Free Malaysia Today (FMT) (08.06.2021) Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin says the government is looking to bolster the country’s social safety net programme with a definitive database. Muhyiddin said that he chaired a Malaysian Social Protection Council (MySPC) meeting via video conferencing today, during which the issue of strengthening the national social safety net was discussed. He added it included expanding the protection schemes under the Social Security Organisation (Socso) to groups that were not covered previously.

Reuters - Brazil’s government plans to extend an emergency cash transfer program to relieve poor families during the coronavirus pandemic for another two months, a government official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday. The 250 reais-per-month handout, to be financed with an extraordinary credit of 12 billion reais ($2.38 billion), will be paid in August and September, continuing a program started last year and revived for four months in April, the source said. ($1 = 5.04 reais)

bdnews24.com (03.06.2021) Bangladesh has expanded its social safety net programmes by increasing the budgetary allocation by 12.5 percent in the fiscal year 2021-22 as part of the efforts to alleviate the plight of lower-income and vulnerable groups which have been hit hardest by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

31.03.2021 (caixa.gov.br)

Big data analytics has gained wide attention from both academia and industry as the demand for understanding trends in massive datasets increases. Recent developments in sensor networks, cyber-physical systems, and the ubiquity of the Internet of Things (IoT) have increased the collection of data (including health care, social media, smart cities, agriculture, finance, education, and more) to an enormous scale. However, the data collected from sensors, social media, financial records, etc. is inherently uncertain due to noise, incompleteness, and inconsistency.

World Economic Forum (27.05.2021) Innovative solutions have been developed across Africa and Asia to deal with the increasing demand for health workers and services due to COVID-19. These include the use of drones, solar-powered freezers and utilizing Pakistan's unemployed doctors. In a pandemic, these solutions can be the deciding factor between effectively managing the virus and not.

diritto.it (07.04.2021)

The ban on layoffs is extended until 30 June 2021 for workers in companies covered by ordinary CIG (CIGO) and extraordinary CIG (CIGS)(mainly industry and agriculture). The ban on redundancies is extended until 31 October 2021 for workers in companies covered by social shock nets in derogation (mainly tertiary sector).

A new lump-sum of 2,400 euros for seasonal workers in tourism, spas or other sectors, entertainment, self-employed persons, temporary workers and other atypical workers was introduced in April by the Sostegni Decree. The payment of a reduced benefit (1,600 euros) has been extended until July 2021. 

aa.com.tr (26.05.2021)

The Turkish government's Pandemic Social Support Program has provided relief for more than 6 million people, Minister of Family and Social Services Derya Yanık said. The program covers everything from cash aid to the distribution of free food across the country, where the ongoing coronavirus pandemic negatively impacted the income of millions. The regulation barring layoffs during the pandemic would be extended for another three months.

- Lexology (24 May 2021) On 31 March, Emergency Decree No. 034-2021 was published in an extraordinary edition, through which the Social Health Insurance (ESSALUD) has been authorized to pay the 'Economic Benefit of Emergency Social Protection in the face of the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic' and the 'Temporary Disability Allowance for patients diagnosed with COVID-19' during 2021.