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By Josefa Babitu*
SUVA (IDN) — A 15-year-old girl has become Fiji’s youngest death due to the covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, taking the total of deaths due to the virus to 58.
Health Secretary Dr James Fong has confirmed this after an investigation by medical personnel classified the case as another covid-19 death.
The girl from Colo-I-Suva was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Raiwaqa Health Centre last week.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*
LUND, Sweden (IDN) — “Too little too late”. It’s as true of Bashar al-Assad as it was of Muammar Gadhafi, as it was of Saddam Hussein and Pol Pot. The problem always has been not lack of early warning but lack of early action.
We have known, literally for decades, that Syrian President Assad ran an intolerably repressive and amoral regime.
Viewpoint by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies*
NEW YORK (IDN) — At Bagram air-base, Afghan scrap merchants are already picking through the graveyard of U.S. military equipment that was until recently the headquarters of America’s 20-year occupation of their country. Afghan officials say the last U.S. forces slipped away from Bagram in the dead of night, without notice or coordination.
By Fermin Koop*
LONDON (IDN) — Protecting and restoring natural areas in Latin America, home to 50% of the planet’s biodiversity and over a quarter of its forests, could help the region achieve a ‘green’ post-pandemic recovery and meet biodiversity conservation targets, experts say. Doing so could even create thousands of jobs in key economic sectors such as agriculture.
Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Kanni Wignaraja, and Bambang Susantono
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is the Executive Secretary, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Kanni Wignaraja is the Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Bambang Susantono is the Vice-President of Asian Development Bank (ADB).
BANGKOK (IDN) — If the world wants to beat back the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure no one is left behind in the recovery, two issues thrown into sharp relief by the pandemic need attention: digitalization and regional cooperation.
Viewpoint by Emil Avdaliani*
TBILISI, Georgia (IDN) — China fears the repercussions associated with the looming US withdrawal from Afghanistan as a rise of extremism in the country could spread and threaten Beijing’s key positions in Xinjiang and Central Asia. However, America’s exit might yet bring some unforeseen benefits. A Chinese-led peacebuilding agenda would mean intensified cooperation with Iran, Pakistan, and Russia. Overall, this undergirds a new order of exclusion that could sideline the collective West in the traditional pivot area.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — In a vote the US called "significantly flawed," Ethiopia’s “Prosperity Party”, headed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, carried the majority of votes cast. Prime Minister Abiy hailed the election as Ethiopia’s first attempt at a free and fair vote.
The vote was a test for the Prime Minister, who will begin a second five-year term. It was delayed by the coronavirus twice and could not be held in some regions due to unrest, leaving seats empty in parliament.
By Daryl G. Kimball*
The writer is the Executive Director of the Arms Control Association.
WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) — After an unusually contentious process that lasted for months, representatives from the member states of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) finally agreed to appoint Robert Floyd of Australia to serve as its executive secretary.
Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani
This article is the 14th in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. The writer is a former professor of biomedical engineering and former senior medical officer affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (now Mumbai) and meanwhile a social activist and commentator.
By Morgane Wirtz**
Since the start of the conflict in Tigray in November 2020, Sudan has hosted more than 60,000 Ethiopian refugees. They are in addition to the tens of thousands of Eritreans the country receives each year. Some are fleeing massacres; others have been forced to fight.
HAMDAYETE, Sudan (IDN) — The Sudanese village Hamdayete lies on the banks of the Tekeze River, on the border between three countries. In the North-East, Eritrea. In the South-East, Ethiopia. In the West, Sudan. Due to its geographical position, Hamdayete is a reception centre for many refugees.
IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. It has been online since 2009. Its network spans countries around the world.