DUBAI / KARACHI, JUNE 6 (DNA) – While people around the planet continue to grapple with the pandemic, there’s also a call to pause and reflect on another cause – Time for Nature, the theme of the UN’s World Environment Day on 5 June.

Emirates, acutely aware of its role in the planet’s natural ecosystem, has continued to make progress in the attainment of its environmental goals. The airline showcased this environment performance in its annual financial report for 2019-20, painting a holistic picture and filling in the context of its achievements.

An important cause close to Emirates’ heart is keeping wildlife in the wild. The airline is committed to tackling the illegal trade in the sale of wild animals either as pets, or for their hides, tusks or other body parts for use in food, medicine, exotic leathers, jewellery and ornaments – all worth around US$ 20 billion every year.

Emirates is active across industry and international efforts, and is part of United for Wildlife, ROUTES (Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species), and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

Emirates has a zero tolerance on carrying banned species, hunting trophies or any products associated with illegal wildlife activities.

The airline’s ground-handling team is trained in IATA’s Live Animal Regulations and its internal policies, and more than 2,500 airport services employees were trained last year to recognise and report suspicious cargo. Employees have access to a dedicated reporting channel to stop illegal trade. Customer awareness was heightened through interviews, wildlife programmes and films on ice, its inflight entertainment system, and the inflight magazine.

Emirates’ efforts in the areas of wildlife conservation are well known. The airline has been helping protect Australia’s extraordinary flora and fauna for over 10 years at Emirates Wolgan Valley, the conservation-based resort in New South Wales.

The resort worked closely with the local community to evacuate on-site animals as bushfires swept across the country last year. Involving guests who were keen to volunteer, the resort created a one million-plus seed bank, representing 25 local native species that will play a vital role in repopulating damaged areas. Native wildlife like kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, reptiles and birdlife have already returned to the area.

Emirates’ 20-year partnership with the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve (DDCR) continued to build on its successful programmes to track, maintain and reintroduce native wildlife species, such as the Arabian oryx, Arabian gazelle, sand gazelle.

In January, the reserve released 250 MacQueen’s bustards into its natural habitat – a remarkable achievement by any standard. The DDCR continues to be a regional leader in ecological research, actively collaborating with local and international universities.

The reserve was accepted as a candidate for the IUCN Green List for Protected and Conserved Areas, a global standard for the world’s most effectively managed of protected areas, in 2018.

Reducing carbon emissions is central to Emirates’ environmental sustainability strategy, which is underpinned by its young, technologically advanced fleet with an average age of just 6.8 years. The airline’s comprehensive fuel efficiency programme, which analyses and implements ways to reduce unnecessary fuel burn and emissions wherever operationally feasible, delivered a 1.9% improvement in passenger fuel efficiency for the full year.

The airline’s efforts to optimise flight plans and fuel uplift, while ensuring safety and operational integrity, alone saved an estimated 38,000 tonnes of fuel or around 120,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. This was supported by data-driven methodologies and awareness programmes for pilots.

Emirates is committed to environmental stewardship, and uses the power of collaboration, consensus and change right along its ecosystem – from framing internal policies to empowering employees and mandating standards with partners and vendors. Last year, the Emirates Group’s leadership team approved an updated Environmental Framework, and throughout the year, the airline took positive action, both big and small, to make impressive progress.=DNA

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AMMAN (DNA) -The Jordanian government is moving ahead with steps to resume most economic activities and end movement restrictions after months of lockdown measures aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.

Starting on Saturday, business activities, cafes and restaurants will be allowed to serve customers again while a ban on travel between cities will also be lifted.

Residents will be able to use their vehicles daily between 6am and 12pm without the need for special permits, while domestic flights will also resume.

Authorities have also allowed regular and congregational prayers at the country’s mosques and churches provided that worshippers will obey physical-distancing guidelines and wear face masks.

International travel, however, will remain shuttered for now, while schools, colleges, kindergartens, public parks, movie theatres and festival activities will also stay closed.

With a total of 784 confirmed coronavirus cases so far, including 571 recoveries and nine related deaths, Jordan has a pandemic situation that is now classified as “moderate risk” – a level above the lowest category of “low risk”, Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz said on Thursday.

The lifting of the restrictions comes more than months since King Abdullah on March 17 approved a national defence law that gives the government sweeping powers to enforce a state of emergency.

As part of the emergency measures, Jordan closed its airspace and land border crossings to all commercial passenger travel in and out of out of the country to help it combat the coronavirus pandemic.

NEW DELHI (DNA) -India overtakes Italy as the sixth worst hit country by the coronavirus pandemic after another record single-day spike in confirmed infections, bringing the total to 236,657 cases.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has changed its position on face masks and is now encouraging people to wear them in crowded places, citing anecdotal evidence that supports their value in stopping the spread of the coronavirus.

United States President Donald Trump has called for a shift in strategy against the coronavirus pandemic to focus resources on protecting “high-risk populations” while calling for a total end to stay-at-home orders in states throughout the country.

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has threatened to pull his country out of the WHO, accusing the body of being “partisan” and “political”. With more than 34,000 coronavirus deaths, Brazil now has the third-highest toll in the world.

About 6.7 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed around the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. More than 394,000 people have died, including some 109,000 in the United States. More than 2.9 million people have recovered.

Tashkent, Uzbekistan, JUNE 6  — Representatives of the Central Bank took part in the Conference of the Regional Initiative of the Countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECAPI) of the Alliance for Financial Accessibility (AFI), held in an online format on 1-3 June 2020, the press service said Central Bank.

During the conference, initiatives and innovations in the practice of countries in the field of financial accessibility, protecting the rights of consumers of financial services and improving financial literacy were discussed. Particular emphasis was placed on products related to financial technology and their increasing role in these areas of activity.

Presentations and studies were carried out on the ECAPI online platform, which are carried out with the participation of representatives of all member countries, including practical recommendations and conclusions to improve the effectiveness of regulatory policies in the field of improving financial affordability.

In addition, taking into account the current situation in the world, measures taken by central banks to mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economies of countries, to maintain the financial stability of enterprises and the well-being of citizens were also discussed.

Representatives of the ECB and the Central Bank of Finland made a presentation at the conference, sharing their experience in organizing processes in the areas of ensuring cybersecurity and improving digital financial literacy.

Tashkent, Uzbekistan , JUNE 6 — The Head of the state got acquainted with the activities of Uz-Segang joint venture in Tashlak district of Ferghana region.

About 20 fruit, vegetable and viticulture clusters were created in 6 specialized districts of Fergana region. This year they plan to produce 288 thousand tons of products and export 120 thousand tons. For this, there are refrigerated warehouses with a capacity of more than 330 thousand tons, 25 logistics centers and 90 processing enterprises.

Uz-Segang is capable of processing and exporting 16 thousand tons of agricultural products per year. A modern logistics center worth 100 billion UZS has been created here, which is equipped with advanced technologies from Italy, Turkey, South Korea and China.

So, according to Italian ICEOL technology, cherries are sorted and packaged by color and size. The line is capable of detecting and isolating defective fruits with a laser.

The South Korean SNP line sorts pomegranates in the same way, showing which fruits have not ripened or started to rot. This contributes to gaining customer confidence and supplying only selected products to the market. The company’s products have Global G.A.P. international certificate.

This year, products worth US$20 million will be exported to China, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Poland, Russia and Kazakhstan. 250 young men and women work here.

The President paid special attention to the issue of a constant supply of raw materials to the enterprise. He gave instructions on cooperation with local gardens and organization of new gardens and laboratories.