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Photo: Collage of images of Australian PM Morrison (left), US State Secretary Pompeo (centre) and Premier Andrews of Victoria (right) from Wikimedia Commons.

Australian Prime Minister and State Premier Battle Over Joining China's BRI

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – A battle is brewing up between Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Victorian State Premier Daniel Andrews over an agreement the latter has signed with China to link his state with the joint infrastructure development to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added fuel to the conflict on May 24 in an interview with Rupert Murdoch owned Sky News when he said if Victoria joined the BRI, the US could "simply disconnect" from Australia.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 02 June 2020

Photo: In Yemen after nearly five years of war, women have been hit hardest by the conflict. Credit: Kellie Ryan | International Rescue Committee

Arab Women's Organizations Join the UN Chief Urging a Global Ceasefire in the Face Of COVID-19

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) – In a joint statement, ninety-one women's organizations from Iraq, Libya, Palestine, Syria and Yemen have joined a global appeal issued by UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the outset of the pandemic.

On March 23, Guterres urged warring parties across the world to lay down their weapons in support of the bigger battle against COVID-19: the common enemy that is now threatening all the humankind.

: Caroline Mwanga; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 02 June 2020

Photo: Collage of images of George Floyd and the video showing four police officers while one is kneeling on the back of Floyd's head and neck. Credit: heavy.com

Leaders and Media Respond to Police Killing of Shackled Black Man

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – The murder of George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis yanked from his car, shackled and suffocated to death by a police officer aided by at least three other officers, was front-page news in most of the major newspapers in the U.S. It was also covered internationally with many Africans expressing disgust and dismay over the cold-blooded police action. [Watch the video of the Minneapolis chocking an unarmed George Floyd.]

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 01 June 2020

Photo credit: Facebook Executive Mansion-Liberia.

On 'Unification Day', Hopes Dim Among Liberians for Mending National Ties

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | MONROVIA (IDN) – Decades after Liberians agreed to close the chapter on years of disunity and nagging inequality between groups of African-American settlers and indigenous Liberians, efforts to solidify the nation's fragile state of peace appear to have deadlocked.

At a National Unification Day conference in Paynesville, a suburb of Monrovia, Augustine Arkoi, head of the Better Future Foundation (BFF), called the Unification Policy promoted by the late President William V.S. Tubman, a critical challenge 56 years after its formal launch.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 01 June 2020

Photo: A USAF Boeing OC-135B Open Skies. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

The Future of Arms Control Hangs in the Balance After US Quits Open Skies Treaty

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – President Donald Trump's surprise decision to withdraw from the 1992 Open Skies Treaty has posed unprecedented challenges, generated extensive debates among Russian politicians and experts. Equally worried are leaders in Europe and Asia.

Trump administration notified international partners on May 21 that the US was pulling out of a treaty that permits 30 plus nations to conduct unarmed, observation flights over each other's territory.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 31 May 2020

Did Japan Beat COVID-19 with a Decentralized Response?

A Grassroots Movement of Local Actions Has Been Credited for Success.

Viewpoint by Dan Sanchez

The writer is the Director of Content at the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) and the editor of FEE.org. The article was originally published on FEE.org. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

ATLANTA, GA | U.S. (IDN) – Japan's nationwide state of emergency was officially lifted by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on May 25, who declared COVID-19 to be under control in the country. In his announcement of the move, Abe said, "Recently, new infection cases have fallen below 50 for the entire nation, and what was once nearly 10,000 hospitalized cases — that has now fallen below 2,000."

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 31 May 2020

Tackling the COVID-19 Crisis the Wrong Swedish and Effective Indian Way

Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Jainendra Karn *

NEW DELHI (IDN) – Since time immemorial, humanity has confronted natural disasters and pandemics continually, and yet survived. But COVID-19 is unique in the sense that it has shaken and stirred both the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and the world to the core. With over 5.9 million COVID-19 cases and over 362,000 deaths globally, the very experience is the most overwhelming in our living memory.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 30 May 2020

Image: More than 300 International Monitoring System (IMS) facilities certified out of the 337 the CTBTO has planned are already in operation. Credit: CTBTO.

Eminent Persons Warn Against Any Demonstration Nuclear Test Explosion

By Reinhard Jacobsen

VIENNA (IDN) – Members of the CTBTO Group of Eminent Persons (GEM) have expressed "deep concern about credible press reports" that senior U.S. officials have discussed the possibility of conducting "a demonstration nuclear test explosion".

They warn that if carried out, it would break the global moratorium on nuclear weapon test explosions and severely undermine the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban (CTBT) regime, established to help detect and deter nuclear weapon test explosions anywhere in the world.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; CTBTO; 30 May 2020

Image: This page with Country Data provides access to key UN data resources on COVID-19 including specialized datasets on how COVID-19 has impacted key areas of development on the continent. Credit: Africa UN Knowledge Hub for COVID-19.

New Africa Digital Hub to Offer Quick, Factual Information On COVID-19

By Carla McKirdy

This report by Carla McKirdy first appeared in Africa Renewal, a magazine published by the United Nations in New York. The writer is Associate Information Management Officer at the United Nations, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

ADDIS ABABA (IDN) – As part of a coordinated approach to strengthen developing countries' responses to COVID-19, as well as increase access to lifesaving health technologies, the United Nations has launched a digital hub to circulate much-needed information, fast.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 29 May 2020

Photo: Collage with focus on Bience Gawanas, Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa to the UN Secretary-General with 2020 African Dialogue Series banner on top right. Source: OSAA.

UN Discusses the Challenges of Combating COVID-19 Pandemic and Silencing the Guns in Africa

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – In opening remarks to the Africa Dialogue Series on "COVID-19 and Silencing the Guns in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities", UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: "The pandemic has exposed the fragility of our societies. It is a global problem that demands a coordinated global response built on unity and solidarity". He commended African Governments for having responded swiftly.