Timeframe: 27th August – 2nd September 2021
Contributors:
Mansib Khan, Musarrat Sarwar Chowdhury, Sabyasachi Karmaker, and Farhan Uddin Ahmed.
1. Economics & Business
Nike closes offices for a week to give employees a mental health break
Global apparel and shoe company Nike is prioritizing the mental health of some of its employees ahead of productivity. It has closed its corporate offices for the week so employees can “enjoy additional time off to rest and recover,” according to a statement. Employees at the company, which has its headquarters near Beaverton, are ecstatic about the transfer.
Source: The Guardian
2. Politics
Taliban wrestle with Afghan economy in chaos, humanitarian crisis
Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers struggled to keep the country functioning on Wednesday after the final withdrawal of U.S. forces, with foreign donors alarmed about an impending humanitarian crisis. Two weeks since the Taliban’s sweep into Kabul brought a chaotic end to 20 years of warfare, the Islamist militants have yet to name a new government or reveal how they intend to rule.
Source: Reuters
3. Significant Corona Update
Long Covid to Stay: Public health systems worry about post-recovery after effects
The symptoms of the long covid suggest that public health systems worldwide have to imagine aftercare even after the vaccination drive reaches 80% in advanced economies. Kidney damage, a painless injury among patients recovering at home, seems to complicate the recovery according to a study. Another study has found a third of children aged 11 to 17 suffer from fatigue and shortness of breath, three months after diagnosis, and the British go-ahead to allow Moderna shots to teens seems to foreshadow this research. Both Pfizer and Moderna are seeking to provide booster shots to Americans and Israelis while Southeast Asia continues to lag behind in first-shot across its delta-plagued communities.
Source: Bloomberg
4. Science & Technology
New Apple Watch production reportedly facing delays because of complicated design
Apple reportedly has delayed production of new Apple Watch models because it is encountering challenges manufacturing them, Nikkei Asia reported Tuesday. People who spoke to Nikkei attributed the production delay to a new, complicated design, including a new blood-pressure sensor and water-resistance features. The Nikkei report gave no indication Apple might postpone its new Apple Watch launch, although it said that it might affect Apple’s plans after the new watches are unveiled.
Source: CNBC
5. RMG/ Agriculture
The manufacturing sector in China slows as export demand weakens
Factory activity in China slowed down in August as export demand weakened, according to a survey. The monthly purchasing managers’ index (PMI) of the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing declined to 50.1 in August from July’s 50.4 on a scale of 100 on which numbers above 50 show rising activity.
A sub-measure of new exports fell by a full point to 46.7 in August from the previous month. In a report on the latest manufacturing figures, researchers at the Chinese investment bank CICC said they expected “the slowdown in demand will continue,” a global newswire reported.
Source: Fibre-2-Fashion
6. Social and Education
How to Read Again? Indian children who dropped out have to be lured back into reopening schools
A survey reveals that two-thirds of children received no educational materials in Oct-20 in parts of India, revealing the growing digital divide between the children with laptops failing to grasp key lessons from ineffective Zoom classes while the poor have subsumed their children back to labor, setting back the attempt to close off the gender divide in primary education in particular.
Source: BBC
7. Environment
Hurricane Ida lashes Louisiana, knocks out New Orleans power
Hurricane Ida blasted ashore Sunday as the fifth-strongest hurricane to ever hit the mainland U.S., knocking out power to all of New Orleans, blowing roofs off buildings, and reversing the flow of the Mississippi River as it rushed from the Louisiana coast into one of the nation’s most significant industrial corridors. Ida, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, has already claimed the lives of five people, including drowning in Lafitte, Louisiana. More than 1 million residents of the Gulf Coast who survived Hurricane Ida’s destructive winds and a deluge of rain now face a new threat: extensive power outages that are anticipated to linger for weeks, accompanied by extreme heat.
Source: AP News
8. Expert Opinion
The number of young adults in Britain is about to rise sharply.
Between 2020 and 2030, the number of British 18-year-olds will increase by 25 percent. This surge will definitely create possibilities, writes the Economist. A country with a large share of young adults will benefit from a demographic dividend if it can create jobs for them, as South Korea managed to in the 1980s and 1990s. Alternatively, it can become violent and unstable.
Source: Economist
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.