University of Alberta

Two 'alien' minerals never before seen on Earth are discovered in a 14-ton meteorite that crashed in Somalia two years ago

The minerals were identified in the ninth-largest meteorite found on Earth

The two minerals were discovered in a single two-ounce slice of the space rock

They are named elaliite and elkinstantonite, but no other details have been released

Researchers are optimistic that more new minerals could be uncovered if they take more samples from the meteorite

By STACY LIBERATORE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 29 November 2022

At least two new minerals never seen on Earth have been identified within a 14-ton meteorite found in Somalia two years ago.

The minerals were found in a single two-ounce slice of the space rock, which was sent to the University of Alberta, believed to have discovered a potential third new mineral.

The two newly discovered minerals have been named elaliite and elkinstantonite, but no other details have been released.

The meteorite, dubbed 'El Ali,' is classified as an 'Iron, IAB complex,' which is one of over 350 in that particular category - but it is the ninth largest meteorite ever found.

Two new minerals never seen on Earth were identified in a single two-ounce slice of meteorite

The meteorite was named in honor of the town where it was found, which is the name also given to the first mineral.

The second was named after Lindy Elkins-Tanton, director manager of Arizona State University's Interplanetary Initiative and principal investigator of NASA's upcoming Psyche mission.

Elkins-Tanton plans to send a probe to probe the mineral-rich asteroid for evidence of how our solar system's planets formed.

Chris Herd, a professor in the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and curator of the University of Alberta's Meteorite Collection, said in a statement: 'Whenever you find a new mineral, it means that the actual geological conditions, the chemistry of the rock, was different than what's been found before.

'That's what makes this exciting: In this particular meteorite, you have two officially described minerals that are new to science.'

Herd is also optimistic that more new minerals could be uncovered if researchers take more samples from the meteorite.

The 14-ton meteorite (pictured) crashed into Semolina in 2020. It is the ninth largest ever found on Earth

The meteorite landed outside the town and was first discovered by camel herders who alerted experts.

The space rock is about twice as dense as a regular Earth rock and is so magnetic - nothing like this has been observed on our planet.

As Herd was analyzing the meteorite to classify it, he saw something that caught his attention.

He contacted Andrew Locock, head of the U of A's Electron Microprobe Laboratory, who has been involved in other new mineral descriptions, including Heamanite-(Ce).

'The very first day he did some analyses, he said, 'You've got at least two new minerals in there,' says Herd. 'That was phenomenal.

'Most of the time it takes a lot more work than that to say there's a new mineral.'

Locock's rapid identification was possible because the two minerals had been synthetically created before by French researchers in the 1980s.

Herd notes that 'it does not get to be called a mineral until it is found in nature.'

Researchers are optimistic that more new minerals could be uncovered if they take more samples from the meteorite

Researchers continue to examine the minerals to determine what they can tell us about the conditions in the meteorite when it formed.

'That's my expertise — how you tease out the geologic processes and the geologic history of the asteroid this rock was once part of,' said Herd.

'I never thought I'd be involved in describing brand new minerals just by virtue of working on a meteorite.'

While the future of the meteorite remains uncertain, Herd said the researchers have received news that it appears to have been moved to China in search of a potential buyer.

It remains to be seen whether additional samples will be available for scientific purposes.

More countries are moving towards authoritarianism - report

By Héloise Urvoy • Updated: 30/11/2022 

 The AP. 

Democracy on the decline worldwide - 

More countries are moving towards authoritarianism as democracy erodes worldwide, according to a new report by an intergovernmental organisation, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA).

The Stockholm-based watchdog said half of the world’s democracies are in a state of decline amid worsening civil liberties and rule of law, while already authoritarian governments are becoming more oppressive.

It said this decline comes as elected leaders face unprecedented challenges ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the cost of living crises, a looming global recession, and climate change.

The 'Global State of Democracy 2022' report showed that the number of countries with the most severe democratic erosion is at its peak and includes established democracies like India and the United States.

And there are troubling patterns even in countries performing at middle to high levels of democratic standards.

Threats to democracy

The decline of global democracy includes the undermining of credible election results, restrictions on online freedoms and rights, youth disillusionment with political parties, as well as out-of-touch leaders, intractable corruption, and the rise of extreme right parties that has polarised politics.

The International IDEA’s Secretary General, Kevin Casas-Zamora, said however that Europe is doingwell in general, while countries like Slovenia and Moldova have made remarkable progress recently.

However, democratic standards in Europe have tended to plateau, meaning progress is still possible but is not always achieved. This can lead to some disillusioned citizens seeking other ways to fulfil their expectations:

"That dissatisfaction manifests itself in very strident political attitudes that often scapegoat parts of the population, and embrace particularly the message of far-right parties," he said.

Casas-Zamora encouraged defending things that embody democratic societies, such as the free press, fair elections, and checks and balances, and argued that societies need to continue to expand and renew democracy, through initiatives like citizens’ assemblies or youth activism.

"Never has there been such an urgency for democracies to respond, to show their citizens that they can forge new, innovative social contracts that bind people together rather than divide them," he said.

Some bright spots

Despite the negative picture, there are many examples of resilience across the world where democracy is absent or under threat.

Ukrainians have been resisting Russia’s war of aggression, Iranian women are fighting against the country’s theocratic dictatorship, and in China, citizens are protesting against the government’s zero COVID policy.

The report insists vigilance must prevail, as the global state of democracy remains fragile and in many countries, democratic performance is no better than it was in 1990.

Jailed Belarus opposition figure ‘in intensive care’

Father says prominent Lukashenko critic was well when he last visited her in October

Matt Mathers


Human rights abuses in Belarus

Belarus’s jailed opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova is in a serious but stable condition in intensive care following surgery, her allies say.

Ms Kolesnikova, 40, was sentenced to 11 years in jail in 2021 for her role in protests against the authoritarian regime of Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko.

She was taken to hospital earlier this week but doctors did not share her diagnosis or any other details about the surgery.

Ms Kolesnikova’s Twitter account, run by her opposition colleagues, said she had been hospitalised and undergone surgery on 28 November.

Opposition politician Viktor Babariko made similar comments in a Telegram message, saying she had been transferred to a hospital war in the southeastern city of Gomel.

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Her father, Alexander, also said she had been taken to hospital, adding that she looked energetic and cheerful when he last visited her in prison in October.

Ms Kolesnikova, an outspoken critic of Mr Lukashenko, was jailed for her role in mass protests that broke out in Belarus in 2020 following the widely discredited reelection of Mr Lukashenko.

She said the charges against her were trumped up. The opposition said the election results were falsified and that the real winner was Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.

Mr Babariko’s telegram channel said Kolesnikova was set to be moved out of the intensive care unit to a surgery ward on Wednesday.

Imprisoned Belarus activist taken to hospital emergency unit

Ms Kolesnikova, an outspoken critic of Mr Lukashenko, was jailed for her role in mass protests that broke out in Belarus in 2020 following the widely discredited reelection of Mr Lukashenko
(Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

"Our dear Masha (Maria), we all hope that you are going to be okay!" exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya wrote on Telegram, describing the initial report of her hospitalisation as "awful news".

In the protests against the election result, many protesters were beaten.

Others, like Ms Tikhanovskaya, were forced into exile as the Belarus president waged a brutal crackdown on those opposed to his rule.

Mr Lukashenko, who has been called Europe’s last dictator, has been in power since 1994. His security forces tries to deport Ms Kolesnikova to Ukraine. after kidnapping her in Minsk.

But she refused to leave the country and was famously pictured tearing up her passport at the border and climbing out of the window of the car.

 THE MULTITUDE

Globally one in eight people today are migrants: WHO

“Human right to health is a right that extends to all people everywhere, especially refugees and migrants.”

• 28 November, 2022

A Rohingya refugee child peeps from his makeshift shanty at Kutupalong refugees camp,

 in Ukhia on October 6, 2020. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

By: Melvin Samuel

Globally one in eight or over one billion people today are migrants with 281 million international migrants and many million individuals who are stateless, according to World Health Organization (WHO).

Climate change, rising inequality, conflicts, trade, and population growth are accelerating these trends, WHO said in a statement. The health workforce has a vital role in providing for the health rights and needs of refugees and migrants. To support countries and territories to build professional competence and capacity to adequately address refugee and migrant health issues, WHO is organizing the third edition of its annual Global School on Refugee and Migrant Health in Dhaka, Bangladesh with a focus on capacity-building.

“Migration and displacement can have deep and long-lasting impacts on physical and mental health and well-being, and cultural and linguistic differences, financial barriers, stigma and discrimination can all hamper access to health services for refugees and migrants,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

“Health workers have a crucial role in helping to overcome these barriers. The WHO Global School on Refugee and Migrant Health is a valuable resource for building the capacity of health workers to better serve refugees and migrants.”

While not all refugees and migrants are vulnerable, they are often due to an array of determinants, from xenophobia and discrimination to poor living, housing, and working conditions, and inadequate access to health services that are people-centred and sensitive to refugee and migrant health needs.

“Human right to health is a right that extends to all people everywhere, especially refugees and migrants. Because to be truly respected, protected and fulfilled, a right must be fully enjoyed by the most marginalized and vulnerable – those at risk of or who are already being left behind, which often includes people on the move,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia addressing the participants.

Held in a different location each year, the Global School aims to leverage the learnings and experiences of countries in close collaboration with WHO and governments.

This year over 7.1 million Bangladeshis were displaced by climate change a number that could reach 13.3 million by 2050.

UK

Suella Braverman's migrants speech like Rivers of Blood, says senior Met officer

Neil Basu says language used by Home Secretary reminded him of Enoch Powell and the abuse his parents suffered in the 60s

By Martin Evans, 

CRIME EDITOR

29 November 2022

 • THE TELEGRAPH

Suella Braverman was criticised for telling the Telegraph her dream was to see migrants deported to Rwanda

CREDIT: PA

Britain’s most senior Asian police officer has compared Suella Braverman’s comments on immigration to Enoch Powell’s infamous Rivers of Blood speech.

Neil Basu, the UK’s former head of counter terrorism, described the Home Secretary’s choice of language on the asylum issue as “inexplicable” and “horrific”.

Ms Braverman came in for criticism when she told the Telegraph she dreamed of sending migrants to Rwanda and also when she described the current crisis as an “invasion”

In an interview ahead of his retirement from the Metropolitan Police, Mr Basu, whose father came to the UK from India in the 1960s, said such language reminded him of the racism his family endured following Powell’s inflammatory speech.

He told Channel 4 News: “I find some of the commentary coming out of the Home Office inexplicable. It is unbelievable to hear a succession of very powerful politicians who look like this, talking in language that my father would have remembered from the 1968. It's horrific.”

LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE SAYS BRAVERMAN

THE CANNONS OF CHRISTIANITY 

Mr Basu - whose father was a doctor who moved to Britain from Calcutta, and whose mother was a nurse from Wales - grew up in Stafford where he was regularly the target of racist abuse.

He described how after Powell’s speech, his parents had stones thrown at them by racists as they walked down the street.

He said: “I was born in 1968. The ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech happened on the constituency next to where my parents lived and made their life hell. A mixed-race couple walking through the streets in the 1960s. Stoned.”

He added: “I speak about race because I know something about race because I'm a 54-year-old mixed race man.”

Ms Braverman, whose own parents came to Britain in the 1960s from Mauritius and Kenya, has been criticised for her rhetoric on the migrant crisis, but has expressed her determination to tackle the issue.

On Tuesday, a Home Office spokesman said the Home Secretary was very clear about the need to “manage our borders effectively and have an asylum system that works for those in genuine need”.

Mr Basu said he was happy to describe himself as 'woke'

 CREDIT: PA


Mr Basu was the country’s head of counter terrorism policing between 2018 and 2021 but missed out on becoming Commissioner and also on being appointed head of the National Crime Agency after clashing with No 10 and Priti Patel, the former home secretary.

One flashpoint came when Mr Basu urged the Home Office to consider relaxing the rules on positive discrimination in order to increase the number of black and ethnic minority police officers.

Mr Basu suggested his progress in policing had been blocked by the Government because he had been outspoken on issues of race and diversity.

But he said he was proud to describe himself as “woke”, defining it as "being alert to issues of racial and social injustice".

“If that is the definition of woke, I'll wear it as a bumper sticker every day of the week. And by the way, every serving police officer, let alone a chief constable, better believe that too." he said.

“We serve all of the public without fear or favour, regardless of who they look like, not just the people we like.”

Mr Basu said diversity and inclusion were two of the most important things for modern policing adding that there should be “zero tolerance” of prejudice in the Met.

Asked whether thousands of police officers needed to be rooted out of the Met, Mr Basu replied: “Yes, I think that's correct. If you're a police officer watching this and you are - like the vast majority of police officers - a good person who wants to do the right thing, then you have to be the person who doesn't walk by when you see that kind of behaviour.”

Mutiny or Revolution? 

The Consequences of Events in India in 1857

Florian Blackburn

37 Pages

India,

Indian Mutiny,

Consequences of the Indian Mutiny 1857,

Histotiography of events in India 1857

The focus of this project is on both the nature and consequences, for India, of the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Classic British historians have offered a clear simplistic view that events should be classed as a Mutiny. However, I focus on the debate between the Indian historians that emerged in the twentieth century. I conclude that the events of 1857 must be characterised initially as a military Mutiny, but later as a collective conservative rebellion for the protection of religion, and the rejection of British rule. I go on to discuss the short term effects, looking at the social and military reform undertaken by the British, which represents how their attitudes to the culture and native peoples of India was shifted by the uprising against British rule. This shift moves away from legislative reforms imposed from above, to focus on shifting young Indian’s attitudes gradually and naturally, through Victorian style education. Furthermore I discuss the short term reorganisation of the Indian militaries, and how the events in 1857 led to the development of a material race ideology. Lastly, I discuss how the Rebellion, and its consequences led to a national sentiment developing, which leads to the onset of the early Independence Movement.

 THE MULTITUDE

'This is just heartbreaking': People shocked at the image of three migrants discovered on ship's rudder

Abhya Adlakha
·Editor, Yahoo News Canada
Wed, November 30, 2022 

The Spanish coast guard rescued three African migrants found sitting on the rudder of the ship in the Canary Islands. SALVAMENTO MARÍTIMO via Twitter

The image of three men discovered balancing on the rudder of a ship for 11 days across the ocean from Nigeria to the Canary Islands has left people in shock.

The three men were picked up Monday by Spain's Maritime Rescue Services from the rudder of the Alithini II ship. After displaying acute symptoms of disorientation, dehydration and hypothermia, they were all taken to a hospital on the island of Gran Canaria.

Two of the stowaways have been helped and put back on a ship to be deported to Nigeria. A local government spokesperson said that the third person is still recovering in a hospital. A law enforcement spokesperson told Reuters that the law in Spain states that if a stowaway doesn’t seek asylum, they have to be sent back to the original port by whomever runs the ship.

The amount of people coming to the Canary Islands from the western region of Africa has skyrocketed over the past few years—with many undertaking similar dangerous journeys.

People reacted to the news and are left astounded that the three men were able to survive on a rudder without food or water for 11 days.

While some commented on the determination of migrants, others pointed out the horrific conditions that are forcing migrants to take such journeys.

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2022/11/three-stowaways-survive-11-day-atlantic.html

Bats use the same techniques as death metal singers or the throat singing from vocalists in Mongolia and Siberia to vocalize, study finds

By Zoe Sottile, CNN
Tue November 29, 2022

A Daubenton's bat, scientifically named Myotis daubentonii, hunts at night.

Johan De Meester/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Death metal fans might just have a new animal mascot.

Some bats use the same vocal structures as death metal singers to make their unique vocalizations, a new study has found.

Researchers at the University of Southern Denmark investigated the noise-making techniques of Daubenton’s bat, a small species of the winged mammal found across Europe and Asia. The study, published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Biology, focuses on the different structures of the larynx — also known as the voice box — that bats use to expand their vocal range.

Vocal communication is essential for bats: They famously use sound to navigate their surroundings and locate their prey in a process known as echolocation. The flying critters also use sounds to communicate socially.

And bats that use echolocation have an impressive, seven-octave vocal range to match their sound needs, the researchers said. By comparison, most mammals, including humans, have a vocal range of three to four octaves. Bats use extremely high-pitched sounds to echolocate, but employ low-pitched growls to communicate with each other.

Over 50 species previously thought to be mute make sounds, according to a new study

The scientists set out to understand exactly how Daubenton’s bats maximize their vocal range.

The research team extracted the larynxes of five bats who had been euthanized and filmed the organs while applying air flow to mimic natural breathing. This allowed the scientists to directly observe the vocal membranes and ventricular folds, also called “false vocal folds,” vibrating at different frequencies. These are “the first direct observations” of these vocal structures in Daubenton’s bats, the researchers said.

“We identified for the first time what physical structures within the larynx oscillate to make their different vocalizations. For example, bats can make low frequency calls, using their so called ‘false vocal folds’ — like human death metal singers do,” said Coen Elemans, the lead study author and a professor of biology at the University of Southern Denmark, in a news release.

Ventricular folds, or false vocal folds, are located on top of the true vocal cords. Historically, these folds were thought to have no role in normal human speech — hence the term “false.”

Low-frequency growls

But studies have revealed that these folds are crucial for a few unique forms of vocalization, like the distinctive “growling” death metal singers use or the throat singing from vocalists in Mongolia and Siberia.

Bats can predict the future to hunt their prey, Johns Hopkins researchers find

The folds are likely also the source of bats’ low-frequency growls, the researchers found. They didn’t directly observe the vocal cords vibrating or oscillating. However, the researchers wrote, “We venture to speculate that in bats, the ventricular folds have taken on the role of lower frequency vibrations.”

Scientists still don’t know what exactly the bats are communicating when they use their death metal growls. “Some seem aggressive, some may be an expression of annoyance, and some may have a very different function,” said study coauthor and University of Southern Denmark biologist Lasse Jakobsen in the news release.

Brock Fenton, professor emeritus of biology at Western University in London, Ontario, told CNN that the study is an interesting first step into understanding bat vocalization. But there are over 1,400 known species of bats in the world — so a study focusing on just one species is limited in its application. He was not involved in the study.

“For vocal cords, this is interesting and new,” he said, but “there is a huge diversity of larynges in bats, that has hardly been described (in the paper).”

Fenton especially called for future research on bats that make long sounds, in contrast to the Daubenton’s bat’s high-pitched but short-length calls, saying that was necessary context to understand the breadth of bat vocalizations.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma hiding in Tokyo amid China’s crackdown on star tech firms: Reports


India Today Web Desk
New Delhi,UPDATED: Nov 30, 2022

Chinese billionaire and Alibaba founder Jack Ma. (Photo: Reuters)

By India Today Web Desk: Alibaba founder Jack Ma has been hiding in Japan’s Tokyo with his family amid China’s crackdown on star tech firms and its most powerful and wealthy business people, latest reports say.

Jack Ma is known for his charismatic and outspoken nature, but he may have pushed the boundaries too far during an October 24 event, where he criticised Chinese regulators for stifling innovation.

During the conference in Shanghai, Ma had even compared Chinese banks with pawn shops. To sum it up, just a month before Ma’s Ant Group was about to launch the world’s biggest IPO, he went ahead and directly criticised the Chinese government, or the ruling Communist Party.

Beijing struck back by stopping his IPO and even summoned Ma and Ant executives to a meeting. The regulators have also asked for restructuring Ant Group’s business. The development has already cost Ma billions of dollars.

On Tuesday the Financial Times, which is owned by the Japanese media company Nikkei, revealed Ma has most recently been living in Japan.

Citing anonymous sources, the paper said that for almost six months the former English teacher turned tech superstar has been living in Tokyo with his family. His time has been spent mixing business and pleasure with visits to onsen (hot springs) and ski resorts in the Japanese countryside as well as regular trips to the US and Israel.

--- ENDS ---

JACK MA PROMOTED 996

Excitement, defiance for young Chinese in COVID 'tipping point' protests

Reuters
James Pomfret and Martin Quin Pollard
Publishing date: Nov 30, 2022 

Ottawa Citizen

Protesters take part in a rally commemorating victims of China's COVID Zero policy outside Shinjuku Station on November 30, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan. Protesters took to the streets in multiple Chinese cities after a deadly apartment fire in Xinjiang province sparked a national outcry as many blamed COVID restrictions for the deaths. 

PHOTO BY TOMOHIRO OHSUMI /Getty Images


HONG KONG/BEIJING — When Yang, a Shanghai office worker, saw video clips of a burning building in western China, a disaster in which 10 people were killed, she said she could not contain her anger over tough COVID-19 measures three years into the 

Watching a World Cup soccer match in a Shanghai bar two days later with her boyfriend, she spotted calls on WeChat, China’s ubiquitous messaging app, for a public gathering to mourn the victims. She rushed over by bicycle to attend.

“Things reached a tipping point, we had to come out,” Yang, 32, who declined to be identified by her full name given fear of reprisals, told Reuters.

Six young people who spoke to Reuters from four cities across China – all dipping their toes in activism for the first time – describe a mix of elation, fear and defiance after a restive weekend and a tightening of security.

While united against China’s stifling “zero-COVID” measures, all six also spoke of a yearning for broader political freedoms, 33 years after students occupied China’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.

When Yang arrived at the gathering, small crowds were heckling ranks of police deployed beneath the mottled plane trees of Wulumuqi Road, named after Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region where the fire occurred.

Authorities have denied the deaths in the fire were linked to lockdown measures that blocked the victims’ escape.

“We don’t want masks, we want freedoms,” Yang chanted, using her phone to share pictures, videos and posts over Twitter, Telegram and Instagram – apps not accessible on the mainland without a virtual private network, that she’d installed.

As the hours wore on, chants grew bolder.

“Down with the Chinese Communist Party,” people chanted, some casting off their masks. “Down with Xi Jinping!”

But much of the public frustration is directed at President Xi’s signature zero-COVID policy, rather than at him or the ruling party.

While many in China have supported the policy, which has spared it from the ravages of a virus that has killed millions elsewhere, significant frustration has built as a new wave of infections has led to the return of widespread lockdowns.

A senior health official said on Tuesday public complaints about the curbs stemmed from overzealous implementation rather than from the measures themselves, and authorities would continue fine-tuning policy to reduce the impact on society.

China has relied mainly on domestically produced vaccines, which some studies have suggested are not as effective as some foreign ones, meaning lifting COVID measures could come with big risks, some experts say.

 People hold white sheets of paper in protest of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions, after a vigil for the victims of a fire in Urumqi, as outbreaks of the coronavirus disease continue in Beijing, China, November 27, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

‘FIRST TIME’

Considering herself part of a small “liberal bubble” in Shanghai – China’s most cosmopolitan city – Yang did not imagine so many people sharing her frustrations in a country that has grown increasingly authoritarian in the decade since Xi assumed power.

“This is the first time in my life I’ve done something like this,” she said. “In my heart, I’ve murmured such things a thousand times, but hearing these slogans suddenly chanted by so many real people was exciting and shocking to me.”

For many in other cities, the COVID lockdowns have exacerbated a sense of powerlessness.

“The protests are happening because under the COVID prevention measures people can’t satisfy their fundamental needs to survive,” said Jiayin, who took part in a demonstration in Guangzhou, a southern city with some of China’s highest recent infection numbers.

There, over the weekend, people thronged a bridge connecting two districts under lockdown and sang a Cantonese song called “Sky” by Hong Kong band Beyond, which was hugely popular among Hong Kong’s pro-democracy demonstrators in 2019.

More than 2,000 km to the north, students at elite universities were also mobilizing.

Cheng, a 23-year-old social science student who stood with hundreds on the campus of Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University, Xi’s alma mater, stressed that it was the duty of the elite to lead in pushing for social justice.

“I’m very proud that I can stand up with the best young people in China and speak out for everyone,” said Cheng.

She and other young protesters are tech savvy, with many communicating over Telegram in amorphous, anonymous and decentralized acts of defiance, with echoes of Hong Kong’s leaderless pro-democracy protests in 2019.

They have found support from overseas groups and online organizers, providing know-how on information security and how to evade censors.

The morning after her protest, Yang attended to chores at home after snatching three hours sleep then spent the day glued to her phone, posting incessantly. At times, she scolded friends who urged her to be “rational” and avoid the protests.

In one post, she wrote: “In an irrational reality, being rational and using logical words are far, far from adequate.”

“My brain felt overloaded with information, and my mood wasn’t stable,” she said.

With police in various cities now checking people’s phones for apps like Telegram, however, and summoning some people for interviews, Yang said she would lie low for now, using a clean “burner” phone to go out with.

“At this stage it’s better to wait for a while.”

Despite the risks, Dai’an, who identifies herself as a feminist and lives in the southwestern city of Chengdu, says she is driven by a “very simple sense of justice.”

“The worst is that you’ll be locked up right? But it’s better than facing the reality day by day and then not being able to do anything, and then you feel sorry for yourself.”

She attended a protest on Wangping Street, a location chosen because its name means “looking at ping,” an allusion to Xi Jinping.

“I don’t feel like I’m making history,” said Cheng. “But we live in history every day. I will always remember that.” 

(Reporting by James Pomfret, Martin Quin Pollard, and Jessie Pang; Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Tony Munroe)

Why humanitarians need to talk about Elon Musk’s Twitter

Changes will impact emergency response. Aid workers can’t be passive observers.

Aanjalie Roane
Humanitarian communications professional based in Ottawa

THE NEW HUMANITARIAN

Dado Ruvic/Reuters

OTTAWA, Canada
Humanitarians can’t afford to sit out conversations about Twitter’s next chapter. Too much is at stake.

The internet is ablaze with discussions surrounding Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover. The commentary has largely focused on the potential impacts of Musk’s proposed reforms on Western users. But the conversation shouldn’t stop there.

Countries like India, Brazil, and Indonesia boast among the highest number of Twitter users – a whopping 23 million, 19 million, and 18 million users respectively – and Mexico, Thailand, the Philippines, and Egypt aren’t far behind.

In these countries and beyond, Twitter has been used to both help and hinder humanitarian efforts.

Local activists and humanitarians have used the platform to help catalyse revolutions, to share and collect lifesaving information, and to flag needs during emergencies. On the flip side, Twitter has also obstructed humanitarian efforts by providing an unchecked platform for misinformation and hate – often with disastrous consequences.

As a humanitarian communications professional who has directly witnessed the influence of social media networks on emergency responses in West Africa, Greece, Lebanon, and beyond, I am concerned about what Musk’s proposed reforms could mean for the future of aid. Here are three implications:
1. Loosening oversight could weaken humanitarian responses

Musk’s expected intention to loosen content moderation on Twitter is one area where humanitarians need to pay close attention.

While the billionaire’s precise plan to unlock free speech on Twitter is yet to be unveiled, previous statements have suggested a desire to relax community standards and put an end to permanent account bans. As of 23 November, Twitter stopped enforcing policies that previously labelled and removed misleading COVID-19 information.

Weak social media moderation policies can exacerbate humanitarian crises, from amplifying hate speech during conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to mobilising anti-migration sentiments during COVID-19 in Greece. Twitter has also been weaponised by groups like the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, which maintains at least 42,000 Twitter accounts for propaganda campaigns, mostly in Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Despite scaling up efforts to restrict harmful content in recent years, Twitter’s screening tools remain inadequate for scanning foreign-language posts – so a steer toward further cutbacks is worrying.

Loosening content rules can also slow efforts to share and receive timely and reliable information during crises. When emergencies strike, real-time posting on Twitter helps humanitarians better understand the situation and communicate where and how people can find help like food, shelter, and medical assistance. Misinformation on social media can hamper these efforts – like in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where fake news about the Ebola vaccine contributed to existing mistrust towards health officials and aid workers. Without a more nuanced vision for content moderation, this may become the new norm on Musk’s Twitter.
2. Content editing may deteriorate humanitarian legitimacy and accountability

New efforts to introduce content editing features like an “edit button” on Twitter may also have deep consequences for the humanitarian sector. With new editing abilities, nefarious actors can turn to Twitter to share seemingly innocuous content – and then revise those same posts to include propaganda, hate, or misinformation after they’ve already raked in thousands of retweets. Combined with the platform’s ongoing cybersecurity issues, it could now become possible for hackers to edit and change legitimate humanitarian information posted online – for example, from government authorities or UN agencies during a disaster.

In recent years, whistleblowers have increasingly used Twitter to demand greater accountability from humanitarian organisations – an ability that could deteriorate with new editing features. For example, critics have often turned to Twitter to call out white saviour tropes and imagery shared by international NGOs in their online campaigns – but what happens when problematic content can simply be edited out in the face of criticism? While this might pave the way for international NGOs to revise old content with a more anti-racist lens, it could also swap more meaningful accountability in favour of simply editing away mistakes with the click of a button.
3. Monetising the checkmark: Another roadblock for humanitarians and activists

Finally, Musk’s plans to create a new subscription model for Twitter's coveted checkmarks warrants interrogation. Iranian activists have already warned how a pay-for-verification model could help Iranian government officials and other anti-protest actors appear more legitimate. At the same time, activists who previously gained their blue checkmarks organically may lose them if they aren’t able to afford the fees.

A new model could also snatch the megaphone from the hands of those who have few other ways to participate in global humanitarian decision-making. At a time when access to important humanitarian-related summits remains restrictive – either because of costly travel or prohibitive participation rules – Twitter verification at least provides a platform to voice perspectives that might otherwise be sidelined. During this year’s International AIDS Conference, for example, many activists turned to Twitter when visa issues barred them from attending in-person in Montreal. A tiered verification system may weaken this advocacy potential.

Whether we like it or not, Twitter is changing – and humanitarians must change with it. We have a responsibility to use our voices to push for more sophisticated moderation mechanisms, stringent cybersecurity, and equitable verification processes that support people affected by emergencies.

The future of Twitter remains unclear, and we can’t afford to have it determined by the whims of one unpredictable billionaire.

Aanjalie Roane is director of communications at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Canada but is writing this in a personal capacity.