The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) was created in response to the 1975 Arab Oil Embargo and was intended to, “Store petroleum to reduce the adverse economic impact of a major petroleum supply disruption”. Despite long history of purchases and releases of crude oil, little is known about the effect of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) on crude oil prices. Much of the existing literature on the SPR focuses on the optimal purchase and release strategies and does not directly estimate the effect of the SPR on crude prices. It is…
Read MoreCOVID 19 THERAPEUTICS STRATEGIES
Till date, no potential therapeutic agents (antivirals) have been discovered to treat specifically this Covid -19 global disease. Currently, researchers all over the world are working aggressively to discover a potential drug. Drug discovery and development is a tedious /challenging task, takes several years, and involves billions of dollars. Numerous experiments and techniques have been aimed at preventing further spread of COVID-19 and to improve successful and secure therapeutics. Depending on the target, possible anti-CoV therapies can be classified into two categories: (1) those acting on the Covid itself and…
Read MoreTHE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS
The drivers of conflict and vulnerability to climate change are multiple, complex, and oftentimes, cyclical, making it difficult to analyze their differentiated impacts on Sexual And Reproductive Health And Rights(SRHR) in isolation. As such, evidence related to the impacts of climate change on SRHR is often discussed more broadly in the context of these drivers of vulnerability, without distinguishing between, for example, post-disaster and conflict-affected settings. However, it is clear that settings of conflict and fragility are areas of high vulnerability in relation to SRHR and it is expected that…
Read MoreCOVID – 19 AND CRISIS IN FAMILIES : IMPACTS AND ECONOMICAL REPERCUSSION OVERVIEW
The coronavirus pandemic represents the biggest shock to the world economies since the great depression. COVID- 19 is/ was a seismic social shock even for families that lost no income due at least in part to abrupt school closures and the widespread threat of illness and death. In many instances, the school closures substantially increased the time that parents, especially mothers, spend with their children. For school children, school closures and learning interruptions could threaten children’s learning and adjustment but the effects will depend on the quantity and quality of parent-child…
Read MoreTHE CONCEPT OF ARMED CONFLICT: THE ADDITIONAL PROTOCOLS AND THE 1998 ROME STATUTE
The two 1977 Additional Protocols contain updates on the substantive law and the first comprehensive regulation of the conduct of hostilities in international armed conflict. While Protocol I extended the range of international armed conflicts to which it applies by including ‘armed conflicts in which peoples are fighting against colonial domination and alien occupation and against racist regimes in the exercise of their right to self-determination’. Protocol II on non-international armed conflicts introduced stringent requirements for the applicability of its rules and a minimum threshold below which it should not…
Read MoreIMPORTANCE OF ANTIBODY TITERS AMIDST COVID – 19 PANDEMIC AND ADOPTION OF cDNA MICROARRAY TECHNOLOGY FOR GLOBAL HEALTH STABILITY
An antibody titer is a test that can be done to find out that a person is immune. For this test, a blood sample is sent to a laboratory and tested for antibodies. If a person has developed a sufficient level of antibodies, they may not need the booster dose of vaccine. An important thing to be aware of before going to a booster Covid -19 dose such that • If you have a record of the previous vaccinations you have received, get your titers drawn first. • Measure your…
Read MoreDRONE WARFARE AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
Under the United Nations Charter, states agree to “settle their international disputes in a peaceful manner” and “refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.” This is generally viewed as a blanket prohibition on the use of force by one state inside the borders of another sovereign state. Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter outlines just two exceptions to this prohibition. First, if the Security Council identifies “any threat to the peace, breach of the…
Read MoreDIGITAL AUTHORITARIANISM AND ITS EFFECTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY
Digital authoritarianism is “the use of digital information technology by authoritarian regimes to surveil, repress, and manipulate domestic and foreign populations”. Essentially it refers to the use of digital and technological means to increase control and limit the freedom and rights of citizens. For example, digital authoritarianism entails actions such as; limiting internet freedom, internet access and free speech online, collecting personal data for illegitimate purposes, surveillance and tracking of online activities, especially those of regime critics. We can sums up digital authoritarianism in six different techniques: surveillance, censorship, social…
Read MoreCLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION COSTS AND PROSPECTS IN THE DEVELOPED WORLD : INCORPORATING CLIMATE CHANGE INTO LONG TERM POLICIES
At higher temperatures, the climate change costs of adaptation will rise sharply and the residual damages will remain large. The additional costs of making new infrastructure and buildings resilient to climate change in Organisation For Economic Cooperation And Development (OECD)Organization For Economic And OECD countries could range from $15 – 150 billion each year (0.05 – 0.5% of GDP), with higher costs reflecting the prospect of higher temperatures in future. In the developed world, some sectors may experience benefits from climate change for moderate levels of warming up to 2…
Read MoreDIVORCE EFFECTS ON CHILDREN’S BEHAVIOUR AND DEVELOPMENT
Nowadays, one in four children will have to face their parents’ divorce and one in ten children live with only one of them, usually the mother. For all families, the divorce can trigger a series of changes potentially stressful for each member. The child and family tasks where before guided by two parents, now are responsibility of one, such as family roles and functioning can become chaotic. In the preceding months to divorce, many families face financial problems that could result in changes of home, school, and job. According to…
Read MoreCLIMATE DISPLACEMENT: GAPS IN THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR SMALL ISLANDS/ARCHIPELAGO
Despite the existence of numerous international instruments addressing forced migration, internal displacement and climate change, international law does not offer ad hoc protection to people affected by climate displacement. The unprecedented nature of the challenges posed by sinking islands is one of the causes of this legal vacuum. Nonetheless, international law will have to react and the ways in which this could happen vary substantially. One possible solution could consist in adapting the existing legal frame work to the peculiarities of climate-induced displacement. The specific needs of climate-displaced people could…
Read MoreDOHA DECLARATION ON TRADE-RELATED ASPECTS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (TRIPS) AND INDIA: AN OVERVIEW
The post 2005 and the impact of adopting stronger patent regime in the context of India generated debate not only within India but also outside, since India is one of the larger drugs/medicines manufacturing country in the world which ranks higher position in terms of production and volume. India’s export reaches a number of developing and least developed countries which show the dependency of the other countries on India. India’s pharmaceutical industry is also making footprints in the developed countries as well. India’s transition towards the product patents came gradually.…
Read MoreGLOBALISATION AND WORLD POVERTY: IT’S EFFECTS AND RELATIONSHIPS
Globalisation is the growing integration of economies and societies around the world. It ranges from the issues of trade and services, movement of capital, growth and poverty of the world population, international migration to easier transportation and communication around the world. It is a complex process that affects many lives and above all, increased economic interdependence among countries. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) outlined four basic aspects of globalisation – capital and investment movements, trade and transactions, dissemination of knowledge and the migration and movement of people. The process of…
Read MoreRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENTAL STRESS AND CHILDREN TEMPERAMENT
A child’s activity level was correlated with the level of stress a mother experiences. Parents can describe their children as having distinct and recognisable patterns of behaviour as young as in infancy. Even at birth, some children are much more challenging to parents while other children are notably more easygoing and carefree. Since parenting involves the relationship between a child’s temperament(personality style) and the parent’s response, the relationship is a reciprocal process in which parent and child are constantly affecting each other. It was hypothesised that child activity level would correlate…
Read MoreCORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY TO RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS
The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) do not make explicit mention of specific rights such as the right to health or to responsibilities of business in emergency or other crisis situations. However, it is clear that the UNGPs expect businesses to undertake due diligence and assess impacts of their operations and conduct in terms of respect for all rights, including the right to health; to take all possible steps to mitigate any harms; to ensure that conduct does not cause or contribute towards harms; address risks…
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