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Published by The Non-profit International Press Syndicate Group
with IDN-InDepthNews as the Flagship Agency
Dear Reader,
We are pleased to send you Edition 07 | 2021. This weekly is the flagship news product of the Non-Profit International Press Syndicate Group with registered offices in Canada, Germany, Japan and Singapore, and correspondents around the world. Feel free to share and re-publish articles pro bono mentioning the source. Previous editions are available on https://newsletter-archive.indepthnews.net. Your feedback is most welcome.
Kind regards from the Non-Profit
International Press Syndicate
Viewpoint by Camilo Tamayo Gomez*
BIRMINGHAM (IDN) – The murder of five students at a farm in Buga, in south-western Colombia, on January 24 highlights the fragility of the 2016 peace deal which brought to an end more than five decades of civil conflict between successive governments and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
January 2021 was the most violent month since the peace deal was signed, with 12 mass killings and total of 45 people murdered, according to the Colombian NGO INDEPAZ. The United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia and Human Rights Watch have recorded the deaths of 261 FARC ex-combatants and more than 400 human rights defenders and social leaders since 2016.
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Viewpoint by Vijay Prashad*
NORTHAMPTON, Massachusetts (IDN) — On February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military — known as the Tatmadaw — invoked Article 417 of the 2008 constitution, dismissed State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, and arrested her and other members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Condemnation of the coup was swift, although there would be the reason for hesitancy in the reaction:
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Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*
LUND, Sweden (IDN) — General Colin Powell should know. He was chief of staff of the US military, and later secretary of state under President George W. Bush. When the Syrian civil war broke out and there was an effort in Congress and the media to persuade President Barack Obama to intervene, Powell made an observation, the one posted in pottery shops: ”If you break it you own it”. He had also made the same pithy remark before the first Gulf war but then he went along with leading the invasion.
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By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — A plane carrying Cameroonian, Angolan and Congolese asylum seekers due to take off from Alexandria, Louisiana, was cancelled with minutes to spare after advocacy groups published affidavits by detainees of torture by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
The affidavits listed a host of violent tactics ICE officials had reportedly used to pressure the detainees to submit to their deportation. ICE agents were accused of choking, beating, and forcing the asylum seekers to agree to expulsion by threatening them placement in Covid-19 wards.
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By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK | BRUSSELS (IDN) — As Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni bore down on rights groups and the opposition, the European Union (EU) Parliament responded with the threat of sanctions against Ugandan individuals and organizations they hold responsible for abuses during the recent general election.
Museveni apparently sparked the EU backlash when he instructed the Ministry of Finance, in a letter dated January 1, to suspend the activities of the Democratic Governance Facility, a basket fund of European countries that bankroll most Ugandan civil society organizations that work on governance, rights and related themes.
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By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — A federal class-action suit filed on behalf of eight Malian citizens against Nestle SA, Cargill, Hershey and Mars, Inc. among others for their alleged complicity in the trafficking and forced labour of African children, is now under review by the US Supreme Court.
The plaintiffs are former child slaves trafficked from Mali to harvest cocoa beans in Côte d’Ivoire, the biggest exporter and producer.
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By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse , one of the standout speakers at the impeachment trial of ex-president Donald J. Trump, got raves from news pundits, saying a new national political star had been born.
He credits his parents with the values that propelled him into a career in politics.
“Over 35 years ago, my parents came to the United States from a small country in East Africa … as immigrants to a country that welcomed them with open arms and tremendous opportunities,” Neguse said in his first electoral victory speech.
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By Reinhard Jacobsen
BRUSSELS | NEW YORK (IDN) — A United Nations agency had drawn attention to the dire situation of children in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where fighting continues between Government troops and regional forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
As more supplies and emergency personnel reach the area, “an incomplete but troubling picture” is emerging which reveals children are experiencing severe and ongoing harm, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on February 12.
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By Jaya Ramachandran
PARIS (IDN) — "Even today, in the 21st century, women and girls are being sidelined in science-related fields due to their gender," warns the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Audrey Azoulay.
Women need to know that they have a place in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and that they have a right to share in scientific progress, adds the UNESCO chief.
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An Important Step Towards Implementing UN Guidelines
By Rita Joshi
BERLIN (IDN) – After protracted negotiations, Germany's coalition government has announced an agreement on a German 'mandatory human rights due diligence law' focusing on corporate accountability for human rights violations in global supply chains. In doing, it has taken into account the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). These also address the human rights risks and identify the human rights impact of their response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Viewpoint by Chandra Muzaffar
This article is being reproduced from the Website of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST) presided over by Dr Chandra Muzaffar.
KUALA LUMPUR (IDN) – According to official estimates, Donald J. Trump obtained a little more than 74 million votes in the November 2020 presidential election losing to Joseph Biden who secured a little more than 81 million votes. Biden won by a comfortable margin, but Trump also performed remarkably well. What explains his performance? Analysis of his performance may reveal the growing influence of a certain combination of forces that may shape elections in not only the United States but also in other parts of the world in the coming years.
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By Ronald Joshua
ROME (IDN) – A wave of self-organised youth-led groups across the world has joined the growing momentum behind the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, which will peak in September.
The UN Food Systems Summit was announced by the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, on World Food Day last October as a part of the Decade of Action for delivery on the SDGs by 2030. The aim of the Summit is to deliver progress on all 17 of the SDGs through a food systems approach, leveraging the interconnectedness of food systems to global challenges such as hunger, climate change, poverty and inequality.
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By Thalif Deen
The following are excerpts from a just-published book “No Comment – and Don’t Quote me on That”, a collection of political anecdotes reflecting over 40 years of reporting from the United Nations*.
NEW YORK (IDN) – When UN member states compete for the presidency of the General Assembly or membership in the Security Council or in various UN bodies, the voting was largely tainted by bribery, cheque-book diplomacy and offers of luxury cruises in Europe – while promises of increased aid to the world’s poorer nations came mostly with heavy strings attached.
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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 fight against terror in Nigeria has been a theatre of the absurd. What began as a tiny spark of itinerant fanatics taking a pledge against western education mutated into a full-fledged non-state army currently ranked as the third deadliest globally. Yet, banditry is another fast-growing franchise.
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Viewpoint by Sonali Kolhatkar
Workers at one of Amazon’s warehouses are deciding whether or not to join a union. Amazon’s union-busting efforts indicate just how important the vote is, writes Sonali Kolhatkar. She 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. This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute.
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