The practical issues of fighting the pandemic is best summed up in the assertion that no-one if safe until everyone is safe.

The moral issues, equally plain, have been more problematic as rich nations grab more of the vaccine than they need to save their faltering economies.

The foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan  and the United States had a packed agenda preparing for next month’s G7 summit to be hosted in Britain.

In pre-meeting briefings they listed Russia, Myanmar and Iran ahead of COVID a.

Then members of the Indian delegation – invited as observers along with Australia, the Association of South East Asian Nations, the European Union, South Africa and South Korea- reported cases of COVID and were forced into self-isolation.

India and Brazil are responsible for the overwhelming majority of COVID cases as the pandemic goes into its third wave.

The media covering the deliberations at Lancaster House in London’s West End have eyes for nothing else.

Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown set the moral tone calling on the G7 to fund the global push for COVID vaccine.

Speaking as the UN Envoy for Global Education he called on the richest nations raise $60 billion over two years, saying inaction now would lead to greater global division.

“By our failure to extend vaccination more rapidly to every country, we are choosing who lives and who dies”, he warned. 

“And I say the world is already too deeply divided between rich and poor to allow a new unbridgeable divide to become entrenched between the world’s vaccinated who live, and the under-vaccinated who are at risk of dying.” 

Brown asserted that mass global vaccination is not an act of charity, but “the best insurance policy for the world”.  Though costing billions now, the result will be “trillions of additional economic output, made possible when trade resumes in a COVID-free world.” 

Brown will be remembered as the British premier who hosted the G20 summit in 2009, where the world’s major economies committed an additional $1.1 trillion to address the fallout from the global financial crisis,  

World Health Organization  chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus thanked Brown for his call to the world’s economic and political leaders. 

“The G7 are also home to many of the world’s vaccine producers. We will only solve the vaccine crisis with the leaders of these countries”, he said.

For those of a more cynical or dubious bent, a poll by the People’s Vaccine Alliance shows that70 percent of G7 citizens believe their governments should ensured pharmaceutical companies share the formulas and technology of their vaccines.

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Assailed by things deadly, horrible, inexplicable and invisible we naturally ask why?

That plaintive question bridges, race, gender, class, identity and education.

Why is COVID 19 killing more men than women?

Why is the accursed virus proving more deadly to minorities in the northern hemisphere countries were it now rages?

My guess is we will still be asking these and other questions by the time a vaccine is discovered and tested.

One recurring question, however, bears immediate examination: why are women leaders dealing with the pandemic better than men.

I think immediately of Germany’s Angela Merkel, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, Finland’s Sanna Marin, Norway’s Erna Solberg, Iceland’s Katrin Jakobsdottir and Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-Wen.

They constitute a healthy slice of the 7% of female heads of government on the planet.

How does one judge a leader’s performance in the worst international crisis since World War II?

It might actually be too bold to make a judgement before we can more accurately gauge the economic disaster brought on by the virus and the lockdown to keep it out.

We might have to reconsider after seeing what is left of the economies that were opened up..

But for now we know that the severity of the pandemic is determined by three things: population density, exposure to travelers carrying the virus across borders and the speed with which borders were closed and people forced into lockdown.

Leadership had little to do with the first two points, but it can be judged on the third.

The severity of the pandemic was substantially lower when leaders acted sooner to lockdown – even by a week.

This flattened the curve , reduced the RO factor which is the  number of people each coronavirus victim infects and prevented new cases.

There were male leaders who acted swiftly. 

But those who stand out now: US President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister  Boris Johnson and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro down-played the risk of COVID 19 until it was too late.

By contrast each of the woman mentioned above acted days sometime weeks ahead of their neighbours.

In doing so they took the  bold and unpopular step of closing down life as they knew it against an invisible enemy.

Despite the dishonest bluster and backsliding of their President, 80% of American males still picked men  when asked to name leaders they most admire.

Nearly three-quarters of men believe they are more intelligent than their peers.

By comparison 57% of woman believe they are smarter than average.n

They don’t suffer the over-confidence of men, preferring to seek input and listen in order to make decisions that support communities.

They engage diverse advisers and a wide network of opinions, building teams rather than trusting their own judgement and instincts as men tend to do.

Women acknowledged for being “other directed” and emotionally intelligent are showing themselves in this crisis to be every bit as  decisive and transformational as men by excelling on vision, inspiration, direction setting and thinking outside the box.

Perhaps there is something instinctive about turning to a woman in matters of physical hurt.

When you grazed your knee, bumped your head or cut your finger, who did you turn to first?

Why, Mum, of course.

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The 50-year-old, appointed by his father three years ago, has already has property impounded by the  Swiss and Brazilian governments.

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The Appeal Court in Paris upheld an earlier ruling by a lower court seizing property, luxury cars, fashion and jewellery bought with money embezzeled from Equatorial Guinea by the deputy president.

It furthermore fined Teodorin Obiang 30-million euros for using public money to fund his lavish lifestyle.

Switzerland will auction  11 luxury cars taken from him and Brazilian authorities have confiscated $15-million worth of his luxury watches.

Equatorial Guinea has deployed what it calls French meddling in their affairs.

Obiang was not in court for the ruling 

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There’s increasing anger at the richer countries failing to make concessions necessary for an agreed statement from meeting known as COP25.

The anger is directed at the United States, Brazil, Australia and China as the final session on Friday stretches on and on.

Protestors have dumped horse manure and staged a fake hanging outside the venue in Madrid.

They say the EU has come with new long-term goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, but the rich countries have spend two week arguing about technical details like carbon trading.

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Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Lindiwe Sisulu tells the closing ceremony of the BRICS business council in Johannesburg that the R30-billion  development deal done between ESCOM and BRICS New Development Bank will go a long way to ensuring an end to power shedding in South Africa.

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Foreign Minister Lindiwe Sisulu says being part of the grouping with  Brazil, Russia, India and China has revolutionized South Africa’s economy and the way that it gets things done.

South Africa will help the BRICS Business Council navigate its way around Africa.

(take in the partners clip here)

Sisulu welcomes the coming into force of the African Free Trade Agreement with the ratification this week of the AU resolution by a 22nd country. 

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At their meeting in Pretoria preparing for the summit of leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa next month, they carefully avoided naming the US president in their criticism.

Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Lindiwe Sisulu tried to hand off a question about US trade tariffs by saying she and her counterparts had not discussed individual countries.

Her BRICS counterparts were having none of it.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang YI said BRICS must form a common position and respond vigorously to protectionism s

His Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj BRICS promoted the concept of a global family. 

“The multilateral system is  like a family and if anyone speaks of protectionism we would join in condemning it,” she said.

Protectionism  is expected to become a  hot button issue at the full BRICS in Sandton next month.

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The drugs from Latin America were packed in boxes labelled halal meat.

The Liberian-registered Vega Mercury  was carrying frozen meat from Brazil and had previously docked in Valencia, Spain.

It was due to offload in Algeria’s western port of Oran but suspicions were raised when the captain refused to dock for three days.

Acting on a tip-off from Spanish authorities , the Algerian coastguard forced the boat into port.

Algeria has identified drug trafficking as a top national security threat linked to militancy in the region and put its powerful army in charge of fighting it.

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It will put the world on the brink of enforcing the deal struck in the French capital to keep the global average rise in temperatures below 2 degrees Centigrade.

ends

China, Brazil and the United States ratified the Paris Climate Change agreement earlier this month.

It brought to 27 the number of countries who’ve taken this legal step.

To come into force internationally the agreement has to be ratified by 55 countries.

While there are sound practical reasons to have this measure in place to curb global warming, there are also pressing political pressures.

US presidential hopeful Donald Trump has called global warming a Chinese hoax and warned he’ll scrap the Paris accord.

The goal is to have the issue done and dusted and on the international statute books, presenting  a fait accompli to whoever makes it to White House

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The issues of mutual interest the leaders of  Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa discussed included spoke about security, the economy, and global governance.

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BRICS countries, like others, are wrestling with new problems of sustainable economic growth.

At their meeting in Hangzhou, the BRICS leaders underlined the importance of further strengthening strategic partnerships guided by principles of openness, solidarity, equality, mutual understanding, inclusiveness, and mutually beneficial co-operation.

At the two-day G20 summit, the BRICS leaders will push for the establishment of a just and equitable international order based on international law.

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Authorities in Addis Abba insist no action will be taken against Feyisa Lelisa. Indeed he  will be given hero’s welcome.

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Supporters of Feyisa Lelia have raised $80 000 dollars for him in the first day of their financial appeal for the athlete.

Lelisa’s agent, Federico Rosa says he’s not sure what the athlete will do next.

He denies his client is seeking a lucrative contract to represent a Gulf State

Lelisa was not on the Olympic team’s aircraft that landed in Ethiopia on Monday night.

He’s indicated he will seek asylum in Brazil or the United States

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