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Gender equality takes one step forward, three back during COVID

Gender equality takes one step forward, three back during COVID

GOVERNMENTS, companies and investors must do more to reverse the blow dealt to gender equality by the COVID-19 pandemic and try to cement some silver linings of the crisis for women, experts told a panel at the Reuters Next conference on Thursday. "It is one step forward and three steps back," said Carlien Scheele, director of the European Institute for Gender Equality, noting that women had taken on the bulk of the extra caregiving responsibilities during lockdowns. Women have been hit harder than men by job losses around the world due to the pandemic and their employment levels are likely…
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U.N. seeks record $41 bln for aid to hotspots led by Afghanistan, Ethiopia

U.N. seeks record $41 bln for aid to hotspots led by Afghanistan, Ethiopia

STEPHANIE NEBEHAY THE United Nations appealed on Thursday for a record $41 billion to provide life-saving assistance next year to 183 million people worldwide caught up in conflict and poverty, led by a tripling of its programme in Afghanistan. Famine remains a "terrifying prospect" for 45 million people living in 43 countries, as extreme weather caused by climate change shrinks food supplies, the U.N. said in the annual appeal, which reflected a 17% rise in annual funding needs. "The drivers of needs are ones which are familiar to all of us. Tragically, it includes protracted conflicts, political instability, failing economies…
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COVID-19 took toll on AIDS fight, UNAIDS chief says

COVID-19 took toll on AIDS fight, UNAIDS chief says

JULIE STEENHUYSEN NEW infections and deaths from HIV/AIDS may increase as the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted prevention measures, said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima in an interview airing on Wednesday at the Reuters Next conference. Byanyima, who is also United Nations under-secretary-general, said that during the first pandemic phase in particular, fewer people opted to be tested and some dropped out of treatment because of long lines at clinics or other public safety measures that impeded access to prevention measures. "We do expect that in the coming years, we might see more deaths, we might see more new infections as…
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No cruise ship cheer for Cape Town tourism amid Omicron alarm

No cruise ship cheer for Cape Town tourism amid Omicron alarm

WENDELL ROELF THE docking of the Europa passenger liner in Cape Town on Tuesday was meant to be a ribbon-cutting celebration marking the official start of the cruise ship season in South Africa's top tourist hub, the first since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. But international travel curbs on southern Africa, where the new Omicron coronavirus variant was first identified, have blown expectations of a bumper tourist season out of the water. The multi-storey, white luxury liner is the first to dock at Cape Town since South Africa imposed a total ban on all cruise ships entering local ports in March…
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British army to start driving tankers, fuel queues persist

British army to start driving tankers, fuel queues persist

GUY FAULCONBRIDGE and MICHAEL HOLDEN BRITAIN has ordered soldiers to start driving fuel tankers to replenish empty pumps, as motorists remained mired in queues after nearly a week of shortages, despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying the situation was improving. Britain has been gripped by a rush of panic buying that has left pumps dry across major cities, after oil companies warned they did not have enough tanker drivers to move petrol and diesel from refineries to filling stations. Opponents blame the crisis on government incompetence and its unyielding approach to Brexit, which has blocked hauliers from hiring drivers from…
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Bond stars ‘excited’ ahead of movie cinema release

Bond stars ‘excited’ ahead of movie cinema release

SARAH MILLS and MARIE-LOUISE GUMUCHIAN AFTER an 18-month delay, the James Bond film "No Time To Die" finally begins its cinema rollout this week - a relief for its stars and movie theatre operators. Daniel Craig returns for a final fifth outing as the suave British secret agent, known for his love of fast cars and cool gadgets. The movie was originally scheduled to debut in April 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced cinemas to close and impose restrictions on audience numbers. "This past 18 months has been a pretty terrible time for everybody," Craig told Reuters. "The great thing…
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Panic buying leaves up to 90% of fuel pumps dry in major British cities

Panic buying leaves up to 90% of fuel pumps dry in major British cities

GUY FAULCONBRIDGE and ALISTAIR SMOUT UP to 90% of British fuel stations ran dry across major English cities on Monday after panic buying deepened a supply chain crisis triggered by a shortage of truckers that retailers are warning could batter the world's fifth-largest economy. A dire post-Brexit shortage of lorry drivers emerging after the COVID-19 pandemic has sown chaos through British supply chains in everything from food to fuel, raising the spectre of disruptions and price rises in the run-up to Christmas. Just days after Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government spent millions of pounds to avert a food shortage due…
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COVID-19 pandemic cut life expectancy by most since World War Two –study

COVID-19 pandemic cut life expectancy by most since World War Two –study

VICTOR JACK THE COVID-19 pandemic reduced life expectancy in 2020 by the largest amount since World War Two, according to a study published by Oxford University, with the life expectancy of American men dropping by more than two years. Life expectancy fell by more than six months compared with 2019 in 22 of the 29 countries analysed in the study, which spanned Europe, the United States and Chile. There were reductions in life expectancy in 27 of the 29 countries overall. The university said most life expectancy reductions across different countries could be linked to official COVID-19 deaths. There have…
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Children are losing caregivers to COVID-19: they need support

Children are losing caregivers to COVID-19: they need support

CHILDREN have a very low risk of death or severe disease from COVID-19. As a result, they have not been a core focus in the pandemic response priorities of prevention, detection, and response. But this approach doesn’t take into account the secondary impacts of the pandemic. These include children being orphaned or bereft of their caregivers. LORRAINE SHERR, Professor of Clinical and Health Psychology, UCL LUCIE CLUVER, Honorary Professor in Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town Children are among the most vulnerable members of any society and are thus disproportionately affected by the devastation of this pandemic. If…
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UAE central bank sees COVID-19 increasing money-laundering risks

UAE central bank sees COVID-19 increasing money-laundering risks

THE United Arab Emirates central bank sees increased risks of illicit financial flows emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, including money-laundering and terrorism financing, it said in a report. The use of unlicensed money service providers for money laundering has increased during the coronavirus crisis last year, the report said, as well as the use of e-commerce to launder money. "Widespread lockdowns have resulted in a significant surge in e-commerce. Due to limited ability to move funds and goods during the pandemic, illicit actors are turning to e-commerce as a money-laundering tool", it said. The number of so-called "money mules" -…
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