Search - covid 19

The escalating impact of the climate crisis on global food security and agriculture is multifaceted.Climate change leads to more frequent and intense weather events such as droughts, floods, hurricanes, and heatwaves. These events devastate crops, disrupt supply chains, and damage infrastructure essential for agriculture.Rising temperatures, altered rainfall patterns, and shifting climate zones affect the suitability of land for agriculture. Some areas may become too dry or too wet for traditional crops, leading to decreased yields or crop failures.The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has stressed the urgent need for transformative measures in agrifood systems to combat the escalating impact of the climate crisis on food security and agriculture.This call to action comes in response to the alarming findings of the latest UN State of the Global Climate Report, led by the World Meteorological Organisation, which highlights the continuous breaking of climate change indicator records, such as surface temperatures and greenhouse gas levels, in 2023.The report also underscores how extreme weather events, including heatwaves, floods, droughts, wildfires, and intensifying tropical cyclones, are increasingly disrupting food security and agriculture, with significant socioeconomic repercussions.The report, which includes contributions from FAO’s Climate Risks team, highlights the escalating concerns regarding food security, population displacement, and vulnerabilities exacerbated by extreme weather events.It points to a stark increase in acute food insecurity, with the number of affected people more than doubling since before Covid-19.The publication identifies various underlying factors contributing to food insecurity, including prolonged conflicts, economic downturns, high food prices, and climate-related impacts, with regional examples illustrating these challenges.In southern Africa, severe flooding triggered by Cyclone Freddy caused extensive damage to agricultural land, hindering economic recovery.Similarly, prolonged flooding in South Sudan has exacerbated food insecurity and strained access to basic necessities for millions.In Indonesia, drought led to significant crop failures and reduced rice production, highlighting the global economic losses attributed to climate-related disasters, particularly drought.The UN report underscores the vulnerability of the agricultural sector to climate-related risks, with drought posing a significant threat and causing a substantial portion of global damage and loss. These findings underscore the urgent need for comprehensive, co-ordinated efforts to address climate change impacts, mitigate risks, and build resilience within vulnerable communities worldwide.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association has indicated that there is a 62% chance of La Niña occurring by June–August 2024.The recharge-discharge oscillator theory, wherein heat accumulated during El Niño is dispersed to return the ocean to normal conditions, potentially leading to the onset of La Niña, explains this development.La Niña has the potential for a global impact on climate patterns, including the Atlantic hurricane season and North American winter. Regions such as the southern US, Horn of Africa, and southeast South America face the possibility of consecutive years of poor crop yields due to multiple La Niñas that could lead to multiyear droughts and depletion of water reservoirs used for agriculture.Collaboration at local, national, and international levels is essential to mitigate the impacts of climate change on global food security and agriculture.

The International Monetary Fund's executive board on Friday selected Bulgarian economist Kristalina Georgieva to serve as managing director for a second five-year term, starting on Oct. 1 this year, the global lender said."The Board commended Ms. Georgieva's strong and agile leadership during her term, navigating a series of major global shocks," it said in a statement. Georgieva had been the only candidate for the job.European Union finance ministers last month endorsed Georgieva for a second term at the helm of the lender of last resort, virtually assuring her approval. Traditionally, European countries recommend the managing director of the IMF and the United States recommends the head of the World Bank.Georgieva said she was grateful to the board and honored to be selected for a second term, and said she looked forward to continuing to working with the IMF's "exceptional" staff."In recent years, the IMF has helped our member countries to navigate successive shocks, including the pandemic, war and conflicts, and a cost-of-living crisis," she said. "We also stepped up our work on climate change, fragility and conflict, and the digital transition, in line with their increased significance for macroeconomic and financial stability, growth and employment."Georgieva is the second woman to head the IMF and the first person from an emerging market economy. She is the IMF's 12th managing director since its founding in 1944.A self-described "eternal optimist", Georgieva has led the lender through huge shocks to the global economy, from the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic just months after she took office to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022.She drew criticism inside and outside the IMF early on for her push to include climate change as a factor in surveillance reports on member countries' economies and her focus on emerging market and developing economies.She has been instrumental in securing large loans for Ukraine, overseen a revamp of Argentina's massive loan program and worked steadily to help China embrace sovereign debt restructurings.She also survived a personal challenge in 2021 when the IMF's executive board expressed its full confidence in her after reviewing allegations that she pressured staff to alter data to favour China while working at the World Bank.

The 2025 Australian Grand Prix will be the Formula One season-opener for the first time in six years instead of Bahrain after the sport’s governing body (FIA) released next year’s calendar on Friday.The 24-race season will commence on March 16 in Melbourne and end on December 7 in Abu Dhabi as Formula One celebrates the 75th anniversary of its world championship.The Bahrain Grand Prix has been the opening race of the season since 2021 while the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has been the second race on the calendar since 2022.Formula One did not race at Melbourne’s Albert Park Circuit in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic but will now host the opening race instead of the Middle Eastern kingdom due to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan falling in March next year.The first European race will take place in Imola in May as part of a triple header which also includes Monaco and Spain in back-to-back weekends.“We’re grateful to the FIA, our promoters, host city partners, and all the related ASNs for their commitment and support in delivering this schedule and securing what promises to be another fantastic year for Formula 1,” Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, said in a statement. “I would also like to pay tribute to our F1 teams and drivers, the heroes of our sport, and our fans around the world for continuing to follow Formula 1 with such incredible enthusiasm.”The testing schedule and the sprint calendar are set to be announced at a later date.The current season has sprints at six Grands Prix - China, Miami, Austria, United States (Austin), Brazil and Qatar.THE CALENDARMarch 14-16: Australian GP - MelbourneMarch 21-23: Chinese GP - ShanghaiApril 4-6: Japanese GP - SuzukaApril 11-13: Bahrain Grand Prix - SakhirApril 18-20: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix - JeddahMay 2-4: Miami Grand Prix - FloridaMay 16-18: Emilia Romagna - ImolaMay 23-25: Monaco Grand Prix - MonacoMay 30-June 1: Spanish Grand Prix - BarcelonaJune 13-15: Canadian Grand Prix - MontrealJune 27-29: Austrian GP - SpielbergJuly 4-6: Britigh GP - SilverstoneJuly 25-27: Belgian GP - SpaAugust 1-3: Hungarian GP - BudapestAugust 29-31: Dutch GP - ZandvoortSeptember 5-7: Italian GP - MonzaSeptember 19-21: Azerbaijan GP- BakuOctober 3-5: Singapore GP - SingaporeOctober 17-19: US GP- AustinOctober 24-26: Mexican GP - Mexico CityNovember 7-9: Brazil GP - Sao PauloNovember 20-22: Las Vegas GP - Las VegasNovember 28-30: Qatar GP - LusailDecember 5-7: Abu Dhabi GP- Yas Marina

Ethiopia may have to decide on a big currency devaluation sooner rather than later to secure a rescue loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which left the country last week without reaching a much-needed deal with authorities.East Africa’s most populous country, already struggling with high inflation, became the third African state in as many years to default on its debt in December.Ethiopia hasn’t received any IMF funds since 2020 and its last lending arrangement with the fund went off track in 2021. The federal government and a rebellious regional authority signed a deal in late 2022 to end a two-year civil war.The IMF, which said progress was made during its latest visit, has not said that currency reform is necessary for its support. But the Fund usually favours flexible, market-determined exchange rates. Ethiopia has requested $3.5bn of support from the IMF, sources said last year.Chronic foreign currency shortages and a tightly controlled exchange rate has allowed a black market to flourish, on which the birr currently trades at between 117 and 120 per dollar, more than double the official rate of around 56.7.“It seems that the Ethiopian authorities have found accepting the demands of the IMF hard,” said Abdulmenan Mohamed, an Ethiopian economic analyst based in Britain.“The Ethiopian authorities are worried about devaluation of the birr, (which) would have serious negative economic repercussions, including soaring inflation...and surging foreign currency denominated debts in terms of birr.”In early 2021, Ethiopia requested a debt restructuring under the G20’s Common Framework, a process established in response to the Covid-19 pandemic to bring in newer creditor countries like China and India. But progress was initially delayed by the civil war.The country’s external debt was $28.2bn at the end of March, based on government data.In August 2023, it secured a debt payments suspension from its largest bilateral creditor China, which from 2006-2022 committed to lending the country $14bn, according to Boston University’s Chinese Loans to Africa Database.The rest of Ethiopia’s bilateral creditors followed suit in December, but said they could cancel the relief if Ethiopia did not get an IMF deal by March 31. When the deadline lapsed, it was extended to June 30.There are widely varying estimates of the size of currency devaluation the IMF would accept, that could pave the way for a deal.Irmgard Erasmus of research firm Oxford Economics said that she expects a weakening of 15% to coincide with an IMF staff-level deal on a bailout loan, a prerequisite for its external debt restructuring moving forwards.“We retain the view that the IMF will require a good faith measure that solidifies Ethiopia’s intent to implement a more flexible FX (foreign exchange) regime,” she said in a note to clients. “(This) will set the scene for a series of stepwise devaluations on the path to FX liberalisation and monetary policy reform.”More than one currency adjustment is likely, the first between 30-50%, said Connor Vasey, a consultant at J S Held, pointing to Egypt, which devalued its pound 38% and secured a larger IMF loan in March.The Ethiopians probably prefer a more gradual devaluation but have a weak negotiating position, Vasey said, after a previous IMF loan programme expired in 2021, amid the conflict and concerns about the country’s ability to pay its debts.“Ethiopia is coming into the meeting room with the IMF that is playing hardball and saying, ‘You don’t really have a foot to stand on, in terms of negotiating down our position,’” he said.Nonetheless, Vasey said he expected Ethiopia to secure an IMF deal soon.“There’s an international push to get this all lined up. It’s just a question of sequencing of the reforms,” he said.An IMF spokesperson pointed to comments made earlier this month by spokesperson Julie Kozack, who responded to direct questions on why Ethiopia did not secure a loan during the visit and whether it is likely to get one at the Fund’s Spring Meetings next week in Washington DC.“The team made substantial progress,” she said. “These discussions are continuing and will continue at the upcoming Spring Meetings.”Ethiopian government officials did not respond to requests for comment. Authorities are committed to FX reform, state finance minister Eyob Tekalign said in October 2022.“The exchange rate unification remains one important policy goal,” he said at that time. “But we are just doing it gradually.”

When the storm surges and high tides engulf the tiny, overpopulated Panamanian island of Gardi Sugdub, Marcia Hernández watches helplessly as her hut along the shoreline fills with seawater.“Flooding is getting worse, the winds are getting stronger,” said Hernández, who was born on the island, one of about 350 in the Guna Yala or San Blas archipelago off Panama’s Caribbean coast and home to the Indigenous Guna people.“I can’t do anything but wait until the water goes away,” Hernández told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, standing on a mud floor she has shored up with stones against the ankle-high seawater.Rising ocean levels caused by global warming and decades of coral reef destruction have combined with seasonal rains and more severe storms to submerge the island for days on end.Among the 80,000 Indigenous Guna who live in Panama, about half live on the mainland of their autonomous Guna Yala region and on dozens of surrounding ancestral islands that sit barely above sea level.Faced with rising seawaters and overcrowding, the Guna on Gardi Sugdub island, who have been living there for nearly 200 years, have decided to leave and resettle later this year on forest land they own on the mainland.When they do relocate, they would be the first Indigenous people in Panama to leave their island homes, according to the Guna, as part of a project funded by the Panamanian government.The majority of the San Blas archipelago islands will have to be abandoned by the end of the century, said Steve Paton, head of the Physical Monitoring Programme at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.“The islands are only about half to one meter above sea level and they are just not going to resist another 70-80cm,” said Paton.“It’s not that the islands are suddenly going to be underwater...it’s a disaster playing out in slow motion.”On Gardi Sugdub island, which is roughly the size of five football fields, ramshackle huts made from wood, plastic and bricks are crammed along a labyrinth of narrow alleys with no running water, sewage and rubbish collection systems and patchy electricity.Guna leaders — or ‘sailas’ — of the 1,300 inhabitants living on Gardi Sugdub spearheaded the idea to leave in 2010.More than one decade later, about 300 families are expected to begin moving this year to an area on the mainland where houses built by the government have been assigned to families.“The sea has changed, it’s not the same. We know that nature will dominate. The marine ecosystems are crying, temperatures are rising,” said Eustacio Valdés, a 58-year-old Guna community leader.“And there’s no space left here, so these issues have all converged and that’s why we decided to leave. We are originally mountain people, we were always supposed to return to the mainland one day,” he said, as he rocked in a hammock.Rising sea levels threaten about a tenth of the world’s population, in particular people living in low-lying coastal areas and small island nations in the Caribbean, Maldives and Asia-Pacific, according to climate scientists.In Latin America and the Caribbean, sea levels in the region continue to rise at a faster rate than globally, at an average rate of 3.52mm per year from 1993-2021, according to a 2022 report by the World Meteorological Organisation.“Glaciers are melting and that water is going into the ocean. It’s just a very simple equation,” said Paton.The prospect of leaving the island is met by residents with a mixture of indifference, enthusiasm and foreboding.Local shopkeeper Tomas Arias, 38, who sells fizzy drinks and tinned food, said flooding has got worse over the last decade as seawater brought in from the high tide now covers a bigger area of the island and spreads further inland.“I don’t know when but the island will probably disappear eventually,” said Arias.He has yet to visit the new relocation site but knows his family has been assigned house number 22.“I’m glad to be leaving as I’ll have more space and electricity all day,” he said.Several huts down passing the island’s school and thatched roof community hall, university student and mother Katlein Montalla, who travels back and forth from the island and Panama City to study, is also looking forward to leaving.“Our leaders have told us we need to go. We’re used to the flooding but it has got worse so it’s a good idea we’re moving because it’s better to be prepared as the island will probably be eaten by the sea in about 50 years’ time,” said Montalla.Her mother, like dozens of elders, prefers to stay put on the island.“My mother thinks leaving is failing our ancestors,” Montalla said.The Guna have their own land to move to but their relocation has been fraught with bureaucratic delays, poor planning and coordination, according to community leaders.Financed and led by Panama’s housing ministry and backed by $945mn in technical assistance from The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the construction of two-bedroom concrete houses began in 2019 and has suffered repeated setbacks, said Guna community leader Blas López.Gardi Sugdub islanders were first set to relocate to the mainland in 2014, and more recently in February this year.Set amid humid tropical forest, the new site known as La Barriada remains an unused and incomplete village of neat rows of 300 small houses that have stood languishing for years.The Guna people cannot move into their new homes as the settlement lacks running water and plumbing, while a nearby school remains locked because of similar problems.“We got organized and cleared the jungle with our own hands so the houses could be built,” said López, standing beside empty homes.“But three different governments have come and gone and they used our project for political gain to show they’re helping Indigenous people and the environment.”Chico Solano, a Guna Indigenous community liaison officer at Panama’s housing ministry, said the resettlement project shows that the government has always “been interested” in supporting Indigenous groups.“The Guna people felt the need to resettle...the government consulted with the community,” said Solano, adding construction of the site is 98% complete, with the first families expected to move in May.Setbacks stemmed from a nearly two-year stop in building projects due to the Covid-19 pandemic and delays in government payments to construction companies, he said.While a tank to store drinking water is now ready, wastewater and rubbish collection are still pending issues, Solano added.It will be up to whoever comes to power after a presidential election in May to get the new site finished and functioning.“By moving, we can improve our living conditions and quality of life but we can’t move because basic things like the water treatment plant aren’t ready,” said López, the community leader.Back at Gardi Sugdub island, a sign at a community hall wall says: “People who lose their tradition lose their soul.”Relocating to the new concrete site, which apart from a thatched roof community hall, preserves little of Guna traditions, makes it harder to conserve a millennia culture, said school teacher Evelio López.“Western culture has a big influence on the Guna. Education is the key to maintaining our culture among our youth,” said López, Blas López’s brother.“Everyone is talking about climate change, and we’re preparing our community for the future with a strong culture we need to survive,” said López. — Thomson Reuters Foundation

The Paris Saint-Germain of Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona clash in the first leg of their blockbuster Champions League quarter-final tie today, in the latest instalment of the growing rivalry between the two clubs.It is the fifth time the sides have been drawn against each other in the knockout stage of Europe’s elite club competition in the last 12 seasons, with those past meetings including an unforgettable encounter in 2017. PSG won 4-0 at home in the first leg only to lose 6-1 in the return in a stunning implosion against a Barcelona side coached by Luis Enrique.He is now in charge of PSG, having joined the Qatar-owned club ahead of this season with the responsibility of delivering elusive European success. “It is a totally different game for me,” Luis Enrique said on Tuesday, referring to the special nature of a fixture against the club with whom he starred as a player before going on to lead to Champions League glory in 2015.“But I also played against Sporting (Gijon, where he began his career) and scored goals for Barcelona. At the end of the day I am a professional. Of course I like Barcelona but I am pleased to be here at PSG and I must think about my job and my team. I think I’m capable of bringing trophies to this club.”PSG have never won the Champions League and had gone out in the last 16 in five of the last seven years before beating Real Sociedad to reach the last eight this time. The consequences of that 2017 meeting between the teams were huge. A humiliated PSG exacted revenge by signing Neymar from Barcelona a few months later by paying a world-record fee of 222 million euros ($264m at the time) to activate the Brazilian’s release clause.Barcelona panicked and blew all of that money, and more, in trying to rebuild their team. Among the players they signed was Ousmane Dembele, who cost an initial 105 million euros from Borussia Dortmund. Fast forward to last year and Dembele was sold to PSG for just 50 million euros, leaving behind a cash-strapped Barca who have faded somewhat as a continental force in recent seasons. Their financial problems forced them to let Lionel Messi leave in 2021, with the Argentine teaming up with Neymar in a two-year spell in Paris.It was only a few weeks after Neymar’s arrival that PSG also signed Mbappe, who has gone on to become the club’s all-time top scorer and will leave at the end of this season when his contract expires, almost certainly for Real Madrid. Mbappe scored a brilliant hat-trick in the first leg in Barcelona when PSG beat the Catalans 5-2 on aggregate in the last 16 in 2021, in the most recent clash between the clubs.He has 39 goals this season and appears extra motivated by the desire to win the Champions League with his boyhood club before he leaves. PSG failed to convince in the group stage, only just scraping through to the last 16.However, they are unbeaten in 27 games in all competitions going back to early November and are dreaming of winning a Champions League, Ligue 1 and French Cup treble.Barcelona, meanwhile, have not lost in 11 matches since coach Xavi Hernandez, who played both alongside and under Luis Enrique at the club, revealed his intention to walk away at the end of this season.The five-time European champions are appearing in the quarter-finals for the first time since 2020, when they were trounced 8-2 by Bayern Munich in a game played behind closed doors in Lisbon, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We are in our best form but we are playing against a team built to win the Champions League and we are coming up against one of the best coaches in Luis Enrique,” Xavi told reporters.Barcelona are hoping midfielders Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, who have both been struggling with injuries, will be able to play in the game, while PSG are without influential right-back Achraf Hakimi due to suspension. “All those who have travelled will be able to play, as long as there are no surprises,” Xavi said of his squad.The second leg will be played in Barcelona next Tuesday, April 16, with the winners advancing to a semi-final against either Atletico Madrid or Borussia Dortmund.

World champion Max Verstappen has questioned the wisdom of throwing Formula One drivers into a sprint weekend on their return to Shanghai International Circuit for the first time since 2019 later this month.Verstappen restored normal service with a dominant pole to flag victory at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, leading teammate Sergio Perez home for yet another Red Bull 1-2.Next up in two weeks is the return to China, where Formula One has been absent for five years as the country dealt with the threat of the Covid pandemic. The Chinese Grand Prix will include the first of six sprint rounds this season, offering points for the drivers in Saturday’s standalone 100km race, but only one free practice session to get used to the track.“I think it’s not great, let’s say it like that, to do that,” Verstappen told reporters after Sunday’s race at Suzuka. “Because when you have been away from a track for quite a while, I think you never know what you’re going to experience, right? So it would have been better to have a normal race weekend there. Purely from a driving perspective, performance perspective of the sport, I think it’s not the smartest thing to do. But yeah, we’ll see what we get there.”With Verstappen and Red Bull showing again on Sunday that they are all but untouchable when the car is reliable, the Dutchman did concede that a Shanghai sprint lottery might make things more interesting for fans.“It probably spices things up a bit more, and that’s maybe what they would like to see,” he added.“I always loved driving there. So yeah, hopefully we can hit the ground running as well as we can, and hopefully we don’t need to fine-tune too many things on the car.”Carlos Sainz showed with third place in Suzuka after a win in Australia two weeks ago that Ferrari are firmly established at the front of the chasing pack behind Red Bull. The Spaniard was also cautious about the sprint element and said the matter had been raised in the drivers’ briefing and with the governing FIA as well as Formula One.“With these kind of cars to go to a track with one hour of practice and straight into qualifying, with the regulations that they put on us ... and how tricky one bump could make the car, I think it’s not a good choice to put the sprint after four or five years absence,” he said.“Maybe for you guys at home it’s exciting, but for engineers and drivers, it’s something that for me, in my opinion, we shouldn’t take the risk and have a normal weekend.”Sainz and Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur both suggested that any resurfacing work at the Hermann Tilke-designed circuit outside Shanghai would add another unknown into the equation.“But it will be the same for everybody,” Vasseur said. “It will be a matter of reactivity and being able to have a good setup from the beginning.”

Italian firm Mondo will supply this summer’s Paris Olympics with a custom purple track which could be the fastest yet for athletes hunting the biggest prizes in sport.Based in the sleepy Piedmont town of Alba which is immersed in vineyards where the grapes for the world-famous Barolo wine ripen in the sun, Mondo first made the track for the 1976 Montreal Olympics.For Paris – its 13th Olympics – it has devised the Mondotrack EB that will host 46 of 48 athletics events of the Games at the Stade de France.The biggest stars in athletics such as reigning women’s world 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson will strive for Olympic glory on its surface.Mondo claim the track delivers better performance than the one used at the Covid-delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where three world records were broken, including the men’s and women’s 400m hurdles marks set by Karsten Warholm and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone respectively.“We have changed the design of the cells on the lower layer of the track compared to the one used in Tokyo,” Maurizio Stroppiana, vice-president of Mondo’s sports division and son of one of the two founders, told AFP.“That reduces the energy loss for athletes and sends it back up to them at the best possible point of their movement.”However research and development manager Andrea Marenghi yesterday confided that Mondo cannot and will not “do whatever we want” with the composition of the track.“There are very strict criteria set by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) because the most important thing is to safeguard the health of the athlete and not impair their technique,” says Marenghi.“Athletes are more high-performance than ever, and the track doesn’t give anything that they don’t already have.”The Paris track will be a striking purple rather than the traditional terracotta.Marenghi told AFP that the two new shades – one for the competition areas and another for the technical areas – will only be used for the Games in the French capital.“We wanted to have an original colour,” said former decathlete Alain Blondel, the head of athletics and para-athletics events at the Paris Olympics.“The two shades of purple allow for maximum contrast when TV pictures are being shot, highlighting the athletes.”Despite being purple the track, which in all measures 21,000 square metres, will also be more “green” than usual as it is made with more natural components than ever before.“Up to 50 percent of the components of the track are either renewable to recycled... we were at just over 30 percent for London 2012,” says Mondo’s sustainability and innovation chief Giorgio Lesage.

Orlando Owens, a rare Republican activist in a majority-Black district of Milwaukee, had hoped this election season would be different.With national polls showing waning enthusiasm for Democratic President Joe Biden, especially among Black voters who say they are frustrated with his performance on the economy and other issues, state Republican Party officials and activists saw an opening. Wisconsin holds its primary on Tuesday, where voters will weigh in on the presidential race, weeks after Biden and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump clinched their respective nominations.Wisconsin Republicans hosted a Black History Month event in February at the party’s community engagement centre in the historically Black Bronzeville neighbourhood. Owens, the Republican Party representative for the city’s six majority-Black wards, is planning a roundtable of Black business and church leaders this month and a door-knocking campaign aimed at undecided voters.But the voter engagement drive was thrown into confusion when the Republican National Committee last month announced it was axing plans for 40 community centres aimed at organising Black, Hispanic and Asian American voters — underlining the challenges the party faces in persuading Milwaukee’s Black voters that they are committed to the community, beyond November’s elections.“Our commitment has always been questioned — but regardless of a building, we are going to be here even if we have to work out of satellite offices or garages,” Owens said.The state party said it will keep the Bronzeville community engagement centre open. Reuters spoke to nearly 30 Black voters in majority-Black neighbourhoods of Milwaukee, about half of whom said they remained undecided about voting for Biden in November or voting at all. About 10 of the 15 residents who are unhappy with Biden also expressed scepticism about Republicans’ long-term commitment to the area and to issues of concern to Black voters.One-third of those 30 voters, mostly retirees, said they planned to vote Biden in for a second-term.Strong turnout from Black voters in Wisconsin and a handful of other states helped propel Biden to the White House in 2020 and those same states are also expected to help decide the 2024 elections.The Democrat won Wisconsin by fewer than 21,000 votes, but carried Milwaukee by roughly 146,000 votes with 53% of those votes cast in majority-Black wards, according to an analysis of election and census data by John Johnson, a public policy research fellow at Marquette Law School Lubar Center.“It’s fair to say that without Milwaukee, Biden would’ve lost Wisconsin,” Johnson said.A Pew Research Center poll showed Biden’s approval rating among non-Hispanic Black adults fell to 48% in January from a peak of 89% in April 2021.The Republican effort to win over Black voters started in 2020 with the opening of the Bronzeville community centre. It ramped up in 2022 when the RNC selected Milwaukee to host the party’s convention.Bronzeville is located 1 mile (1.6km) north of the Fiserv Forum where Republicans will convene in July to formally nominate Trump.In the early 20th century, the neighbourhood thrived as a centre for entertainment and commerce. But the construction of a freeway through the heart of the neighbourhood in the 1960s resulted in the demolition of over 8,000 homes and the displacement of businesses.“It seems pretty obvious on its face they are trying to go into the most Democratic part of Wisconsin to plant a flag,” said Jon Fleischman, a Republican strategist. “I think the party sees Donald Trump’s candidacy as an opportunity to create new constituency groups.”The Republican Party office, located on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, is decorated with a distinctive white starburst on a red and blue backdrop of the Juneteenth flag, commemorating the emancipation of the last enslaved people at the end of the civil war.Inside, a collage features Black Republican congressional members, portraits of civil rights leaders — and an image of Trump, a polarising figure who has employed racist rhetoric.The outreach centre sat mostly idle during the Covid-19 pandemic.Brian Schimming, the state party chairman, acknowledged that consistent engagement will be crucial to winning over Black voters.“What’s happened to Republicans in past years is that you spend money where your most loyal voters are — cities and places you don’t pay much attention to, you start doing worse,” Schimming said. “I’m all about being there and listening to people. If we don’t do that, frankly we shouldn’t win.”A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Trump’s team, now in control of the RNC, did not like the community centres and believed the money would be better used on hiring people in the community to engage with voters.Wisconsin Republicans plan to hire neighbourhood canvassers this spring to step up its door-to-door campaign efforts, purchase radio ads aimed at Black audiences and eventually staff the office in Bronzeville full-time, Schimming said.Party officials said their voter outreach efforts will highlight resident concerns including inflation, rise in robberies and carjackings and the Biden administration’s handling of migration at the US-Mexico border.Café owner Shana Gray, who voted for Trump in 2020 and is planning to do so again, said inflation has been hard on local Black-owned businesses. “I used to get like 40 to 50 customers an hour. Now I’m lucky if I get that many a day,” she said.While party leaders have expressed their long-term commitment to the community, some residents remain sceptical about their motives.When Gloria Harper, a 46-year-old teacher and author, first spotted the signage for the office in 2020 she said she contacted her local city councillor to complain that it was a “bad idea”.“It’s strategic for them to put that in the Black community because you want to garner more Black votes — but realistically, ‘what have you done for the Black community?’ Not much.”A poll conducted by left-leaning political action committee BlackPAC, in partnership with Democratic polling firm, Brilliant Corners, found Black support for Trump among likely voters in seven swing states, including Wisconsin, slipped to 8% in February 2024 from 9% in November last year.Robert Brox, a small business owner in Milwaukee voted for Biden in 2020 but said he is likely to sit out this election. He said his business has struggled to access government-backed loans through the Small Business Administration.“It’s all about who’s coming up with the tangibles for Black and brown businesses. If you’re not, you’re not getting voted for,” he said.Democratic strategists acknowledge that Biden needs to shore up his support among Black voters if he is going to hold on to Wisconsin in November.The Milwaukee Election Commission’s voting data shows a 19% decline in turnout from majority Black districts in presidential elections since 2012.The Biden campaign has started airing radio ads in Wisconsin and other battleground states touting a record low in the Black unemployment rate and an increase in Black-owned small businesses.“He’s not going to lose the African-American vote in Wisconsin but losing even a few votes can make a difference between winning and losing a state, and potentially losing the White House,” said Mark Mellman, a Democratic strategist.Democrats are confident that updated legislative maps will blunt the impact of Republican courtship of Black voters. The maps were signed into law in February after the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned Republican-drawn maps designed to limit representation from Democratic areas.Ben Wikler, chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said that fair districting could boost voter turnout.“Republicans have had a hammerlock on the state’s legislature so we haven’t been able to pass laws. There’s an understandable cynicism of voting and voting, and not seeing change.” he said.Meanwhile, Biden retains support among some Black voters, such as 70 year-old retiree Michael Shands who believes that job growth for Black Americans has flourished during his time in office.“He’s done more than any other president. I need him to be here four more years so he can finish the job.” — Reuters

The Centre for Indian Community (CIC), in collaboration with various NGOs, distributed more than 40,000 Iftar food kits to those in need across Qatar, a statement said. "This remarkable effort has been made possible through the support and involvement of over 50 groups, individuals, and business establishments," it was explained. Each day, iftar meals are provided to over 40 locations throughout Qatar, benefiting a wide range of individuals, from single recipients to groups of up to 800. Under the leadership of Siddique Vengara, head of CIC's Rayyan Zonal social service wing, a team of 50 volunteers embarks on their mission daily, commencing their volunteer service at 3pm and continuing until iftar time. The distribution of iftar meals specifically targets needy individuals in desert areas such as Umm Jeriyan, Karana, Umm Guran, Abu Naqla, Sheehaniya, and the Industrial Area. This service, initiated eight years ago, has continued unabated even during the challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic. Apart from Siddique, the efforts of volunteers such as Thahir T K, Mohammed Haneefa, Fahad E K, Mohammed Rafeeq T A, Sakkeer Hussain T A, Sherin Ahmed, Noushad Olakara, Abdul Razak, Hashim Aziz, Rafeeq P C, Sharafudheen, Hamza T K, Sabir T, Haris Gafoor, Shareef, Sarthj, Sajir, Akber, Basheer, Shihabudheen, and Saifudeer are leading various volunteer groups across different locations each day. Abdul Jaleel M M, secretary of CIC's Rayyan Zone, emphasised that the iftar kit distribution prioritises areas where government and Qatar charity tents are not present. He extended his gratitude to all organisations, individuals, and business groups who have contributed to this impactful project, underscoring the collective effort towards serving the community during Ramadan.

Qatar is participating in the celebration of World Health Day, observed on April 7 annually, and the theme this year is ‘My Health, My Right’.Qatar is considered a pioneer in guaranteeing the right to health as the constitution of Qatar has affirmed that the country is concerned with public health and provides means of prevention and treatment of diseases and epidemics by the law.Qatar has established a strong world-class health system that revolves around the importance of universal health coverage for all members of society.HE Dr Hanan Mohammed al-Kuwari, Minister of Public Health, stressed that Qatar has worked to provide high-quality healthcare services to ensure that members of society receive the care they need at the right place and time as emphasised by Qatar's National Vision and health strategies.She added: "Thanks to the wise directives of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the health system has witnessed great and important developments to meet the health needs of the population, especially in light of the high rates of population growth, while adhering to the best quality standards in healthcare, including the significant expansion of health facilities, and the efficient workforce."“The significant progress in the health system and cooperation with all sectors of the country have also contributed to an efficient response to the world's most prominent health challenge, the Covid-19 pandemic, as Qatar recorded one of the lowest death rates from the pandemic in the world. The development of the health system and its advanced health services have also contributed to the success of many major sporting events and tournaments, most notably the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023," noted the minister."Based on the health in all policies approach adopted by the Ministry of Public Health as part of the Second National Health Strategy, joint work has been done between all sectors of the state and society to promote health and equity for all residents, and one of the achievements of adopting this approach is that Qatar has become the first in the world that all its municipalities receive the title of Healthy City from the World Health Organisation. The Healthy City programme supports the health and well-being of the population," she pointed.The minister said that Qatar is also keen to enhance international cooperation and provide health support to middle- and low-income countries. “One of the important initiatives in this regard is that Qatar will treat 1,500 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in several specific hospitals, as part of the state's efforts to relieve the Palestinian brothers in light of the Israeli aggression they are subjected to," she added.On World Health Day, WHO makes it clear that the right to health cannot be realised unless health services are available, acceptable, and affordable.

On a recent trip to China with my Northwestern Kellogg students, we were all struck by how few Americans had returned to the country since the end of its zero-Covid policy in December 2022.In Shanghai, our tour guide had hosted only one other US school group, and she expected to have only one more this year – a marked decline from the 30-plus she booked each year prior to the pandemic. In Guilin, where the iconic mountains, a Unesco World Heritage site, had previously been among the most visited places on Earth, we were allegedly the first American group to visit since the beginning of 2020. Only two more are expected this year. One hopes these are low estimates and that more have and will come. But there is no denying that the number of Americans travelling to China, which plummeted during the pandemic, has been slow to recover.This sharp decline comes at a time when US-China relations have reached their lowest point since president Richard Nixon visited Chairman Mao Zedong in 1972. The public discourse in both countries has become almost exclusively about zero-sum competition, if not outright hostility. While US politicians and commentators from across the political spectrum portray China as the economic and geopolitical threat, Chinese media insist that American democracy is false and that the US is unfairly containing China’s growth and development.With most of the news coverage in both countries focused on macroeconomic and geopolitical issues, little attention is paid to the lives and perspectives of ordinary people. Opportunities to generate empathy are scarce, and the results are increasingly apparent. In US opinion polls, only 15% of respondents viewed China favourably in 2023, down from 53% in 2018, and from 72% in 1989.Some concerns are well-founded. In 2018, Americans and Canadians were shaken by China’s three-year-long detention of two Canadian NGO workers in retaliation for the relatively mild house arrest of Meng Wanzhou, a Huawei executive who had been charged with helping her company evade sanctions on Iran. Then came China’s pandemic lockdowns, which prompted most Americans to leave the country.While completely understandable, the mass exodus of Americans and other expatriates has further curtailed the flow of information and in-person exchanges between the two countries’ business and NGO sectors. Add the fact that Western journalists’ activities are extremely restricted in China, and it is easy to see why the country feels so foreign and opaque to many outsiders. The exciting economic opportunities and fun travel stories of just a few years ago have given way to angst and uncertainty.But has China changed fundamentally since 2019? Do Chinese people no longer believe in the potential of markets? Do they hate Americans?My class saw as much of the country as possible in the space of just two weeks. We visited three cities and saw many Chinese and American companies – some thriving, others fighting for survival. Students also dashed around cities and suburbs on their own to conduct independent projects.On our last day, when I asked them what stood out the most, perspectives varied. Some were impressed by China’s transportation infrastructure and cleanliness, and by the sophistication of its economy. Others remarked on the apparent poverty amid the glamour and glitz of Shanghai and Hong Kong, and many noted the constant presence of government surveillance. But all had been pleasantly surprised by their in-person encounters and meetings with Chinese people from all walks of life – from people on the street to heirs of billion-dollar family businesses. They found the Chinese people to be warm and even humble.Students who had been wary or suspicious were heartened by the experience. One had previously helped draft anti-China legislation when she worked in government, and another had experienced an intense US-China standoff in the South China Sea. A US Department of State travel advisory had left many students worried, but they wanted to know more about the country beyond what they had read in the headlines.The joy and sense of relief were mutual. Chinese children and their parents giggled when one of my students picked up a toddler and tossed him in the air. Women selling bowls of noodles for six renminbi (less than a dollar) made sure that students who could not read Chinese received the same discounts offered to Chinese customers. Everywhere we went, people told me that my students were a breath of fresh air – just as fun and open as they remembered Americans to be. They laughed with them, took pictures, and delighted in showcasing their work to them. They had missed these Americans. After years of isolation and negative press, they had grown worried that Americans had changed.Of course, not all Chinese and Americans would get along, and the trip did not suddenly transform my students into China super-fans. But it did help them appreciate the complexity of the world’s second-most-populous country. They saw first-hand that the Chinese people – almost entirely absent from US news coverage – are not the same as the Chinese government or what US news headlines might suggest.The US and China must work through many differences, which will not happen overnight. In the meantime, it is crucial that we preserve in-person interactions. Chinese and Americans must not lose sight of their common humanity. The greater the tension between their governments, the more important this becomes. – Project SyndicateNancy Qian, Professor of Economics at Northwestern University, is Co-Director of Northwestern University’s Global Poverty Research Lab and Founding Director of China Econ Lab.