I believe in the reforms of public sector institutions for greater efficiency and effectiveness. If our public sector institutions are functioning well like their counterparts in other parts of the globe, it will lead to improvement in quality of services rendered and will strengthen the private sector to create jobs. Job creation will address poverty and accelerate development.
“I believe that what happened in NIMASA in the past four years is a success story of institutional reform which can be replicated in other agencies of government which is why I am preordering this book so that more persons can read about it and be inspired to also reform whatever government institutions they find themselves.”
On his part, Alhaji Sayyu Dantata, founding Chairman of MRS Group who has preordered 500 copies of the book wants as many aspiring leaders as possible to read the story of the transformation of NIMASA through committed and visionary leadership.
According to him, “I want as many persons as possible to read about the success story of how one of the most important agencies of government in Nigeria was transformed under a period of four years. If NIMASA can be effectively reformed then all other agencies can be reformed. Alll we need is visionary and focused leadership which Dr Peterside gave while at NIMASA”.
He said that the preordered copies would be distributed to selected public universities and libraries accross Nigeria.
Six other notable business leaders have also preordered several hundred copies of the book, which according to the publishers, Safari books, will be released at a public presentation on 28 January 2021.
Strategic Turnaround is a book written in simple narrative and expository style that tells the story of the major reform initiatives adopted to transform NIMASA from a non performing agency to a global brand that is alive to its regulatory and promotional mandate. It is a detailed account of Management and leadership principles that were applied to turnaround NIMASA in such a short period.
