China: Farming having become more mechanised, ecotourism inspires people to live in villages
Terry Townshend, a wildlife conservationist and biodiversity adviser to Beijing’s government, has since 2017 been training yak herders in Qinghai in the kinds of skills that ecologists hope could be a model for sustainable development. In 2016, he met the official responsible for Zaduo, a county in Qinghai Province where...
Asylum seekers: Ignored by international community, we’re left with the only option – to cross the sea
The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) says people released from Zintan refugee detention centre in Libya were given emergency cash assistance and other support from UN partners, including cash cards that can be used at over 4,000 shops in Tripoli, but did not specify when the support was provided....
Donors question UN aid in Tigray, which ‘appears to put rocket fuel into the agency engines’
A series of donor letters that question how international support in conflict-weary Tigray, Ethiopia, is managed lay the blame more squarely on UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), which they accuse of having failed to ensure the presence of experienced, senior staff members in the camps and transit sites. The...
Q&A: Humanitarian crises have triggered increased South-South migration
South-South migration basically means migration movement between and among developing countries. If you take West Africa, migration movement within West Africa or even between West Africa and Asia, or between West Africa and Latin America would constitute South-South migration. It has not really been discussed in the mainstream literature for...
South-South migration is often overlooked and South-North given prominence, why?
Why do dominant media and political narratives about migration tend to focus on the relatively small number of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants attempting to reach the Global North irregularly and overlook the important role of South-South migration in development, inequality, and humanitarian crises? Because narratives about migration are dominated...
Media: Unionisation protects editorial independence, draws clear line between sponsored content and news
Successful unionisation campaigns among journalists in the US have seen record numbers of media workers win new rights in newsrooms across the industry over recent. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) congratulates US unions on the wave of new union agreements won and the formation of dozens of new workplace...
Sun sets on scientist who despised use of biology to justify racist ideology on IQ
Richard Lewontin was a ground-breaking geneticist, best known for bringing molecular tools into evolutionary biology and for his advocacy against the use of science to rationalise structural inequity. Lewontin and his collaborators revealed how natural selection acts to shape variation, exploring its effect on genes, groups and individuals. Moving between...
I came here to fight: Inspired 16-year old girl tells of desire to avenge death of her Tigray kin
A 16-year-old girl who hoped to go to war against Ethiopia People’s Defence Force says she was inspired by the sight of resurgent local forces marching in to retake the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region six months after being forced to flee. The girl, Meron Mezgeb, narrates how she waited...
Black Lives Matter: Manchester city rallies behind England’s Black players in the wake vile racist attacks
Marcus Rashford said he is “lost for words” after hundreds gathered for an anti-racism demonstration and took the knee outside his mural on Tuesday evening. The artwork in south Manchester was vandalised within hours of England’s crushing defeat against Italy in the Euros final on Sunday night. But it has...
If viruses play a bigger factor in asthma attacks, it’s likely doctors may have been fixing wrong problems
Nicole Lawson spent the beginning of the pandemic incredibly worried about her daughter, who has asthma. Five-year-old Scarlett’s asthma attacks were already landing her in the ER or urgent care every few months. Now a scary new virus was spreading. Respiratory viruses are known triggers of asthma attacks and doctors...
