Timeframe: 2nd July – 8th July 2021
Contributors:
Sabyasachi Karmaker, Musarrat Sarwar Chowdhury, Mansib Khan, and Farhan Uddin Ahmed.
1. Economics & Business
Jeff Bezos steps down as Amazon CEO as retailer starts new chapter
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos stepped down as CEO on Monday, handing over the reins as the company navigates the challenges of a world fighting to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic.
Andy Jassy, who ran Amazon’s cloud-computing business, replaced Bezos, a change the company announced in February. Bezos, Amazon’s biggest shareholder with a stake worth about $180 billion, will still hold sway over the company he started out of his Seattle garage in 1995. He takes over the role of executive chair, with plans to focus on new products and initiatives.
Source: Yahoo Finance
2. Politics
Police kill four after Haiti’s president assassinated
A deadly gun battle between police and the men suspected of assassinating Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse has been raging in Port-au-Prince. Police chief Léon Charles said four suspects had been killed and two detained but some remained at large and a manhunt was still underway. “They will be killed or captured,” the police chief said. Mr. Moïse, 53, was fatally shot and his wife was injured when attackers stormed their home early on Wednesday. Police chief Charles described dramatic scenes as officers confronted the alleged assassins.
Source: BBC
3. Significant Corona Update
Race to vaccinate threatened by rising cases of emerging Delta and Delta Plus variants of SARS-COV-2 amidst new research on its origins
While the CDC lifts mask restrictions in the US, the WHO cautions against covid preventative measures across the developing world. This week saw the emergence of Delta and Delta Plus variants overwhelming public health systems even in relatively isolated communities across Asia and Africa. The Tokyo Olympics will now only be televised, closed off in a state of emergency.
A recent research review points to a zoonotic origin of the virus but the scientific consensus and the public arena will require a longer time to settle the debate.
Source: The Miami Herald
4. Science & Technology
Google, Facebook, and other tech companies threaten to quit Hong Kong over privacy law
Tech giants including Google, Facebook, and Twitter could stop offering services to Hong Kong if the city moves forward with laws to impose penalties on users who publicly release identifying information about individuals or organizations, an Asian industry group has warned.
Source: The Guardian
5. RMG/ Agriculture
World food prices fall in June for the first time in a year – FAO
World food prices fell in June for the first time in 12 months, pushed lower by declines in vegetable oils, cereals, and dairy products, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday. The Rome-based FAO also said in a statement that worldwide cereal harvests would come in at nearly 2.817 billion tonnes in 2021, slightly down on its previous estimate, but still on course to hit an annual record. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat, and sugar, averaged 124.6 points last month versus a revised 127.8 in May.
Source: Reuters
6. Social and Education
Asian Universities on the rise as from a quarter in 2016 to a third in Times Higher Education rankings
Asian institutes, led by Tsinghua University (China) which cracked the top 20, continue to rise in the Times Higher Education Global Education rankings, skewed by over-representation of Chinese, South Korean, Japanese, and Singaporean universities – reflecting a global talent pool across East Asia in contrast to the traditional US, UK and EU institutes. However, universities across South Asia including the now 100-year-old University of Dhaka lag behind in investment into research as well as introducing innovative and market-realist courses.
Source: World Economic Forum
7. Environment
Leaky Gas Pipeline Sparks an Inferno in the Gulf of Mexico
An underwater gas leak caused a whirling vortex of fire to spew out of the ocean surface west of Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula on 3rd July. The fire began in an underwater pipeline connected to a platform owned by the state oil company Pemex. The fire took more than five hours to put out and no injuries were reported.
Source: CNET
8. Expert Opinion
How the BBC let climate deniers walk all over it- George Monbiot
The fossil-fuel multinationals fund ‘thinktanks’ and ‘research institutes’. But it’s gullible public service broadcasters that give them credibility- says author George Monbiot
Source: The Guardian
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.