Timeframe: 11th-18th February 2021
Contributors:
Oishee Eerada Maudud, Sabyasachi Karamker, Shanjida Hossain, Purbasha Prithvi and Farhan Uddin Ahmed.
1. Economics & Business
The coronavirus pandemic has incited a boom in the number of startups in the US.
In spite of Silicon Valley success stories, the rate at which Americans commence companies had been steadily declining. But in a recent study by the Peterson Institute For International Economics (PIIE), researchers at the Peterson Institute for International Economics found that Americans started 4.4 million businesses last year, a 24 percent increase from the year before. It is by far the biggest increase on record.
Source: The New York Times
2. Politics
Facebook Australia: PM Scott Morrison ‘will not be intimidated’ by the tech giant
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said his government will not be intimidated by Facebook blocking news feeds to users. He described the move to “unfriend Australia” as arrogant and disappointing. Facebook is responding to a proposed law which would make tech giants pay for news content on their platforms.
Source: BBC
3. Significant Corona Update
World’s first human challenge trials of COVID-19 will start in the UK
Healthy, young volunteers will be infected with coronavirus to test vaccines and treatments in the world’s first Covid-19 “human challenge” study, which will take place in the UK. The study, which has received ethics approval, will start in the next few weeks and recruit 90 people aged 18-30.
Source: BBC
4. Science & Technology
Parler is back online and ‘open to Americans of all viewpoints’
Social media app Parler is back online, no thanks to mainstream tech services. The Trump-friendly platform, which went dark last month after the US Capitol riot, relaunched Monday with a new platform built on “sustainable, independent technology,” Reuters reported. Amazon, Google, and Apple in January dropped access to Parler (not to be confused with “social talking app” Parlor), citing its alleged use to help coordinate the D.C. insurrection. The social network partially returned less than two weeks later, this time powered by Russian-owned DDos-Guard. The website, which claims to host more than 20 million users, is initially available only to existing followers, and will open to “Americans of all viewpoints” next week. It appears to be operating via CloudRoute/SkySilk, and, according to computer programmer @donk_enby (who cataloged Parler posts from the day of the Capitol riot), replaced Amazon Web Services with open-source software platform Ceph.
Source: PC Magazine
5. RMG/ Agriculture
UK garment factory workers at higher risk of dying with Covid – study
Sewing machinists and others with jobs in garment factories have among the highest rate of coronavirus deaths among working women in the UK, according to an analysis by the Office for National Statistics. Twenty-one Covid-19 deaths among women aged between 20 and 64 in the “assemblers and routine operatives” category were registered between 9 March and 28 December 2020, giving the group a death rate of 39 per 100,000 women.
Source: RMG BD
6. Social & Education
New Zealand to roll out free period products to all students
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Thursday that all schools would make free menstrual products available to students for the next three years, adding New Zealand to the global effort to reduce “period poverty” — a lack of access to pads or tampons that could negatively affect education, health or employment.
Source: The New York Times
7. Environment
Texas power grid struggles as it copes with the extreme cold
Winter Storm Uri chilled large areas of the western, central, and southern US over the weekend. The National Weather Service on Monday reported that 150 million Americans were under various winter storm warnings, with heavy snow and ice still likely to sweep from the southern Plains, to the Ohio Valley, to the Northeast. Thousands of utility customers in states like Louisiana and Mississippi suffered blackouts as ice knocked out power lines.Texans, however, may be shivering more than others, with some of the coldest temperatures in 30 years, and some of the biggest power grid problems. More than 4.2 million customers had lost power as of Tuesday morning, when temperatures dipped as low as 4 degrees Fahrenheit — lower than Anchorage, Alaska — in cities like Dallas.
Source: Vox.com
8. Law and Crime
Indonesia declare fines for refusing coronavirus vaccine
The Deputy Governor of Jakarta said that Indonesia is one of Asia’s biggest fighters against the coronavirus epidemic. As city authorities merely follow rules, sanctions would compel people to be conscious and take vaccines.
Source: Observer BD
Hungary get fined for failure in ruling on NGO law
The European Union has fined Hungary for failing to lift restrictions properly on the financing of International non-governmental organizations or NGOs.
Source: ABC News
9. Expert Opinion
Shift to circular economy is necessary for sustainable development in Bangladesh : Altaf Hossen
We need to adopt more technology to shift the modern business from the traditional to the circular economy and sustainable innovation to create more jobs by turning waste into revenue streams, saving revenue.
Source: The Daily Star
Mass awareness in rural area is a must for proper vaccination: The Daily Star
Main barriers in the way of vaccinating people are the lack of access to online registration and lack of awareness about the necessity of vaccines. Rural people need to be informed about these facts.
Source: The Daily Star
Disclaimer: The information provided here is obtained solely from the third parties mentioned above. Youth Policy Forum (YPF) is not responsible for any misinformation or misrepresentation.