**Dhaka, 20 December 2020 – **In a landmark announcement, the European Union has committed US$ 25.7 million to support UNICEF’s child protection programme in Bangladesh over the next four years. The project will give over 10 million children access to social services, and will empower children to claim their rights. The initiative has a special focus on adolescents and on children living with disabilities.
“This is an unprecedented investment in the realization of child rights in Bangladesh. Children have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and this generous contribution from the European Union comes at such a critical juncture. It will help ensure that children whose needs are the greatest have equal opportunities and equal access to critical services,” said Tomoo Hozumi, UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has developed inclusive policies and programmes for marginalized children. At the same time, crucial equity gaps remain, particularly for children living with disabilities. In Bangladesh, children living with disabilities are the least likely to receive healthcare or go to school. They face disadvantages and deprivation at home and in their communities.
“As families struggle to overcome challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, we must invest now to build the safety nets needed for children and adolescents to reach their full potential and to contribute to their society in the future,” said Maurizio Cian, Head of Cooperation, Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh.
In the World Disability Report published in 2011, WHO and the World Bank estimate that 1 billion people or 15 per cent of the world’s population experience some form of disability. About 80 percent of people with disability live in developing countries.
The initiative will strengthen protection systems, policies and legislation in support of children and adolescents, including those living with disabilities, living in hard-to-reach, disaster-prone and disadvantaged areas, and those living on the streets. UNICEF will work closely with the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, the Ministry of Social Welfare and other partners to strengthen basic social services for marginalized children. At the same time, disadvantaged children and adolescents will be given opportunities to become change agents in their own communities, with skills to challenge harmful social norms and discriminatory practices.
Britain and the European Union remained divided over competition and fishing on Wednesday as they tried to clinch a Brexit trade deal in time to avoid a turbulent split at the end of the year.
Ireland said a deal was still possible before Britain leaves the EU’s orbit on Dec. 31, 11 months after it formally quit the bloc and entered a transition period keeping it in the bloc’s customs union and single market until the year ends.
But with a dizzying array of conflicting signals coming from the two sides, Britain has not yet managed to agree a deal that would ease the pain of its departure by keeping in place zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the single market.
British Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky News that “at the moment there isn’t sufficient progress” at the talks.
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said the gap on how much fish EU boats could catch in British waters was still wide, but that he believed there should be a deal given the economic shock that failure would trigger.
“On balance, I think given the progress that has been made that there should be a deal,” Martin told national broadcaster RTE. “A no-deal would be an appalling shock to the economic system on top of COVID-19.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are in close contact and were expected to hold another call on Wednesday.
British sources said talks remained “difficult” and underscored the differences. EU sources were more upbeat.
The British pound rose, as did midcap stocks. Investors expect swings in the currency as overnight volatility was holding above 25%.
Johnson, who is also grappling with a deepening COVID-19 outbreak and a border crisis at Europe‘s busiest truck port, has said he will not sign up to any deal that undermines British sovereignty.
Walking away from the talks might win applause from many Brexit supporters in Britain but could cause severe disruptions to goods trade which makes up half of annual EU-UK commerce, worth nearly a trillion dollars in all.
DEAL TIME?
Britain, which joined the EU’s precursor in 1973, has often had stormy relations with the countries in the Franco-German led project which sought to bind the ruined nations of post-World War Two Europe into a global power.
The scale of possible Brexit disruption has been laid bare by France closing its borders to Britain for 48 hours, citing a new coronavirus variant. This left thousands of European truckers stranded in southern England and disrupted food supplies.
The EU is making a “final push” to strike a trade deal though rifts over fishing rights remain, EU negotiator Michel Barnier said on Tuesday.
Ireland’s Martin said that if there was a breakthrough on Wednesday or Thursday, officials in Europe could be working on the text on Christmas Day.
“I’m still reasonably optimistic but there’s no news to report to you this morning,” Britain’s Jenrick said. “There’s still the same serious areas of disagreement whether that’s on fisheries or the level playing field.”
Level playing field is trade jargon for ensuring fair competition. EU leaders fear that after Brexit the United Kingdom could ease regulation to undercut others and gouge EU market share. Enforcement is an important issue.
Beside competition, the sides are haggling over how much EU fishermen can catch in Britain’s waters: essentially how many sole, sand eels and mackerel EU boats can fish per year, where and how to renew such agreements.
Barnier told EU envoys on Tuesday that Britain’s latest offer on sharing out the fish catch from British waters from 2021 was “totally unacceptable,” according to EU diplomats.
Electric delivery van in Slovakia. Image courtesy of Voltia.
All of the EU’s member states but two have failed to show how they will slash air pollution to comply with the emissions limits set out in the EU’s National Emission Ceilings Directive, a troubling new report finds. This puts in peril public health and Europe’s efforts to combat air pollution.
Released on 18 December 2020, the EEB report sheds light on progress by member states towards compliance with the National Emission Ceilings (NEC) Directive, which aims to halve the impact of air pollution on people health by 2030.
Under the directive, EU governments are obliged to develop national air pollution control programmes which outline how the member state will reduce emissions of five major pollutants by 2020 and 2030.
The first programme was due by 1 April 2019. However, only eight countries submitted it by the deadline (Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom), while some other governments submitted theirs more than a year later. Greece, Luxembourg and Romania have still not delivered their programme and Italy has only submitted a draft.
Moreover, our analysis shows that only two member states (Belgium and Slovakia) are on track to meet the targets for the decade between 2020 and 2029, while only Belgium is on course to satisfy its 2030 commitments.
“With our health and our environment at stake, it is a scandal that all but two member states have fallen so short of their commitments to reduce air pollution over this critical decade,” said the EEB’s Senior Policy Officer for Air and Noise Margherita Tolotto. “We call on the European Commission to start infringement procedures against all the member states which have failed to submit a credible Programme, and to ensure that all plans are fit for purpose.”
Tolotto also urged member states to get their houses in order:
“We ask national governments to tackle air pollution with the urgency it deserves, by putting in place the necessary national programmes and sticking to them. As many of them prepare their National Recovery and Resilience Plans, air quality must be a priority.”
Background
Despite improvements in air quality, air pollution remains the biggest environmental health risk in Europe, causing around 400,000 premature deaths per year in the European Union.
When adopting the NEC Directive, member states agreed to reduce their emissions of five pollutants by 2020 and 2030. EU legislation requires them to prepare a national air pollution control programme outlining how they will meet their emissions reduction targets in all sectors, including domestic heating and agriculture.
When preparing these programmes, national governments also have the obligation to consult with and inform the public.
Our report explores what went wrong and provides tools and recommendations to rectify the dire situation, including the steps to be taken and measures to be included to prepare a good national programme.
The EEB is Europe’s largest network of environmental citizens’ groups with 150 members in more than 30 countries. Together with DUH, FNE and the Lake Constance Foundation, the EEB has launched the “Clean Air Farming” project to help reduce ammonia and methane emissions from agriculture.
The Project Clean Air Farming (LIFE17 GIE/DE/610 Air & Agriculture) is co-financed by the LIFE-Programme of the European Commission.
Guest Contributor is many, many people. We publish a number of guest posts from experts in a large variety of fields. This is our contributor account for those special people. 😀
Bhutan will go on lockdown for seven days starting from Tuesday amid rising case of Covid-19 cases, announced Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering.
In a statement, Tshering announced that a nationwide lockdown will be enforced for seven days, starting December 23, adding that the lockdown will enable the government to control the spread of the disease and also discern the extent of transmission in the communities.
“In continuation to the inter-district movement restriction imposed this morning, the national COVID-19 Taskforce decided the need for a more stringent action after detection of sporadic cases in flu clinics in Thimphu and Paro, and also in Lhamoizingkha, which is evident of local transmission,” the statement read.
As per a bulletin by Ministry of Health of the Himalayan Kingdom on December 22, the total number of COVID-19 cases stood at 479 out of which 430 have recovered. Bhutan is yet to record a COVID-19 fatality.
While only designated shops within the zones and essential services will be available, all schools, institutions, offices and business establishments should remain closed.
Similarly, movement of individuals with the card within the zones and delivery of essentials will start in Thimphu tomorrow, as it completes the third day of lockdown. However, zone relaxation will not apply to houses under isolation, the statement noted.
Recently, Bhutan’s ambassador to India Vetsop Namgyel stated that India’s vaccines will be the ‘easiest to administer and transport’ as the country is ‘known to produce in bulk quantities’.
Hailing India, the Bhutan Ambassador said, “Vaccines in India are the ones which will be easiest to administer and transport. Most countries will benefit from it. India is known to produce in bulk quantities, once approved it can be rolled out quickly.”
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has said that there are six COVID-19 vaccine candidates in different clinical trial stages being developed by various manufacturers in India. Besides this, three COVID-19 vaccine candidates are in the pre-clinical stage of which one of the Coronavirus vaccine candidates is in the pre-development stage being researched by Aurobindo Pharma, the official said.
The U.S. has included Azerbaijan to the list of countries with the full religious freedom, the State Committee for Work with Religious Structures has reported.
This was stated in the statement published by the U.S. States Commission on International Religious Freedom in connection with the situation of religious freedom in the world.
According to the State Department, the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 divided countries into two categories of “special concern” and “special observation”.
The USCIRF statement reads that in the report for 2020, the “special observation” list mentioned the recommendation to include Azerbaijan there.
However, this year Azerbaijan was not included in any of the abovementioned categories.
USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) that monitors the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad.
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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad
New York, NY (Top40 Charts) British indie-pop band Pale Waves have released a deeply personal video for their latest single “She’s My Religion,” which features frontwoman Heather Baron-Gracie and her life partner Kelsi Luck in a series of candid, vulnerable vignettes showing that even the most mundane moments can be transformative when paired with the right person. It was directed by award winning filmmaker and photographer Jess Kohl.The raw and honest second track from their forthcoming full-length Who Am I? – out February 12, 2021, via Dirty Hit – is a non-typical love letter that sees Heather embracing her sexuality to represent a real, queer relationship without hiding behind the clichés of oversexualization or playful experimentation.
“I wanted to give my fans a song to find themselves in,” Heather says of the intimate new video. “I wish I had a song like this when I was a young girl trying to find herself in the world.”
“She’s My Religion” follows lead single “Change,” a catchy, retro-guitar track made up of stories of heartbreak from Heather’s friends, reflecting the different moods and emotions that we all go through. and PRESS HERE to watch the video and PRESS HERE to listen to the song, which was first played as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record In The World on BBC Radio 1, and was recently added the track to Billboard’s Best Tracks of 2020 year-end list.
Who Am I? – the follow-up to the band’s 2018 debut album My Mind Makes Noises which amassed over 70 million streams worldwide, opens up a bold new chapter for Pale Waves. Heather’s songwriting holds the last few years of her life up to the light, reflecting on her own mental health and growing pains – depression, distraction, and feelings of darkness – but also her experience of falling in love and becoming more open about her sexuality, emerging with a newfound clarity and optimism.
Who Am I? acts as the Pale Waves manifesto, inspiring inclusivity, self-discovery, and the notion of being whoever the hell you want to be. On the making of the album, Heather says “for me, music and art is for people not to feel so alone and isolated. I want to be that person my fans look up to and find comfort in.”
Who Am I? was recorded primarily in Los Angeles alongside producer Rich Costey (Muse, Foo Fighters, Sigur Rós), before the Coronavirus lockdown forced the making of the album to go virtual, with Heather remaining in LA and the rest of the band returning home to record their parts in their bedrooms, sending them back to LA to be added into the record.
Pale Waves – comprised of front woman Heather Baron-Gracie (she/her); drummer Ciara Doran (they/them); guitarist Huge Silvani (he/him) and bassist Charlie Wood (he/him) – made an immediate splash when the debuted on the music scene a few year ago, hitting the Top 10 on UK Album Chart, winning the NME Under The Radar award, making the BBC Sound of 2018 shortlist, touring with fellow Dirty Hit label mates and mentors The 1975 as well as Muse and The Cure, and appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers. They have performed at Reading, Leeds, Lollapalooza, SXSW, and Outside Lands Festival and have received praise from NPR, AV Club, The Fader, Stereogum, Nylon, Billboard, Ladygunn, and more.
Meanwhile, in the United States, President Donald Trump rejected a massive Covid economic relief package passed by Congress, branding it “a disgrace” as millions of Americans are suffering fallout from the pandemic.
There was however positive news in Australia, where Sydney eased lockdown restrictions for Christmas after the country’s largest city reported a second day of new cases in the single digits.
The new coronavirus variant has swept the UK and spurred global panic just as vaccines are being rolled out.
But the European Commission on Tuesday urged EU nations to lift travel bans imposed on Britain in recent days.
The new strain of the virus, which has also been detected in small numbers elsewhere, appears to spread more easily than other types but experts say there is no evidence it is more lethal or resistant to vaccines.
The discovery unleashed panic that led to more than two dozen countries suspending UK flights, threatening travel chaos during the holiday season.
The European Union instead urged virus tests be carried out on passengers within 72 hours before travel.
“Flight and train bans should be discontinued given the need to ensure essential travel and avoid supply chain disruptions,” the EU said.
France was reopening cross-border travel with Britain Wednesday but a negative Covid-19 test will be required.
The ban on arrivals in France has led to long tailbacks of freight lorries in southern England and has disrupted passenger travel in the run-up to Christmas.
The Netherlands also said it was lifting its ban beginning Wednesday but noted that all passengers, including EU citizens, must have a recent negative test to enter.
The World Health Organization in Europe said its experts would meet on Wednesday to discuss how to handle the outbreak, saying “limiting travel to contain spread is prudent until we have better info”.
WHO’s Europe director Hans Kluge wrote on Twitter that the organisation would “discuss strategies for testing, reducing transmission & communicating risks”.
The death toll from the virus surpassed 1.7 million on Tuesday, roughly a year after it emerged in China.
Germany on Tuesday extended its ban on arrivals from the UK — as well as South Africa, where a similar variant has been found — until January 6.
Health Minister Jens Spahn said that “as long as it is possible”, Germany aims to prevent “potentially dangerous virus mutations from spreading in continental Europe”.
The European Union is preparing its rollout of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Sunday, following similar vaccination campaigns in the UK and the US.
Mexico said it would start its Covid vaccinations on Thursday.
The co-founder of BioNTech said on Tuesday it was “highly likely” that its vaccine would work against the mutated strain detected in Britain.
And if not, the vaccine could be adapted in six weeks, said Ugur Sahin, adding that tests are already being run on the variant.
In the US, the world’s worst-affected country, top infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci received his Covid-19 vaccine as officials continued to seek to build confidence among the public.
But Trump’s rejection of the $900 billion Covid relief package passed overwhelmingly by Congress led to concern, though lawmakers can override his veto if he goes through with it.
Britain has become increasingly isolated, and one of the biggest concerns was France’s ban on freight traffic as part of a 48-hour blockade on the movement of people across the English Channel.
Late Tuesday, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced Britain and France had settled on a protocol that “will see the French border reopen to those travelling for urgent reasons, provided they have a certified negative COVID test.”
French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebarri also confirmed that air travel, boats and Eurostar trains would “resume service as of tomorrow morning”.
Despite the breakthrough in talks, congestion around the key southern port of Dover remains unlikely to recede in the short term.
The major British transit hub said it would reopen from midnight local time (2300 GMT) for travellers with a negative result.
While Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted that supply chains were “strong and robust”, experts warned that Britain may face shortages of certain fresh foods over Christmas if crossings to France were not reopened Wednesday.
Meanwhile, two cardinals close to Pope Francis have contracted Covid-19, according to sources in the Vatican, where efforts were underway to trace their recent contacts.
The 84-year-old pope, known for his love of getting close to the faithful, has been reluctant to wear a mask despite the pandemic that has hit Italy hard.
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Written by Asad Rehman
| Lucknow |
Updated: December 23, 2020 11:53:49 am
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</span><span class="custom-caption"> <span class="ie-custom-caption">Prime Minister Narendra Modi at AMU's centenary celebrations (Twitter/BJP)</span></span>Underlining that “a lot of time was wasted last century in the name of differences”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a gathering of Aligarh Muslim University Tuesday that “the country is progressing on a path where none can be left behind because of religion, where all get equal opportunity to move ahead, and fulfil their dreams”.
Describing the AMU campus, its history of education as a “priceless heritage” of the country and praising its alumni across the world as “representatives of India’s culture”, the Prime Minister, addressing the centenary celebrations of the university via a video link, said: “There are ideological differences in a society, it is natural. But when it comes to attainment of national goals, then these differences should be kept aside.”
“When you young friends decide to move ahead with this thinking, then there’s no goal that we cannot achieve together. Be it education, economic progress, better living, opportunities, women’s rights, security, nationalism, these are every citizen’s requirements. These are some issues on which we cannot disagree because of our political, ideological compulsions,” he said.
“We must understand that politics is an integral part of society, but there are issues other than politics in society. A country’s society is much larger, far more pervasive than the thinking of politics and power. Even beyond politics, there is enough space to take the society forward. It is very important to keep exploring this space. A campus like AMU can do this work, all of you can.”
He said the development of a country or society should not be viewed through the prism of politics. “When we come together for a larger objective, it is possible that some elements get troubled. Such elements can be found in every society of the world. These are people with vested interests. To suit their own interest, they will employ every ploy, and spread negativity. But if building India is uppermost in our hearts and mind,then the space for such people will shrink on its own,” he said, adding that “politics can wait, not society, not the development of the country, not the poor”.
“A hundred years ago, in 1920, the youth of the country got a chance to dedicate themselves to the country, struggle and make sacrifices. That generation’s sacrifices gave India independence in 1947. Today’s generation has many opportunities to reach the goal Atmanirbhar Bharat, New India. That was 1920, this is 2020. The next 27 years are very important for you. In 2047, when India completes 100 years of independence, you will witness the historic moment, and you will also be part of the making of modern India. You must think of the country’s welfare,” Modi said.
“Today, the entire world is looking at India… There is curiosity about this being India’s century. We must have a single goal to make the country Atmanirbhar. It should not matter which family one was born in, in which religion one was raised…,” he said.
“AMU has given several freedom fighters and I would like to say that they came from different backgrounds, but worked together for the independence of the country. What was done for the freedom of this country, you have to do the same for the country. We have to work for a common ground. New India must be self-reliant, and the benefits will reach everyone equally. The youth can do it.”
In December 2019, AMU was one of the centres of protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and clashes on the campus had left over 70 people injured. Police arrested 26 people, including AMU students. Following the incident, university authorities announced an extended winter break.
In his address, the Prime Minister also spoke on the dropout ratio among Muslim girls which he said had declined from 70 per cent to 30 per cent. “I met an AMU alumnus recently who is also an Islamic scholar. He told me something very interesting which I would like to share with you. Under the Swachh Bharat mission, when more than 10 crore toilets were built, everyone benefited. Toilets were built without discrimination. But there is one aspect of Swachh Bharat which has not been discussed much. There was a time when the dropout rate of Muslim daughters was more than 70 per cent. It was a big hurdle in the development of the Muslim community.”
“For 70 years, the situation was that 70 per cent of Muslim daughters could not complete their education. Under these circumstances, Swachh Bharat mission started. Toilets for girl students was built on mission mode by the government. Now, the dropout ratio of Muslim women is just 30 per cent — from 70 per cent. Lakhs of Muslim daughters had to quit studies earlier due to lack of toilets. The government is doing everything to ensure that fewer Muslim women drop out. At AMU, there is a bridge course for dropout students. I have been told that at AMU, the percentage of women students has increased to 35 per cent,” he said.
“The government has special focus on the education and empowerment of Muslim daughters. In the last six years, the government has granted scholarships to one crore Muslim daughters,” he said.
While speaking on the importance of educating women, Modi said, “Even today, AMU can say with pride that the founder chancellor was Begum Sultan one hundred years ago. Given the circumstances 100 years ago, it was a big thing. The attempt to build a modern Muslim society had begun. With the end of the triple talaq malpractice, it has been moved forward. It used to be said earlier that if a woman is educated, then the whole family is educated. This is correct, but this has meaning beyond the education of family. Women should be educated, so they can use their rights correctly. So, she can decide her future. Education brings employment and entrepreneurship, which brings economic independence, which gives way to an empowered woman, who is equal to all others, whether it is about giving direction to the family or the country,” he said.
The Prime Minister also released a postage stamp dedicated to AMU on the occasion. AMU Chancellor Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, Vice- Chancellor Tariq Mansoor and Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank also took part in the virtual event.
