by Alistair Lyon | 8 Jun 2020 | Middle East
Lebanon has largely dodged COVID-19. But its finances are in tatters — and so, too, its facade of prosperity. Disaster awaits. Anti-government protesters demonstrating against Lebanon’s economic and financial crisis, and to demand early parliamentary...
by Jonathan Sharp | 1 Jun 2020 | China, Future of Democracy, Human Rights
Hong Kong youth are protesting again against the city’s rulers in China. The stakes are sky-high for the world’s economy and, potentially, security. A protester in Hong Kong, China, 24 May 2020 (EPA-EFE/JEROME FAVRE) Is capitalist, free-wheeling Hong Kong...
by Ben Barber | 28 May 2020 | Asia, Eyewitness, Islam, Nationalism, Terrorism
I was in Afghanistan when mujahideen guerrillas fought Soviet invaders. Three decades later, security remains precarious and peace a distant dream. Men walking from the Pakistan border into Afghan territory abandoned by Soviet-backed Afghan forces in 1988 (All photos...
by Ben Barber | 27 Apr 2020 | Decoders, United States
Despite an isolationist president and a plan to withdraw from Afghanistan, the U.S. has some 200,000 troops scattered around the world. Former U.S. President Barack Obama waves to U.S. troops at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, 28 March 2010 (White House...
by Omobolaji Olalere | 23 Apr 2020 | Africa, African Leadership Academy, Youth Voices
How should I feel towards a father who hurts me and Mommy? Mommy says daddies are nice. But if that’s the case, why does my daddy abuse me? Protesters against gender-based violence in Cape Town, South Africa, 5 September 2019 (EPA-EFE/NIC BOTHMA) The following...
by Tira Shubart | 22 Apr 2020 | Africa, Environment
Elephants, rhinos, pangolins and lions are under threat from poachers of endangered wildlife. Meet the dogs that sniff out contraband in Africa. (Photo courtesy of Paul Joynson Hick/African Wildlife Foundation) Today — April 22, 2020 — is the 50th anniversary of the...
by Iain Rodger | 3 Apr 2020 | Europe, Health and Wellness
A team from a small town in Italy made it to Europe’s top soccer tournament. Delirious fans hugged each other. Then COVID-19 turned joy to sorrow. Atalanta supporters cheer during the Atalanta vs Valencia match in Milan, Italy, 19 February 2020 (EPA-EFE,PAOLO...
by Bernd Debusmann Jr | 1 Apr 2020 | Future of Democracy, Health and Wellness, Human Rights, Middle East
Protesters across the Middle East had been hoping for a second Arab Spring. COVID-19 has driven them off the streets. But for how long? Workers disinfect around the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, 7 March 2020. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) Imagine yourself...
by Tara Heidger | 31 Mar 2020 | Africa, Health and Wellness, University of Toronto Journalism Fellows
Social distancing is the world’s way of fighting COVID-19. But in Africa, sprawling slums and teeming refugee camps pose a unique challenge. Foreign refugees on a sidewalk on the first day of a 21-day lockdown in Cape Town, South Africa, 27 March...
by Barry Moody | 24 Mar 2020 | Europe, Health and Wellness
Italy is now the global epicentre of the coronavirus disease, which has killed more Italians than Chinese. A political newcomer is leading Italy’s fight. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte during a European Council meeting held by video conference, Rome,...