-The Financial Express The 12th Ministerial Conference must deliver a permanent solution on public stockholding for ensuring food security of millions reeling under Covid-induced poverty The work for the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC 12) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) —to be held in Geneva, from November 30 to December 3—that had been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic has gained momentum since the joining of the new director general of the WTO,...

-The Hindu Over the last few decades, intellectual property rules have served as a lethal barrier to the right to access healthcare Even an unprecedented pandemic can do little, it appears, to upset the existing global regime governing monopoly rights over the production and distribution of life-saving drugs. If anything, since the onset of COVID-19, we’ve only seen a reaffirmation of intellectual property rules that have served as a lethal barrier to...

Forest fires are not just confined to countries like the United States of America (California, 2020), Brazil (Amazon forest, 2019-2020) or Australia (2019-20); they happen every year across many states in India too. Media reports suggest that forest fires have taken place in the recent months in Odisha's Simlipal National Park, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, among other states. Forest fires have also been reported this year in Nagaland-Manipur border (Dzukou...

-TheThirdPole.net Even if global warming is contained at 1.5 degrees Celsius, deadly heatwaves are likely to become more common in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. On the cusp of spring, residents of Karachi, Pakistan’s largest metropolis, braced themselves for the year’s first heatwave. Mercury levels rose to 44 degrees Celsius on April 3 – the highest temperature recorded in April since 1947 – foreshadowing a brutal summer ahead. As dry heat settled across the...

Although services provided by the gig and platform workers touch the lives of each one of us, we have little knowledge about the role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work. Such digital labour platforms have created unprecedented opportunities for workers, businesses and society. However, they also pose serious threats to decent work and fair competition. A recent report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) shows that the...