🔎 Picks of the Week — August 28
Japan PM Resigns, Zimbabwe Journalist Detained, Philippine Bombs, Apple Facebook Tension, India Turmoil, Christchurch Gunman Sentenced
Hello! It’s Friday which means it’s time for another look at what’s happening around the world. We travel to Japan where Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has resigned because of health concerns, to Zimbabwe where New York Times and ITV journalist remains detained by the government, to the Philippines where twin bombs killed at least 14 people, to Silicon Valley where Apple and Facebook are gripped in an privacy war, to India where several developing crises have taken hold of the country, and to New Zealand where the gunman who killed 51 Muslims last year has been sentenced.
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Deadlines this week include at CBC, Honolulu Civil Beat, Newsquest (today!), Open Democracy (today!) and Politics Home…
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Japan PM Resigns
We start this week in Japan where Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigned due to health concerns. Abe said he didn’t want his illness to get in the way of decision making, and apologised to the Japanese people for failing to complete his term in office. Abe has suffered from ulcerative colitis for many years, a disease that affects the colon and rectum and can suppress the immune system, and his condition is thought to have worsened recently, according to the BBC. Abe also resigned suddenly in 2007, in part because of his health. Abe became the country’s longest-serving prime minister in November, and was due to serve until the next election in 2021. Under Japanese law, an acting prime minister would take temporary charge, with no limits on how long they can stay in the post. Japan is currently on the backside of a second wave of Covid-19 cases far larger than its first.
Friend of the pod, Amy Webb weighs in…
Zimbabwean Journalist Remains Jailed
We move to Zimbabwe next where journalist Hopewell Chin’ono has been held in jail for more than a month, pending trial on charges of “inciting violence”, while his lawyer said he’s been abducted. Chin’ono live-streamed his arrest by authorities who broke into his residence without a warrant, and several bail applications have since been rejected. The investigative journalist had previously reported on alleged Covid-19 procurement fraud within the health ministry, and is one of between 50 and 100 opposition party officials, writers, labour activists and others that have been arrested. Corruption is costing the country $2 billion a year, according to Transparency International Zimbabwe. Chin’ono has masters degrees in International Journalism and Documentary Practice from City University and Brunel University in London, respectively, was a fellow at Oxford University and Harvard University, and is currently a field producer for ITV and a foreign correspondent for The New York Times, according to his LinkedIn page.
Philippines Bombs
At least 14 people were killed and several others injured on Monday in the Philippine town of Jolo, the capital of the country’s southernmost province, Sulu. Sulu is majority Muslim, which makes up less than six percent of the country’s religion compared with 80 percent who identify as Roman Catholic. The province is a stronghold for the Abu Sayyaf Group, a terrorist organization that wants to create an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines. ASG has allied itself with ISIS, who claimed responsibility for blasts inside a cathedral that killed 20 people and wounded more than 100 last year. Monday’s attack is one of at least six suicide bombings in the past three years in the Philippines, according to Al Jazeera.
Apple Facebook Growing Tension
We zip to the U.S. quickly for the news that Apple’s iOS 14 software will critically impact the advertising model of Facebook, and could shave more than 50 percent from its Audience Network advertising business, which generates revenue in the multibillions, according to Digiday. Facebook allows mobile software developers to provide targeted in-app ads to users based on its data using what’s known as an IDFA, but Apple’s new software will now require users to opt in to the practice each time they open an app. In response, Facebook told Reuters that Apple rejected its attempt to tell users that the owner of the App Store would take 30 percent of sales fees. The privacy battle continues…
India Turmoil
Moving to India now where the country faces several developing crises. The death toll from a collapsed five-storey apartment block has killed at least 13, with several more still missing. It’s unclear at this moment what caused the disaster in the southwest part of the country, but the building has been described as falling “like a deck of cards”. The collapse comes amid the worst Covid-19 situation of anywhere in the world right now, with the country recording around 80,000 new cases and 1,000 deaths per day. Meanwhile India’s government has been cracking down on its critics, most recently taking lawyer Prashant Bhushan to court over critical tweets of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The country’s democracy has deteriorated since Modi took office in 2014, as has its press freedom, with India now ranking among the likes of Venezuela and Mexico.
Source: The Economist 👇
Christchurch Mosque Gunman Sentenced
We end this week with some positive news as the Australian terrorist who killed 51 Muslims and injured dozens more last year, has been sentenced to life without parole. The gunman, who was representing himself in court after firing his lawyers, didn’t oppose the sentence and showed no remorse or shame, according to the presiding judge of the hearing. Judge Cameron Mander said: “Your crimes are so wicked that even if you are detained until you die, it will not exhaust the requirements of punishment”. New Zealand doesn’t have the death penalty as part of its justice system. Prime minister Jacinda Arden acted immediately last year and passed legislation banning assault rifles and military-style semi-automatic weapons. Six months later, she introduced more reforms tightening gun laws even further. That’s it for today, see you next week.
Source: BBC 👇
