The opening of a famous museum in Paris, a staple in the industrial revolution, and the beginning of a global pandemic.
Tag: coronavirus
? Ahoj!* Welcome to Thursday, where Boris Johnson faces rising calls to resign, an ex Syrian colonel is convicted in a landmark torture trial, and the U.S. finds loopholes in the Gruyère cheese label. We also mark 10 years since the Costa Concordia disaster off the coast of Tuscany. [*Czech] SIGN UP This is […]
Lawyer Marco Rogert is taking vaccine manufacturers to court, suing them for damages on behalf of thousands of clients. On the surface this is about compensation. But dig a little deeper and you discover failings by the authorities, an alleged conspiracy – and lawyers raking in millions in fees.
The pandemic brought a massive effort to limit the spread of bad health information. Did it do more harm than good?
The pandemic brought attention to an overlooked condition. But researchers are still fighting to show smell matters.
To head-off a new spillover, scientists are combining a menagerie of animals, AI-driven models, and open communication.
Both long and post-COVID are still misunderstood by the general public and the scientific community. This can cause even more suffering for those affected, who already fear their symptoms being dismissed as psychosomatic.
Like unpopular leaders in democracies, Chinese President Xi Jinping has decided recently to increase his trips abroad to project an image of power and distract from the ills at home. But the debacle of the country’s strategy on the pandemic is not going away, and there may be real long-term consequences.
Protests that engulfed China quickly faded as the government made a U-turn on its strict Zero-COVID policies, even as police sweeps of demonstrators have left families where their vanished loved ones are. Still, the “Blank Paper Revolution”‘s cry for democracy may have quietly left its mark.
While street demonstrations have spread in China to protest the strict Zero-COVID regulations, some Chinese university students have taken up public acts of crawling to show what extended harsh lockdowns are doing to their mental state.
Around China, Zero COVID policy has shut down entire towns and workplaces. But in the high-tech Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou, famous for cranking out iPhones, employees were forced to work even if they tested positive. Exclusive testimony from some of those who fled Foxconn premises last week.
Nobody questions the new British Prime Minister’s intelligence, or even his performance as Chancellor of the Exchequer. But the economic conditions after the debacle of his predecessor Liz Truss leaves little margin for error for Rishi Sunak.
October 21-22 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ What do you remember from the news this week? 1. In this week’s Communist Party Congress, why was China’s Xi Jinping allowed to stand for a third consecutive term? 2. Why did an Iranian climber competing in Seoul find herself in the midst of a controversy? 3. Which […]
Too much has been put in to the state-sponsored truth that minimal spread of the virus is the at-all-cost objective. Xi Jinping may eventually have no choice but to renounce the harsh measures, but at this week’s Communist Party Congress, the Chinese President was giving no ground.
October 15-16 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ What do you remember from the news this week? 1. What country expressed outrage after Russian missiles that hit Kyiv crossed its airspace? 2. India had to halt the production of what medicine after a report linked it to dozens of child deaths in Gambia? Cough syrup/Insulin/Antibiotics 3. […]
In one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic, thousands of Italian minors lost a parent or caregiver to COVID. However, unlike other places, Italy has yet to set out a clear plan to support them, leaving them more vulnerable to mental health issues, and even abuse.
The U.S. will stop funding vaccines but says it wants equitable access. That’s not possible in a predatory system.
October 8-9 OUR WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ What do you remember from the news this week? 1. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will not negotiate with Russia as long as…? 2. North Korea fired a missile over what country’s territory for the first time since 2017? 3. Slovenia became the first Eastern European country […]
During the pandemic, the world watched as Sweden carried out a unique approach to combat the COVID-19 virus, relying on social distancing instead of lockdowns. Although labeled a “disaster” at the time, the strategy worked well for all — except one key group.
Too many people no longer follow basic protocol: mask wearing, physical distancing and avoiding crowded events. The consequences are an increase in both daily case numbers and long COVID.
Traditional medicines, once banned, have regained favor. Government and health officials are endorsing them alongside COVID-19 vaccinations.
The confinement experience could turn brutal for those forced to live with relatives who would not tolerate a member of the family living their sexual orientation openly as a young adult. Here are stories from urban and rural India.
Lower-caste cleaners must wear GPS-enabled smartwatches, raising questions about their privacy and data protection.
Categories
The Eternal Russian Art Of Isolation
Like from a Pushkin tale, Soviet embargo, or even a COVID lockdown, Russia is at home when it is proudly or despondently cut off from the external world. And after a post-Soviet pause of opening up, here we are again, says Russian writer Yury Saprykin.
First, the COVID-19 crisis, and now the need to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are forcing countries to confront the risks of global interdependence. In its place comes a rush to establish national autonomy for crucial resources, from masks to oil and gas. But at what price?
Most workers want to keep the flexibility they had during the pandemic. And they no longer have any qualms about changing jobs if this isn’t possible.
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.
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.
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.
The pandemic has changed our lives permanently and paranoid fantasies have taken root. But a remedy for the crisis of trust we’re facing might be found in an unlikely place — in J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings.
? 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 […]
Categories
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.
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.
? 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 […]
With trials still underway in Europe, and Pfizer awaiting FDA authorization in the U.S. to vaccinate under-5-year-olds, an association in Germany has decided not to wait, connecting parents who want to vaccinate their babies and toddlers with doctors willing to go “off-label” and defy national regulations.
The long toll of the pandemic is the final straw for many burned out healthcare workers in the West. But the Great Resignation in the medical field is global, with developing countries already struggling to contain the pandemic in the face of a doctor brain drain.
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.
KAMPALA — Allen Asimwe has dedicated more than two decades to teaching geography at a large public high school in southwestern Uganda. Her retirement age, as a public servant entitled to benefits, is just six years away. She doubts she will wait that long. “I am determined, I want to quit,” she says, calculating that she could earn more by shifting full time to the salon she opened six years ago to supplement her income. “Given the frustration, I cannot continue in class anymore.” For years, she hoped the Uganda National Teachers’ Union would succeed in lobbying for better wages. […]
Conceived in the early 1990s, the QR Code has spread exponentially during the pandemic. Its creator, Masahiro Hara, is one of the many continuing to innovate his most famous invention, which has changed everything from medicine to how we dine.
? 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 […]