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Today, the daily tour, we
starts in South Africa where there is kinship of grief and suffering with Colombia.
drop in on Nigeria struggling with identity and existential deliberations.
check in to read a message from editor in Israel.
observe the theatrical show of IP (intellectual property) waiver for Covid-19 works.
discover, again, how domestic and foreign policies are inter-related.
learn what qualifications are needed to become President of Iran.
see why humanitarian assistance is crucial everywhere via Timor Leste
read the crispy bits about Cyprus and reunifcation
close off with being perplexed/smug about Amazon blocking chinese company
📙 â 📒 🌏 South Africa - Colombia: Over at the Mail & Guardian (11 May 2021), an opinion piece invoking kinship with protests Colombia, #SOSColombia: Remember Sharpeville?
The protests and clashes which have taken place in recent days in Colombia have led to the deaths of scores of civilians, the militarisation of public spaces and internet blackouts in cities such as Cali. These events resemble the dynamics in countries in which military juntas rule, such as Myanmar, or in the South African context are reminiscent of the Sharpeville massacre of 1960.
It has been reported that more than 30 civilians and one police officer have been killed, hundreds have been assaulted , there are hundreds of citizens unaccounted for and the violence has not subsided. As police force abuse has triggered protests and riots in different locations in the country and clashes with civilians continue, the escalation of violence may further delegitimise the state, as the government continues to refuse to meet protesters and acknowledge the human rightsâ violations of its citizens.
📙 â 📒 âď¸Nigeria: Worsening situation in Nigeria where internal debate about what it means ro be Nigerian, and concerns over slide towards disintegration and end of the federation has been going on for a while. A thoroughly pro-federation, The Guardian (NG), has been running a series of analytical and politica case for continuity of Nigerian state and federalism in its 28 part editorial . It has has this latest in support of a call by Vice-President Osinbajo with some added avice on how to as well, Osinbajo is right â leaders, elites must speak up in the name of unity if Nigeria is to endure
I am almost as old as Nigeria itself â and in all my time on earth, I have never seen our nation face so many challenges.
Corruption. Covid-19. Kidnapping. Economic collapse. Climate Change. Civil insurrection from secessionists. Civil unrest in rural towns.
Last month alone, almost 600 civilians were killed across our nation â with at least 400 abducted by armed groups.
As I write this, senior lawmakers are urging President Buhari to declare a state of emergency, with one senator stating âour nation is on fireâ.
📙 â 📒 🌏 💫 Israel - Palestine: It is unlikely that you would have missed the news that is flooded with events, incidents, rockets, missiles in Israel and Gaza. At these times I am assuming you have seen the usual news sources. Today I include for your reading the editorial from Israel based Haaretz Editorial | October 2000, May 2021
Israel is once again on the brink of a broad military confrontation in the Gaza Strip. The rocket barrages fired by Hamas and Islamic Jihad on Israeli cities, causing deaths and injuries, as well as the Israel Air Force strikes on Gaza, are moving both sides toward a war whose duration and cost, in human lives and in property, is unknown.
But even as the situation vis-a-vis the Gaza Strip deteriorates , violent protest is spreading in Arab towns and in mixed cities throughout Israel. The spirit of the events of October 2000 hovers over the confrontations between civilians and police, and threatens to once again undermine the delicate and fragile fabric of coexistence, and certainly the faint hope that a government could be formed based on Jewish-Arab cooperation.
📚 â ⨠🌏 Policy- Intellectual Property - TRIPS: Over at CounterPunch (11 May 2021), MK Bhadrakumar explains why the US âIP Waiverâ announcement is just smokes and mirrors Why Bidenâs Vaccine IP Waiver is Political Theatre
Indiaâs Ministry of External Affairs has welcomed the statement of the US government of 5th May announcing their support for a relaxation in the norms of the agreement on TRIPS, to ensure quick and affordable access to vaccines and medicines for developing countries. Delhi is âhopeful that with a consensus based approach, the waiver can be approved quickly at the WTO.â But is the optimism warranted?
The US statement itself is cautiously worded and is non-committal. It only says, âWe will actively participate in text-based negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) needed to make that happen. Those negotiations will take time given the consensus-based nature of the institution and the complexity of the issues involved.â
The Biden administrationâs emphasis continues to be on âour vaccine supply for the American people.â It is an America First strategy. President Biden has plans to at least partially vaccinate 70% of adults by July 4 so that herd immunity develops that will help the level of new infections to drop.
📚 â ⨠🌏 Policy - Society - War-crimes: Over at CounterCurrents (11 May 2021) , an intersection of foreign and domestic policy invoking, Albert Einstein, George W Bush, and Derek Chauvin murder trial, (Daily Kos 05 May 2021) James Rothenberg asks and explains: âWhy arenât U.S. crimes, including war crimes, regarded as crimes?â in this Too Much Respect for Authority
Why arenât U.S. crimes, including war crimes, regarded as crimes? The answer is, because itâs unpatriotic. This bit of shorthand requires explanation. The posed question begins with the assumption that the United States commits crimes. Not everyone would agree with this. Whether or not actions are regarded as crimes is dependent on the perspective of the observer.
Best to ask the victims. Theyâre located overseas, in what is known as the international arena. Thatâs international crime, covered under international law. In the grim reality of our geopolitical world, the strongest gets to decide which laws apply to them. That would be us. The United States of America.
We are the supreme authority. So from Washingtonâs perspective, we cannot commit crimes. We donât answer to anybody. Recall the first President Bush saying that he would never apologize for the United States, no matter what the facts were. Thatâs what he meant.
📚 â ⨠📙 📒 âď¸ 🌏 💫 Iran: It is hard to come by âreliableâ sources which are not flooded with propaganda. So getting a reasonable explanatory article on Iranâs Presidential election is a wee bit tough. There is not just one but four elections taking place. I think I have found something at
Pakistan based DNA (11 May 2021) where Dr. Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan presents Iranâs Presidential Election: A Reality Check
Electioneering is getting âmomentumâ in Islamic Republic of Iran because of upcoming 13th Presidential Election to be held on June 18, 2021. It would be one of Iranâs most âsignificantâ elections that could determine Iranâs future âdirectionsâ of foreign, economic and military policies in the region and beyond.
However, the elections in 1997, 2005, and 2013 yielded surprising results, signaling unexpected changes but this time it seems that there will be no surprise and presidential election will be closely âcontestedâ between reformists and hardliners.
Furthermore, Iranians will be voting in âfour different electionsâ on June 18. Presidential elections and balloting for local councils will be held across the country while there will be by-elections for parliament and the Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics that theoretically chooses the next Supreme Leader which has further enhanced its strategic orientation, utility and importance too.
One of the hidden gems in that article, that should persuade you to read all of it,
Mostly, presidential candidates must be outstanding political and religious figures. Every candidate must have Iranian origin, a national of the Islamic Republic, prudent and capable of taking on leadership duties, holder of at least master degree, with minimum age 40, and also be religious with a strong belief in the Islamic Republicâs principles and its official religion.
📙ââ¨📒🌏 Timor Leste - Humanitarian Aid : Over at The Diplomat (11May 2021) Fidelis MagalhĂŁes citing example of Timor Leste to explain Why Humanitarian Assistance Matters: The Case of Climate Disaster and COVID-19 in Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste is suffering an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, jointly caused by a recent cyclone and by the rapid spread of COVID-19. These events threaten the very health and well being of our population. The country faces rising poverty, food and water insecurity, income loss, reduced productivity, malnutrition, and disease. These impacts are expected to worsen in the very near future.
On April 4, Tropical Cyclone Seroja tore across the capital Dili and other parts of the country with winds in excess of 125 kilometers per hour. Flash floods and landslides ensued, the likes of which had not been seen in decades. With its passage, the cyclone inundated major parts of the capital and affected some 2,100 hectares of agricultural land. It smashed public infrastructure including the waterfront, roads and bridges; it destroyed thousands of homes. The cyclone took the lives of 41 citizens, displaced about 8,000 people and caused serious economic and health-related difficulties for around 32,000 households. Timor-Leste now faces an ongoing risk of waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, and hepatitis A, and vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue. It is estimated that the overall damage of the cyclone will cost about $300 million, roughly equivalent to over 19 percent of non-oil GDP.
📚 📚 📚 â 📒â Cyprus - Unification? : Over at Modern Diplomacy (11 May 2021) An article for everyone, who wants wonders why it makes news and why it is a headache for EU and everyone else, exploring the origins of Cyprus conflict, and way forward Cyprus conflict: How could be Resolved and Reunified?
Cyprus conflict has been regarded as one of the conflicts that are so far difficult to find a resolution for it. The conflict has been considered intractable, due to its complexity multiple endeavors failed to bring on a solution. The conflict that erupted between Turkish and Greek Cypriots on the island had a different language, culture, and religion. These two components are the triggers of the Cyprus conflict which have dragged external actors into the conflict. After independence, these two ethnic groups were granted self-governance as one state on the Island. They have been given an authority based on a constitution that has been enacted by the presence of external actors. They shared the governance of the island until the Coup of 1974 that led to separate these two ethnic groups into two constituencies which resulted in two separate regions. Turkish intervention in the 1980s divided the island into two republics. The self-declaring of an independent state for ethnic Turkish in Northern Cyprus has made the conflict intractable. The tension grew strain between them until 2014 when the reunification discussions opened between the two sides. (1)
There is a primary and secondary actor in the conflict, both actors have their interests in the conflict. Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots are the main actors and the external actor such as Turkey, Greece and Britain are the main secondary actors.
Historical background of the conflict
Cyprus has been a victim of its geographical significance, due to its geopolitical importance has been conquered by multiple empires in the region. The ownership of Cyprus has changed hands among the empires such as Greeks, Egyptian, Roman, Ottoman. And British as the last empire took over from the Ottoman empire from 1878 until independence in 1960.Cyprus conflict has national, regional, and international dimensions, so the solution should take the account of multiple actors. In addition to the ethnic nationalism in terms of conflict between Greek -Turkish Cypriots, there are other actors such as Turkey and Greece. Moreover, there are international actors such as the EU,NATO, and the United Nations.(2) As Cyprus connects three continents, its geopolitical importance has lent it both vulnerability and strengths. That is why history has been of external powersâ interest.
📚â 📱📱â⨠🌏China - Amazon The Company - Trade : To close off the list today, an article I was surprised to see this news in the Big Tech News section in Hong Kong based SCMP (12 May 2021), âMade in China, sold on Amazonâ gadgets from Aukey, Mpow vanish from e-commerce site vaguely looking like there is some sort of new phase in the tech/trade war between companies. Comments in the article will amuse you.
Amazon.com has apparently blocked several prominent mainland Chinese merchants for alleged âsuspicious behaviourâ, in a move that industry insiders said is part of a targeted crackdown on questionable business practices sellers on the platform, including those based in China.
For over a week now, most Amazon listings from Aukey, a major Shenzhen-based electronics vendor, have been listed as âcurrently unavailableâ.
Similarly, most products on Mpow, the main Amazon electronics store run by ByteDance and Xiaomi-backed consumer product firm Patozon, have not been available for purchase since late April.
📚â 💻 ⨠📙📒 📱 🔊 💿🎧 🙏🏽💯 🤗😎😍🤷🏻ââď¸😱 💥 😳 🤗🌞 🌈â âď¸ âď¸ 🌈 âŞď¸ âŠď¸ 🥘🥘 🚰 💡🍷âď¸😊👍🌟💕🌺🦋🐝âŽď¸🌷🐾â¨🌏💫📌🦠a
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