Decoder: The West looks on as Putin pals with Xi Jinping

Decoder: The West looks on as Putin pals with Xi Jinping

The relationship between China and Russia seems to grow closer as the U.S. and China look at each other with hostile eyes. At what point does this become scary? Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, toasts with Chinese President Xi Jinping prior to the Conference...

Especially pertinent after Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow last week, this article from correspondent Jane Macartney decodes the Russian-Chinese relationship — and its effects on the war in Ukraine and beyond. While China has stopped short of providing lethal material support to Moscow, its overall trade with Russia reached a record high in 2022. Help your students understand all the moving pieces of this geopolitical puzzle with this Decoder. 

Exercise: After reading the article, show students this political cartoon of Putin and Xi Jinping. Students should draw parallels between the article and the cartoon’s symbols, characters and captions. Prompting questions: Who are the characters in the cartoon? Why does Xi appear conflicted in the image? How does the image represent what Macartney described in her article? Explain to students that this cartoon was published in 2022. How has the Russian-Chinese relationship evolved since then, with Xi’s latest state visit to Moscow?

Kenya tries again to digitally register all residents

Kenya tries again to digitally register all residents

If a government agency stores the DNA and fingerprints of its residents can it serve them more efficiently or control them more effectively? (Image: News Decoder) A year after Kenya’s historic digital identity program was declared illegal, the Kenyan government is...

As more countries around the world adopt digital identification systems, concerns about the legality of such programs have come to the fore. This month, University of Toronto global journalism fellow Shefali Malhotra walks us through arguments for and against the implementation of digital IDs in Kenya. 

Exercise: As students are reading the article, have them create a list of arguments for and against the implementation of digital IDs. Then, have students write a paragraph on whether or not they support adopting digital IDs in your country. The paragraph should include arguments around at least two of the following subtopics: data protection (legal), privacy (personal & commercial), internet penetration/the digital divide, potential discrimination against vulnerable groups. To extend the activity, students can engage in a structured debate with classmates after writing their paragraphs.

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