Page 29 - bon-dia-aruba-20210914

A29
world news Diamars 14 september 2021

In conservative Somalia, a rare woman presidential candidate

(AP) — The woman who toward Adam’s run for office against women, so that in the
broke barriers as the first are mostly skeptical, if sym- near future many others will
female foreign minister pathetic. Even friends and have the courage to run and
and deputy prime minis- colleagues see her chances as even win,” she said, adding
ter in culturally conserva- next to impossible because of that it’s time to fight for the
tive Somalia now aims for her gender. rights of women.
the country’s top office
as the Horn of Africa na- “She’s good, but unfortu- Somalia’s years of insecurity
tion moves toward a long- nately she’s a woman,” said marked by devastating attacks
delayed presidential elec- Abdiwahid Mohamed Adam, by the al-Qaida-linked al-
tion. a doctor at Mogadishu Me- Shabab extremist group also
morial Hospital. Complicat- have driven Adam to run.
Parliament member Faw- ing her bid, he said, is the “There was mayhem in this
zia Yusuf H. Adam is well fact that Adam comes from country for the past 30 years,”
aware of the challenges in the breakaway region of So- she said. “Young people are
winning votes in a nation maliland, a comparatively dying like flies, killing each
where women often remain stable area in the north that other, exploding themselves, Adam said. Somalia, where face masks
marginalized. In an interview has sought international rec- killing other people.” are hardly seen despite hav-
with The Associated Press, ognition as an independent Like others across Somalia, Her presidential campaign ing one of the highest CO-
she described the struggle country for years. she has watched as the inse- has been relatively low-pro- VID-19 case fatality rates in
of leading a foreign ministry curity weakened the coun- file because of the insecurity Africa, Adam says she takes
staff that was overwhelm- But the soft-spoken Adam, a try’s foundation. High un- and the COVID-19 pandem- the pandemic seriously and
ingly male. widow and mother of three, employment, poor education ic. Instead of holding large speaks bluntly about its
said she believes her run for and one of the world’s least- public rallies, Adam prefers dangers after seeing several
“They were very reluctant to the presidency is worthwhile, equipped health systems are smaller indoor gatherings. friends die.
collaborate with me just be- not futile, on several levels, all a result. Corruption and “This could be less expensive
cause I am a female,” she said. while the timing of the elec- political squabbling haven’t but less effective as well,” “I keep giving advice on this
tion has been pushed back helped. said Liban Abdullahi Farah, a pandemic, particularly how
Even as more educated wom- once again amid political ten- political analyst in the capital, badly it impacts women and
en return to Somalia from sions from mid-October to- “I thought a woman may Mogadishu. the poorest of them,” she
the large diaspora to help re- ward the end of the year. be what this country needs, said. “We don’t have a good
build the country after three the leadership of a woman, Unlike many other candi- health system to deal with
decades of conflict, attitudes “I want to break this barrier to bring peace and stability,” dates and everyday people in this phenomenon.”

North Korea says it tested new long-range cruise missiles

(AP) — North Korea said Mon- cance” — wording that implies they try to influence the North. But U.S.- major instability.
day that it successfully tested were developed with the intent to led negotiations on the nuclear issue
newly developed long-range arm them with nuclear warheads. have been stalled since the collapse The report of the tests comes before
cruise missiles over the weekend, of a summit between North Korean U.S. President Joe Biden’s special
the first known testing activity in North Korea says it needs nuclear leader Kim Jong Un and then-U.S. representative for North Korea, Sung
months, underscoring how the weapons in order to deter what it President Donald Trump in 2019. Kim, was to meet his South Korean
country continues to expand its claims is hostility from the U.S. At that time, the Americans rejected and Japanese counterparts in Tokyo
military capabilities amid a stale- and South Korea — and has long at- Kim’s demand for major sanctions on Tuesday to discuss the stalled nu-
mate in nuclear negotiations with tempted to use the threat of such an relief in exchange for dismantling an clear diplomacy with North Korea.
the United States. arsenal to extract much-needed eco- aging nuclear complex.
nomic aid or otherwise apply pres- South Korea’s military is analyzing
The state-run Korean Central News sure. The North and ally China faced North Korea ended a yearlong pause the North Korean launches based
Agency reported that the missiles off against South Korea and U.S.-led in ballistic tests in March by firing on U.S. and South Korean intelli-
showed they can hit targets 1,500 U.N. forces in the 1950-53 Korean two short-range missiles into the gence, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said
kilometers (930 miles) away on Sat- War, a conflict that ended in an armi- sea, continuing a tradition of testing in a statement. South Korean Foreign
urday and Sunday. State media pub- stice that has yet to be replaced with a new U.S. administrations to measure Minister Chung Eui-yong said after a
lished photos of a projectile being peace treaty. Washington’s response. Kim’s gov- meeting with Australia’s foreign and
fired from a launcher truck and what ernment has so far rejected the Biden defense ministers that the resump-
looked like a missile traveling in the The international community is bent administration’s overtures for dia- tion of testing activity illustrates an
air. on getting the North to abandon its logue, demanding that Washington urgent need for reviving diplomacy
nuclear arsenal and has long used a abandon its “hostile” policies first — with the North.
The North hailed its new missiles as combination of the threat of sanctions a reference to the U.S. maintaining
a “strategic weapon of great signifi- and the promise of economic help to sanctions and a military alliance with The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
South Korea. said it was monitoring the situation
with allies and that the North Korean
The United States keeps about 28,000 activity reflects a continuing focus on
troops in South Korea to help deter “developing its military program and
potential aggression from North Ko- the threats that poses to its neighbors
rea, a legacy of the Korean War. and the international community.”
Japan said it was “extremely con-
There hadn’t been any known test cerned.”
launches for months since March,
as Kim focused his efforts on fend- While the cruise missiles were clearly
ing off the coronavirus and salvaging aimed at sending a message to Wash-
an economy damaged by sanctions, ington, the tests may indicate that the
bad flooding in recent summers, and North is struggling with more pro-
border closures amid the coronavi- vocative weapons systems and might
rus pandemic. Experts have warned not garner much of a response, said
that the economic situation is dire, Du Hyeogn Cha, an analyst at Seoul’s
although monitoring groups have yet Asan Institute for Policy Studies.
to detect signs of mass starvation or