When we evaluate development projects, we must ask: What lessons have we learned?

As children, we all remember being told: “‘I hope you’ve learned your lesson”, which had a kind of negative connotation. In my line of work, however, which assesses development activities from the point of view of doing the right things in the right way with the right resources for lasting benefits for people – we learn lessons every day to make better decisions for improving quality of lives.
Analysis: Investors ask U.S. SEC for more ESG disclosures as companies resist

WASHINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) – Investor groups have asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for more corporate disclosures on climate change and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues while business interests have pushed back, a Reuters review of correspondence published by the regulator shows.
ECB will “see to it” that banks meet climate risk expectations: Elderson

FRANKFURT, June 16 (Reuters) – No major bank in the euro zone meets all of the European Central Bank’s expectations in assessing climate-related risk and they should expect increased pressure from their supervisor to adjust, ECB board member Frank Elderson said on Wednesday.
Oil hits new high near $75 on demand rise, falling inventories

Oil gained for a fifth day on Wednesday, climbing towards $75 a barrel to its highest since April 2019, supported by a recovery in demand from the pandemic and a drop in U.S. crude inventories.
Cheer over Boeing, Airbus deal belies cracks in EU, U.S. trade relationship

A deal for a five-year ceasefire in a U.S. and EU dispute over aircraft subsidies on Tuesday reflected progress, but the underlying trade relationship remains fragile with many unresolved disagreements, diplomats and trade experts said.
China’s factory output, retail sales miss expectations in May

BEIJING, June 16 (Reuters) – Growth in China’s factory output slowed for a third straight month in May, likely weighed down by disruptions caused by COVID-19 outbreaks in the country’s southern export powerhouse of Guangdong. Retail sales and investment growth also came in below market expectations, but analysts say underlying activity still looks quite solid, […]
Taj Mahal reopens for tourists as India eases COVID-19 curbs

BENGALURU, June 16 (Reuters) – The Taj Mahal reopened to the public on Wednesday as India, still reeling from a disastrous second wave of the pandemic, pushes to lift restrictions in a bid to revitalise its economy. The 17th-century white marble mausoleum, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the northern city of Agra, was […]
Shocked by COVID deaths, young Indians rush for life insurance

BENGALURU, June 16 (Reuters) – Like many other twenty-somethings in India, Beverly Coutinho kept postponing buying a life insurance policy, until a surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths made her confront her own mortality. “I saw people my own age dying, which prompted me to get life insurance immediately,” says Coutinho, a 24-year-old senior executive […]
Chickens, cows, apartments offered up in Asia’s vaccination lucky draws

June 16 (Reuters) – Chickens, cows, paid leave, even a million-dollar apartment, these are the prizes on offer from Thailand to Indonesia to Hong Kong for those who get vaccinated against COVID-19 as nations across Asia combat vaccine hesitancy.
Thailand to fully reopen to visitors within 120 days – PM

BANGKOK, June 16 (Reuters) – Thailand will fully reopen to visitors within 120 days after more than a year of coronavirus travel restrictions, a calculated risk required to support the economy, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Wednesday. Thailand was ahead of target in securing 105.5 million doses of coronavirus vaccine for this year, and […]