Australian airline Qantas announced Tuesday it was slashing its international capacity by 90 percent and domestic flights by 60 percent in a further coronavirus blow to the beleaguered travel industry.
Read More
https://techxplore.com/news/2020-03-australian-carrier-qantas-slashes-international.html
Views: 0
In a coordinated effort to combat the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have agreed to work closely to ensure the latest and most reliable information and tailored guidance reaches the global business community.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health and societal emergency that requires effective immediate action by governments, individuals and businesses. All businesses have a key role to play in minimising the likelihood of transmission and impact on society. Early, bold and effective action will reduce short- term risks to employees and long-term costs to businesses and the economy.
To aid this collective effort, ICC will regularly send updated advice to its network of over 45 million businesses so that businesses everywhere can take informed and effective action to protect their workers, customers and local communities and contribute to the production and distribution of essential supplies.
ICC will also contribute to enhancing information flows on the coronavirus outbreak by surveying its global private sector network to map the global business response. This will both encourage businesses to adopt appropriate precautionary approaches and generate new data and insights to support national and international government efforts.
As an immediate priority, businesses should be developing or updating, readying or implementing business continuity plans. Business continuity plans should aim to reduce transmission, including by: promoting understanding of the disease, its symptoms and appropriate behavior among employees; setting up a reporting system for any cases and contacts; preparing essentials; limiting travel and physical connectivity; and planning for measures such as teleworking when necessary.
Calls to Action
As the pandemic evolves, ICC Secretary General John W.H Denton AO and WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will continue to coordinate their efforts.
Essential information on the COVID-19 pandemic can be found on the WHO’s dedicated site.
.tmb-1200v.jpg?Culture=en&sfvrsn=84087804_6 "ICC-WHO Joint Statement: An unprecedented private sector call to action to tackle COVID-19 3")
Read More
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/16-03-2020-icc-who-joint-statement-an-unprecedented-private-sector-call-to-action-to-tackle-covid-19
Views: 0
A new study examines energy inequality for income classes across 86 countries, from highly industrialised to developing ones, revealing extreme disparity in energy footprints, both within nations and globally.
Read More
https://techxplore.com/news/2020-03-international-energy-inequality.html
Views: 0
When you invest some of your money in international stock and bond ETFs, you get access to a universe of investment choices and help spread out your risk.
Read More
https://investornews.vanguard/get-global-diversification-with-international-etfs/
Views: 0
Vanguard International Core Stock Fund offers an actively managed opportunity to give your portfolio broad international stock exposure with the chance to earn market-beating returns.
Read More
https://investornews.vanguard/navigate-international-investing-waters-with-our-new-fund/
Views: 0
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s health ministry on Sunday urged its citizens to defer all non-essential travel abroad in an unprecedented move for the Asian transport hub, as part of new measures to control the coronavirus that is fast spreading around the world.
Singapore will also tell all entering the country with recent travel history to the Asean group of nations, Japan, Switzerland or the United Kingdom to quarantine themselves at their place of residence for 14 days, the ministry added.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Countries, such as the UK and Switzerland have “abandoned” any attempt at containing the spread of the infection, said Lawrence Wong, a minister who co-heads Singapore’s virus fighting taskforce.
“That’s why we are more concerned that Singapore may well be exposed to a new wave of infections, which is potentially larger than what we have seen previously.”
The majority of new infections being reported in Singapore, an island nation with a population of 5.7 million, over the past few days have been people returning from overseas rather than local transmissions.
At least five cases of Singaporeans have been linked to a large religious gathering in Malaysia that was attended by more than 10,000 people from several countries.
Short-term visitors who are nationals of its Southeast Asian neighbours will also have to seek prior approval from the health ministry before their journey to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed.
The restriction comes after a number of cases that entered Singapore with the specific purpose of seeking healthcare, the health ministry said. There have been two cases of Indonesians who had coronavirus symptoms at home before arriving in Singapore, known for its superior healthcare facilities.
The measures will be reviewed after a month. They will not apply to sea and land crossings with Malaysia, which will have separate precautions. Wong said 300,000 people a day move across the land checkpoints with Malaysia.
The Asian travel hub has previously announced bans on visitors from several coronavirus-hit countries, including China, Italy and France.
Singapore has won international praise for its painstaking onslaught on the virus since it initially emerged with one of the highest tallies of infections outside China. But other nations have since outpaced it.
Singapore has reported 212 infections, but no fatalities. Globally, more than 150,000 people have been infected while over 5,800 have died, a Reuters tally shows. — Reuters
Read More
https://www.thesundaily.my/world/singaporeans-should-avoid-overseas-travel-government-says-XI2129044
Views: 0
JOHOR BARU: The Ministry of Health (MOH) will station 1,000 housemen at government hospitals nationwide to help smoothen the day-to-day operations following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba (pix) said all the trainee doctors would undergo a five-day induction training starting from Monday including handling of Covid-19 elements.
Their immediate stationing at the hospitals is to relieve the burden of existing doctors who are focusing their attention on Covid-19 cases.
“They (trainees) have to undergo an induction course and we (MOH) will provide them with skills pertaining to Covid-19 elements before they enter the MOH system,“ he told reporters after hearing a briefing on the Covid-19 situation at Permai Hospital, here, today.
Also present were Johor Health and Environment Committee Chairman R. Vidyananthan and Johor Health Director Dr Aman Rabu.
On the tabligh members who attended a gathering at the Sri Petaling Jamek Mosque, Kuala Lumpur, from Feb 27 to March 1, he said 508 participants from the state who attended the programme had volunteered to have health checks on Covid-19.
“Ninety-four patients were treated at the Permai Hospital with 21 of them positive for Covid-19.
“There are 73 others who are Persons Under Investigation (PUI) for Covid-19 including 13 who are tabligh members who had attended the gathering,“ he said, calling on those who had attended the gathering to volunteer for health examination.
At the same time, the Tenggara Member of Parliament called on the public to respect the government’s decision that all gatherings including international meetings, sports, social and religious events be postponed or canceled accordingly until April 30.
“Concerning the limit of a mass gathering, we have heard the Prime Minister’s (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin) message that there should be no gathering in the current situation, I urge the people not to hold a public gathering of more than 50 people at any one time,“ he said, advising the public to practice good hygiene. especially washing their hands.
At the same time, he said MOH also urged private hospitals to limit visiting hours as done in government hospitals to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection.
“We have called for the co-operation of private hospitals to be more stringent in this regard and, the latest, we have reached an understanding with private hospital in dealing with Covid-19,“ he said. — Bernama
Read More
https://www.thesundaily.my/local/covid-19-1000-housemen-to-assist-government-hospitals-XC2127473
Views: 0
It is almost five years now since the Nutrition Decade was declared. It is time to reflect back on its achievements so far. FAO and WHO are convening an open and inclusive dialogue with stakeholders for the mid-term review of the Nutrition Decade. 
This review follows the ECOSOC Resolution 1989/84 regarding international decades, which provides that an appropriate inter-governmental body should appraise the implementation of a decade’s programme of work at the mid-point and at the end of the decade.
The objectives of the Mid-term Review of the Nutrition Decade are to assess and evaluate the achievements in individual policy areas of the ICN2 Framework for Action, as reflected in the actions areas of the Work Programme of the Decade, over the time period from 2016 to 2020. The Mid-term Review aims to identify focus areas for priority action and promising opportunities in each of the six action areas for future progress from 2021 to 2025. This assessment will guide the revision of the ‘living part’ of the Work Programme of the Nutrition Decade as appropriate.
The process will include a series of consultations and dialogues with member states, civil society organizations, private sector, UN partner agencies and others, as well as an open online consultation. Finally, a global event is envisioned to be organized to underscore the achievements of the first half of the Nutrition Decade and set the stage for the priorities during the second half. More information is provided in the concept note.
The joint FAO/WHO Nutrition Decade Secretariat has developed the Mid-term Review Foresight paper, which will serve as the background paper for the consultation process. Reflecting on the broader development in nutrition globally, this paper develops a vision on actions to be taken in the different areas of the Work Programme of the Nutrition Decade, considering specific advances and opportunities in individual policy areas.
Background documents for the consultation process of the Mid-term Review of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016-2025 can be downloaded here. We will add the other 5 languages when they are available, and meanwhile, publish some in English only.
Read More
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/12-03-2020-mid-term-review-of-the-un-decade-of-action-on-nutrition
Views: 0
Latin America’s biggest airline Latam said Thursday it was canceling 30 percent of its international flights for a two-month period due to falling demand over the coronavirus scare.
Read More
Views: 0