In The News

Mining Firm Set to Destroy Artifacts: The Age

Charlotte Grieve June 16, 2020
The economic slowdowns imposed to contain Covid-19 contribute to a glut in energy markets. “China Shenhua Energy, the world's largest thermal coalminer, is planning to construct an open-cut mine next to the Liverpool plains near Gunnedah in the ‘food bowl’ of the state,” reports Charlotte Grieve for the Age. The Gomeroi people maintain the project will ruin Aboriginal sites and artifacts...

Media Under Attack in Philippines: Rappler

Ryan Macasero June 16, 2020
Numerous non-profit organizations in the Philippines accuse the Duterte administration of using the Covid-19 pandemic to attack the press freedoms and block scrutiny of corruption and human rights abuses. A Manila court convicted Rappler’s CEO Maria Ressa and former researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr. of cyber libel for a 2012 report. One group said “the verdict delivers a ‘chilling effect’ to other...

UNHRC to Debate Systemic Racism: AFP

June 15, 2020
Burkina Faso’s ambassador to the UN, Dieudonné Desiré Sougouri, wrote a letter for 54 African countries calling for “urgent debate” from the UN Human Rights Council on systemic racism, police brutality, human rights violations against people of African descent and the attacks against peaceful protesters. The UNHRC, after a disruption due to Covid-19, resumes its 43rd session today. “The call came...

Tracking COVID-19 with Air Travel Data: Rand

Russell Hanson, Christopher A. Mouton, Adam R. Grissom and John P. Godges June 15, 2020
Rand Corporation researchers have developed a Covid-19 air-traffic visualization tool that combines case data from Johns Hopkins University with travel data from the International Air Transport Association. “Together, these data sets make it possible to visualize how coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections and commercial air travel have interacted to export infection risk across the world...

Sanctions Against ICC Officials: Al Jazeera

June 12, 2020
Donald Trump authorized economic and travel sanctions against International Criminal Court officials investigating military and intelligence officials of the US and its allies for war crimes in Afghanistan and elsewhere. The United States rejects ICC jurisdiction over US personnel, and the United Nations, the European Union and human rights groups condemn the sanctions. “The Hague-based court was...

Ethiopia to Plant 5 Billion Trees: Quartz Africa

Samuel Getachew June 11, 2020
Ethiopia has an ambitious plan to plant 20 billion trees by 2024, including 5 billion this year, part of the Green Legacy Challenge to confront climate change. The program costs more than 4 billion Birr, or $117 million, reports Samuel Getachew for Quartz Africa, adding, “The initiative has been getting support from nations including Norway, Sweden and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP...

Uncertainty for Middle East: Syndication Bureau

Dnyanesh Kamat June 11, 2020
Rising Chinese-US tensions create strategic uncertainty around economic-development, foreign policy and even internal politics in the Middle East. US plans to relocate strategic industries, including healthcare and technology, away from China may benefit economies like Egypt or Morocco. “On the other hand, the increasingly zero-sum nature of economic competition between China and the US means...