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Published by The Non-profit International Press Syndicate Group
Dear Reader,
We are pleased to send you Edition 30 | 2020 of BEYOND BREAKING THE NEWS, a flagship news product, now in the fifth year, meanwhile published every Monday by the Non-Profit International Press Syndicate Group, with registered offices in Canada, Germany, Japan and Singapore, and correspondents around the world. Previous editions are available on https://newsletter-archive.indepthnews.net. Read. Share. Publish; free of charge but mention us as the source. We would appreciate your Feedback.
Kind regards from the Non-Profit
International Press Syndicate
Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana (ESCAP), Kanni Wignaraja (UNDP) and Bambang Susantono (ADB)*
BANGKOK (IDN) – As lockdowns ease in countries across Asia and the Pacific in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing is clear—a return to business as usual is unimaginable in a region that was already off track to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The virtual High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development recently convened governments and stakeholders across the globe to focus on the imperative to build back better while keeping an eye on the Global Goals.
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Viewpoint by Usha M Rodrigues, Deakin University
VICTORIA, Australia (IDN) – India is now the third most impacted country by COVID-19, with cases nearing 900,000 and deaths surpassing 23,000 as of July 13. India is also one of the leading nations when it comes to the sharing of 'fake news’.
By all accounts, India has not yet seen the peak of coronavirus causalities. Nor has India reached the peak of mis- and disinformation circulation on various media platforms.
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By Kalinga Seneviratne
SYDNEY (IDN) – As a serious second wave of COVID-19 infected Australia with some 5 million people in Melbourne under lockdown, with higher daily rates of infections than in March, the Premier of the worst affected Victoria State Daniel Andrews said that this was the result of insecure jobs.
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Viewpoint by Jayasri Priyalal *
SINGAPORE (IDN) – On July 24, 1969, Apollo 11 lunar mission completed landing on the moon and the safe return of the three astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. The famous Neil Armstrong's words after landing on the moon, "That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" echoed around the world. The whole world was thrilled over the great achievement that happened nearly fifty years ago.
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Viewpoint by Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir
The writer is a sociologist and President of the High Atlas Foundation, a U.S.-Moroccan non-for-profit organization dedicated to sustainable development in Morocco.
MARRAKECH (IDN) – The idea of development itself, its definition, and even the method we use for defining it, would be a good place to begin toward discovering its potential in our lives. We cannot rely on any single, or even ten, definitions. We need to look at the full range of literature that arose following the end of World War II, decolonization, and reconstruction from when international development spawned in our era. How has development been defined across the decades?
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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’s recent re-election campaign advertisement is straight out of the plot of a horror movie. Just days after he deployed federal officers to the streets of Portland, Oregon, his campaign released a 30-second television spot featuring an elderly white woman watching on her television the news of activists demanding a de- funding of police.
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Viewpoint by Franziska Korn, Friedich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES)*
BERLIN (IDN) – For over half a decade, the German government has been working to enact mandatory compliance for companies regarding human rights and environmental protection in their supply chains. The United Nations has also pushed for this measure. Adopted in 2011 by the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) provide for, among other things, corporate responsibility to respect human rights. In Germany, implementation is now entering the crucial final phase.
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Viewpoint by Kanni Wignaraja and Akiko Fujii
Ms Kanni Wignaraja is UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. Ms Akiko Fujii is Resident Representative, UNDP Maldives
MALÉ (IDN) – With 70 percent of its GDP linked to tourism, the COVID-19 wrecking ball has crashed hard into the Maldives economy. UNDP’s latest Assessment on Livelihoods published this month revealed a precipitous fall in the number of tourists. As a result hotels are closing, service industries are shedding jobs, and the national budget is haemorrhaging money. The border closure and travel ban during the tourist season will have a dramatic impact on the industry, as well as a ripple effect on the country’s economy.
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By Caroline Mwanga
NEW YORK (IDN) – A new report by the United Nations is pleading for the immediate introduction of a Temporary Basic Income for the world’s poorest people, arguing that this could slow the current surge in COVID-19 pandemic cases by enabling nearly three billion people to stay at home.
A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report estimates that it would cost from $199 billion per month to provide a time-bound, guaranteed basic income to the 2.7 billion people living below or just above the poverty line in 132 developing countries.
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By Radwan Jakeem
NEW YOEK (IDN) – As the government, business and civil society leaders fight the global COVID-19 pandemic, leading experts and thinkers have offered outside-the-box thinking and new solutions to prevent the outbreak of new pandemics while achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
A new publication of policy briefs issued by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) calls for improving international tax cooperation, more equitable access to digital technological advances, and sustainable natural resource management that complement the broader recommendations of the Secretary-General regarding shared responsibility and global solidarity in responding to the socio-economic impact of COVID-19.
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Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene
The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria.
ABUJA (IDN) – The news mid-July of the deaths of two young people, Tolulope Arotile and Fahim Saleh (fondly called Nigeria’s ‘Elon Musk’) whose paths may never have crossed but who nevertheless shared the same kindred spirit of adventure, left me in a daze.
Both died in different places and under different circumstances, but you only need to look a bit closer to see the dots connecting the tragedies. Like candles in the wind, as Elton John would say, they burned out before their legend ever did.
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A "Demilitarization Zone" Would Divide the War-Torn Country into Two Parts
Viewpoint by Vijay Prashad*
This article was originally produced by Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.
NORTHAMPTON, Massachusetts (IDN) – Ahmed, who lives in Tripoli, Libya, texts me that the city is quieter than before. The army of General Khalifa Haftar—who controls large parts of eastern Libya—has withdrawn from the southern part of the capital and is now holding fast in the city of Sirte and at the airbase of Jufra. Most of Libya’s population lives along the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, which is where the cities of Tripoli, Sirte, Benghazi, and Tobruk are located.
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Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*
LUND, Sweden (IDN) – There is "Magic Money" around in case you didn't know. Not quite made out of thin air, but getting on that way. This is a phrase invented by the economic writer, Sebastian Mallaby, in the new issue of Foreign Affairs, America's leading foreign policy bi-monthly journal. It is a usually important and well-researched article. All policymakers should read it.
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By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – Three neighbouring countries locked in a bitter dispute over rights to the precious waters of the Nile River may provide a preview of water wars around the world as global temperatures rise and droughts leave populations with insufficient water to drink or for farms.
The three countries – Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan – are all claiming rights to Africa’s most fabled river but Ethiopia has already laid claim to the water at the source and has begun siphoning it into a $4.5 billion hydroelectric dam to the dismay of Egypt which relies on the Nile for 90 percent of its water.
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By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – Africa has been pulling down statues for years – from Cecil Rhodes at the University of Cape Town to Britain's Queen Victoria in Kenya, to King Leopold of Belgium in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Now, change is moving ahead in Sudan, Gabon and other countries as the momentum for social and economic justice continues to grow. In Sudan, the country's highest governing body has ratified a law outlawing female genital mutilation (FGM) – three months after the cabinet approved amendments to the criminal code that would punish those who perform it.
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Viewpoint by Glauco Benigni*
This article was originally published by Other News and is reproduced with permission.
ROME (IDN) – They are called Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors and they are the world's 3 largest mutual funds. They are also known as asset managers or investment funds, operated by professional experts who collect "fresh" money from an immense and varied number of investors and savers. With this "fresh money" they buy securities in the various stock exchanges of the planet and redistribute profits (when things go well) to those who have entrusted them with the surplus of their capital and/or savings. Investors can be of a commercial or institutional nature, but also simple private individuals who access the various investment plans attributable to and controlled by the Big 3.
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