With no standard procedure, threat to privacy, and lack of data, are vaccine passports more perilous than promising?
Principal Idea
Concerned about slumping economies and tense residents, policymakers have adopted the notion of “vaccine passports” as a means of freeing at least some people from lockdowns. In certain variations, the passports would contain not only vaccination status, but also infection test results, evidence that the bearer has fulfilled a quarantine period, and health exemptions from vaccination.
Vaccine limits are not a novel concept. Visitors to areas where yellow fever is prevalent must present a “yellow card” as proof of vaccination. Before becoming permanent residents of America, immigrants must be vaccinated against 15 diseases identified by the country’s Department of Health…
A renewed rebel uprising in the CAR threatens to topple the recently elected government and worsen the impoverished nation’s already dire humanitarian crisis.
Background
The CAR was plunged into chaos in 2013 following a coup d’état staged by the Séléka, a rebel group of the CAR’s minority Muslim population. In response to this rose the anti-Balaka, a group from the country’s majority Christian population, “comprised mostly of young men whose families had been killed in the Séléka’s brutal campaign, and who were now seeking revenge” (1). These two large groups soon splintered and bitter civil conflict gripped the country until 2019, when a peace agreement was finally signed between the CAR and 14 rebel groups (2).
Conflict erupted again in December 2020 when, in…
After detaining Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s military has taken over the government declaring a state of emergency and inciting nationwide civil protests.
Once known as Burma, Myanmar is in the middle of some of the world’s greatest civil instability and chaos today. The dreams of establishing a strong democracy in Myanmar were ended when the military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government and her National League for Democracy party in a coup on February 1. A country that shares its borders with Thailand, Laos, Bangladesh, China, and India in southeast Asia, Myanmar has been burning with insecurity — yet no one wants to wake up to its reality.
Timeline of Events
In 1948, Myanmar quite bravely proclaimed independence from the United Kingdom. However, the…
With the pandemic humbling capitalism and states doling out social security entitlements, has Marx’s theory of welfare states finally been given a green signal?
The COVID-19 Narrative
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused tremors in the capitalist foundations, ushering the global economy into a deep recession and possibly a major depression. Assigning the blame to the virus draws away attention from capitalism’s structural contradictions and turmoil, which would have led to a crash in any case. The COVID narrative has also justified unproven public health policies — lockdowns, travel bans, closed schools and factories — by prompting quarantines on large populations. The benefits of such drastic measures are mainly in countries that have not been adequately prepared, which have not responded sufficiently with more targeted measures to test…
Fantasy sports have managed to give the laws the slip by allowing sports betting to thrive in the Indian markets. Let’s weigh the pros and cons of legalizing this illegal market.
The gambling industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the global economy, with one of the most prominent areas being sports betting. In India, there is no regulation that renders online betting an unlawful practice, but it is legally illegal, and offshore betting firms obviously exploit this ‘loophole’ to encourage Indians to gamble on pretty much everything, particularly sports.
History
Sports betting has been around for a long time, although it is impossible to put a date on its beginning. However, one can trace its history to as back as 2,000 years ago, where the Greeks used to bet among…
From a Soviet territory to a proxy-Russian government to finally becoming a true “European” country — what Ukraine wanted came at the cost of bloodshed, braving the winter, and a Polish Foreign Minister.
In 1991, when the Soviet Union disintegrated into many, smaller countries, Ukraine was one such country that had its independence handed back to them. What makes Ukraine different from the rest, though, is its geography: awkwardly sandwiched between Russia and Europe, it is quite literally stuck between two starkly opposing schools of thought: dictatorship and democracy, realism and liberalism, right and left. Ukraine had to make a choice, one that would form the roots of the entire political ideology of the state, whether it wanted to be associated with Russia or the European Union.
And it did make a choice…
The world’s most popular sport has proven itself to be a useful tool for political actors all over the world. This article examines just how football has influenced the world — from money to populism.
As the world’s most popular sport, it is perhaps of little surprise that football has become embroiled in international politics. However, as the money in football has grown exponentially over the last decade or so, so has political involvement. This article will explore just some of the areas that have seen increased levels of involvement and endeavors to answer the question: just why have international governments have been so keen to engage more in a world that at first, seems so disconnected from anything to do with politics?
Investing in Clubs Abroad
In 2016, Chinese companies purchased three popular football teams from the UK…
People all over the world continue to take to the streets and put their foot down to condemn various actions, even as COVID-19 is bedevilling the world with its pervasive and intense presence.
Camaraderie at its Finest?
When you form a mental picture of what a protest looks like, it is probably a large group with a common modus operandi, chanting slogans and the sphere of activity bursting at the seams. But what we don’t usually realise is the aftermath of the demonstration — they are more than an act of dissent and go beyond what is apparent. When things get messy, violence sweeps in with full force, often defying the whole purpose of why the protest was organised in the first place. …
Having gone through almost two dozen coups d’états, and clearly suffered, is Thailand currently bracing for another one?
A coup d’état, or “the sudden, violent overthrow of an existing government by a small group,” literally translates to “a blow against the state.” However, it is actually much more than just a blow; it is a dagger through the heart of the regime, which leaves the country bleeding for a very long time. A coup d’état is essentially when the military or any opposition party overthrows the existing government and proclaims themselves as the new one. And predictably, no, it is not legitimate. Coups tend to take place during times of inefficient governance, which led to dire situations in…
Ant Group’s massive IPO had been recently suspended following a meeting between the company’s billionaire co-founder Jack Ma and regulators in China.
Ant Group’s massive IPO had been recently suspended following a meeting between the company’s billionaire co-founder Jack Ma and regulators in China. The reasons for the same as stated by the Shanghai Stock Exchange were “major issues” that might cause it “not to meet the listing conditions or disclosure requirements.” Ant Group apologised in its official WeChat account to its investors for “any inconvenience caused by this development.” This listing would be the biggest share sale in history at a whopping $37b, beating the $29.4b record currently held by the Saudi state oil company Aramco.
The Journey Began with Alipay
