In the week ending February 28, leading stock markets around the world faced their worst week since the financial crisis of 2008. And things could get worse.
The death of coronavirus whistleblower Dr Li Wengliang led to a backlash against China’s policy of information control. Now the state is trying to control that too.
Local residents’ committees control urban governance in China, meaning lockdown measures do not feel imposed from outside.
A train attendant in Nanchang, China, gestures in solidarity with medical staff departing for the city of Wuhan, Feb. 13, 2020.
STR/AFP via Getty Images
Public criticism of the Chinese government’s handling of coronavirus shows that the Chinese people can overcome both strict censorship and a gaping class divide when they get angry enough.
Donkey carries water for pastoralists in Marsabit, Kenya.
Kandukuru Nagarjun/Flickr
Monicah Maichomo, Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organisation
Ejiao, a traditional Chinese medicine, is what’s driving demand for donkey skins the most. It consists of gelatin that is extracted from boiled donkey hides.
A worker disinfects the cabin of an Ethiopian Airlines’ aircraft at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
STR/EPA/EU
A key component of how the coronavirus could be spreading is the environment.
Hyunday’s five-factory complex at Ulsan, South Korea, which can make 1.4 million vehicles a year, fell silent on February 7 because of a lack of parts caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
Yonhap/AFP
As the human costs of the Covid-19 virus epidemic continue to rise, the virus is also taking its toll on global economy, with disrupted supply chains across a wide variety of industries.
The government today issued a statement extending the travel ban for non-Australian’s from China, and in doing so extended a priority on health and well-being over economy.
Uyghur women wearing protective masks.
Alex Plaveski/EPA
Differences among the ‘Five Eyes’ over the tech company’s role in building 5G networks pose a threat to the long-standing Western consensus about how to manage relations with China.
Duterte (left) with the Philippines’ armed forces chief of staff, Lieutenant General Noel Clement.
Rolex Dela Pena/EPA
China’s Qixi Festival is a celebration of love based on the legend of a mortal who married a goddess, causing his furious mother-in-law to create a Milky Way to divide these two twinkling stars.
From helping fight coronavirus to supporting education and biodiversity projects, China’s tech billionaires have moved boldly into philanthropy, continuing what is an ancient tradition.
Yun Jiang, Australian National University et Adam Ni, Macquarie University
The Chinese government is accused of reacting too slowly to the health crisis and silencing its critics. Now, the public is angry and wants party leaders to be held accountable.