When a journalist traveled from the east to the west of Europe, the level of press freedom was a cultural shock. A map of countries on the site of Reporters Without Borders shows that Serbia slid to 91st place this year in the Press Freedom Index of countries. In the...
Journalists tend to depict conflict as violent struggles between good and bad. There is a different way to think about war. Syrian refugee children in Lebanon (Wikimedia Commons/Trócaire/Eoghan Rice) Editor’s note: This week News Decoder is exploring the future...
More than one million people traveled to India in a one-year period for medical treatment. They came for the hospitals in Delhi not the beaches of Goa. Postcard from a hypothetical medical tourist in India. Illustration by News Decoder. Even as a majority of Indians...
For South Africans, winning the Rugby World Cup united a nation torn by politics, race and inequality. That’s the power of sports. South Africa’s Siya Kolisi lifts the trophy after the Rugby World Cup final match between New Zealand and South Africa at the...
Modern colonialism was once preached as a force for global good. Now it is seen as a system of exploitation, oppression and enslavement. Britain’s King Charles III, on carpet left, and Kenya’s President William Ruto, on carpet right, attend a military...
Depopulation threatens the long term economic health of developed nations. At some point they will have to open their borders. An Italian Coast Guard boat carries migrants as tourists on boat, foreground, watch, near the port of the Sicilian island of Lampedusa,...
In this Decoder, correspondent Tiziana Barghini covers why changing demographics, increased life expectancy and outdated public policies may spell trouble for developed nations. Migration may be the solution.
Exercise: Using a word cloud generator or class participation tool like Mentimeter, have students contribute words that they think of when they hear the word “immigration” or “migration”. Create a word cloud with these words before reading the article as a class. Then, after reading the article, have students consider how their perspective on migration might have changed. Create a post-read word cloud and discuss what new insights students have learned from the article.
Polish voters in three different political parties united to wrest control of the government from the conservative Law and Justice party. What happens now? People gather at a rally conducted by the opposition party ahead of the general election in Warsaw, Poland on 1...
Parliament, propaganda and political parties in Poland. In this Decoder, guest writer and former ND intern Karolina Krakowiak reflects on democracy in her home country — and the immense power of voting as a means to change.
Exercise: After reading the article, have a discussion about civic engagement with your class. What does that look like in your country? How can young people get involved in improving the world around them? Why might some be disillusioned with the political system they are a part of? Then, divide students into groups of 3-4. Each group will come up with a slogan to encourage civic engagement in your local community. The class will vote on the best one.
Hamas shatters the illusion of Israeli control. Palestinian militants attend a funeral of people killed during an Israeli military raid on a Palestinian refugee camp, Nur Shams, in the West Bank 20 October, 2023. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed) This article was produced...
Context matters and history matters. In this text from ND correspondent and Middle East expert Alistair Lyon, help your students understand the history behind the headlines surrounding Israel and Palestine.
Exercise: Read the article with your class, then have students create a timeline of key events mentioned in the text. Events may include: Hamas takes control of Gaza, Balfour Declaration, creation of Israel, British mandate to rule Palestine, British withdrawal from Middle East, the Holocaust, the Nakba, PLO 1988 declaration, founding of Hamas, Hamas wins parliamentary election, Oslo Accords, assassination of Itzhak Rabin, second Palestinian intifada, Israel withdraws from Gaza, Gaza blockade by Israel and Egypt. Is this long and complex history represented in social media posts and news stories about the conflict, or is it largely absent? Why and how does context matter?
Hostages held by Hamas. An invasion of Gaza. A crush of refugees fleeing for safety. This conflict has a long history and must be understood in context. Rockets are launched by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, in Gaza, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023....
We grab for news when events turn tragic and frightening. But we don’t think about the journalists who stayed put amid the mayhem to bring us that news. A camera catches the pepper spraying by police of a journalist covering protests in Hong Kong in 2014....