JournoThinker Blog

Peter Wagenaar, a real estate agent, and his wife have been cooking for the homeless people in Sea Point during the lockdown which has stirred up tension in the affluent suburb of Mouille Point. Peter had been using his car to distribute food to homeless people in Sea Point, which caused anger among some residents. In the early hours of 6th May, his car was set ablaze and nothing but charred metal was left after the fire. Picture by  @MarvinCharles17 Wagenaar has had confrontations with police officers since he started feeding the homeless. A video went viral in which a police officer threatened to arrest him for feeding the homeless despite Wagenaar having a permit. Wagenaar wakes up every day at 4am to start cooking. Breakfast is given to the homeless people from 7am to 9am on Beach Road and Fritz Sonnenberg Road. Wagenaar feeds breakfast and dinner to around 80 to 100 homeless people get which he buys from his own pocket. Althoug

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed provided his remarks, at the virtual ministerial round table conference on “Transformative approaches:  State support to promote women’s participation in peacebuilding”, in New York on 27th May, 2020 along with Government of Sweden and the International Peace Institute. He said that 2020 was set to be a milestone year for gender equality and the empowerment of women and to commemorate and reflect critically on progress made in the 20 years, however the world's attention has shifted to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic which has given shape to inequalities in all forms in which the pandemic is affecting individuals and communities — and hampering the capacity for effective recovery. With the topic of gender equality, the crisis is threatening the gain that have been made in recently. Women constitute more than 70 per cent of health workers globally and bear the weight of unpaid care work at home.  The increasing number of women’s inv

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that countries should not resort to renationalization and protectionism in response to the recession caused by the coronavirus crisis. She said that multilateralism faces a major challenge even after the pandemic ends. Merkel, has put forward a Franco-German plan for a €500 billion EU recovery fund. Merkel had an video conference earlier with the five heads of the International Labour Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization at which they exchanged ideas about the economic response to the crisis. “The answer to the pandemic can certainly not be to renationalize all international supply chains now; then everyone would pay a very high price,” Merkel said. “We are now in the phase of waiting for the proposal from the Commission,” Merkel said. The European Commission will present its proposal on May 27th. Twitte

In an publication titled, ‘ Cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces in the context of COVID-19 ,’ and released on May 16, 2020, the WHO said this is because “disinfectant is inactivated by dirt and debris and it is not feasible to manually clean and remove all organic matter from such spaces.” The WHO also advised against spraying porous surfaces, such as sidewalks and unpaved walkways, would be even less effective. “Even in the absence of organic matter, chemical spraying is unlikely to adequately cover all surfaces for the duration of the required contact time needed to inactivate pathogens. “Furthermore, streets and sidewalks are not considered to be reservoirs of infection for COVID-19,” it said. The WHO also warned that spraying disinfectants, even outdoors, can be harmful for human health. “Spraying individuals with disinfectants (such as in a tunnel, cabinet, or chamber) is not recommended under any circumstances. “This could be physically and

Aadhaar is the world’s largest  biometric ID system  in India. An Aadhaar number is a 12-digit random number issued by the Government Authority to the residents of India after satisfying the verification process. Any individual, irrespective of age and gender, who is a resident can voluntarily enrol to obtain a Aadhaar number. The residents have to provide minimal demographic and biometric information to sign up which is absolutely free of cost. The uniqueness is achieved through the process of demographic and biometric data. India Post Payments Bank had introduced the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) Services in Sept 2019. With AEPS any one with a bank account linked to their Aadhaar number can make cash withdrawals and balance enquiry regardless of their Bank. They can simply authenticate their identity with a fingerprint scan & Aadhaar authentication details to complete a transaction. AEPS is able to achieve low-cost cash delivery to the doorstep of various sections of

Qwarzo Facebook Page Image Post Qwarzo  provides a groundbreaking technology to replace several single use plastic objects used in packaging or wrapping foods with a natural and biodegradable material One of 3 winners of the 2019  Ocean Plastic Innovation Challenge , Qwarzo has produced a simple 100% paper stirrer which is biodegradable and compostable within a short period and also waterproof, greaseproof and fire resistant. The main idea for it is to replace millions of polluting plastic stirrers used everyday by a large number of customers. The Qwarzo stirrer has now been made available to the coffee drinkers at the La Defense Metro Station in Paris for the first time. Qwarzo paper can be fully transformed into compost, producing it zero industrial waste. Twitter: @journothinker Instagram: @journothinker Website:  https://journothinker.blogspot.com/

Tata Coffee is working towards the vision of ‘Zero Harm Pepper’ in which pepper is produced without causing any form of injury or harm to the workforce. Tata Coffee is a coffee company owned by the Tata Global Beverages, a subsidiary of Tata Group founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1868 and comprimises over 100 independent operating companies. The Group operates across enterprise and social sectors in 6 continents.. The company estates are spread across the districts of Coorg, Chikmagalur, and Hassan in Karnataka and Valparai district in Tamil Nadu. Tata Coffee is one of the largest Coffee cultivation and processing companies in the world and the largest corporate producer of Indian Origin Pepper. They are known as one of the largest corporate producers of both black and white pepper in India. Twitter: @journothinker Instagram: @journothinker Website: https://journothinker.blogspot.com/ Sources: https://tatacoffee.com/pepper https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Coffee

The restaurant chain Penguin Eat Shabu in Bangkok reopened its branches with plastic partitions isolating each table for two people to share a hot meal. The barriers made from Polyvinyl chloride(PVC) pipes and plastic sheets were set up for customers at a Bangkok restaurant which reopened for the first time in weeks. The containment units are very cost-effective, according to the chain owner . The restaurants are open for reservations only. It has been a very difficult time for the restaurant industry all over the world due to the Coronavirus(COVID-19)outbreak lockdowns enforced in countries. This goes on to show that it is possible for restaurants to slowly resume business and attract back customers by adopting creative social distancing measures in these hard times. Photo: Penguin Eat Shabu / Facebook Photo: Penguin Eat Shabu / Facebook Photo: Penguin Eat Shabu / Facebook Photo: Penguin Eat Shabu / Facebook Twitter: @journothinker Instagram: @journothinker Sources: