Latest news with #ARROW
Scoop
5 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Reforming Global Financial Architecture Is Critical For Gender Equality And Right To Health
14 July 2025 While governments have committed to deliver on Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, inequalities, injustices and deadly divide between the Global North and Global South nations (and within rich and poor nations) has jeopardised progress on SDG goals and targets – including gender equality and right to health – both of which are fundamental human rights. 'If we do a reality check, in the current times, we are in a dysfunctional international financing architecture – with countries in the Global South facing the brunt. We are increasingly facing challenges to mobilise resources for our own development. Because most of the countries in the Global South are in the cycles of perennial debt – which they have to keep servicing to international financial institutions. This results into austerity measures which include countries cutting down on public services, access to health services, education services, social protection services, among others,' said Sai Jyothirmai Racherla, Deputy Executive Director, Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW). 'While it impacts the general population, marginalised communities, and poor people, the impact on women and girls in all their diversity across the strata is much higher. Data tells us that developing countries are seeing a record high debt servicing costs in 2023. This is straining low- and middle-income economies. This is compounded by a US$ 4 trillion annual investment gap for SDG achievement in developing countries,' she added. In 2024, official development assistance from 30 DAC nations (developed nations that provide aid to developing countries) declined by 7.1% in real terms - the first drop in five years - reaching only US$ 212.1 billion (0.33% of combined gross national income). UN target for developed countries is to allocate 0.7% of their gross national income as official development assistance but it dipped to less than half to 0.33%. Poor investment in social sector fails us in economic sector too 'When there are poor social investments in the social sector then it does not contribute to the economic sector. Domestic resource mobilisation for the public sector for social protection, health, and education is less too. With declining official development assistance and perennial debt cycles, the impact becomes even more severe. This is going to impact gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights at so many different levels,' said Sai of ARROW. Sai was delivering her keynote address at SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights) session on the theme: 'Did the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development deliver on gender equality & feminist agenda?', organised around UN inter-governmental High Level Political Forum (HLPF 2025) and 13th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2025). HLPF 2025 will review SDG3 (health and wellbeing), SDG5 (gender equality) among others. SHE & Rights session was co-hosted by International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) 2025, Family Planning News Network (FPNN), Global Center for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI), International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW), Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR), Asia Pacific Media Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT Media) and CNS. Governments did not deliver on feminist agenda but Feminist Forum gives hope The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) of the United Nations concluded a week ago in Seville, Spain. But FfD4 did not achieve its objective of restructuring the global economy and financial system, to benefit all equitably, including women, girls and all gender diverse peoples. FfD4 failed to guarantee long-term, flexible, inclusive, equitable financing for development. FfD4 looked into women and girls as merely 'economic potentials' for 'economic benefits' without really addressing the fundamental barriers to gender justice, including labour rights, safeguards for corporate abuses and preventing gender-based violence in the workplace. 'Feminist agenda refers to a gender transformative economic system that is based on rights to justice, care, and equality for everyone urgently. This was central to the Political Declaration of Feminist Forum held before the FfD4 began in Seville, Spain. But FfD4 failed to deliver on gender equality and feminist agenda,' said Sai Jyothirmai Racherla of ARROW. Feminist Forum's Political Declaration also called for deescalating wars and ending territorial invasions and genocide - "nothing less from this is acceptable," rightly stressed Sai. Sai feels that FfD4 conference outcome document was a mix bag, "as it was a diluted version of the vision and ambition of the Action Agenda adopted at 3rd International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2015), and also of Monterrey Consensus adopted at the 1st International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD1) in Monterrey, Mexico (2002), as well as Doha Declaration on financing for development (2008). FfD4 outcome document also compromised the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) 1994 and the Beijing Declaration and its Platform for Action 1995 commitments." Empowerment of women and girls, economic value inherent in unpaid care work, and references to eradicating gender-based violence were mentioned in FfD4 outcome document but the broader and deeper aspects of gender equality or sexual and reproductive health and rights were missing in the FfD4 outcome document. "From the very beginning, the demand to reform international financing architecture was undeniably strong, to realise gender-just economy in which financing for development will result in equitable outcomes for all, in terms of fair distribution of resources within countries - and in between countries. We need to reform international financing architecture to promote social, economic, and environmental justice and strengthen democracy and multilateralism equitably. This was not achieved at FfD4," said Sai. Reality check on gender equality and health "2 pregnant persons die every minute. 700 women die unnecessarily from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth every day, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. To reach the global target of less than 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, nearly 700,000 maternal deaths need to be prevented between 2024 and 2030," said Sai. The current international financial architecture is not working and does not guarantee long-term, flexible, inclusive, equitable financing for development. "We need to restructure global economic governance to centre feminist leadership, Global South parity, and the meaningful leadership of civil society and marginalised communities. This includes democratising decision-making across all the international financial institutions and multilateral development banks, including through the urgent reform of the voting systems of the IMF and the World Bank. This is part of Political Declaration of Feminist Forum held before FfD4 too," she added. In Asia-Pacific, household health expenditures (SDG indicator 3.8.2) remain high, placing families under financial strain and limiting access to essential services. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the percentage of people in South-East Asia spending more than 10% of their total household income on health has increased, rising from 13.1% in 2010 to 16.1% in 2019. "Global poverty reduction is virtually at a standstill. Around 9% of people worldwide lived in extreme poverty in 2022. While social protection coverage has reached a milestone of covering half the world's population, low-income countries have shown almost no improvement since 2015 - with coverage rates of 9.7%, with poorest within these countries left behind," said Sai of ARROW. Polycrisis "Global South is also in an age of poly-crisis. For example, the climate crises are becoming real. Just the Asia-Pacific region in the Global South, accounts for 40% of global natural disaster events. These natural disasters further increase the burden of unpaid domestic work for women who have to invest more hours in securing water, food, and energy for cooking and heating the homes. The closing or underfunding of public services such as health centres, schools, and water provision facilities due to debt crises and increasing debt service payments, is further exacerbated in extreme climate events, and natural disasters. Simply put in the context of disasters, the health services are just not accessible for women and girls," rightly says Sai. Hope lies in the people and communities Even if inter-governmental FfD4 disappointed, hope lies in people and communities. "Moving forward, Feminist Forum's Political Declaration calls for funding and resourcing genuine multi-stakeholder feminist platforms and partnerships with women's civil society, especially from the Global South. It is important to ensure civil society leadership and engagement in these processes like FfD4. We are also asking for eliminating all economic policy conditionalities that are attached to aid because these conditionalities promote austerity, privatisation and deregulation. We do not want conditionality when it comes to loans. There should be no loans in the first place (for development assistance), rather these should be grants," said Sai. "We must reform financial architecture so that it can guarantee long-term flexible, inclusive, and equitable financing for development. We also need to restructure the global economic governance because currently it is very Global North heavy. We need to have Global South parity. We need to include democratisation of the decision-making processes across the international financial institutions and the multilateral development banks," she added. "We are not going to stop until we deliver on gender equality. We will continue to do our work to demand for a right-based, environmentally-just, decolonial, intersectional, sustainable, and person-centred economic model. We need such an economic model in current times where care, reparations, redistribution and accountability remain central," rightly said Sai Jyothirmai Racherla of ARROW. Shobha Shukla – CNS (Citizen News Service) (Shobha Shukla is the award-winning founding Managing Editor and Executive Director of CNS (Citizen News Service) and is a feminist, health and development justice advocate. She is a former senior Physics faculty of prestigious Loreto Convent College and current Coordinator of Asia Pacific Regional Media Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT Media) and Chairperson of Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA received AMR One Health Emerging Leaders and Outstanding Talents Award 2024). She also coordinates SHE & Rights initiative (Sexual health with equity & rights). Follow her on Twitter @shobha1shukla or read her writings here
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
H.C. Wainwright Reiterates a Buy Rating on Rigel Pharmaceuticals (RIGL)
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL) is one of the 13 Cheap Healthcare Stocks with Huge Upside Potential. On June 3, H.C. Wainwright analyst Joseph Pantginis reiterated a Buy rating on Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL) and set a price target of $57.00. The optimistic rating was based on the company's prospects, including promising results from the ARROW trial for GAVRETO. A researcher in a lab coat monitoring a biotechnological experiment. The trial demonstrated safety and strong efficacy for the treatment of RET fusion-positive NSCLC and other solid tumors. It also exhibited a significant median duration of response and a high overall response rate, pointing towards the drug's meaningful and durable outcomes. The analyst further reasoned that the trial data shows GAVRETO's optimistic anti-tumor activity across a number of RET fusion-positive solid tumors, which shows its market potential and paints an optimistic picture for Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL). Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that discovers and develops targeted, novel drugs in oncology, immunology, and immune oncology. Its product portfolio includes Tavalisse, Fostamatinib, and R835. While we acknowledge the potential of RIGL as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Straits Times
16-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
German arms purchases to favour speed over supplier origin, top official says
FILE PHOTO: Head of Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support Kornelia Annette Lehnigk-Emden looks on, on the day of the presentation of a joint declaration of intent for the ARROW project at the Ministry of Defence in Berlin, Germany, September 28, 2023. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/ File Photo German arms purchases to favour speed over supplier origin, top official says BERLIN - Germany's military procurement agency will prioritize rapid delivery in future defence contracts over the origin of the manufacturer, its top official told Reuters, as the country prepares to nearly double its military spending. "Which country we buy from depends on who can quickly offer the required material," Annette Lehnigk-Emden, director-general of the Bundeswehr's procurement agency BAAINBw, said in a written interview. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently backed U.S. President Donald Trump's demand to hike NATO's defence spending target to 5% of national GDP, a major shift made possible by a historic loosening of Berlin's constitutional debt brake. Germany spent 2.1% of its GDP, or approximately 90 billion euros ($104 billion), on defence last year, meeting NATO's current 2% spending target. At a summit in The Hague next week, NATO leaders are expected to commit to raising the spending goal to 5%. They will take a two-pronged approach that would see members spend 3.5% of their GDP on defence and dedicate 1.5% to broader security-related issues such as infrastructure and cyber security. German arms makers are hoping to benefit from the spending surge but companies in the United States, which have expansive military production capacity, also expect to boost profits. Lehnigk-Emden did not comment directly on whether the German defence industry has sufficient capacity to capitalize on the spending increase but urged companies to boost production. "The industry must expand its capacity. We will procure, that's for sure - and off the shelf... as time is of the essence," she said. It was urgent to equip forces by 2029, she added, the date when NATO warns Russia might be capable of a large-scale attack against allied territory. Lehnigk-Emden said air defence and ammunition were among the top priorities on the military's procurement list, aligning with NATO's targets for weapons and equipment. She dismissed concerns from some experts that under pressure to meet the 5% target, some spending may be unnecessary or misallocated, stating that it would be in line with the military's demands and approved by parliament. "This is why I don't see such a risk," she added. Lehnigk-Emden did not specify when Germany's defence spending might reach 3.5% of GDP. She highlighted plans for new legislation, due by the end of the year, to speed up procurement. The BAAINBw has faced past accusations of being too sluggish. The law will seek to minimize delays caused by legal challenges and will also grant the power to restrict some tenders to European bidders and subcontractors. Berlin is already making more use of a national security clause under EU law to prioritize domestic procurement, she said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Time of India
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
NYT Connections hints and answers for today (June 14, 2025)
NYT Connections hints and answers for today (June 14, 2025) NYT Connections is back with another thrilling word puzzle. If you're diving into today's New York Times Connections puzzle and find yourself stumped, you're not alone. This clever word game, updated daily, challenges players to sort 16 words into four related groups. Some connections are obvious, while others rely on wordplay, obscure references, or clever phrasing. Today's puzzle, like many before it, mixes straightforward groupings with tricky ones that might require a second glance. Whether you're playing to maintain a long streak or just want to warm up your brain, we've gathered all the hints, group themes, and full answers you need to solve the June 14 edition. What is NYT Connections Connections is a daily word game by The New York Times that tests your ability to find hidden relationships among words. The goal is to identify four groups of four words that share a common link. These links can be thematic, structural, or even more subtle, like phrases or cultural references. How to play NYT Connections by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Scam Exposed: What They Won't Tell You about zero trust! Expertinspector Click Here Undo You're presented with a grid of 16 words and your task is to sort them into four groups of four related words. These groups vary in difficulty, with one usually being quite easy and another relying on wordplay or obscure connections. You can shuffle the grid to help you spot connections, and you have four chances to get it right before the game ends. If you're close to a correct grouping, the game might tell you that you're one word away. Playing on the New York Times website or app, you can also share your results and track your streak over time. Today's NYT Connections hints Here are some subtle hints to guide your thinking: Yellow: A famous female celebrity Green: A well-known brand of pen or ink Blue: Well-loved cartoon or TV dogs Purple: A recognizable type of dog One word from the each group Here's one example from each category to help nudge your thinking: Yellow group: Celebrity. Green group: Stationery. Blue group: Cartoons. Purple group: Dogs. Today's NYT Connections answers Yellow group – DIVA, ICON, LEGEND, QUEEN Green group – ARROW, HEART, MOM, RIBBON Blue group – ASTRO, BLUE, HOOCH, TOTO Purple group – BORDER, BOSTON, BULL, RAT That wraps up today's puzzle. Whether you solved it solo or needed a boost, check back tomorrow for new clues and answers to keep your Connections streak going strong. Also read | Wordle today #1456: Get hints and answer to today's puzzle June 14, 2025
The Sun
03-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
CGS, CGS International sign pacts for Asean-China business partnerships at Asean Business Forum 2025
KUALA LUMPUR: China Galaxy Securities Co Ltd (CGS) and CGS International Securities Group signed five strategic memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and one letter of intent (LoI), with top corporations, development partners and investment managers across Asean and China on May 29. These landmark agreements were signed at the inaugural Asean Business Forum 2025 (ABF2025) and witnessed by Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) CEO Datuk Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid on behalf of Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) executive chairman Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi, Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean-BAC) Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Nazir Razak and CGS chairman Wang Sheng. They aim to promote the growth of the Asean region as an integrated and cohesive regional economic powerhouse, deepen cross-border collaboration and accelerate capital flows across high-growth sectors. The signings reflect growing confidence in Asean's long-term growth prospects and the role of Malaysia – under its Asean chairmanship – to facilitate China-Asean and intra-Asean business and capital flows. Spanning access, private equity and investment in solutions for technology, healthcare, industrial development, investment promotion and wealth management family-office facilitation, the agreements reflect CGS and CGS International's broader mission and capability to bridge capital and opportunities within the region. These signings also build on their commitment made during the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone Partners' Dialogue on May 19, where CGS International committed to a target of RM6 billion – comprising RM3 billion in facilitation of foreign direct investment within three years and RM3 billion in assets under management in the establishment of single family office ventures. The signing parties and scope of partnerships of the LoI and the MoUs signed by CGS and CGS International include: • LoI for China-Asean Investment Programme – Establish a private equity fund to invest in high growth sectors such as healthcare/medical devices, semiconductor, advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, agriculture/food security and consumers throughout Asean with Malaysia as a key regional anchor and to facilitate the transfer of industry knowledge and technology from China to Asean. ARROW -- MoU with Mida to jointly promote Malaysia as an investment hub, support investor facilitation and collaborate on fundraising, business matching and supply chain development for high-value industries. ARROW -- MoU with Fullgoal Asset Management (HK) Limited (Fullgoal HK) and Bursa Malaysia Bhd. Fullgoal HK and CGS International will jointly list exchange-traded funds on Bursa Malaysia, with the aim to provide Malaysian investors with access to a wider range of investment options, and exposure to global markets. ARROW -- MoU with GL Capital Management Limited to jintly establish a closed-end private equity fund dedicated to healthcare/medical devices sector in Asean to tap its high growth opportunities. ARROW -- MoU with OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd to jointly facilitate China and Asean trade and investment flows by supporting regional clients with banking, treasury and investment banking services. ARROW -- MoU with Zhongguancun International Holding Limited (Hong Kong) to facilitate the entry of Chinese companies in the sectors of advanced manufacturing, digital technology, food security and healthcare, into the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone and selected Malaysian industrial parks. CGS International Group CEO Carol Fong, said: 'These signings are more than just intents and agreements – they signify our strong confidence in the investment and growth potential of Asean and Malaysia. CGS International is proud to play the role of connector and catalyst, and to leverage our wider Asean presence and Chinese parentage to help our clients and partners accelerate cross-border strategic collaborations, capital and talent mobility for business growth.' ABF2025 was co-organised with Asean-BAC Malaysia and Mida, supported by partners MBSB and OCBC Malaysia. The forum was held in conjunction with the 46th Asean Summit 2025 and Sean-GCC+China Summit 2025. Over 500 regional policymakers, investors and corporate leaders attended the full-day event which featured strategic panels, high-level keynotes, and closed-door business matchmaking.
