World News
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Chinese Sinovac vaccine debuts in Singapore to high demand
While Sinovac is much maligned in Thailand, when it became available in Singapore yesterday, there was an overwhelming demand for the Chinese Covid-19 vaccine. Singapore has been using Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to inoculate nearly half of the 5.7 million residents on the small country so far. Despite those 2 vaccines having shown to be over 90% effective against symptomatic…
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Juneteenth: An important holiday, that changes little
The US has made June 19, or Juneteenth, a public holiday. This second independence day, as it were, commemorates the liberation of enslaved Afro-Americans. It dates back to June 19, 1865, when Union Major General Gordon Granger proclaimed the abolition of slavery in Galveston, Texas. It brought to an end the second genocide on US soil — after the forced…
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India: COVID vaccine disparity makes inoculation a challenge
As India emerges from a devastating second wave of the coronavirus, experts have warned that the country’s slow vaccination drive and the easing of restrictions could soon lead to a third wave. The vaccination campaign, which began in January this year, aimed to inoculate 300 million of India’s 1.4 billion people by August. But by May, India had only fully…
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Why are sanctions against Belarus not more effective?
Dictators like to win elections. In the past 27 years, Alexander Lukashenko has stood for election six times, and each time he was victorious. Or supposedly victorious, that is, in what has been widely seen as rigged elections. Sanctions against him have been in place for the majority of his rule, and stricter punitive measures are set to come into…
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Namibia’s Herero Chief Rukoro dies
Vekuii Reinhard Rukoro was born in Otjiwarongo, a farming town in central Namibia — then known as South West Africa — in 1954, a decade before the beginning of the armed struggle to rid Namibia of South Africa’s apartheid regime. He attended secondary school in Döbra, then a tiny settlement north of Windhoek before training to be a lawyer, first…
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Sierra Leone: Black Johnson Beach sold to China for industrial fishing harbor
Sierra Leone’s government cut a $55 million deal with China to finance the construction of a new harbor. The people living along the pristine beach fear losing their jobs and land. SOURCE: DW News
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Sierra Leone: Black Johnson Beach to become fishing harbor under China deal
Sierra Leone’s government cut a $55 million deal with China to finance the construction of a new harbor. The people living along the pristine beach fear losing their jobs and land. SOURCE: DW News
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How is Beijing reshaping Hong Kong through the national security law?
A day after 500 police officers raided its newsroom and arrested five executives, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily printed 500,000 copies featuring the raid and the arrest on its front page. “We must press on,” read the headline, citing a passage from the paper’s CEO Cheung Kim-hung. On Friday, police formally charged Cheung and Editor-in-Chief Ryan Law with “collusion…
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Myanmar: American journalist’s detention extended 2 more weeks
Yesterday, a Myanmar court extended the detention of American journalist Danny Fenster. The extension is for 2 more weeks. The U.S. State Department has strongly requested they have consular access to Danny. Frontier Myanmar says their managing editor (Danny) faces charges that could land him a 3 year prison term. The charge is reportedly often used against dissidents and journalists.…
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Over 350 vaccinated medical workers in Indonesia infected, dozens hospitalised
Hundreds of healthcare workers in Indonesia have tested positive for Covid-19, despite being vaccinated, with dozens hospitalised. According to a Reuters report, over 350 medical staff, all of whom have received the Sinovac vaccine, have been confirmed as infected. Most are asymptomatic, but dozens have been hospitalised with high fever and low oxygen levels. The infected healthcare workers are in…
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A third wave of coronavirus infections hits Africa
German Development Minister Gerd Müller’s first stop on his weeklong tour of West Africa trip was Lome, the capital of the small country of Togo. As in all African countries, there is a shortage of vaccines and medical equipment. Müller came with a donation of 30 ventilators and more than 5,000 oximeters to help support the country’s efforts to combat…
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Nigeria: Has President Buhari lost control?
Less than a year after protests against police abuse turned into the largest anti-government demonstration in Nigeria’s 20-year-old democracy, an onslaught of political, economic and security crises along with various outbreaks of violence around the country have ensnared the government. Conflict Zone met with Nigeria’s ambassador to Germany, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar. The political brand and two electoral successes of President…
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Can South Korea’s archbishop help pave the way for a papal visit to North Korea?
The first Korean appointed to a senior position in the Holy See has wasted no time in announcing his plans to arrange a groundbreaking papal visit to North Korea. However, analysts and rights activists caution that there can be several hurdles associated with arranging such a visit. Pope Francis named Lazzaro You Heung-sik, the bishop of the South Korean city…
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Ghana is running out of time to reverse desertification
Ghana is one of the tropical countries that has suffered the most from deforestation in recent years. The area covered by forests has shrunk five times in 100 years. While the government promises measures, young people are seeking collective action to reverse desertification. SOURCE: DW News
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EU Free Trade Agreement talks resume after 7-year coup hiatus
After a 7-year delay following Thailand’s military coup, talks have resumed to create a Free Trade Agreement between Thailand and the European Union. The Ministry of Commerce hosted a meeting this morning between Thailand’s Commerce Minister, also a Deputy Prime Minister, and the Ambassador of the European Union to Thailand. The two met to have conversations about a variety of…
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China launches first astronaut led space mission in 5 years
Yesterday, China, launched its first crewed space mission in 5 years. 3 “science minded” military pilots shot to a new orbiting station that they were expected to reach about midafternoon. It was launched in Jiuquan, a northwestern area of China. Like a scene out of a movie, the astronauts were watched by various spectators from space officials and other military…
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US Embassy in Thailand issues security alert due to violence near Myanmar border
Mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades from Myanmar have landed in Thai border towns in the Tak and Mae Hong Son provinces. With the ongoing violence between the Burmese military and ethnic armies following the February coup now with clashes near Thai border towns, the US Embassy in Thailand has issued a security alert and is now requiring all US government…
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Hong Kong police arrest 5 executives and raid offices of pro-democracy newspaper
Hong Kong newspaper, Apple Daily, has confirmed that police have raided its offices and arrested 5 executives accused of foreign collusion under the national security law. The controversial law was introduced by Beijing a year ago and prohibits, “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security.” According to Apple Daily’s own report, CEO Cheung Kim-hung,…
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Ethiopia’s Oromia region is volatile ahead of elections
Kidane Bekele is farmer and a community leader in his small village of 2,000 people. With elections approaching, he spends his evenings guarding polling stations and surrounding areas, a rifle slung over his shoulder. Every night after dinner, he puts on the khaki uniform of Oromia’s militia and makes his way to the small compound of the election station, where…
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Trial begins in Myanmar for former leader Aung San Suu Kyi
Trials are now underway for Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate, a beacon for democracy in Myanmar, and the ousted Burmese leader that has been held prisoner by the military junta for 4 months after their coup on February 1. The former leader of Myanmar is on trial for sedition and a number of lesser and archaic law violations.…
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Afghanistan: Polio vaccinators killed in ‘coordinated attack’
The Taliban have denied attacking five health workers who were gunned down at three separate locations on Tuesday. Four other workers were also wounded, with two of them in critical condition. But police spokesman Farid Khan said the Taliban were ‘’targeting health workers to deprive people of polio vaccines.” The attack has now halted the inoculation drive in the city…
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How local journalism can help rebuild democracy
When democratic principles are chipped away, what does it look like? Whether it’s the apparent hijacking of a plane to detain a critical journalist or arresting opposition leaders, the disruption of democracy is consequential and often punitive. So as technology and the media evolve, particularly in the digital age, such a powerful platform also has its vulnerabilities. Timothy Snyder, a…
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What can India gain from its ‘engagement’ with the Taliban?
Reports published in Indian media last week suggest that New Delhi is willing to start a dialogue with factions of the Afghan Taliban. The outreach is reported to be led by security officials and is limited to the Taliban factions that are considered “nationalist” and not under the influence of Pakistan or Iran. The reported move comes months after the…
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Burkina Faso: ‘Terror is a big part of the economy’
Burkina Faso recently lived through one of the bloodiest terrorist attacks in its history. On the first weekend of June, armed men attacked the village of Solhan in Yagha province in the north of the Sahel state, set houses on fire and killed at least 138 people. President Roch Marc Christian Kabore described the arrack as “barbaric.” Violence and insecurity…
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‘Clearview AI’ controversy highlights rise of high-tech surveillance
You don’t want your face to appear in the database of Clearview AI? The company’s CEO doesn’t seem to care. “All the information we collect is collected legally and it is all publicly available information,” Hoan Ton-That said Monday during DW’s Global Media Forum (GMF), addressing criticism that the firm’s controversial technology infringes on the privacy of hundreds of millions.…
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Global Media Forum highlights innovations after COVID disruption
The COVID-19 pandemic is shaping the start of this year’s Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum (GMF), which opened on Monday with a hybrid launch event held partly on site at DW’s broadcasting center in Bonn, and partly online with guests appearing via video link. German Chancellor Angela Merkel began proceedings by addressing participants in the two-day event, which included delegates…
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Myanmar: Time running out for NGOs to avoid humanitarian catastrophe
Myanmar has been in a downward spiral since the military overthrew the country’s democratically elected government in a coup on February 1. The economy has been battered and millions of people are falling into poverty. In Myanmar’s ethnic minority states, conflict between the military, known as the Tatmadaw, and armed rebel groups is quickly creating a refugee crisis. In Myanmar’s…
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Kashmir: Why are militants targeting Modi’s BJP leaders?
On June 2, anxiety and trepidation engulfed south Kashmir’s restive Tral town when militants shot dead a local leader of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Rakesh Pandita, 55, was murdered hours after Indian security forces had killed the brother of a slain militant, Muhammad Amin Malik, 38, inside a police station in Tral. Markets were shut…
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After Netanyahu era, Israel ready for change
A special session of Israel’s parliament approved the country’s new coalition government with a razor-thin majority on Sunday evening, with 60 Knesset members voting in favor of the new government, 59 lawmakers opposing and one abstention. After four elections and years of uncertainty, Israel now has a new government made up of a potentially fragile coalition of eight parties. Naftali…
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Southeast Asia sees highest tally of Covid-19 infections in a single day
Southeast Asia has recorded its highest number of Covid-19 infections in a single day, with 26,435 new cases reported yesterday. However, the death rate has lowered overall. Yesterday’s infections were an increase on Saturday’s 25,656 and the highest in 2 weeks. According to a Nation Thailand report, 387 additional deaths were reported yesterday, down from 426 the day before. ASEAN…
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