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This study aims to analyse the factors that caused Indian tourists to avoid travelling abroad because of the recent outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020. It will also identify the relationship between the perceived risk of travelling and the probability of travel evading in India owing to COVID-19.

This study used an online structured questionnaire to collect data from Indian tourists to study six independent variables linked with their behavioural intentions (travel evading). The health belief model was used to examine tourist behaviour.

The results revealed a positive correlation between the perceived risk associated with COVID-19 and travel avoidance. Familiarity with COVID-19 was positively correlated with travel evading behaviours.

This study will assist stakeholders from around the world to adequately identify and thoroughly plan for logistical problems associated with travel such as travel insurance and pre-travel booking expenses to reduce travel evading behaviour and promote travel.

While a few studies have been conducted related to pandemics (Ebola, MERS-CoV, SARS), there is a paucity of literature that examines the factors which influence tourists’ travel evading behaviour owing to COVID-19. Moreover, most of the previous literature on pandemics is concentrated on American and European countries, whereas studies on the Indian sub-continent are very scarce. This study will fill this gap and will identify the factors which influence tourists in India to evade travel in response to COVID-19.

This study aims to investigate the influence of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and geopolitical risk (GPR) on corporate cash holding level and speed of adjustment (SOA) in one of the most important emerging markets in the Middle East and North Africa, Saudi Arabia. It also investigates whether Shariah-compliance as well as financial constraints affect the relationship between both EPU and GPR and corporate cash holdings.

The study employs GMM regression considering a sample of 140 nonfinancial firms drawn from the Saudi stock market over the period 2002 to 2019.

The authors find evidence in support of the precautionary motive hypothesis. Facing costly external financing induced by economic policy-related uncertainty and geopolitical tension, Saudi firms tend to accumulate cash as a buffer against negative shocks to their cash flows. The results also show that the positive impact of EPU and GPR on the level of cash holding is less pronounced in Shariah-compliant firms, whereas it is more pronounced in more financially constrained firms. Evidence also reveals that the estimated adjustment coefficients show that Saudi firms adjust more quickly toward their target cash ratio in periods of high economic instability and geopolitical risks.

This study has important implications for managers, policymakers and regulators. For managers, the study is an important reference to understand and design cash management policies by considering factors measured at the country level. More specifically, managers should pay more attention to periods of heightened uncertainties and geopolitical tensions in which the availability of funds is reduced. For policymakers and regulators, this study may be useful in assessing the effect of economic instability on firm’s cash holding decision. Therefore, in an effort to increase the supply of external financing available to firms, policymakers may devise investment friendly environment by controlling country-specific factors.

This paper shows how EPU and GPR as institutional environment factors affect cash holding decision in an oil-rich country.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the global economy and, thus, the global construction industry. This paper aims to study the impact of COVID-19 on construction project performance in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This study adopted a qualitative and exploratory approach to investigate the impact of COVID-19 and its policies on project performance in the UAE construction industry in critical areas of the project management body of knowledge (e.g. schedule, cost, resources and contracts). Semi-structured interview questions were asked from ten construction professional to obtain valuable insights into the pandemic’s effects on the UAE construction industry and the effectiveness of policies implemented to rectify the damage and identify the industry’s new normal.

The findings indicate that the construction industry faced several challenges such as schedule delays, disrupted cashflows, delayed permits, approvals and inspections, travel restrictions, serious health and safety concerns, material and equipment shortages, among others which hindered the timely delivery of construction projects. It also indicates that efforts made by the government institutions and the construction industry of the UAE such as economic support programs, digitization of processes, fee and fine waivers, health facilities, among other statutory relaxations proved effective in supporting the construction industry against the adverse effects of the pandemic.

The research findings are limited to the literature review and ten semi-structured interviews seeking an expert’s opinion from industry professionals working in the UAE construction industry. The research team did not get access to project documents, contracts and project progress reports which may be required to validate the interview findings, and to perform an in-depth analysis quantifying the impact of COVID 19 on construction projects performance, which is a limitation of this research.

The implication is that, owing to the imposed lockdowns and strict precautionary measures to curb the rapid spread of the pandemic, smooth execution of the construction project across the country was affected. The government institutions and stakeholders of the construction projects introduced and implemented various techniques and solutions which effectively handled the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the construction industry of the UAE.

This study has identified the challenges faced by the construction industry of the UAE in the context of the management of project schedule, project cost, construction contracts, health and safety of construction employees and other related aspects of the construction projects. This study also identified the techniques and solutions adopted by various public and private institutions of the country and their implications on construction projects. Therefore, this study provides guidelines for policymakers and future research studies alike.

Distancing people socially as a precautionary measure against the mushrooming of COVID-19’s health and economic crisis has deleteriously affected the performance of the eatery industry to a great extent. Many food outlets failed to cope up with crisis and opted to move out, and many still vie to survive through pandemic. It becomes vital for researchers to understand what factors influence the performance and survival of eateries during the pandemic? The study makes an attempt to fabricate new factors which affect the performance and contribute significantly towards the survival of eateries in this new COVID-19-prone world.

The present study is a cross-sectional analysis with the sample of 150 eateries from the walled city of Punjab (India), i.e. Amritsar. Factor analysis is employed to scrutinise the factors which influence the performance of eateries during the pandemic, and to analyse factors which contribute significantly for the survival of eateries, logistic regression is performed.

The empirical analysis reveals that at prior psychological factor, followed by turnover factor, external factor, financial factor and marketing factor influence the performance of eateries during the pandemic. Only three factors, namely turnover factor, external factor and financial factor, turned up to be significant towards the survival rate of an eatery. The marketing factor which is a crucial contributor for survival of business in literature has turned out to be insignificant during the times of pandemic.

With the arrival of pandemic, the preference of people has changed, and the business environment in which entities operate has turned more complex. The present study is one of the pioneer attempts to evaluate whether the factors responsible for performance or survival of an eatery during normal times is relevant during the pandemic as well. The study contributes to the literature of eatery industry by adding a new variable namely psychological factor, i.e. changes witnessed in customers’ preference to visit an eatery.

The purpose of this paper is to critically investigate the Ethiopia’s climate change adaptation and mitigation regulatory frameworks and their congruency with the guiding principles under the United Nations (UN) Climate Convention, to show the alignment of the regulatory frameworks with the UN Climate Change rules. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall distribution, recurrent droughts and floods require robust climate change mitigation and adaptation policies and effective implementation in the country.

Through the doctrinal legal research method, the author has used a detailed analysis of primary sources, both national and international legislative enactments. Besides, the research has benefitted from secondary sources like research reports, online publications, scientific journals, international reports, books and journal articles.

The findings reveal that in Ethiopia, there is no national climate change-specific policy and legislation. Although there are scattered sectoral climate-related policies and strategies, they are not consistent with the principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

This study argues that having comprehensive specific climate change policy and legislative frameworks consistent with UNFCCC guiding principles could help to mitigate and adapt to the adverse effects of climate change in the country.

Throughout history, pandemics have played a significant role in reshaping human civilizations through mortalities, morbidities, economic losses and other catastrophic consequences. The present COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to its knees resulting in overstretched healthcare systems, increased health inequalities and disruptions to people’s right to health including life-saving routine immunization programs across the world.

This is a commentary paper.

Immunization remains one of the most successful, safe, cost-effective and proven fundamental disease prevention measures in the history of public health. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has effectively thrown the world's immunization practices out of gear, depriving approximately 80 million infants, in rich and poor countries alike, at risk of triggering a resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases such as diphtheria, measles and polio. It is estimated that each COVID-19 death averted by suspending immunization sessions in Africa could lead to 29-347 future deaths due to other diseases including measles, yellow fever, polio, meningitis, pneumonia and diarrhoea.

The value of implementing robust immunization policies cannot be underestimated. Risks associated with postponing immunization services and the fact that COVID-19 is now an integral part of human civilization have resulted in several countries making special efforts to continue their immunization services. However, critical precautionary measures are warranted to prevent COVID-19 among healthcare service providers, facilitators, caregivers and children during the immunization sessions.

This paper reviews the possibilities of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreading from infected humans to pet animals and from pet animals to other animals and humans.

A systematic literature review and meta-analysis were performed on research articles from November 2019 to August 2020. This study explored urgently needed research issues on COVID-19 infection spreading across animals and humans and vice versa.

Essential and much needed precautionary measures and necessary preventive steps to protect pet animals from infection were highlighted.

Essential investigation and experiment results were highlighted. The necessary measure to prevent the spread of infection among and across species and people was analyzed.

This study aims to critically analyse the Law 9 January 2019, n. 3, on “Measures to fight crimes against the public administration and on the transparency of political parties and movements” (so-called bribe-destroyer law).

This paper draws on reports, legal scholarship and other open-source data to examine a legislative innovation for the corruption in Italy in relation to the general guarantees of the trial process and with the controversial paradigm of the national perception index of bribery.

The Italian legislative initiative that will be examined is innovative in nature and goes beyond the constitutional and conventional principles on procedural guarantees. The new initiative needs to be integrated into the international and European action against bribery that targets criminal proceeds, and at the same time, be anchored in respect for human rights during the process.

The new initiative needs to be integrated into the international and European action against bribery that targets criminal proceeds, and at the same time, be anchored in respect for human rights during the process.

Despite the aggressiveness and lofty proclamations by those who aspire to fight corruption from the highest levels, the goal of rehabilitating Italy from one of the seven “deadly sins” that delay economic growth still seems far off.

In the absence of public ethics, the increase in criminalisation does not seem sufficient on its own to guarantee the containment of the phenomenon.

This study examines the strengths and weaknesses of the important new law, its compatibility with human rights standards and its relationship to international standards of anti-bribery policies. The aggressive legislation critically relies on the pervasive and persistent lack of perception of corruption as a crime. In the confiscation (and now also reparation) of equivalent that normally addresses assets accumulated in a lawful manner, the periculum is even presumed in re ipsa and the classical aims of caution undergo a total torsion revealing an authoritarian face that takes on the meaning of anticipating further sanctioning contents. Finally, the presence of many levels of sanctioning in relation to the same fact poses serious problems of violation of the ne bis in idem rule.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on people's lives, air travel and tourism. The authors explored travelers' perceptions of COVID rapid antigen tests before boarding aircraft, willingness to fly and the precautionary actions for safe air travel.

All the participants were asked to complete the survey while reflecting on their experiences of air travel during this COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire consisted of demographic information of the participants and air travel preferences during pandemic. The survey was conducted through Google Form in both English and Arabic language. The link was shared through emails and WhatsApp.

In this survey, majority had willingness to fly during pandemic. 45.2% preferred to undergo rapid test before boarding, while 41.9% refused owing to no added benefit (23.8%) and nasal discomfort (9.3%) among others. The best indicators to resume safe air travel were COVID-19 vaccination (80.4%), wearing face mask during flying hours (70.8%) and maintain social distancing with aircraft seating (49.6%).

The findings of the current survey could help the organizations and the biosecurity authorities to act and support accordingly and thus reduce passenger anxiety about resuming the flights, thereby increasing willingness to fly and preparing oneself and the aviation industry for future pandemics.

The findings of the current survey could help the organizations and the biosecurity authorities to act and support accordingly and thus reduce passenger anxiety about resuming the flights, thereby increasing willingness to fly, and preparing oneself and the aviation industry for future pandemics.