In The News

Covid-19 and Green Recovery? Euronews

Darren McCaffrey May 27, 2020
Economic shutdowns due to Covid-19 demonstrate a quieter world with cleaner air, wiht carbon emissions reduced by more than 8 percent between January and April from the same period in 2019. “This is massively significant: 8 per cent is roughly half of what America emits in an entire year and would be the biggest drop since the Second World War,” writes Darren McCaffrey for Euronews. For the world...

Children and Covid-19: Wired

Gregory Barber May 26, 2020
With Covid-19’s emergence in 2019, researchers quickly noticed that the disease was especially lethal for older people and suggested that while children could carry the virus their symptoms were mild. Then reports emerged in Europe and the United States of children entering hospitals with fever, rashes, low blood pressure and disruptions to the immune system – a few weeks after having contracted...

Future of Global Power: Project Syndicate

Joschka Fischer May 26, 2020
The world wars of the 20th century weakened the British Empire and strengthened the United States; the Cold War weakened the Soviet Union while again strengthening the United States. Yet Covid-19 could upend US power as the world assesses pandemic responses. The Trump administration, managing the pandemic response ahead of the November election, blames China for Covid-19. US voters, polarized...

Islamic Finance Confronts Pandemic: Global Finance

Chloe Domat May 24, 2020
The Islamic finance industry, operating in about 80 nations, has a large market share in microfinance, small enterprises and retail lending. The Covid-19 pandemic will hit the industry hard with governments closing stores and ordering social-distancing, along with many borrowers seeking forbearance, restructuring or new loans. Governments hurried to assist corporations, with less support for low-...

World Health Assembly Excludes Taiwan: Taipei Times

Lee I-chia May 19, 2020
Taiwan demonstrated skill in tackling and controlling the spread of Covid-19 among its population of 23 million. Even so, the World Health Assembly, hesitant to antagonize China, excluded Taiwan from its virtual meeting. Taiwan sent a letter of protest to the World Health Organization Secretariat. “While the focus of this year’s WHA should be on the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan’s performance in...

Covid-19 “Overreaction” a Success in Vietnam: BBC

Anna Jones May 15, 2020
After taking aggressive measures against Covid-19 in early January, Vietnam reported no new cases in more than a month. “Vietnam saw a small window to act early on and used it fully,” reports Anna Jones for BBC News. “But though cost-effective, its intrusive and labour intensive approach has its drawbacks and experts say it may be too late for most other countries to learn from its success.” The...

Democracy Will Survive Pandemic: Atlantic

Tom McTague May 14, 2020
With the Covid-19 pandemic democratic and authoritarian governments alike shut down economies and cracked down on public activities. To protect public health, large majorities in democracies acquiesce on surveillance and other controls that were once unthinkable. “Immunity certificates, mass testing, government surveillance, and a volunteer army of contract-tracing officials are no longer the...