THE WORLD

Image credit: Australia TV's 60-minute programme.

COVID-19: Sinophobia Threatening to Endanger Strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention

Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne*

SYDNEY (IDN) – With the spread of COVID-19 to Europe and the US a bout of Sinophobia seems to have infected the western media. On March 29, Australia's 60-minute program – that is well known for sensational reporting – broadcast a program that portrayed China as the villain of the COVID-19 pandemonium, and just stopped short of calling for war against China.

This reminded me of the propaganda that the Anglo-American media broadcast around the world about alleged 'weapons of mass destruction' that Saddam Hussein had, that led to the attack and invasion of Iraq in 2003.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; COVID-19; 04 April 2020

Photo: President Duterte and US President Donald Trump discuss matters during a bilateral meeting at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on November 13, 2017. ROBINSON NIÑAL JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

The Philippines Moving to Active Middle Power Diplomacy

Viewpoint by Aileen S P Baviera*

Professor Aileen Baveira died of COVID-19 in Manila on 21 March 2020.

MANILA (IDN) — The Philippines was first a colony and then a formal treaty ally of the United States for so long that many Filipinos tend to take the existence of reciprocal defence obligations for granted. For the most part, the Philippines has always supported US security objectives when asked — whether during the Pacific War, the Korean War, the Cold War, the conflicts in Indochina or the 'Global War on Terror'.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 04 April 2020

Photo: President Trump's visit to India on end of February 2020 came exactly a year after Hindu-Muslim tensions in India were stoked by mysterious external parties with the near-war between nuclear armed rivals, India and Pakistan, staged in Pulwama District, Jammu and Kashmir in February 2019, just before General Elections in India. Source: YouTube.

Trump's 'Pivot to Asia' To 'Make America Great Again' Setting the Stage for a New Clash of Civilizations

Viewpoint by Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake

The writer is a cultural anthropologist with research expertise in international political economy, peace, and development studies in South and South East Asia.*

COLOMBO (IDN) – India's capital New Delhi burned in the last week of February 2020 as US President Donald Trump pivoted to India. Visiting the world's largest and increasingly tattered 'democracy', Trump sold among other things, over USD 3 billion worth of weaponry to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The 'partnership of the century' between India and the US announced by Modi seemed designed to put China and its Belt and Road initiative (BRI), already besieged by the mysterious Novel Corona virus, on notice.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 03 April 2020

Photo: Family members who have fled conflict sit inside their tent at the Pissila camp for displaced people in Burkina Faso. WFP/Marwa Awad

Military Intervention Alone Will Fail to Resolve the Sahel Crisis

Viewpoint by Jan Egeland and Jean-François Riffaud

Jan Egeland is Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council. Jean-François Riffaud is Chief Executive Officer of Action Against Hunger-France.

OSLO (IDN) — President Emmanuel Macron invited the five G5 West African leaders to the French city of Pau in January 2020 to shore up support for international engagement in restive Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. All agreed that more European security support was needed to counter violent extremism in the Central Sahel.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 03 April 2020

Photo: Buses are being disinfected a couple of times a day in Moscow. Credit: Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA

COVID-19 Could Derail Russia's Constitutional Reform Vote

Viewpoint by Ben Noble*

LONDON (IDN) – Russia's nationwide vote on controversial constitutional reforms is likely to be postponed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The vote is currently scheduled for April 22.

The vote is the last hurdle before this set of reforms – including a change allowing Vladimir Putin to stay in the presidency beyond 2024 – can come into force.

Russian press has reported that a decision to postpone the vote has already been taken by the Kremlin, but a new date has yet to be selected.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 02 April 2020

Ugandan Singer Bobi Wine Sings of Handwashing and More in New Pop Song

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Ugandan pop star and opposition leader Bobi Wine, who describes himself "a singer, an activist and a member of parliament" is known for his "must plays" – and his latest tune "Corona Virus Alert!," is definitely one of them.

The lyrics remind listeners to wash their hands to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. But there's another message – namely that time has come for Africa's leaders to put more resources into building health care systems that serve both the rich and the poor.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 31 March 2020

African Ministers Expect ‘Break the Glass Moment’ Without Major Debt Relief

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Multilateral lenders and investors are being asked to pony up a modest stimulus package that would halt the spread of the coronavirus in Africa and keep economies from crashing under the weight of debt-servicing costs.

African finance ministers, at a virtual conference on March 23, calculated that an injection of $100 billion – including $44 billion in debt-servicing wavers – would put off the likelihood of a recession and protect growth rates from falling further behind – now at 1.8% from 3.2% earlier in March.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 31 March 2020

Photo: A woman has her samples taken for COVID-19 testing upon arriving at Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi, March 18, 2020. Credit: VnExpress/Giang Huy.

Vietnam Readies 90,000 Doctors for Combating Coronavirus

By Le Nga and Le Phuong, VNExoress International

HANOI (IDN) – Vietnam has readied as many as 90,000 doctors and 125,000 nurses as also turned many facilities into zones for quarantining and treating COVID-19 patients.

On March 18, 90,000 doctors and 125,000 nurses nationwide had been positioned to be deployed in case Vietnam sees a spike in COVID-19 patients.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 30 March 2020

Mexicontagion: Coronavirus & Mexico's Economic Vulnerability

Viewpoint by Bill Dahl

The writer is a former Senior Vice President for Bank of America in Los Angeles, CA. He currently resides in Queretaro, MX. His insightful analysis of global economic affairs have been published widely. He is a contributing columnist for Mexico News Daily, IDN-InDepthNews and Wall Street International Magazine.

REDMOND, Oregon, USA (IDN) – The Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic has revealed that there are certain human beings more susceptible to heightened risks of infection, serious illness and death.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 29 March 2020

COVID-19: The Indian State of Kerala is a Beacon to the World

By Vijay Prashad and Subin Dennis *

This article is taken from Countercurrents which published it on March 27. The article was produced by Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

KOLKATA (IDN) – K.K. Shailaja is the health minister in the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala, the state in the southwest of India that has a population of 35 million people. On January 25, 2020, she convened a high-level meeting to discuss the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. What had particularly worried her is that there were many students from Kerala studying in that province of China.