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DGI Brief - June 24, 2016


Happy Friday to all. Today's top 5 news on global issues are about #UK #Nigeria #Turkey #SriLanka and a #GoodStoryFriday from #Syria

- UK: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together” (African proverb). I accept – with sadness – the decision of the Brits. They voted & made a choice. What concerns me is the enormous time & effort it will take on the part of the world governments & organizations to deal with Brexit & its consequences (EU, Scotland, Ireland etc.). Yet another distraction from truly pressing global issues that we need to be tackling together.

- NIGERIA: The Bring Back Our Girls movement is concerned about Amina Ali Nkeki, her baby & mother who have not been heard of since the televised meeting with President Buhari. Suspicion is that she is detained to provide information on her kidnappers Boko Haram. The government claims she is being protected to “recuperate well”. Right. Meanwhile 7 employees of Australian mining company Macmahon Holdings are still missing. No ransom demands have yet been received for 3 Australians, 2 Nigerians, a New Zealander and a South African.

- TURKEY at it again. The immunity is aimed at those armed forces battling Kurdish militants – already one contentious issue. The other problem is Turkey’s wide definition of terrorism that trumps freedom of speech, expression, journalism, activism… values important for democracy. So much so that the Council of Europe passed a resolution terming the political developments in Turkey a threat to its obligations to the EU. Indeed.

- Congrats SRI LANKA for wanting to move forward from the painful past of secrecy & machinations. The new freedom of info law covers 4,000 state institutions.

- #GoodStoryFriday Showing with a unified musical voice that SYRIA is not just war, terrorism & refugees, former & present members of SNOAM reunite for an ambitious project by Africa Express. The first live-stream concert plays on June 25 from the Royal Festival Hall, watch on YouTube/AfricaExpress. Read more about the orchestra & its members http://bit.ly/28Ws5Gs

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