Week #16 (23-29/09/2019)

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Gabon’s tropical forest. Forests make up nearly 90% of the country’s land area. | Credit: NASA

AFRICA & THE MIDDLE EAST

Reported by Quartz Africa (23/09), Gabon and Norway have struck a deal in an effort to mitigate the effects of climate change. Gabon, with forests covering almost 90% of its land area, has been ravaged by illegal logging for the past years, some of which were exported to Asia to make high-end furniture. Under the new, 10-year deal, Norway will pay USD 150 million to Gabon. The deal is part of the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) that links European donors with countries in Africa. The partnership sets a carbon price floor of USD 10 per certified ton as a financial incentive to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, considered Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, blamed Iran for the attack on Saudi oil facilities. In an interview with CBS on Sunday (29/09), the prince warned that oil prices could rise steeply if the world does not act to deter Iran. He also warned that the failure to act would only encourage Iran to start a war, which eventually will ruin the global economy.

ASIA

A wave of public protests galvanized by university students has taken places in the streets of Jakarta and other cities in Indonesia since Monday (23/09) this week, demanding the government to fulfill the seven points outlined in their proposal. The demands include “stopping changes to the criminal code, reversing legal changes that have weakened the anti-corruption commission (KPK), dumping Parliament's pick for the next KPK leader, ending militarism in Papua, and putting out the huge forest fires burning in Kalimantan and Sumatra.” Notwithstanding the seven points, the gravity of the demands lies on the requests to stop changes to the criminal code and to reverse legal changes that have weakened the KPK. In response, President Joko Widodo said on Thursday (26/09) he would consider issuing a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to revoke the controversial revision of the KPK Law. Days before, amid mounting pressure and before the large-scale demonstration transpired, the president has called (20/09) for the House of Representatives to halt the criminal code bill, to which the House has agreed (23/09) upon and postponed the criminal code bill and three other bills (25/09), namely the correctional procedures bill, land bill, and mining bill.

On Tuesday (24/09), the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres highlighted escalating tensions in South Asia, undoubtedly referencing to India's unilateral abolition of Jammu and Kashmir's special status, which unleashed a crackdown that included arrests of thousands of people, cutoff of communications and internet services, and detention of political leaders. “Tensions are elevated in South Asia, where differences need to be addressed through dialogue,” the UN chief said in a statement. He also mentioned about the problems of persisting conflicts, spreading of terrorism, and the risk of growing new arms race on the global landscape.

According to “Grab for Good: Social Impact Report” released on Tuesday (24/09), the company has contributed approximately USD 5.8 billion to Southeast Asia’s economy in the 12 months leading up to March 2019. Having about nine million micro-entrepreneur users, it can as well be translated that the company has attracted one in 70 Southeast Asians to earn an income through its platform. On the same day, Grab also announced its ambitious goal to be achieved by 2025 under its “Grab for Good” program, that is to improve digital inclusion and digital literacy in Southeast Asia; to empower micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses; and to build future-ready workforces.

Reported in Reuters (27/09), African swine fever outbreak has affected several East Asian and Southeast Asian countries. First identified in China more than a year ago, the fever has spread to South Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, the Philippines, and arguably Thailand. In Vietnam, 4.7 million pigs have been culled and the pig herd had shrunk by 18.5% to 22.2 million animals. Similarly, fearing of a potential outbreak, Thailand has also begun to cull pigs following the death of two hogs without explanation in a province near the swine fever-hit Myanmar earlier this month. Meanwhile, the outbreak in Southeast Asia has negatively impacted grain industry in the U.S. as demands decline. The U.S.’ feed crop exports to the region surged nearly 50% last year to a record 12.3 million tonnes.

AUSTRALIA & OCEANIA

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has ordered (24/09) digital payment giant PayPal Australia to undertake an urgent audit of its global money transfer business due to child exploitation suspicion. The company is suspected of facilitating payment of online child abuse material and was given 120 days to report back to AUSTRAC. AUSTRAC has ordered similar order to the “buy now, pay later” company Afterpay and fined foreign currency operator Compass Global and the Commonwealth Bank in relation to the breaches of anti-money laundering and counter terror financing laws.

Western Australia will be the second Australian state that legalizes voluntary euthanasia if the Legislative Council approves the Labor’s proposed bill (25/09). The bill will give terminally ill Western Australian adults who are likely to die within six months the option to choose voluntary assisted dying. Among those who opposed the bill are Police Minister Michelle Roberts and Energy Minister Bill Johnston who argued that the procedure in West Australia is less safe than the one in Victoria (the first Australian state that legalized euthanasia).

A week after hundreds of thousands people joined the world’s biggest climate strike across the world, a similar event was held in New Zealand (27/09) and was attended by tens of thousands of children and adults. The country’s third climate strike was calling for the government to declare climate emergency. “Nothing else will matter if we cannot look after the Earth for current and future generations. This is our home,” School Strike 4 Climate national coordinator Raven Maeder said.

EUROPE

The world’s oldest holiday company, Thomas Cook, collapsed after last-minute talks failed to secure funding. Thomas Cook was founded by a cabinet-maker of the same name in the United Kingdom (the U.K.) in 1841 but had since expanded to the mainland Europe. After the company had gone into liquidation on Monday (23/09), at least 9,000 people in the U.K. are at risk of losing their jobs, whilst 150,000 U.K. holidaymakers are stranded overseas.

Elke Van Den Brandt, the Brussels Minister for Mobility, encouraged (25/09) commuters in the Brussels Region, Belgium, to hitchhike to work. She proposed an app that not only can connect passengers who want to share a ride, but also increase the safety of the drivers who share their cars with strangers. The initiation emerged as an effort to reduce the number of one-passenger cars.

The rising temperature was once again to blame after experts warned (25/09) that up to 250,000 cubic meters of Mont Blanc’s ice are in danger of collapsing. One Italy’s mayor, Stefano Miserocchi, has begun closing off roads and evacuating homes as precaution.

Seasoned politician who was also two times serving French President Jacques Chirac died (26/09) at the age of 86 in Paris, France. Chirac had been an influential figure in the French politics for more than four decades. Despite tripping over corruption scandals, Chirac won admirations from home and abroad alike after he strongly opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Following the biggest mass climate protest in the world last Friday (20/09), Andreas Gustavsson, the editor-in-chief of Sweden’s newspaper Dagens ETC, announced (26/09) that the newspaper will no longer be taking advertisements from fossil fuels companies. Gustavsson admitted that the decision would put the newspaper’s finances at risk, but considering the impacts of climate crisis on everyone, he was convinced that it was the right decision to take.

Austria’s ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is expected to return to power (27/09) following the prediction that his center-right party will win Sunday’s election. Kurz was ousted and his coalition with the far-right Freedom Party was brought down in spring after the publication of a video showing his then vice-chancellor, who was also the chairman of the Freedom Party, Heinz-Christian Strache making offers to a Russian investor. It is still not clear whether Kurz will revive the same coalition or make a new one.

LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN

A 33-year-old orangutan named Sandra who has been granted the same legal right as humans is being moved to Florida (27/09), in the U.S., from Buenos Aires Zoo, Argentina. Born in an East German zoo, Sandra was sold to Buenos Aires in 1995 and often shied away from the public gaze at the zoo. Sandra was granted the same rights as humans in 2014 after lawyers argued that she was being illegally detained in Buenos Aires.

THE UNITED STATES (U.S.) & CANADA

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou’s lawyers proclaimed (24/09) that the Canadian officials have misled her into believing that her case was immigration-related and not as a result of the United States (U.S.) arrest warrant. Meng was arrested in December last year at Canada’s airport and have been fighting the extradition to the U.S. since then. Her arrest has not only embittered China’s relationship with the U.S. but also with Canada, which resulted in China arresting two Canadians on espionage allegations.  

A photoshopped image of Canada’s Green Party leader Elizabeth May holding a reusable cup and a metal straw was being circulated (26/09) as the party’s attempt to make their leader look more eco-friendly. The original image showed May holding a paper cup had been around in other media for the past year. May admitted that she was “completely shocked”, describing the event as a “misstep” by her “well-meaning” staff.

Inspired by Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, hundreds of thousands people joined Canada’s climate strike marches (28/09) across the country. The peaceful event was attended by students and government staff alike, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Green Party leader Elizabeth May, Bloc Québécois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. The marches are calling for the rejection of all new fossil fuel use and extraction and reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emission to 75% by 2030.

Speaking at the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly in New York, the United States (U.S.), Brazilian president Jair Bolosonaro defended (24/09) his stance that the Brazilian areas of the Amazon rainforest are sovereign territory, calling it “fallacy” to describe the Amazon as the heritage of humanity and a “misconception” that its forests were the lungs of the world. Bolosnero and his government continue to be criticized by conservationists for allowing the Amazon cleared by farmers and loggers, leading to an increase in fires this year.