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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: The Slave Ship by J.M.W. Turner depicts the Zong massacre. Credit: Wikimedia

How the Shadow of Slavery Still Hangs over Global Finance

Viewpoint by Philip Roscoe*

ANDREWS, Scotland (IDN) – When the infamous Zong massacre trial began in 1783, it laid bare the toxic relationship between finance and slavery. It was an unusual and distressing insurance claim – concerning a massacre of 133 captives, thrown overboard the Zong slave ship.

The slave trade pioneered a new kind of finance, secured on the bodies of the powerless. Today, the arcane products of high finance, targeting the poor and troubled as profit opportunities for the already-rich, still bear that deep unfairness.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 26 August 2020

El Sistema Brings Forth Genius in Every Child

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Simon Rattle, the former chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic and now conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, has said that El Sistema in Venezuela is “The most important thing happening in classical music today in the world”. Julian Lloyd Weber, the renowned cellist, has said, “It’s surely the most extraordinary musical phenomenon of our times”.

It seems like whenever I switch on Mezzo, the superb French TV classical and jazz channel, I see either conductors, Valery Gergiev, maestro of the Mariinsky or Gustavo Dudamel, chief conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Gergiev, along with Rattle, are probably the world’s top conductors and Dudamel, close behind them but only 39 years old, is a graduate of El Sistema.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 25 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.

: Devendra Kamarajan; THE WORLD; Africa; 25 August 2020

Photo courtesy: 247 News Around the World

US-Trained Colonel Called 'True Force' Behind Mali Coup

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been ousted from power, removed by troops unwilling to keep up a bloody fight against jihadists and religious extremists who have been gaining ground while charges of corruption against the government continue to pile up.

The “mutinous” army had been taking heavy casualties in the seemingly endless fighting despite vast quantities of international support, training and intelligence pouring in from the U.S., and France. The United Nations alone spends $11.2 billion annually on a peacekeeping mission with 16,600 peacekeepers.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 24 August 2020

EU Subsidies Benefit Big Farms While Underfunding Greener and Poorer Plots

Viewpoint by Murray Scown, Kimberly Nicholas & Mark Brady*

UTRECHT | LUND | UPPSALA (IDN) – The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the European Union’s largest budget item. For the 60 billion euro a year it pays in subsidies, the CAP is expected to support farmer incomes, ensure a supply of quality food, protect biodiversity, tackle climate change and encourage young people into farming.

It’s hard to tell if the EU is succeeding in these aims because of a lack of transparency, complex reporting, and insufficient monitoring. But the success of the European Green Deal and a green recovery from COVID-19 depend on these subsidies being well spent.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 24 August 2020

Photo: President Trump signs an Executive Order at the White House Summit on Human Trafficking in honour of the 20th Anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, Jan. 31, 2020. Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks.

President Trump's 'Orwellian' Policy Fosters Child Trafficking

Viewpoint by Sonali Kolhatkar

This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute. Sonali Kolhatkar is the founder, host and executive producer of “Rising Up With Sonali,” a television and radio show that airs on Free Speech TV and Pacifica stations.

LOS ANGELES (IDN) – President Donald Trump thinks of himself as a champion against human trafficking. He addressed a White House Summit on the issue in January claiming there was a “humanitarian crisis” at the border fomented by criminal organizations and that “traffickers victimize countless women and children.” He signed an executive order and diverted $400 million in funding to combat the issue, boasting in his usual manner that “we have signed more legislation on human trafficking than any other administration has ever even thought about.”

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 23 August 2020

Photo: Image compiled by the author, public domain

TikTok, Trump and the Need for a Digital Non-Aligned Movement

Viewpoint by Juan Ortiz Frueler*

This article was originally published on openDemocracy. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (IDN) – Recent weeks have seen a dramatic escalation in the US stance towards tech companies from the People's Republic of China (PRC). After hounding the telecommunications company Huawei for years, the social networking app TikTok is the latest Chinese company to enter the firing line.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 23 August 2020

Green Light for Magic Mushrooms to Fight Incurable Cancer

By Lisa Wohl

The writer is a Healthcare Reporter based in the United States.

FLORIDA, USA (IDN) – Four Canadian patients battling incurable cancer were approved by the federal Minister of Health, the Patty Hajdu, to incorporate psilocybin therapy in their end-of-life treatment.

According to advocacy group TheraPsil, this group of four patients represent the first publicly-known individuals to receive a legal exemption from the Canadian Drugs and Substances Act, under Section 56, to access psychedelic therapy. They are also the first known patients to legally use psilocybin since the compound became illegal in Canada in 1974.