UNGA Vote For Palestine

The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas. 

 

The 193-member body passed the resolution, drafted by a group of 22 Arab countries, by a margin of 120 to 14, with 45 countries abstaining. 

 

Obviously, the United States and Israel voted no as well as twelve other countries: Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Fiji, Guatemala, Hungary, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Tonga.

 

Speaking before the vote, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said that voting against the resolution “means approving this senseless war, this senseless killing”. Israel denounced the vote as “infamy”. Needless to say, the US is firmly in cahoots with the Israelis and so, they too oppose peace.

 

Russian soft drinks brand Dobry overtook Coca-Cola in sales on the domestic market in January-August 2023, news website RBK reported on Thursday, citing a study by NielsenIQ. 

 

The Dobry Cola brand is produced at factories that belonged to Coca-Cola HBC Russia, the bottler of the original drink. 

 

According to the report, Dobry came in second in the ranking of the 50 most popular FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) brands. Based on the results of the first eight months, the brand’s share in total sales on the FMCG market is 1.2%, the study showed. 

 

The original Coca-Cola did not even make it into the top 50 brands in Russia, despite finding its way into the sanctioned country through parallel imports.

95% of Malaysia's Adult Population Fully Vaccinated

According to Malaysia’s MOH, a total of 22,348,481 individuals or 95.5 percent of the adult population in the country have completed their Covid-19 vaccination as at Saturday. 

Really? 

And yet, the Covid caseload in the country continues to hover in the four-digit territory. 

Anyway, this morning, I read that health officials and scientists are closely tracking a new mutation of the coronavirus amid concerns that it could be more transmissible than the original strain. 

A subvariant of Delta labelled AY.4.2 has been detected in dozens of countries. Particularly in the United Kingdom which accounted for 93 percent of AY.4.2 cases. And the strain makes up about 5.9 percent of overall Delta cases reported there in the week beginning October 03. 

The UK’s Health Security Agency last week labelled AY.4.2 as a “variant under investigation”, but despite its spread, it has not yet been labelled as a “variant of concern”. 

One of the last countries in the world not to have reported any coronavirus infections – a South Pacific nation of 106,000 people – faces lockdown as Tonga confirmed its first case on Friday. 

It is noteworthy to mention that the infection was detected in a fully vaccinated person who had arrived on a repatriation flight from New Zealand. In fact, New Zealand's health ministry confirmed that the individual had tested negative before leaving the country. 

FYI, since the start of the pandemic, more than 247 million coronavirus cases and at least 5 million Covid-related deaths have been reported worldwide.

Barter Trade Makes a Comeback in Fiji

Yoshiko Wakaniyasi and Ana Delailomaloma trade fresh produce through the Barter for Better Fiji Facebook page

Two piglets for a pre-loved kayak, a taxi fare in exchange for fresh produce, hot cross buns for online tutoring, an old carpet for a professional photography session, vegetable seedlings for homemade pies, and even offers to have backyards cleaned for prayers. 

The above are just some of the examples of hundreds of barter trades that are taking place across Fiji since a Facebook page “Barter for Better Fiji” was created on April 21, 2020 – in response to sharp declines in employment due to coronavirus. 

The page now has more than 130,000 members, in a country of just under 900,000 people. 

The barter system is experiencing an enthusiastic resurgence across the Pacific with similar Facebook pages in Tonga – “Barter for Change” – two in Samoa “Barter for Better Samoa” and “Le Barter Samoa” with just over 1,000 members – and one in Vanuatu “Barter for Nambawan Life Vanuatu” – as the island nations are beginning to encounter economic challenges due to Covid-19. 

Thankfully, the Pacific region has largely been spared the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, as at the end of April, there had only be recorded cases in six Pacific countries and territories – Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam and New Caledonia – which between them have reported 260 cases and seven deaths. 

Still, most Pacific island-nations had closed their borders due to coronavirus fears and they are experiencing the impact of the suspension of international travel. 

The IMF have forecast a 2.7% decline in growth for the Pacific Island Countries with a 40% decline in tourism across the region. 

The Facebook page is a modern version of a centuries-old traditional practice, says Alisi Daurewa (right), an advocate and practitioner for people-centred development. 

“The forebears of the iTaukei (indigenous Fijians) practised veisa in various situations and was birthed out of the value for reciprocity. For example, the coastal people of Nadroga in the Western part of Viti Levu, Fiji’s main island could make salt, so they would take it up to their relatives up in the highlands of Nadroga/Navosa and those people, they have lovely wild pigs, the pork is tasty, so they would exchange salt from the sea, for wild pigs from the highlands”, she explained.