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Geopolitics

The Latest: Risky COVID Trial, Nigeria Kidnapping, NZ Period Products

Welcome to Thursday, where a new UK study will deliberately infect young people with COVID, Texas continues to battle a snowstorm and New Zealand vows to provide all schools with free menstruation products. America Economia also asks why Mexico has done so poorly in fighting the pandemic. • COVID-19 latest: Thailand has announced that its […]

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Geopolitics

The Latest: Vaccinegate in Peru, Dubai’s Princess Prisoner, Kim Jong-un’s Wife

Welcome to Wednesday, where a “vaccinegate” scandal shakes Peru, videos emerge of Dubai princess in “villa prison” and North Korea’s first lady reappears after one year. Le Monde goes back in time to understand the proposal of an “immunity passport” for the vaccinated to be free to travel. • COVID-19 latest: New research from Oxford […]

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In The News

The Latest: Suu Kyi Charged Again, Guinea Ebola Outbreak, Bitcoin’s Record

Welcome to Tuesday, where Myanmar files new charges against Suu Kyi, Guinea reports an Ebola outbreak and bitcoin value is about to cross a major threshold. We also look at a new business booming in China during the pandemic: student ghostwriting. • COVID-19 latest: The World Health Organization has authorized the AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency […]

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In The News

The Latest: Myanmar Tightens Grip, Trump Acquitted, World’s Oldest Brewery

Welcome to Monday, where the Myanmar generals are tightening their grip, new COVID variants are identified and a very ancient watering hole is discovered in Egypt. We also have a Die Welt piece on the dark side of the dream of moving out to the countryside. • COVID-19 latest: Researchers have identified seven new variants […]

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Geopolitics Ideas

Memory As Defiance: Arab Spring Reflections From Cairo

Nine years after the Jan. 25 popular revolution that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak, so much of the hopes failed to materialize. But not everything.

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Economy Society

The Revolution Colombia Really Needs: Free Buses

It may seem like a pipe dream. And it would certainly cost a lot, especially in a large capital city like Bogotá. But providing fare-free public transport could also be transformative.

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Geopolitics

The Latest: Brazil’s Variant, Japan’s Triple Whammy, Lunar New Year

Welcome to Friday, where Brazil’s health minister has good and bad news about the local COVID variant, China bans the BBC and another boomer bungles his zoom filters. We also have a closer look at how the pandemic is altering the meaning of freelancing in the world of work around the world. • COVID-19 latest: […]

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OneShot Society

30 Years Later: Looking Back on Mandela’s Release From Prison

Like the entire story of his life, Nelson Mandela’s release from Victor Verster Prison exactly 30 years ago helped define the 20th century. Having served 27 years for leading the opposition to South Africa’s racist system of Apartheid, his release brought to an end white minority rule. Four years later, Mandela would be elected president as the nation sought to find peace and reconciliation after decades of oppression. But it was his release on February 11, 1990 became the iconic moment marking the change. After nearly three decades behind bars between Robben Island, Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison, the […]

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In The News

The Latest: Biden’s Myanmar Sanctions, China-India Breakthrough, Cinemas For Gamers

Welcome to Thursday, where the WHO has given the green light to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for all ages, U.S. imposes sanctions on Myanmar and we go to France for a big parenting fail. We also explore the troubled relationship between oil and politics in Venezuela. • COVID-19 latest: The World Health Organization has backed the […]

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In The News

Why Sending A Female Android To Space Is A Problem

India’s space program will use a female android named Vyommitra to test the crew module ahead of its first crewed flight. Why did the robot have to be female? And where are the real women astronauts?

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In The News

The Latest: Myanmar Police Joins Protests, ‘Constitutional’ Trial, 116 Year-Old COVID Survivor

Welcome to Wednesday, where Myanmar police side with protesters, the Senate votes to continue Trump’s trial and Europe’s oldest person survives COVID. We also look at the reasons why the “capital of Canadian humor” isn’t laughing so much lately. • COVID-19 latest: Ghana parliament shuts down over outbreak that leaves 17 MPs and 151 support […]

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Geopolitics Society

The Latest: Junta Promises, Trump Trial, Supreme RIP

Welcome to Tuesday, where Myanmar’s junta hints at new elections, Trump’s impeachment trial (part II) gets started, and Motown loses a star. Meanwhile Bogota-based daily El Espectador explains how Pablo Escobar’s hippos have sparked an ecological debate in Colombia. • COVID-19 latest: Iran begins using Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine as part of the vaccination campaign, […]

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In The News

The Latest: Myanmar Protests, Glacier Burst, Annual COVID Shots

Welcome to Monday, where South Africa halts AstraZeneca vaccine after poor results on local variant, 180 are feared dead in India glacier collapse, and Tom Brady makes Super Bowl history. We also look at the unlikely feud involving Indian farmers, top cricket stars — and Rihanna. • COVID-19 latest: South Africa halts use of AstraZeneca […]

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OneShot

Watch: OneShot — Yalta, The Conference That Reshaped The World

A closer look at the iconic photo of the three Allied leaders gathered to bring an end to World War II, and shape the map of the coming Cold War.

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Geopolitics

The Latest: COVID In Japan, Navalny’s Doctor Dies, $60 Million Password

Welcome to Friday, where Myanmar trouble deepens, Navalny’s doctor dies and $60 million in Bitcoin is lost behind a password. We also look at one country trying to figure out where it fits in with the global rush to do business with China. • COVID-19 latest: AstraZeneca applies for approval of its COVID-19 vaccine in […]

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Society

Remembering The Short, Cruel And Creative Life Of Modigliani

It’s now been a century since the brilliant, Italian-born artist passed away in Paris, France at just 36 years of age.

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Geopolitics

The Latest: Myanmar Blocks Facebook, Vaccine Cocktail, Supermarket Love

Welcome to Thursday, where the UK has begun a trial of mixing vaccines, Facebook is blocked in Myanmar and German singles try to find love in the local supermarket. We also hear from a Belgian bioengineer working against the tech consensus of “smart cities.” • COVID-19 latest: Germany flies in doctors, ventilators, and beds to […]

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In The News

Caste To Citizenship Law, An Indian Rapper Finds His Voice

CHENNAI — Twenty-six-year-old Arivu’s small room, on the fourth-floor terrace of an apartment in suburban Chennai, is as lively as his music. It is in this room that Arivu shot his now iconic rap song “Sanda seivom”, which effortlessly rips the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens apart. Pictures of Ambedkar and Buddha are looking over him and an ektara (the instrument) standing tall. “It was a gift from the Tata Institute for Social Sciences when I recently visited them,” Arivu says. “I intend to learn to play it and even use it in my rap.” A single […]

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In The News

The Latest: Suu Kyi Charged, Navalny Sentenced, Bezos To Step Down

Welcome to Wednesday, where Aung San Suu Kyi is charged and Alexei Navalny is sentenced. Also Jeff Bezos announces he will step down as Amazon CEO, in utero music is a thing and Mada Masr probes into the politics of hair in Egyptian schools. • COVID-19 latest: In search of the origins of COVID, a […]

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In The News

The Latest: Navalny In Court, Pfizer Profits, Canadian Candyologist

Welcome to Tuesday, where global calls are issued for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, Navalny shows up in court and there’s real-life drama at the French opera. Le Monde also goes to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown to report on the disillusions, two years into his term. • COVID-19 latest: Japan set to […]

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In The News

The Latest: Myanmar Coup, Russian Protests, Messi Money

Welcome to Monday, where the army seizes power in Myanmar coup, weekend protests rock Russia and it’s revealed that Messi scored really big in Barcelona. We also take a look at Big Brother in China, and how citizens have had enough of the country’s ubiquitous surveillance system. The fragility of American democracy is nothing new […]

Categories
Future Society

The Case For Banning Facial Recognition Systems Altogether

With automated electronic surveillance systems, suspicion does not precede data collection but is generated by the analysis of the data itself.

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Geopolitics

The Latest: Variant Vaccine, Apolitical Facebook, Botticelli Record

Welcome to Friday, where lockdown protests spread in Lebanon, UK offers new HK visa and an Italian grandma has COVID-19 quarantine to thank for finding a treasure. We also check in with German psychiatrists on the mental health toll of our leaders’ see-sawing pandemic policy choices. The empty hype of India’s “vaccine diplomacy” In a […]

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Geopolitics

The Latest: 100 Million COVID Cases, Biden Rings Putin, Moon Tourists

Welcome to Wednesday, where global COVID cases exceed 100 million, Biden rings Putin, and space tourism gets ready for launch. We also look at the magnitude (and limitations) of Iran’s presence on the African continent, courtesy of Jeune Afrique. Aristotle to Anti-Vaxxers, internet culture and the decline of reason The virtues that laid the groundwork […]

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In The News OneShot

Watch: OneShot — 75 Years Ago, Liberation of Auschwitz

It was 3 p.m. on January 27, 1945, when the Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated by the Soviet Army. The full scope of the Nazi barbarities, which included the extermination of six million Jews, was about to be exposed to the world. That January afternoon 75 years ago also marks the beginning of the documenting process, the painful but necessary gathering of evidence, accounts, photographs and film that would later be used in the Nuremberg war crimes trials, and stand as the historical record of the Holocaust. About 1.3 million people (mostly Jews) had been deported to the Polish camp […]

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In The News

The Latest: AMLO & COVID, Rescued Miners, Godzilla v. Kong

Welcome to Monday, where AMLO gets COVID, Chinese miners are rescued, and King Kong finds a worthy opponent. Les Echos also takes us to Syria, where coronavirus and a crumbling economy are wreaking havoc in a country already devastated by 10 years of civil war. Viktor Orban, Xi Jinping and a simple question for the […]

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In The News

Egypt’s Neverending Story Of Incomplete Revolutions

Throughout the country’s turbulent history, efforts to establish a government by and for the people have always come up short.

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In The News

The Latest: Wuhan Anniversary, ISIS In Baghdad, Google v. Australia

Welcome to Friday, where it’s been a year since the first COVID lockdown began in Wuhan, ISIS is back in Iraq and James Bond fans get a license to kill some more time. Die Welt also takes us on a typographic journey through the infamous story of the Gothic typeface, a.k.a. the “Nazi font.” Biden […]

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In The News

The Latest: President Biden, Baghdad Blast, Mountain Of Trash

Welcome to Thursday, where the world reacts to the beginning of the Biden-Harris era, Baghdad is hit by its worst terror attack in more than three years and Dublin cancels its St. Patrick’s Day parade (again.) We also visit the Paris Opera for a taste of the grim global zeitgeist. Behind Biden’s message of unity, […]

Categories
Geopolitics

Boasting ‘Digital India’ – Shutting Down The Internet

India’s cutting digital access for political reasons also costs livelihood for small businesses, women’s safety, access to transport, food, education and almost every other aspect of a modern life.

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Geopolitics

The Latest: Biden’s Big Day, Jack Ma Is Back, Tokyo Games At Risk

Welcome to Wednesday, where Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th U.S. president, Italy’s prime minister hangs on, and the Tokyo Olympics may be cancelled again. We also visit six iconic businesses around the world, which have survived wars and depressions, but are now at risk of closing down due to the pandemic. Joe Biden […]

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In The News

The Latest: Navalny’s Arrest, Brazil Vaccination Campaign, Trump Baby Blimp

Welcome to Monday, where Navalny is arrested upon his return to Moscow, Brazil starts its mass vaccination campaign and there are signs of life from China’s trapped miners. Meanwhile, Le Monde travels to the French port city of Calais to see how high-tech is being used to ease post-Brexit commerce with the UK. SPOTLIGHT: ON […]

Categories
Economy

How Egypt’s Massive Halal Meat Market Turned Into A Monopoly

CAIRO — In Egypt, all imported meat must be certified as “halal,” meaning that it has been procured, stored and shipped in accordance with Islamic law. Obtaining this certificate is a crucial requirement for meat suppliers to be able to access the lucrative Egyptian market. The Egyptian government licenses a number of “certifiers’ around the […]

Categories
Geopolitics

The Latest: Trillion Dollar Relief, North Korea Flex, Wikipedia Birthday

Welcome to Friday, where Joe Biden announces a huge COVID relief package, North Korea boasts “the world’s most powerful weapon” and Wikipedia turns 20. Les Echos also explains how the pandemic response is quietly helping us prepare for the next big bad thing. SPOTLIGHT: TRUMP DIDN’T INVENT THE SPREADING PLAGUE OF NARCISSISM When I was […]

Categories
Geopolitics

Fear And Empowerment: Why Women Are Leading India’s Protests

Is this a movement of women from India’s liberal campuses against a new citizenship law targeting the country’s Muslim minority? Or does it run much deeper?

Categories
In The News

The Latest: Twice Impeached, China Lockdown, Navalny Goes Home

Welcome to Thursday, where Trump becomes first president impeached twice, China goes back into lockdown, and a 45,000-year-old wild boar makes news. We also scan what sets “Made in Africa” ID tech apart. SPOTLIGHT: D.C. TO ROME TO KAMPALA, DEMOCRACY IS A COUNTING QUESTION At 6 p.m. local time Wednesday in Rome, while much of […]

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Eyes on the U.S. Geopolitics

Worldcrunch Today, Jan. 11: Looming Impeachment, Beijing Lockdown, Kyrgyz Election

Welcome to Monday, where impeachment looms for Trump, a new COVID strain is identified in Japan, and cases spike in China to the highest level in five months. Also, find out what made sharks’ ancestors even scarier … SPOTLIGHT: SWEDEN REVISITED, FROM NORDIC MODEL TO PANDEMIC PARIAH On one of the final Fridays of 2020, […]

Categories
Future

A Surreal Facebook Alter Ego To Keep Egyptian Activists Safe

When reality transcends constitutional and legal provisions, you must be extra clever about social media use.

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In The News

Worldcrunch Today, Jan. 8: Capitol Aftermath, Grounded Boeing, Electric Norway

Welcome to Friday, where a cop dies in the aftermath of Capitol mayhem, Boeing’s fraud won’t fly, and Norway hits an electrifying record. Meanwhile, Les Echos weighs the possibility that Asian populations are genetically more resistant to COVID. SPOTLIGHT: FROM PINOCHET TO TRUMP, WHEN DEMOCRACY IS UNDER ATTACK A dictator-in-waiting orchestrates a violent assault on […]

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In The News

Worldcrunch Today, Jan. 7: Capitol Chaos, S. African Strain, AMLO And Assange

Welcome to Thursday, where chaos rocks Washington, South Africa worries about a new COVID strain, and a Nicaragua zoo celebrates the birth of an exceptionally rare animal. Meanwhile, as many vaccination rollouts are delayed, we look at what’s slowing down the jabs around the world. SPOTLIGHT: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY UNDER ASSAULT, THE WORLD WATCHES The raid […]

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