![Media companies in Afghanistan term new rules as an existential threat to independent journalism and call upon government to scrap them [Al Jazeera].](https://southasiatimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Ghani.webp "Ghani")
Media companies in Afghanistan term new rules as an existential threat to independent journalism and call upon government to scrap them.
![India has ranked 168th out of 180 in the 2020 Environmental Performance Index (EPI); the country faces serious environmental health risks [Al Jazeera]](https://southasiatimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/000_8V9346.webp "Environmental degradation")
India has ranked 168th out of 180 in the 2020 Environmental Performance Index (EPI); the country faces serious environmental health risks
![Migrant workers usually leave India for Nepal in October and return home around April. This time, the ongoing pandemic hampered their return [Al Jazeera].](https://southasiatimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Migrant-workers.webp "Migrant Workers")
Migrant workers usually leave India for Nepal in October and return home around April. This time, the ongoing pandemic hampered their return.
These trying times have severely affected many emerging-market economies and the countries will need to be innovative and highly targeted with limited funding.
Currently, the COVID-19 crisis is the worst health emergency the world is witnessing. The worst toll it has taken is on the economy. The US
Last weekend, OPEC+
countries agreed on cutting outputs to stabilize the dramatic slide in prices. This deal was
supposed to keep the oil from flooding the market until the demand was returned to its normal
levels.
![The Afghan government has initiated digging trenches to capture rainwater and snowmelt on a mountain on the outskirts of Kabul [Al Jazeera].](https://southasiatimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Kabul.jpeg "Kabul")
The Afghan government has initiated digging trenches to capture rainwater and snowmelt on a mountain on the outskirts of Kabul.
Due to the uncertainty looming over the global economy, the International Monetary Fund has quashed its economic forecasts once again.
Around the world, major stock markets have responded positively to the oil cuts agreed upon by major OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers until late July.
The (EPI) scorecard is calculated every year to analyze the performance of different countries in adhering to UN (SDGs) on the ecological paradigm.