Freedom House, a prominent US-based human rights organization which monitors and rates various global freedoms, has found that under President Xi Jinping repression has increased in China. Of the 17 categories assessed by Freedom House in their China Report, repression has increased in 11 since 2012 when Xi took power, indicating an overall intensification of … Read more
A recent study has found that health messages–the kind that are posted on billboards to advise the public or decorate the walls of doctors’ offices–have different effects on two different classes of people. The research found that while experts respond better to negative, loss-framed messages that make sense within the context their strong knowledge of … Read more
JUBA, South Sudan — The government has hailed the just concluded meeting with the rebels and mediators in Khartoum as a step towards the attainment of lasting peace. South Sudan’s Foreign Minister, Benjamin Marial, praised the initiative by the Chinese government to mediate between the warring parties in an effort to restore peace to the … Read more
JUBA, South Sudan — The leader of the minority party in the National Legislative Assembly, Onyoti Adigo, has suggested convening a national consensus dialogue to resolve critical issues rather than conducting partial elections in June. “The Government should call all political parties, civil society organizations, faith-based groups and people to decide the way forward,” Onyoti told … Read more
An accidental discovery made by researchers testing the weight-bearing capacities of a small bird in the Tennessee mountains has shed light on how birds’ senses–notably their ability to hear very low infrasounds characteristic of large storms–allow the animals to avert meteorological catastrophes. “I think this is just one newly discovered example of the many ways … Read more
Microsoft Devices Group and communications and information technology company Nokia are launching a $29 cell phone that will last one month on a single charge. “With our ultra-affordable mobile phones and digital services, we see an inspiring opportunity to connect the next billion people to the Internet for the first time,” Jo Harlow, Corporate Vice … Read more
Bacteria divide into two identical progeny cells, right? According to Professor Peter Young and his team at the University of York’s Department of Biology, this is only part of the picture. The team recently studied a community of rhizobia from a clod of earth dug up from the university campus, and found that bacterial cells are in fact unique, … Read more
“We are not the solution; we are a tool in order to create a new situation.” – Pablo Iglesias, political spokesperson for Podemos The traditional bipartisan state of Spanish politics is now under threat. A party and a political movement originating from the 15-M indignant protests of 2011 is gaining ground on the political battlefield … Read more
As condolences for the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack continue being expressed in France and worldwide by people standing up for the freedom of speech, the controversial satirical magazine published a new issue Monday, featuring Mohammad again on the front cover. In the cartoon, Prophet Mohammad is holding a sign “Je suis Charlie” under … Read more
New hope for a universal flu vaccine has come out of recent work by a join research team from McMaster University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. The team published a report Wednesday on a new class of broadly-neutralizing antibodies that are expected to increase the potency of our weapons … Read more
Since mid December 2013, South Sudan has been experiencing a political crisis that erupted within the ruling party’s top leadership. The crisis started in the national capital, Juba, in Central Equatoria state and engulfed other states like Unity, Upper Nile and Jonglei. Western Equatoria state has been one of the states that has experienced relative … Read more
Predispositions to prejudice can be manipulated, according to new research. By making social minorities appear to hold egalitarian beliefs, researchers demonstrated that those minority individuals would bear less prejudice–both implicit and explicit–from American and Chinese nationals. By manipulating the would-be judges so that they made their appraisals of minority individuals while in a collectivist mind-set, … Read more