By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – China may have one nation and two systems, but in Australia, it looks like there is one nation and six systems. As the second wave of coronavirus spreads across the continent, the State Premiers have taken unilateral decisions to close borders to travellers from other states to the dismay of Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Speaking at the Bush (Regional) Summit on August 28, Morrison bemoaned “Australia was not built to have internal borders, in fact the very point of federalism was not to have them”.  While acknowledging that COVID-19 has touched people everywhere, he added, “We must not allow this crisis, this pandemic, to force us to retreat into provincialism. That’s not the answer”.…

By Dominic Kirui*

This article was originally published on Waging Nonviolence and is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

NAIROBI (IDN) – The Nairobi National Park is a rare gem that defines the Kenyan capital and it is the only national park in the world that shares a fence with a city. It boasts of abundant wildlife, including the “big five” animals – the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and buffalo – that can, in places, be viewed against a backdrop of city skyscrapers and planes coming in to land at the local airports.

Despite the park being only a five-minute drive from the Nairobi central business district, the Kenyan government has a history of approving development projects inside the park, which threaten its existence and that of the wildlife that inhabits it.…

Viewpoint by Philip Roscoe*

ANDREWS, Scotland (IDN) – When the infamous Zong massacre trial began in 1783, it laid bare the toxic relationship between finance and slavery. It was an unusual and distressing insurance claim – concerning a massacre of 133 captives, thrown overboard the Zong slave ship.

The slave trade pioneered a new kind of finance, secured on the bodies of the powerless. Today, the arcane products of high finance, targeting the poor and troubled as profit opportunities for the already-rich, still bear that deep unfairness.…

By Devendra Kamarajan

JOHANNESBURG (IDN) – The COVID-19 pandemic will push South Africa’s overall GDP down by 7.9% in 2020 leading to major setbacks in addressing poverty, unemployment and inequality, the government’s development priorities, according to new research by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The study expects the economy to recover slowly through 2024.

It points out that female-headed households, persons with lower levels of education and the Informal Sector are hit hardest. Those with access to technology and digitisation are faring better. Innovative government policies and action are therefore needed for recovery, emphasizes the report. COVID-19 negatively impacts the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).…

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) – Two United Nations agencies have warned that about 3.3 million people in Burkina Faso are facing acute food insecurity. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) cited alarming new data, and the World Food Programme (WFP), stressed that “urgent and sustained action” is needed to address the worsening food and nutrition situation throughout the landlocked West African country.

According to the latest analysis, acute food insecurity has increased more than 50 per cent since the situation in Burkina Faso was last assessed in March. The UN survey points out that in a country already reeling from conflict and climate change, COVID-19 has intensified people’s inability to earn money to cover their daily needs.…

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) – As country lockdowns to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic come to an end, an immediate priority is the fate of 30 million children who may never return to school, warns a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report.

With this in view, former world leaders, economists and educationalists say in a letter to the Group of Twenty (G20) nations and other countries: “We cannot stand by and allow these young people to be robbed of their education and a fair chance in life.” They urge them to take action to prevent the global health crisis creating a “COVID generation” – leaving tens of millions of children with no hope of education.…

Viewpoint by Lakshmi Lingam*, Tata Institute of Social Studies

MUMBAI (IDN) – Women in India spend 297 minutes on unpaid domestic work each day, 245 minutes more than men who contribute only 52 minutes. Women’s work is not accounted for in the national accounting system, making their contributions unrecognised and unvalued.

An Oxfam report observes that the unpaid work of Indian women plays a crucial role in sustaining economic activity, equivalent to 3.1 per cent of GDP. Economic and social challenges, including domestic violence, dowry at the time of marriage and the trafficking of women, coalesce to sustain and perpetuate gender inequalities in India.…