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A curated list of stories, insights and opportunities.
global development | science in society | journalism
Hello, and welcome to this week's newsletter. Read on for the latest crop of headlines and calls to apply for funding or training, delivered to your inbox by the weekend.
Do share on if you find it useful.

The week from my desk.

Idlib devastated, coronavirus reach widens, locusts advance in East Africa.

Two crises other than coronavirus - the devastation in Idlib and spread of locusts in East Africa - have had a little more airtime this week, and rightly so. 

But before moving on to that, there’s a lot on COVID-19 to wade through. 

The latest reports suggest reports of cases are popping up in many more parts of the world. And so towards the end of the week, the WHO said the window to contain the epidemic is narrowing -- even though earlier in the week it steered clear of strongly worded warnings, with the UN chief also striking a middle ground between warning and reassurance.

There’s much more in the text box below 👇  including reports that address points I raised in my post last week.

The new coronavirus in the media 

More reports from more places:

  • A cluster in South Korea - Guardian
  • Cases quadruple in Italy, but remain low in number - Euronews 
  • Egypt confirms the first case to be reported in Africa - Al Jazeera
  • On the challenges of containing it in Africa - Washington Post
  • And worries about the weight on health systems in Asia - Devex
  • Expectations of wider spread, and vulnerability in poor countries - Economist
  • Labs in Latin America weren’t equipped to detect the virus, until now - Devex
  • On that note: scientists are concerned that the virus is going undetected in parts of the world (point two raised in last week’s post) - Nature

Predictions and worries:

  • Scientists are looking for the peaking point of this epidemic - Nature
  • There were some signs earlier this week that spread of the virus is slowing down in China - New York Times + Nature
  • But we don't really know: China seems to have changed how it counts cases once again - and so there’s more questioning of the numbers being reported (point one raised in last week’s post) - Nature + STAT
  • Will it be harder to contain than SARS? - Los Angeles Times
  • Not everyone is reassured, and many media reports don’t help. A view on ‘super-worriers’ from the UK - Guardian
  • How media coverage stokes fear - The Conversation

What the disease really is/does:

  • What COVID-19 does to the body - National Geographic + NPR Goats & Soda
  • A study finds that most cases are mild, with sick and elderly most at risk (answering the third question I raised last week) - BBC + Telegraph
  • ...and some much needed context about how it compares with other coronaviruses, the seasonal flu and Ebola -- which puts me right on that point three because the case-fatality rate is higher than that of seasonal flu - National Geographic

The response:

  • Amongst the numerous reports pointing the finger at China’s handling of the crisis, a considered view of whether authoritatianism helps or hinders the response - Lancet Global Health
  • Undocumented suggestions that the virus could have originated from a biosafety lab near the Wuhan market has been met with strong condemnation - Science + The Lancet + Reuters
  • A report that the disease has been treated with an antimalarial in China - Euronews 
  • But the country is struggling to offer care - Wall Street Journal
  • Clinical trials are underway in search for a treatment - Nature + NHK
  • And here are some scenes from the epicentre, Wuhan - NPR Goats & Soda
  • A diary of days in quarantine - New York Times

It’s the economy…:

Unexpected consequences:

  • China’s carbon emissions have temporarily dropped by a quarter - Carbon Brief
  • On the racism ignited by the virus - Economist + Undark
  • ...and the toll on migrant workers in China - Economist
  • How the facemask shortage brought on by the coronavirus impacts TB in South Africa - Bhekisisa
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A few other pieces that caught my eye:

Tech & AI

  • Indian politician uses deepfake video to win voters, a first for a political party anywhere - MIT Tech Review
  • NEC: a major facial recognition software supplier flying under the radar - Medium OneZero
  • The US military is developing software that could tell who you are from 1km away - New Scientist
  • But Europe wants to keep the tech industry in check - Economist
  • Powerful antibiotics discovered using machine learning - Guardian + Nature
  • AI’s capability to warn about disease outbreaks has limits - AP

Climate change

  • Antarctica melting under record temperatures - Reuters
  • Climate change to expand farmland by 30%, but that’s not good news for climate change - Reuters
  • Meanwhile, it now looks like methane emissions are higher than we thought, which in this case isn’t all bad news - MIT Tech Review + Bloomberg Green
  • Bots send a quarter of all tweets about climate change - Guardian

Health

  • Vancouver opens opioid vending machine scheme. It’s to reduce overdose deaths - Guardian
  • Insulin is too expensive, and there’s a black market for it on Craigslist - Reuters + NPR Goats & Soda
  • Anti-vaccination views go way back, to Victorian England - Conversation UK
  • LONG READ | E-cigarettes: friend or foe? - Guardian 

Environment

  • A debate revisited? On the rise of small-scale nuclear reactors - Yale E360
  • Gates sets sights on lithium sustainability - Bloomberg Green
  • Trump to ease controls on mercury pollution, a move that polluting companies don’t want - MSNBC
  • This story connects the dots between China’s demand for pork and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon - Atlantic
  • A view on the new UN biodiversity targets being negotiated (I was a contributing author) - Nature
...spotlight on the Global South:
Quote of the Week:

“People presume that science and writing are quite different. But they are both ways of knowing.” -- Brandon Taylor, writing in Buzzfeed

On journalism and communication:

  • Freelancers take note: The New Scientist is expanding its tech/space/physics newspool - Twitter
  • Journalists concerned with the coverage of the COVID-19 coronavirus can attend a free webinar - Center for Health Journalism
  • A snapshot of editorial policies on covering climate change across European media - European Journalism Observatory
Opportunities knocking:
  • The Kurt Schork Memorial Fund is accepting submissions for its international journalism awards that target local journalists, journalists who report from conflict zones, and fixers--closing May 31.
  • The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations is seeking applications for its Fellowship Programme from young practitioners in MENA, North America and Europe working in the media or peacebuilding--closing March 8.
  • Audiovisual, print and data journalists can apply for a fellowship to report on the global migration and resettlement--closing March 2.
  • The Society of Environmental Journalists is accepting submissions for its annual award recognising excellence in environmental reporting--closing April 1.
  • The Arab Film Festival Zurich is accepting entries for its fifth edition, which aims to enhance cultural exchange and support producers in the Arab world--closing February 28.
  • The Lorenzo Natali Media Prize is accepting submissions from journalists who published in media based in Europe, to reward excellence in reporting on sustainable development issues--closing March 15.
From my network:
  • MIGRATION OP-ED | "It is understandable for asylum seekers to demand dignified reception conditions and, likewise, for local communities to want security and stability in their homes. Unless these two communities are empowered to control the fates they share, further tension will be difficult to prevent or reverse." Fresh off the digital press, by my friend Joel Hernàndez who brings to this commentary insight from experience in migration policy and years on the ground in Greece. 
  • WRITING TRAINING | Know someone in Ireland interested in innovative writing and poetry? They'd be in very good hands with this course running from early March.

A break, and a touch of culture:

  • A final note below, short and very sweet.

Sound And Vision 2013, by David Bowie



See you next week.

PS: Tips/feedback? Email me.
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