The People’s Republic of China is marking its 70th anniversary today with a mass parade in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. For the Chinese Community Party (CCP), which has ruled such a vast country for 70 years, this is a rare and precious occasion worth celebrating in a grandiose way. China has a rich history of celebratory parades, the nature of which can help track the changing priorities of the state over the past 70 years. But this year, writes Xun Zhou, the CCP is anxious. Alongside continued unrest in Hong Kong and tensions with Taiwan, China’s economy is flagging, the wealth gap growing and health scandals increasing.
Just five months after his election as president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky probably didn’t expect to be at the centre of a political storm in Washington. But the controversy over a July phone call between Zelensky and Donald Trump continues, and it’s an unwelcome distraction for Ukraine’s new president to be caught up in a US impeachment investigation. Liana Semchuk explains, however, that the affair is not getting widespread attention back in Kyiv, where Ukrainians are used to being trapped between a rock and a hard place.
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Preparations for China’s 70th anniversary parade.
Wang Zhao/EPA
Xun Zhou, University of Essex
What 70 years of mass military parades reveal about the Chinese Communist Party's rule.
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Ukraine Presidential Press Service/EPA
Liana Semchuk, University of Oxford
How Ukraine has reacted to controversy over a phone call between its President Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump.
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Environment + Energy
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Teresa Kramarz, University of Toronto
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has inspired the cross-country climate marches, but accountability lies with governments and corporations.
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John Virdin, Duke University; Xavier Basurto, Duke University
Small-scale fisheries buffer poverty and hunger in coastal countries.
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Science + Technology
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Siobhan O'Flynn, University of Toronto
Google's history of privacy violations is especially alarming when considering the company's reach extends into educational products.
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Katarzyna Mickiewicz, Newcastle University
This breakthrough could be key in fighting antibiotic resistance.
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Health + Medicine
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Agnes Binagwaho, University of Global Health Equity; Miriam Frisch, University of Global Health Equity
Rwanda's government has taken concerted, deliberate steps over the past 25 years to build a strong health system.
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Arts + Culture
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Thomas Swan, University of Otago; Jamin Halberstadt, University of Otago
Superheroes may be able to regenerate and fly through walls, but their supernatural qualities differ from those of spiritual beings that attract religious devotion.
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