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NEW YORK (ILO News) ‒ Economic and social progress in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) have been slowed by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and the continuing energy and food crises.

According to a report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), most LDCs responded rapidly to the pandemic by implementing a wide range of support packages, despite widening financial gaps and limited fiscal space.

However, structural weaknesses have rendered them more vulnerable to the current multiple shocks and will be further exacerbated if the LDCs do not fully participate in the global recovery.

The report, Present and future of work in the LDCs , presents an overview of the progress and the structural challenges faced by LDCs in terms of structural transformation, a just transition to greener economies and the creation of full and productive employment and decent work. It covers current trends in production, productivity, employment and decent work, as well as the role of social protection and institutions of work.

There are currently 46 countries on the list of LDCs, representing 12 per cent of the world’s population. They are characterized by low income levels and vulnerability to economic and environmental shocks, low human development, extreme poverty and high mortality rates.

According to the report, LDCs’ vulnerabilities are largely the result of weak productive capacities associated with lack of human capabilities, inadequate infrastructure and limited capacity to access and use technologies. They are also the result of weak institutions, including the institutions of work and social protection systems.

Informal employment is pervasive and represents almost 90 per cent of total employment in the LDCs. Moreover, there is strong polarization between enterprises of different capacities and productivity.

The report assesses how digital technologies can potentially deliver large benefits to LDCs – particularly those with large young populations – provided that significant investments are made in capital, skills and knowledge to support productive and inclusive decent work.

The report includes a number of policy recommendations for a human-centred recovery that is inclusive, sustainable and resilient. These include:

1. Expanding international assistance and cooperation, including Official Development Assistance (ODA), to strengthen healthcare and vaccines and to avoid unnecessary restrictions and barriers to trade and migration.
2. Strengthening institutions and employment policies for decent work creation and enhancing policy coherence on climate action towards greener economies.
3. Strengthening institutions of work and building capacities to enable rights, such as freedom of association, collective bargaining and other fundamental principles and rights at work, with the active engagement of social partners.

This policy focus would create a virtuous circle that improves trust in government, facilitates a progressive shift to high value-added and environmentally sustainable activities, helps reduce poverty and inequality, and contributes to social justice, the report says.

“Multiple shocks have put Least Developed Countries under enormous pressure,” said ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder. “However, with the right employment and macroeconomic policy measures, new jobs can be created in both existing and new sectors, along with enhanced productivity and innovation driven by investments in green and digital economic opportunities.”

Skynews: Angelina Jolie has visited the city of Lviv in western Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing attack on the country.

Footage posted on social media showed the Hollywood star, who is a special envoy for the United Nations, in a cafe in the war-torn country.

The area’s regional governor said Jolie, who was visiting in a personal capacity, had come to speak with displaced Ukrainians who had found refuge in the city.

During her trip, she spoke to children undergoing treatment for injuries sustained in the Russian missile strike on the Kramatorsk railway station.

The star also visited a school, where she met students and posed for selfies with them.

In March, Jolie travelled to Rome and visited a hospital near Vatican City caring for children who have fled the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

She sat and spoke to young patients, some of whom have cancer, and met with doctors and nurses who provide care at the hospital.

Lviv had been largely unscathed by the war but recorded its first civilian deaths in mid-April after Russian strikes.

It is the hub through which tens of thousands of people have fled to neighbouring Poland after withstanding weeks of strikes in cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mariupol.

Oscar-winner Jolie was a goodwill ambassador at the UN’s refugee agency from 2001 to 2012 before being appointed a special envoy.

According to the UN, the 46-year-old’s work focuses on “major crises that result in mass population displacements” and she has helped “contribute to the vital process of finding solutions for people forced to flee their homes”.

 

New Dehli recorded 43 degrees Celsius on Friday and many power stations reported having less than a day’s worth of coal left

In the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, hundreds of forest fires have broken out in recent weeks, eating up tinder-dry pine forests, including around Dharamsala, home of the Dalai Lama.

Himachal Pradesh normally sees rain, hail and even snow in higher areas at this time of year, but many parts have seen no precipitation in two months, sparking more and bigger blazes than normal.

“Teams of firefighters are working hard to put out these fires and also to save wild animals,” state forest chief Ajay Srivastava said.

Power cuts in both India and Pakistan were partly blamed on shortages of coal after an unusually hot March and April pushed up power demand and ate up stockpiles.

Over the past week, Pakistani cities have been cut off for up to eight hours a day, while in some rural areas people have power for only half of the day.

“There is a power crisis and load-shedding taking place across the country,” said Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan, blaming fuel shortages and “technical faults”.

Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority warned of the potential for flash floods in northern areas, with the soaring temperatures likely to accelerate snow and ice melt.

In Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city, families flocked to the canals to cool off.

“This is the only way to beat the heat. What else is there to do? It’s already so warm. What will happen later in summer?” asked Abbas Ali, who was with his young son.

Coal in short supply

In the teeming Indian megacity of New Delhi — which hit 43 degrees Celsius on Friday — authorities said many power stations had “less than a day’s coal left”.

“The situation in entire India is dire,” said Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi’s Chief Minister, as he warned of potential power cuts to hospitals and the city’s metro.

A boy rides a bicycle amidst thick smoke coming out of a fire from nearby landfill
The landfill that covers an area bigger than 50 football fields, with a pile taller than a 17-story building caught fire on Tuesday evening, turning into a smoldering heap that blazed well into Friday.(AP: Manish Swarup)none
For a fourth day, a fire at a Delhi landfill that is 60 metres high was still smouldering on Friday.

Several Indian states — including Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh — have cut back power supply to industrial areas because of coal shortages at power stations.

In a bid to avoid a full-blown crisis, India also cancelled some passenger trains to allow for faster movement of coal to power plants, Bloomberg News reported.

In Kolkata, drooping public transport passengers were being given glucose water after a spate of cases of heat stroke in recent days.

“With no rain for over 57 days, Kolkata is in the grip of the longest dry spell of this millennium,” said Sanjit Bandyopadhyay from the Regional Meteorological Centre.

Ramadan fasting compounds hardship

Coming during the month of Ramadan, the heat makes fasting in India and Pakistan even tougher for Muslims, who shun even water during daylight hours for the holy month.

When the sun sets, vendors are doing a roaring trade in Rooh Afza, a sugary pink drink that has been quenching thirst for generations across the subcontinent.

The heat drove many in Karachi to canals like these people cooling off in China Creek.(Reuters: Akhtar Soomro)none
Across India, authorities were closing schools or reducing hours, with Bihar ordering classes to stop by 10:45 am and advising people not to be outside after midday.

In the Bihar state capital, Patna, heat stroke cases have soared in the past 10 days, with the number of children with fever, vomiting and diarrhoea rising.

“People have been staying inside their house in [the] day time. We are struggling to earn a livelihood,” said Rameshwar Paswan, a rickshaw puller.

Previously, India saw such temperatures in April only once every 50 years but now they come around every four, said Mariam Zachariah from the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London.

“Until net emissions are halted, it will continue to become even more common,” she said.

AFP

BBC/London: President Biden is asking Congress for $33bn (£27bn) in military, economic and humanitarian assistance to support Ukraine – although he insisted that the US was not “attacking Russia”. Mr Biden said it was “critical” for US lawmakers to approve the deal, which he said would help Ukraine defend itself. The proposal includes more than $20bn in military aid, $8.5bn in economic aid and $3bn in humanitarian aid. “It’s not cheap,” Mr Biden said on Thursday. “But caving to aggression is going to be more costly if we allow it to happen.” Although the US has already announced help for Ukraine, the proposals are a significant ramping up of aid.

President Biden said US military support to Ukraine has so far amounted to 10 anti-tank weapons for every tank that Russia has deployed to Ukraine. But despite his strong rhetoric, he said the US was not attacking Russia. “We are helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression,” he insisted. On Thursday, a spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Western military support for Ukraine threatens “the security of the continent”.

President Biden is asking Congress to authorise an enormous sum of money for Ukraine – more than twice as much as the US has already spent on providing military equipment and humanitarian aid. The US president wants to show he is undeterred by vague threats about the possible use of nuclear weapons, and a warning from Vladimir Putin that there could be retaliatory strikes against countries that intervene in Ukraine. He shrugged off those comments – saying they show the desperation Russia is feeling about their abject failure to do what they set out to do. Explaining to Americans why this money is needed – at a time when many are suffering from rising living costs – he said it was not cheap, but doing nothing was more costly. An additional plan to allow US authorities to not just freeze but liquidate the assets of Russian oligarchs is bold – and it has raised concerns among civil liberties groups in America. But it is likely to gain bipartisan support in Congress. Yet it will not begin to cover cost of the additional sums of money the White House wants to spend supporting Ukraine’s war efforts.

In his speech on Thursday, Mr Biden also addressed concerns over a nuclear confrontation. On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned of a “serious” risk of nuclear war over Ukraine which “can’t be underestimated”. “No one should be making idle comments about the use of nuclear weapons,” Mr Biden said. Additionally, Mr Biden took aim at what he termed Russian “gas blackmail” to threaten European energy supplies. This week, Russia cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. “We will not let Russia intimidate or blackmail their way out of these sanctions,” he said. “We will not allow them to use their oil and gas to avoid consequences for their aggression.” The announcement of the new Ukraine package comes at a difficult time for the US economy. Data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday shows that the US economy shrank in the first quarter of 2022, with gross domestic product declining 1.4% between January and March. Read more at BBC