Global Stories

The COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic fallout pose great risks to migrants in the Asia-Pacific, a new United Nations report reveals. They are more likely to be exposed to the virus, lack access to health care and other essential services, be stranded in countries without work or social protection and face rising xenophobia. However,...

Switzerland is all set to bring about landmark legislation that is aimed at tightening the responsibilities of Swiss-based companies with respect to their global activities. The key element of the mandate was the introduction of a legal obligation on Swiss-based multinationals to respect international environmental standards as well as human rights in all of...

DBS Foundation announced that it has awarded close to SGD 1.4 million (Rs. 7.71 Cr) in grant funding to 13 social enterprises (SEs) across Asia in the 2020 cycle of its flagship DBS Foundation Social Enterprise Grant Programme. The grant recipients are from DBS' six key markets: India, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan. The...

A report by International Labour Organization (ILO), ‘gender pay gaps represents one of today’s greatest social injustices.’ Gender pay gap is a global issue with men getting paid more than women, for equal amount of work. The gap is a widely used indicator of gender inequality in the world of work and is frequently...

The Embassy of Israel in India collaborated with NGOs in different parts of India to help and support underprivileged communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This collaboration was in the form of short-term social projects and was implemented across India. NGOs that were part of the first phase of this collaboration are Gulshan Foundation, Salaam Baalak...

The 4th South Asia SDG Forum organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Maldives' Government virtually from 2 to 3 December 2020, brought together over 450 participants from governments, think-tanks, and civil society organizations from eight South Asian countries. Preceded by the South Asia People’s...

Cross-border paperless trade has great potential to not only grow trade competitiveness but also to address new challenges associated with e-commerce and the digital economy. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in collaboration with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and the Enhanced Integrated Framework...

India is among the top 10 countries in the world along with the United Kingdom and the European Union, ranked for its performance for climate mitigation according to the latest Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) released by Germanwatch. It is for the second consecutive time that India was able to remain among the top 10...

COVID-19 has accelerated the need for Singapore to generate new digital relationships with the world. As data, financial and trade flows increasingly become digitalised, there is a corresponding need for secure and trustworthy ways to transact. The Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), has worked with Enterprise Singapore (ESG) to launch the Blockchain for...

Avaya, which makes solutions to enhance and simplify communications and collaboration, has been named one of 2021 America’s Most Responsible Companies by Newsweek magazine.  This prestigious award is presented by Newsweek, a premier news magazine, and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. “Avaya’s 8,000 global employees are committed to meeting the...

UST Global, a digital transformation solutions company, won the prestigious Business Culture Awards 2020 for “Best International Initiative for Business Culture.” The awards, announced at a virtual event on November 25th, celebrate forward-thinking companies that have created outstanding work environments, enabling their employees to perform to their very best, facilitating exceptional business performance and customer...

De Beers has announced 12 ambitious sustainability goals for the coming decade, including achieving gender parity throughout its workforce, supporting 10,000 women entrepreneurs in its diamond producing partner countries and being carbon neutral within its own operations by 2030. The 12 goals are part of De Beers’ Building Forever framework – a sustainability approach embedded...