The Cuban government has once again jailed dissenting artists or forced them to flee. But anger at the 60-year dictatorship has spread far beyond artistic circles and the regime no longer has the power to silence people.
Category: In The News
Over the past two months, as tensions rose in Ukraine, Russian has launched new missiles from the contested islands north of Japan. Kyiv and Tokyo have made it clear that they are firmly aligned with each other and with Washington. Moscow’s eastern flank opens major strategic questions, including China’s role.
Ukraine’s former president Petro Poroshenko has taken refuge in Poland after being accused of treason and cooperation with Russia. It’s a film we’ve seen before in Kyiv.
The former hostage Ingrid Betancourt, who recently decided to run for president with a focus on women’s rights, is the center of criticism after her declarations in a presidential debate at a University seemed to say poor women who are raped are somehow provoking it. She later blamed a mix-up between French and Spanish.
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Ukraine’s Best Defense: Dark Humor
The mood is dark, and so are the jokes, which may explain Ukrainians’ apparent sense of calmness in the face of the neighboring Russian bear lining up at the border.
Catalonia has recently pardoned up to 1,000 people, mostly women, who were accused of “witchcraft” as late as the eighteenth century. But as some countries atone for their past, “witch hunts” are still common in other parts of the world.
“A Turkish father marries his daughter to his brother’s son…” begins a hypothetical scenario in an official textbook used in western Germany to supposedly teach students about ethics. The multiple layers of prejudice are teaching unanticipated lesson for school officials after the Turkish-Germany community reacted with outrage.
In Egypt, private schools are driven solely by profit. As the economic effects of COVID-19 forces families to choose cheaper schools, many parents are forced to confront the country’s endemic education problems. And they’re discovering that expensive private schools are better in outward appearance only.
News of the acquittal in Italy of a man who confessed to killing his 92-year-old disabled mother comes just as the country is discussing the reversal of a law that bans assisted suicide. For La Stampa, Luigi Mancone argues that legislators cannot leave assisted suicide in a grey zone.
The Chechen strongman is reaching outside his native territory to affirm his power, and test his ambitions. At 69, Vladimir Putin shows no signs of settling down, but he won’t live forever.
Many Muslim female students lament that several of their Hindu friends have turned their backs on them, despite the fact they have been friends for several years.
A first-hand experience of how illegal bots are making it impossible for many immigrants in France to live here legally.
Debates around COVID-19 are now fueled by conspiracy theories, fake news and scapegoats. But as the story of Quebec in the 19th century makes clear, pandemics have always been linked to outbreaks of mass skepticism and witch hunts.
? Bonjou!* Welcome to Thursday, where Libya’s prime minister survives an assassination attempt, Belarus and Russia start joint military drills and a Republican congresswoman spills her gazpacho. Fasten your seatbelts, we’re also looking at the world of private jet travel, a means of transportation that soared during the pandemic. [*Haitian Creole] SIGN UP This […]
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Hey People, The Pandemic Is Not Over
Yes, COVID fatigue is real, as are the deep impact of restrictive measures on everything from the economy to mental health to education. But we should remain vigil in making sure we minimize the worst health effects of a still aggressive and deadly virus.
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Welcome To The Age Of Instability
As Russia and China push their way to the top of the power heap, and the United States balks at playing global police force, expect fundamental changes to accepted norms governing international affairs.
The inclusion of caste in its anti-discrimination policy by the California State Universities is as a major triumph for activists.
As the West hoards vaccines, less than 10% of Africans are vaccinated. But now, the continent’s first vaccine factory has opened in South Africa. And behind it is Patrick Soon-Shionga pharmaceutical billionaire with a mission to change the African continent.
With both fans and diplomatic dignitaries missing, it’s an Olympics that recalls politically combustible Games of the past. COVID-19, like it did for the Summer Games in Tokyo, will also help haunt the premises. The good news is that the athletes will most likely take over our attention as soon as they hit the ice and snow.
Demonizing the adversary, often in much the same way, was central to the script of the Cold War in the second half of the last century. Now with Moscow and Washington facing off again, old habits are back.
As life expectancy continues to rise, the question of road safety for older drivers has become a priority for governments and carmakers. From AI and deep-learning tech to voluntary retirement, here are some of the innovative solutions being explored to ensure older people can drive safely.
Last week, our resident psychiatrist explained the delusions of anti-vaxxers. This week, a patient has a theory of why nobody is wearing masks in movies and television.
At least 20 people have died after taking toxic cocaine bought in a poor suburb of the Argentine capital. Police have doubts that it was just an accident, and may have been a diabolical attempt by a drug gang to discredit the product of its rivals.
? Dumêlang!* Welcome to Thursday, where a U.S. air raid in Syria kills civilians, tainted cocaine kills 20 in Argentina, and Jeff Bezos’ superyacht gets special treatment in Rotterdam. Thanks to Persian-language media Kayhan, we also look at the discontent brewing among Iranians vis-à-vis their country’s religious government. [*Northern Sotho, South Africa] SPOTLIGHT I […]
The damning findings of Sue Gray’s independent probe into the “partygate” scandal held No. 10 Downing St responsible for “serious failure to observe high standards.” But whether Boris Johnson is forced resign, the impact internationally should not be overlooked, particularly as it relates to the West’s need to stand up to Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Iceland has been one of Europe’s COVID-19 hot spots the past few months, but citizens’ vaccination status doesn’t affect their access to public spaces. It is a conscious choice in a small nation to try to avoid conflict in society, and it seems to be working. But death rates are being kept down for one main reason: so many people were already vaccinated anyway.
As China grapples with an aging population and falling fertility rate, the government has tried different measures to encourage people to have children. But the suggestion by one of the country’s top economists to print money to kickstart a baby boom did not go down well with the Chinese public — raising children isn’t just a question of money.
Three journalists were killed in the first three weeks of 2022, sparking nationwide protests. But not only narcotraffickers are to blame: The state, corrupt private companies, and even media companies themselves hold responsibility for leaving journalists vulnerable on the frontline.
Twenty years later the Islamist group is back in power in Afghanistan, but trying this time to win international support. Now that several months have passed, experts on the ground can offer a clear assessment if the group has genuinely transformed on such issues as women’s rights and free speech.
Facebook whistleblower Sophie Zhang says that the tech giant knowingly facilitates undermining democracy in India. Fair voting cannot be guaranteed if real people’s voices are drowned out by armies of fake online commentators.
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Bucket Of Tears
They’re coming out of my ears …
? Grüss Gott!* Welcome to Thursday, where Ukraine lashed out at Biden’s prediction about Russian intentions, Austria is betting on a new incentive for the unvaccinated, and the Australian city of Adelaide is baffled by a mysterious spate of googly eyes. We also look at Russia’s latest efforts to dismantle the REvil hacking group, at […]
A growing number of studies around the world show that COVID and lockdown restrictions have prompted a disproportionate increase in mental health illness and suicide attempts among adolescent females.
A not-so-neighborly Italian saga that extends from the porcelain depths of our most basic needs to the altar of European justice.
The eyes of the world are on the Russian-Ukrainian border as Putin threatens an invasion. However, the more vital stage of the Kremlin’s military ambitions is the Baltic Sea, where the likes of bordering countries like Finland and Sweden are mobilizing troops as Moscow tries to undermine the allegiance of the EU and former Soviet states.
The unexpected rise in highway deaths, even with far fewer drivers on the road, is a reminder of the many ways the virus is killing us even if it doesn’t enter your body.
? Halo!* Welcome to Monday, where China is on high COVID alert as Lunar New Year celebrations kick off, Tonga reels from a massive underwater eruption, and a veteran FBI agent may have found out who betrayed Anne Frank to the Nazis. Meanwhile, Russian daily Kommersant recounts how Kazakhstan has passed from one strongman to […]
January 15-16 Kazakhstan’s vicious circle of strongmen COVID school chaos around the world The truth behind why we lie to ourselves … and much more! BUT FIRST, A NEWS QUIZ! What do you remember from the news this week? 1. What extreme measure did the Canadian province of Quebec take to encourage people to get […]
The images of the Italian cruise ship, which had run aground just a few hundred meters from the Tuscany coast, captured the world’s attention for a chilly winter week in 2012.
? Lasso fyafulla!* Welcome to Wednesday, where Quebec will tax the unvaccinated, North Korea says it tested hypersonic missile, and we salute you Magawa, Cambodia’s landmine-sniffing “hero rat.” La Stampa also visits the outskirts of Rome to see how the coronavirus pandemic has amplified longstanding social divides and inequalities in the Italian capital. [*Tamang – […]