Headlines
From high-definition TV broadcasts to shiny new on-screen graphics to laid-back video blogs…North Korean state media have been getting a makeover. But the cosmetic changes won’t be able to alter North Korea’s perception as one of the world’s most censored and isolated countries
The Gamov Peninsula is an isolated region in Russia’s Far East , with influences from neighboring Japan, China, and North and South Korea. But the hardy few who live there cherish their solitude and are glad to be off the authorities’ radar
Since the onset of the health crisis, which affected more than a million people and caused more than 21,000 deaths in Africa, RSF has already recorded more than a hundred press freedom attacks in connection with the coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic across the entire African continent. Zimbabwe alone has a quarter of the violations recorded, including a dozen arbitrary arrests , and ranks among the most repressive countries in this area
Texas ranks third in the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. While most of the state is fighting the disease, one county in northwest Texas has no cases among its residents. But life is still not completely normal there
The distance between the two large stone lions that have been guarding the entrance to NYC’s Public Library for over a century is way over two meters. The iconic felines traditionally wear wreaths at Christmas time, but this year, their accessories – face masks
The RCSS/SSA-S (Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South) is one of seven ethnic armies operating in the state, and though the group has signed a cease-fire agreement with the central government, tensions have recently reignited over movements by both armies into each other’s territory
Microsoft confirmed that it has held talks with Chinese technology company ByteDance to acquire its popular social app TikTok in the United States. Microsoft said it will work with the U.S. government on a deal that they hope to wrap by September 15
Despite positive signals, the government has, after many months of complacency, moved to tighten up its rules on mask-wearing. On July 30, the chief sanitary state doctor Aizhan Yesmagambetova signed a decreerequiring the wearing of face coverings not only indoors, but also on the street, in order “to reduce the risk of infection among the population.” Offenders face a fine of up to 83,340 tenge ($200)
The COVID pandemic has ruined much of the summer partying for which Russia’s second largest city, St. Petersburg, is known. Now, a new city law is adding to that by banning the sale of alcoholic beverages in small, informal bars
Two protest movements are 9,000 kilometers apart: one in Russia and one in Belarus — but they’re united by their desire for basic democratic norms. Current Time reporters tracked down the protesters in Khabarovsk, in Russia’s Far East, who reached out to their counterparts in Belarus, and the demonstrators in Minsk who responded