by Natasha Comeau | 4 Mar 2021 | Health and Wellness, Human Rights, World
As COVID-19 vaccines are being rolled out around the world, there’s an unanswered question: Should it be an obligation for all of us to be vaccinated? A man receives a COVID-19 vaccination in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 7 February 2021. (EPA-EFE/ALI HAIDER)...
by Betty Wong | 3 Mar 2021 | Decoders, Economy, World
Does a battle over GameStop shares that has pitted defiant online investors against big Wall Street firms mean we’re in a stock market bubble? GameStop logo and stock market symbols, 29 January 2021 (AP/STRF/STAR MAX/IPx 2021) There’s been a lot of news lately...
by Eva Zhu | 26 Feb 2021 | Health and Wellness, University of Toronto Journalism Fellows, World
Winter can mean less light and trigger crippling seasonal depression. Confinement due to COVID-19 has made it harder for many people to cope. A young woman looks out of a window during the coronavirus pandemic. (Frank Hoermann/SVEN SIMON/picture-alliance/dpa/AP...
by Lucy Jaffee | 24 Feb 2021 | Americas, Contest winners, Contests, Educators' Catalog, Environment, La Jolla Country Day School, Student Posts, United States, Youth Voices
Most Americans want schools to teach about global warming. But skeptics and lack of teacher training make it hard to implement climate change education. Students learn about water filtration as part of their climate literacy curriculum in Portland, Oregon, 30 January...
Climate deniers have lost the political high ground in the United States, but the struggle to combat global warming has only just begun. Lucy Jaffee of La Jolla Country Day School explores why teaching about climate change can help reduce carbon emissions, but also why U.S. schools are having such a hard time fostering climate literacy. She interviewed a local expert and two teachers in her examination of the challenges schools face in meeting the expectations of parents who want climate change in the curriculum. Ask your students to explore how climate change is being taught in their school, and if not, why not?
by Sarah Lindemann-Komarova | 15 Feb 2021 | Educators' Catalog, Europe, Human Rights, Politics
Russians are keen for change but are not necessarily pinning their hopes on dissident Alexei Navalny as an alternative to Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, 23 January 2013 (EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY) Tens of thousands of Russians have taken to the streets in...
Harried journalists often depict complex situations in black and white, and the temptation is especially strong when one is on a bandwagon with reporters convinced of a single narrative. Alexei Navalny has captured the imagination of the West and for many embodies the future of democracy in Russia as an alter-ego to Vladimir Putin. Sarah Lindemann-Komarova has lived in Siberia for 28 years and brings a more nuanced perspective to the story. Little wonder that her article, which notes the skepticism with which many Russians view the Kremlin critic, quickly attracted comments from readers following Navalny’s saga. Ask your students who their political heroes are and why. And who does not like them — and why.
by Barry Moody | 10 Feb 2021 | Europe
Gutsy prosecutors crippled the Cosa Nostra decades ago. Now, a new trial aims to strike a blow against the ‘Ndrangheta, Italy’s dominant mafia. Anti-Mafia prosecutor Nicola Gratteri arrives for the trial against more than 300 defendants of the ‘Ndrangheta...
by Ben Barber | 8 Feb 2021 | Asia, Health and Wellness
Sprawling and populous, India presents unique healthcare challenges. Its vast COVID-19 vaccination program offers an example to even rich nations. A hospital staff member receives a COVID-19 vaccine in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, 16 January 2021. (AP Photo/...
by Jeremy Solomons | 5 Feb 2021 | Economy, Educators' Catalog, Health and Wellness, Human Rights, World
COVID-19 vaccination programs are moving slowly in poor nations, threatening the world’s health and raising risks for rich countries’ economies. From ourworldindata.org Sometime very soon, the world will reach a significant milestone in its battle to...
As nations struggle with the terrible health and economic consequences of COVID-19, the rush is on to roll out vaccines to as many people as possible. Leaders of developed economies might be excused for protecting their citizens above all — if it didn’t mean leaving out masses of people in the Global South. Jeremy Solomons taps official data and experts to spell out the dangers for both poor and rich nations alike if steps are not taken to ensure vaccines reach the four corners of the world. Ask students how they would ensure the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines — and whether they would be willing to help pay for it.
by David Schlesinger | 1 Feb 2021 | Asia, China
A top secret White House document, surprisingly declassified, says the U.S. should seek “primacy” against rival China and promote ties with India. Chinese leader Xi Jinping invites then U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) to review an honour guard during a...
by Bernd Debusmann Jr | 28 Jan 2021 | Middle East, Politics
Donald Trump knit close ties with Israel and Saudi Arabia. The new U.S. administration under Joe Biden is reassessing relations with the Middle East. Then U.S. Vice President Joe Biden sits with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before a dinner in...