The Year of the Monkey begins today, on the Chinese New Year, and so we begin the year with a report about the new year as the world’s biggest consumer holiday: Chinese New Year, the world’s biggest consumer festival, by Qing Shan Ding.
North Korea is in the news after firing a rocket that left a trail of anger, from the UN Security Council to its neighbours. We have the news report — plus select columns and reports from our archives for context: North Korean rocket leaves trail of anger, by Ju-min Park and Louis Charbonneau. Related:
- North Korea’s Kim glories in reign of terror, Column
- North Korea’s black market the new normal Report
- Dark North Korea (F&O blog post)
- Jilted Putin courts Kim Jong-un for comfort, Column
- Kim renews quest for nuclear life-saver, Column
- Diplomacy opens crack between Koreas, Column
In this week’s column Tom Regan follows American politics with a piece about the press: The art of manipulating U.S. campaign coverage.
International Affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe writes a tale about Malaysia’s prime minister that is so strange it resembles a fictional thriller. Ghosts Gather at Najib’s Feast is factual, however, and a gripping read.
In “Cause marketing” not clear as a bell, Deborah Jones explains why she’s not on board with #bellletstalk, a wildly successful marketing campaign that’s raised money and awareness for mental health causes in Canada. It is a world leader in a trend we really do need to talk about.
The big news in agriculture and biology this week was a finding, reported in the peer-reviewed journal Science, that seems finally to identify the cause of honeybee colony collapse. It’s us. Stephen John Martin, one of the researchers who made the finding reports, via The Conversation: Honeybees being killed by a manmade pandemic.
Last but not least, here are four stories that provide what you need to know about Zika: Where did Zika virus come from, and why Brazil?, Why don’t we wipe mosquitoes off the face of the Earth?, Did health agencies fumble Zika response? and a poignant analysis of the problem, Love in the time of Zika.
Start with our Contents page, updated Saturdays or as breaking news warrants, and browse our sections for F&O’s complete trove of stories.
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