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50k refugees, migrants stranded in Greece
More than 1,600 migrants have landed in Greece since an EU-Turkish deal on curbing the influx took effect, officials said Monday. All migrants landing on the Greek islands will now face being sent back to Turkey. Since the agreement took effect early on Sunday, 1,662 migrants have landed in Greece, according to the SOMP agency, which is coordinating Athens’ response to the crisis. It added that the number includes 830 on Chios and 698 on Lesbos, two islands in the northeast Aegean which lie close to Turkey. The Turkish coastguard said it had intercepted 126 migrants trying to cross to Greece since Saturday, AFP reported.
A total of 50,411 refugees were stranded in Greece as of early Monday, RIA Novosti reported. The Greek migrant crisis coordination center said 1,662 people have arrived on the Greek coasts from Turkey since Sunday. Almost 700 of them arrived on the islands of Lesbos and Chios, according to officials. Macedonia last month closed its border with Greece after other states along the Balkan migration route – Serbia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria – also closed their borders.Monitors from Turkey arrived Monday on the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios to help supervise an international agreement to limit the number of refugees traveling to Europe. The observers are expected to stay for at least one week. Greece’s conservative opposition criticized the Turkish arrivals as Athens and Ankara have ongoing boundary disputes in the Aegean Sea, AP reported. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras warned Monday the agreement between the EU and Turkey could not be properly implemented unless smugglers on the Turkish coast are stopped.
The global macroeconomic landscape downhill
EAC Newsletter
March 2016
The global macroeconomic landscape is currently going through a slowdown and turmoil characterized by weak growth of world output. The situation has been aggravated by declining prices of a number of commodities, with reduction in crude oil prices being the most visible of them, turbulent financial markets and volatile exchange rates. Nonetheless, India has registered a robust and steady pace of economic growth in the recent times.
The growth of GDP at 7.3% in Q3 of FY2015-16 is inspiring despite weak global activity which shows that with the recovery in the world economic scenario, there are better growth prospects for the Indian economy in the coming times.
Additionally, the economy’s other macroeconomic parameters like inflation, fiscal deficit and current account balance are improving. Wholesale price inflation has been in negative territory for more than a year and the all-important consumer prices inflation has declined to nearly half compared to previous years.
However, India’s exports are slowing down owing to weak growth in advanced and emerging economies. As imports have also declined, trade and current account deficits continue to be moderate. Growth in agriculture has been poor due to two successive years of less than-normal monsoon rains. Saving and investment rates are showing hardly any signs of revival. The rupee has depreciated vis-à-vis the US dollar but has appreciated against a number of other major currencies. Still there is ample scope for major macro-economic indicators to revive in the coming times.
According to the Economic Survey 2015-16, the Indian economy stands out as a haven of macroeconomic stability, resilience and optimism and can be expected to register GDP growth that could be in the range of 7% to 7.75 % in the coming year. With focus on reforms in key sectors coupled with stable macroeconomic conditions, the above growth prospect for the economy in the next year appears achievable.
The government also presented the Railway Budget 2016-17 which is a pragmatic budget with well-defined strategies and stresses on modernization, employment generation, freight movement, socio-economic welfare and private participation.
The Union Budget presented recently by the Hon’ble Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley ji, has touched the ground and its focus on rural India would go a long way to generate demand in the economy and give a push to overall growth and development of the country.
The nine pillars of Union Budget viz. Agriculture, rural sector, health sector, education skills and job creation, infrastructure and investments, financial sector reforms, governance and ease of business, fiscal discipline, and tax reform to reduce compliance burden are inspiring and will not only fuel economic growth but increase India’s competitiveness
Going ahead, given the focus of the budget on rural sector and infrastructure development, the economy is expected to get a boost in demand especially rural demand which will scale up economic growth in the coming times.
Introduction of Rotavirus Vaccine in Universal Immunisation Programme in Odisha
BHUBANESWAR, March 22, 2016: Ahead of the national launch of the Rotavirus vaccine in the Universal Immunisation Programme, journalists from the national and state media discussed the importance of new vaccines in reducing under-five child mortality and improving child survival at media round-table organized by the Health Department, Government of Odisha, and partners such as UNICEF, WHO, ITSU and JSI.
Rotavirus, which causes diarrhoea, leads to approximately 78,000 deaths each year in India. It kills 1 child every 4 minutes in India and is a leading cause of under-five child deaths in the country, contributing to about 40 percent of diarrhoea-related deaths amongst children. About 8.7 lakh children are hospitalized annually in the country due to Rotavirus related diarrhoea. Odisha has an under-five child mortality rate of 66 per 1,000 live births (SRS 2013), of which diarrhoea is a major contributor.
Addressing the journalists, Dr Nirmala Dei, Director, Family Welfare, Government of Odisha said, “Rotavirus vaccine offers the best hope for preventing the deadly dehydrating diarrhoea preventing thousands of deaths of young children. Earlier, the benefits of this vaccine were available only to those who could afford it, but now it would be available to every child in the state.”
Ms. Shalini Pandit, Mission Director, National Health Mission, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Odisha said, “Achieving full immunization coverage is critical in order to improve child survival rates. Frontline workers such as ASHA workers regularly mobilize parents to bring their children for immunization. We will now train them on the importance of the Rotavirus Vaccine as well so that they can effectively motivate communities.”
Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Odisha, Ms Yumi Bae, said,” It is important that information about the availability of the Rotavirus vaccine reaches all mothers and care givers in the state. Odisha has one of the highest under–five mortality, of which diarrhoea is a major contributor. The media, through responsible reporting is a valuable partner in getting the messages out on a consistent basis that not only create demand but also dispel fears.”
Dr Hemanta Mishra, SEPIO, GoO while speaking to the media, highlighted the burden of Rotavirus diarrhoea in the state.
The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Shri. J. P. Nadda, will launch the Rotavirus vaccine through the Universal Immunisation Programme, nationally, in Bhubaneswar, on March 26, 2016. Besides Odisha, the vaccine will be provided, in the first phase of roll out, in the national immunization programme, to all children in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh. Later, it will be expanded across the country.
Note to Editors
The Rotavirus Vaccine would be administered, along with other available vaccines, in three doses at 6 weeks, 10 weeks and 14 weeks during the regular immunization sessions across 30 districts in the state. Each dose comprises 5 drops per child. Around 853,000 children between 0-1 year would be targeted through 26,000 immunization sessions statewide every month.
Globally, children are provided with Rotavirus vaccine through national immunization programme, in 80 countries, to reduce child deaths and disabilities from diarrhoea.
For more information, please contact:
UNICEF Odisha:
Alka Gupta Communication Specialist
Tel: 91-9937285547, E-mail: agupta@unicef.org
UNICEF India:
Geetanjali Master, Communication Specialist
Tel: 91-981 810 5861, E-mail: gmaster@unicef.org
Sonia Sarkar, Communication Officer – Media
Tel: +91-981 017 0289, E-mail: ssarkar@unicef.org
‘LAWMAN HOLI RELOADED-2016’
PRESS INVITATION
We cordially invite you to attend the cover of press conference and to share with you the uniqueness of the
‘LAWMAN HOLI RELOADED-2016’
WITH
WITH
DJ MAKASI
(Internationally renowned DJ from Antwerp (Belgium) who has been playing at Major festivals around the world over the years such as Tomorrowland (Belgium), Tomorrowworld (U.S.A) and Sunburn (India).)
(DJ Makasi will unleash magic on this Holi along with Progressive Brothers, DJ Mash, Ashim etc. at Lawman Holi Reloaded 2016, @Sat Bari, Chattarpur on 24th March (other Guests: Rahul Mahajan & Raju Srivastava))
Time : 2 p.m
Date : 23rd March (Wednesday)
Venue : F-Bar, N-Block, Connaught place
Date : 23rd March (Wednesday)
Venue : F-Bar, N-Block, Connaught place
You are requested to send correspondents/photographers/camera crew for the Press Conference.
R.S.V.P
Shailesh Giri
9811222325(M)
9213022325
Suu Kyi nominated for Myanmar cabinet
Aung San Suu Kyi was nominated as a cabinet minister in Myanmar’s civilian government on Tuesday, AFP reported. The move gives the democracy-championing veteran a formal position, despite being barred from the presidency in a nation ruled for decades by the military. The Nobel laureate has vowed to rule above the next president Htin Kyaw. She was named first in a list of ministers read out to lawmakers by the parliament speaker, who did not specify which position she or others would hold.
Myanmar’s 25,000 members of the Rohingya Muslim minority group have left camps for displaced people in western Myanmar and returned to the communities they fled during sectarian violence in 2012, the UN said on Monday. The number of people still in camps has fallen to around 120,000 from 145,000 in Rakhine State, Reuters quoted Vivian Tan, regional spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency, as saying. The majority of Rohingya who have left the camps have rebuilt houses in their place of origin. The number of camps for displaced people has fallen to 40, down from 67. The Rohingya still face challenges due to lack of citizenship and related restrictions.
Australia PM calls Beijing’s S. China Sea moves ‘counterproductive’
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Wednesday called Beijing’s military deployments on the South China Sea “counterproductive.” This was an unusually forceful rebuke towards the country’s biggest trading partner, Reuters said. “They are… counterproductive, regardless of the legal merits, on which we do not express a view nor make a claim,” Turnbull said in Sydney, referring to China’s military deployments. The PM is expected to visit China next month. Last month, the Chinese government expressed its displeasure with Australia’s new defense spending plan.
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