THE WORLD

Photo: Australia's Prime Minister has unveiled new powers that stop foreign governments from making deals in the country without prior federal approval. Credit: Federal Govt. of Australia.

One Nation, Six Governments – COVID-19 Battle Uncovers Australian Federalism

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – China may have one nation and two systems, but in Australia, it looks like there is one nation and six systems. As the second wave of coronavirus spreads across the continent, the State Premiers have taken unilateral decisions to close borders to travellers from other states to the dismay of Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Speaking at the Bush (Regional) Summit on August 28, Morrison bemoaned “Australia was not built to have internal borders, in fact the very point of federalism was not to have them”. While acknowledging that COVID-19 has touched people everywhere, he added, “We must not allow this crisis, this pandemic, to force us to retreat into provincialism. That’s not the answer”.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 29 August 2020

Collage of photos of the author in his IAEA capacity at the Semipalatinsk “polygon” on 29 August 2011, with ‘Stronger than Death’ monument in Semey in the centre. It was erected in 2001 in memory of the victims of nuclear testing at Semipalatinsk. Photos by Tariq Rauf.

Extinguishing Prometheus’ Nuclear Flame: International Day Against Nuclear Tests

By Tariq Rauf*

VIENNA (IDN) – The first nuclear explosive device was detonated at the Alamogordo Test Range in the New Mexico desert in the United States of America on July 16, 1945, and then on August 6 and 9 the US carried out the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the next seven decades, nine additional countries carried out some 2060 nuclear explosions, spreading radioactive contamination in the air, lands and space, and in the world's oceans, leading to long-lasting catastrophic consequences for the health and well-being of millions of innocent people.

: UN Bureau; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 29 August 2020

Voters Are the Limit to Democracy

Viewpoint by Roberto Savio*

ROME (IDN) – On August 23, a respected Brazilian polling institute found that the country's president, Jair Bolsonaro, enjoys an approval rating of 51 per cent, the highest since he was elected. Brazil ranks second as the country with the highest number of coronavirus deaths (116,000), according to Wikipedia, after the United States where the death toll currently stands at 170,000.

: Roberto Savio; OPINION; 28 August 2020

Photo: Nairobi National Park is the only national park in the world that shares a fence with a city. It boasts of abundant wildlife, including the “big five” animals – the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and buffalo. Credit: Olga Lev-Ari Ercolano

Concerted Campaign to Protect Nairobi National Park

By Dominic Kirui*

This article was originally published on Waging Nonviolence and is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

NAIROBI (IDN) – The Nairobi National Park is a rare gem that defines the Kenyan capital and it is the only national park in the world that shares a fence with a city. It boasts of abundant wildlife, including the “big five” animals – the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and buffalo – that can, in places, be viewed against a backdrop of city skyscrapers and planes coming in to land at the local airports.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 28 August 2020

What Is Mali Telling Africa?

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) – The headlines, especially in the Western press, suggest that Africa is back again in the news for the wrong reasons.

Misery has really never been too far away, but in the last few years, foreign journalists looking for stories of deaths, diseases and destruction on the continent have had to find another hobby, the trendiest of which is Trumpoline, a riveting show from the White House.

With violent conflicts receding, more orderly transfer of power, better business climate and growing prosperity, Africa has been rising.

: Africa & ME Editor; OPINION; 28 August 2020

Photo: At least two officers and up to 21 civilians were killed in a clash between Nigerian security forces and members of the separatist group the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the city of Enugu, Nigeria on August 23. (Left) A video showing a civilian carrying a stick in defence as gunshots are heard in the background. (Right) A member of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) with a gunshot wound after the clash. (Source: Twitter.)

Biafra Politicians Advocate Comprehensive Review of Nigeria's Constitution

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) – Leaders of integrated associations and politicians, mostly from the Eastern region of Nigeria, are calling for a thorough constitutional review that will incorporate the diverse ethno-political interests and also offer equal representation in the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGR). Several archival reports made available and different interviews conducted by IDN vividly show rising tensions and the lack of strategic foresight in the current approach towards national integration before 2023, the end of President Muhammadu Buhari's administration.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Africa; 27 August 2020

Photo: Commander-in-Chief Rodrigo Duterte (His Excellency) in full Battle Dress Uniform (BDU). Source: Wikimedia Commons

Four Ways the Philippine Strongman Rodrigo Duterte Could Fall

Viewpoint by Walden Bello *

“This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.” — T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men

NEW YORK (IDN) – The fix that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is in now illustrates the truth in the saying that the best-laid plans of mice and men are often unravelled by the least expected event.

In the case of the beleaguered Philippine president, the equivalent of the asteroid from outer space that killed off the dinosaurs was COVID-19, which threw him from the high horse he was riding in triumph after the midterm elections of 2019, which his partisans swept at all levels.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 27 August 2020

Photo: US Democratic Party's 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden with Kamala Harris, nominated as vice-presidential candidate. Courtesy: The Bay Observer.

The nomination of Kamala Harris Attracts Great Attention in Neighbouring Canada

By Suresh Jaura

TORONTO (IDN) – Any student of world affairs may know the phrase “when America sneezes, the world catches a cold.” What the phrase means, of course, is that what happens in America affects the rest of the world, be it for good or bad.

It is no surprise, therefore, that citizens and the media in Canada are interested in the US Presidential election.

In fact, in Canada, there was more news coverage of the nomination of Harris by the Democratic Party's presidential candidate Joe Biden than Leslyn Lewis' bid for the 2020 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election, in which she finished third.

: Suresh Jaura; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 26 August 2020

Photo: A child being given polio oral vaccination. Credit: WHO Regional Office for Africa

In a Historic Move, Africa Eradicates Devastating Polio

By Ronald Joshua

GENEVA | BRAZZAVILLE (IDN) – While COVID-19 pandemic is playing havoc with the global economy and a frantic search continues for a vaccine, thanks to a concerted campaign of immunization, Africa is free of a highly infectious disease which mainly affects children under 5 years of age. It is a significant development marking the eradication of the second virus from the face of the continent since smallpox 40 years ago.

"Today is a historic day for Africa," said Professor Rose Gana Fomban Leke, Chairperson of the African Regional Certification Commission for Polio eradication (ARCC), which has declared the region free of polio,

: Ronald Joshua; THE WORLD; Africa; 25 August 2020

Image: Part of the Cover of the UNDP South Africa report.

UNDP South Africa Analyses the Horrendous Impact of COVID-19

By Devendra Kamarajan

JOHANNESBURG (IDN) – The COVID-19 pandemic will push South Africa's overall GDP down by 7.9% in 2020 leading to major setbacks in addressing poverty, unemployment and inequality, the government's development priorities, according to new research by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The study expects the economy to recover slowly through 2024.