Month: October 2021

What Peace Prize says about freedom in Russia, Philippines

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Read time : 5 mins

Level : Advanced

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV AND HRVOJE HRANJSKI Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — The Nobel Peace Prize sometimes recognizes groundbreaking efforts to resolve seemingly intractable conflicts, such as once-sworn enemies who sat down and brokered an end to war. In other years, the recipient is someone who promoted human rights at great personal cost.

The prestigious award also can serve as a not-so-subtle message to authoritarian governments and leaders that the world is watching.

What does the selection of two journalists, Maria Ressa, 58, of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov, 59, of Russia, say about freedom of expression and the history of dissent in the countries of the 2021 peace prize winners?

“It is a battle for facts. When you’re in a battle for facts, journalism is activism,” Ressa said Friday. Continue reading

UNICEF: Battered by pandemic, kids need mental health help

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

UNICEF: Battered by pandemic, kids need mental health help

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Governments must pour more money and resources into preserving the mental well-being of children and adolescents, the U.N.’s child protection agency urged in a report Tuesday that sounded alarms about blows to mental health from the COVID-19 pandemic that hit poor and vulnerable children particularly hard.

The United Nations Children’s Fund said its “State of the World’s Children” study is its most comprehensive look so far this century at the mental health of children and adolescents globally. The coronavirus crisis, forcing school closures that upended the lives of children and adolescents, has thrust the issue of their mental well-being to the fore.
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Leaked ‘Pandora’ records show how the powerful shield assets

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE and JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press

A new report sheds light on how world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires and others have used offshore accounts to shield assets collectively worth trillions of dollars over the past quarter-century.

The report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists brought promises of tax reform and demands for resignations and investigations, as well as explanations and denials from those targeted.

The investigation, dubbed the Pandora Papers, was published late Sunday and involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries. Continue reading