China’s enforcement of a new security law in Hong Kong marks the de facto end of the “one country, two systems” model that came into effect following the British handover in 1997. This has repercussions that go far beyond Hong Kong. The Sino-British Joint Declaration, signed by both China andContinue Reading
Industrial premises being disinfected in Kazakhstan's capital, Nur-Sultan city. Turar Kazangapov Kazakhstan became the first country in the world to enter a second nationwide lockdown on July 5 following a spike in coronavirus cases. The two-week lockdown, which could be extended if the spread of the virus continues, restricts publicContinue Reading
Springhill Cohousing Community, Stroud. United Diversity/Flickr, CC BY-SA Frankie lives in a six-bedroom house on the outskirts of Leeds. She is her own landlord, but doesn’t own the house. Instead she is part of a co-operative housing group: together, they have been able to buy the house and then rentContinue Reading
As COVID-19 becomes the most intensely covered virus in history, there are important lessons to be drawn from the media’s reporting of another global pandemic: HIV/Aids. Whose lives the world deems worthy of saving depends, at least partly, on the stories that journalists tell. This was one of the findingsContinue Reading
Army soldiers digging mass graves to try and show that the state wasn’t responsible for the dead. A historian who vehemently disagrees behind bars on charges that many believe are false. Organisations that support him being attacked by an omnipotent power. It might sound like some movie, but this isContinue Reading
BasPhoto/Shutterstock There are nearly seven million 16-24 years olds in the UK. As many of this group finish school, college or university, they face the real prospect of long-term unemployment. Young people who were already in work at the start of the coronavirus pandemic have been one of the groupsContinue Reading
Over the past few weeks, statues of Christopher Columbus have been beheaded, covered with red paint, lassoed around the head and pulled down, set on fire and thrown into a lake. Many of these protests have been led by Native American activists. But other statues have been defended by peopleContinue Reading
International sport has resumed in the UK with the cricket Test match between England and the West Indies. Before play, in addition to a rendition of Jerusalem (the “official hymn” of England cricket), both teams and officals “took a knee” in support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. NationalisticContinue Reading
JOHN TAGGART / BLOOMBERG / POOL/EPA Rapper and sometime Trump supporter Kanye West has announced that he will be running for president of the United States. Without the tens of thousands of signatures needed to get on the ballot in all states or the backing of a small party, West’sContinue Reading
Boris Johnson’s government is committed to introducing “a culture of transparency and openness”. At least, that’s what a government spokesperson said on July 3 when announcing that the regular Downing Street press briefings will become a daily fixture. Who could be against “transparency and openness” – which must be doublyContinue Reading
