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Mao’s China falsely claimed it had eradicated schistosomiasis – and it’s still celebrating that ‘success’ in propaganda today
China's campaign from the 1950s to eradicate schistosomiasis, or 'snail fever', has been lauded ever since. US National Library of Medicine In early April, with much of the world under lockdown, China was already celebrating its purported victory in keeping the new coronavirus under control. In an effort to boostContinue Reading
Report roundly criticizes ‘whitewashed’ face of Australian TV news and current affairs · Global Voices
75 percent of presenters, commentators and reporters have an Anglo-Celtic background Seven Sunrise Breakfast show promotion 2016 -video screenshot from YouTube A new report by Media Diversity Australia highlights the dominance of presenters, commentators and reporters of Anglo-Celtic background in national television news and current affairs. Anglo-Celtic people are those ofContinue Reading
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers split over Beijing-imposed mandate extension · Global Voices
To accept Beijing’s interference or to boycott the LegCo? Lawmakers face a double-edged sword Pro-democracy lawmakers demonstrate inside the LegCo chamber. Photo from inmediahk (CC: AT-NC) Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam has ignited a firestorm on August 21 after invoking emergency powers to postpone the Legislative Council (LegCo) electionsContinue Reading
Devastated hilltop in Myanmar’s jade mining region remains home for scores of families despite danger · Global Voices
Last month’s landslide tragedy killed almost 200 local prospectors Scores of residents are still living near the scene of last month’s deadly landslide in Kachin State’s Hpakant jade mining region. Photo by Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy This article by Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint and Zaw Zaw is from TheContinue Reading
Ecuador’s indigenous Amazonian peoples launch online COVID-19 tracker · Global Voices
Data helps the public understand where help is most needed Waorani Baihuari Community. Photo by the National Assembly of Ecuador/Flickr under CC BY-SA 2.0 license. Modified by Global Voices. Indigenous Amazonian populations in Ecuador can now see how COVID-19 is affecting their communities through a platform designed and updated by the NGO ConfederationContinue Reading
Gavin Williamson, Ofqual and the great A-level blame game
The debacle that saw tens of thousands of young school-leavers having their A-level results downgraded by an algorithm and missing out on their first choice university illustrates what can go wrong when ministers try to offload responsibility for important policy decisions on government agencies. It also puts into sharp focusContinue Reading
Inflammation: the key factor that explains vulnerability to severe COVID
Halfpoint/Shutterstock The severity of COVID-19 can vary hugely. In some it causes no symptoms at all and in others it’s life threatening, with some people particularly vulnerable to its very severe impacts. The virus disproportionately affects men and people who are older and who have conditions such as diabetes andContinue Reading
The key to language is universal psychology, not universal grammar
Tom Wang/Shutterstock What makes language special is part of what makes us special, so understanding what language is made of and how we learn it brings us closer to our human nature. Is language special because it runs on its own unique piece of mental software written into our DNA?Continue Reading
For LGBTQ+ people in Mongolia, stigma is a fact of life · Global Voices
Erdene shares her story of coming out in Mongolia A rainbow flag outside the Great Khural, Mongolia’s parliament building, Ulaanbaatar, March 2019. Photo (c): The LGBT Centre Mongolia. Used with permission. During the summer of 2017, I spent some months in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital city. There, I met a youngContinue Reading
Belarus: what role could Russia play in Alexander Lukashenko’s future?
Mass protests, strikes and calls for Alexander Lukashenko to step down after a disputed election have raised the prospect that his long grip on power in Belarus may be coming to an end. But Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, is widely expected to play a decisive role in what happens nextContinue Reading