🗺️ Picks of the Week — June 4
🗺️ Picks of the Week — June 4
Cheer Free Tokyo Olympics, China Three-Child Policy, Botched Ugandan Assassination, Bolsonaro Impeachment, Australian Humpbacks Hump Away, Extinct Giant Tortoise Rediscovered
Hello folks! Happy Friday and welcome to another edition of Picks of the Week, where we round up the latest news from around the world.
Today we’ll visit Japan where Olympics organizers are considering banning cheering; China who announced a new three-child policy; Uganda where a botched assassination attempt killed a minister’s daughter; Brazil where protestors are demanding President Bolsonaro’s impeachment; Australia where humpback whales are breeding like rabbits; and the Galapagos Islands where a giant tortoise has been seen after 115 years.
And be sure to check out this week’s content:
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Data Corner 🧮
A few datasets referenced in today’s edition…
In Danger: List of endangered animals, plants and communities in Australia, from the Australian government
Endangered Species: Stacks of data on the world’s endangered species, from IUCN
Chinese Census: Historical data, from the Chinese Statistical Yearbook
Cheer-Free Olympics Proposed
We begin in Japan, where Tokyo Olympics organizers are considering drastic changes to the fan experience to limit the spread of Covid-19. If they’re even allowed to attend, spectators may not be allowed to eat, drink, high five or even cheer, according to Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun. Overseas fans are already banned from attending and only Japanese fans who have been vaccinated or test negative will be allowed in. The Olympics and Paralympics are set to begin on July 23 and August 24 respectively, having been postponed a year due to the pandemic. The International Olympic Committee has ruled out postponing the games again.
The newspaper cited unnamed government officials and comes as a recent poll revealed the majority of Japanese citizens don’t want the games to go ahead. Many have staged anti-Olympics protests across the country. Covid-19 continues to devastate the health system in Japan, which will remain in a state of alert until June 20. A sudden influx of patients left hospitals overflowing in May and a slow vaccine rollout, left Covid-related deaths reach a record high of 794 in a week as recent as late-May, according to Johns Hopkins University.
China Unveils Three-Child Policy
To neighbouring China next, whose communist government announced that married couples are allowed to have up to three children. The move comes after last month’s census showed Chinese population growth reached its slowest rate in three decades. It marks a major shift from the 35-year one-child policy, which was replaced by a two-children limit in 2016. Unlike the previous policy change, which failed to deliver the desired fertility spike, “supportive measures” to actively cope with an ageing population will compliment the new policy.
Human rights organization Amnesty International condemned the new rule, claiming it still violates sexual and reproductive rights. Generations of Chinese that are used to having small families and no longer see the need to have multiple children, are unlikely to change their ways. Many Chinese families also aren’t ready for the new legislation, with many still dealing with trauma the previous policies caused. Female infanticide caused by the prospect of huge fines for being caught was common, as well as forced abortion, sterilization and the under-reporting of female births.
Botched Assassination Kills Ugandan Minister’s Daughter
To Uganda next where an attempted assassination of minister Katumba Wamala went wrong and four motorcyclists killed his daughter and driver instead. Wamala was also shot and wounded. The country’s deputy police inspector general labelled the attack a targeted drive-by, which have also claimed other high-profile Ugandans in the past, including politician Ibrahim Abiriga and police spokesman Andrew Kaweesi. The motive remains unsolved, though suspicions surround organized crime and extremism.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni called the killers “pigs who do not value life,” and vowed to defeat them as the country has done previously. Uganda is no stranger to political violence. At the end of 2020 and start of 2021, the country witnessed its worst ever election violence. More than 50 people died and opposition leader Bobi Wine was placed under house arrest for alleging electoral corruption. Extremist groups such as ISIS are also present in Uganda.
Previous Picks of the Week 👀
🔎 Picks of the Week — May 28
🔎 Picks of the Week — May 14
🔎 Picks of the Week — May 7
🔎 Picks of the Week — April 30
Bolsonaro Impeachment Demonstrations
To Latin America now, where tens of thousands of Brazilians nationwide are calling for the impeachment of the country’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro over his disastrous handling of the pandemic. The country ranks among the world’s worst in terms of deaths per capita, and has lost almost 470,000 people in total, second only to the U.S. Meanwhile the vaccination rollout has seen mass shortages and delays while hospitals have struggled to cope.
One demonstrator, who had two relatives pass away because of government inaction, said “This government is more dangerous than the virus.” Another believed Bolsonaro should appear before the international criminal court, saying “Bolsonaro is a Brazilian tragedy.”
Elected in 2018, Bolsonaro’s popularity has plummeted as the pandemic’s effects have been laid bare. Polls show that 57 percent of Brazilians support his impeachment. Brazil’s Senate recently launched an inquiry into the president’s handling of the pandemic, and now Brazilian private sector figures including CEOs and economists — many of whom supported his election — have publicly criticized Bolsonaro’s pandemic response.
Video: Brazil protestors denounce Bolsonaro
Australian Humpback Whales Breeding Like Rabbits
We visit Australia next, where humpback whales are reproducing at impressive speeds after being on a list of endangered species for decades. In the late 18th century, European colonizers began hunting whales for their oil and bone, and approximately 40,000 were slaughtered before humpback whaling was banned in 1963. Commercial whaling was then banned in 1978. Experts now say the annual breeding rate has risen by more than 10 percent, returning numbers to pre-commercial whaling levels.
As a result, the federal government has considered delisting the humpback whale from its threatened species list. But scientists and environmentalists say this would be premature, as whales now face imminent danger due to the climate crisis. The new threats, which marine scientists believe are more complex than whaling, include habitat pollution, degradation, underwater noise, collisions with boats, and ocean heating and acidification.
Map: Where humpback whales are found
Extinct Giant Tortoise Rediscovered After 115 Years
We’ll finish this week in the Galapagos Islands off the Ecuadorian coast, where a species of giant tortoise last seen over a century ago has been seen on a beach alive. Although the sighting took place in 2019, it took scientists more than two years to confirm that it was indeed the Chelonoidis phantasticus, a species declared extinct in 1906. Park keepers on the island of Fernandina will now look for other potential living species of the endangered animal.
The Fernandina Giant-Tortoise is the largest tortoise in the world and is native to the Galapagos Islands. It can weigh up to 550 pounds and exceed five feet in length. Years of tourism have taken a toll on the island’s biodiversity, leaving 13 species locally extinct. These include pink iguanas and the Floreana mockingbird, believed to have inspired Charles Darwin. Leonardo DiCaprio announced this year that he’d lead a biodiversity conservation initiative worth $43 million on the islands.
Video: “The Greatest Galapagos Discovery In Over 100 Years”
That’s it for this week! We’ll see you on Monday for another job board update and column from Daniel…