not only clips to take place the sun, moon, and earth must all be in a direct line. a partial eclipse could be seen in other parts of the southern hemisphere. ah, and our reminder of the top stories on al jazeera votes are being counted in the gambia presidential election. it's being seen as a test of the transition to democracy, incumbent president at them. a barrow is seeking another term, but faces 5 rifles. admittedly says more now from the capital bun, june, the tunnel was really, really important, talked to our gumby importer. he will tell you this election is very important and significant in many respect resources for somebody bought in cause to quote for 30 years with lots of freedom of choice, lot of freedom of expression, they were in prague. fears of things going wrong during the completing period.

nothing like that happened on election day though. our fuel, incidents not violent incident anyway, but we are waiting to see exactly what happens to morrow when the election results are specter security forces in marley have been sent to the scene of an ambush in which at least 31 people were killed on friday. women and children were aboard a truck which gunman sprayed with bullets and set on fire near the town of maki. it was then that torched french president manuel micron is in saudi arabia where he has joined a phone call that has been hailed as an important 1st step towards resolving a rift between saudi arabia and lebanon. macro met, crown prince. bonham had been sell mine and the leaders spoke with lebanon's prime minister nigi me, katy, it's the 1st such communications in saudi arabia and other gulf countries and lebanon became locked in a diplomatic dispute. the world health organization says no deaths from the on the

con variant of the corona virus have been reported so far. governments around the world are stepping up their inoculation efforts. thousands of people in serbia, on protesting against government plans to sell land to a mining company, they say, will have a devastating effect on the environment. the mining giant, real pinto has been buying land in the west of the country after it discovered lithium reserves there in 2006. well, those are the top stories that stay with us coming up next. it's the listening post, and i'm going to have more news for you covering all those stories we just mentioned in half an hour. hope to see you then. bye bye. me. ah

ah, there's likely compose a very high risk. some readers will face a severe consequently, deeper discipline disposition policy. several countries would be want insurance on the alarm. richard ginsberg you are at the listening posts where we don't cover the news. we cover the way the news is covered. here are the media stories we're examining this week. uncertainty makes a comeback what audiences need to know about the new cove at 1900 variant. and what they've been getting from their new sources are rushing state funded news network threatens to sue an independent media outlet in a branding dispute over a t shirt. it's called tell you the so korean soft power push that's producing one blockbuster after another. and from east jerusalem to the united nations. i do not

care home disturbing knology offend a journalist on why terminology matters in the coverage of the middle east conflict . it has been 10 days now since the latest variant of covert 19 was 1st reported by scientists in south africa. the world health organization instantly labeled the strain it caused alma crohn a variant of concern due to questions over its transmits ability and whether it could render vaccines ineffective. the initial reporting had many scientists accusing journalists of jumping the gun, creating panic in audiences that required information. instead, there have also been complaints over the term ology. the early use of the term south african varied, implying that alma cron originated there. when there is simply no evidence of that yet the south african angle has provided one useful side effect. it is turned attention to the issue of global vaccine in equity. a story that scientists say

needs considerably more attention than news outlets have been giving it. our starting point this week is the covered 1900 variant, now known as new recruit variance. corona virus is likely to pose a very high global risk news. consumers operate on a need to know basis. there's growing global alarm over the do corona repair. that 1st emerged in south africa. sometimes news outlets tell them what they need to fear instead, who they need to fear. the new mutations were 1st discovered in south africa from the us. you went out rather restrictions from that country and 7 other. what audiences need to know about the variance, we now call alma crime, starts with 3 questions. the basics. what we need to know about a variance is if it's more transmissible, we're not even sure yet that it's more transmissible or the pieces are rising

exponentially in south africa joined by that by dr. edge. yeah, 2nd, is it more very south africa medical health officer doctor. he has been on the news now steadily for several days saying that she does not think that this is a more variable experience. but the majority of watch be presenting to primary health practitioners are extreme tomorrow, and then number 3 is easy. but there isn't evidence of that either. that won't be that much to say what days and weeks because it just takes time to get really good answer. so i think news organizations are in the really difficult situation. yes, the expectation that if it is bo. busy transmissible it will spread globally, but it's too early to say at this point it must. and so for instance, i was on the edge of end of the last 4 days every day to find out how concerned exactly we should be. we really have to, to wait, we are,

and every day i gave him the same answer, you're gonna have to wait the next days and weeks to find out. you know, which of these features are actually going to be true? i've seen quite a lot of criticism does, from journalists and scientists that dr. story has been oh, the blue. oh john, his scary. it really is. that is the scan of coverage is actually causing panic. is no hard to imagine how medium boxes will react in a couple of weeks. this was a scenario with this area is not match. it says, while the already be bringing about the, the sort of volume, the early of route south african scientists 1st reported the detection of the new variant to the world health organization on wednesday, november 24th. it took 2 days to 24 hour news cycles for the w h o to label the variance the hallmark right. during that initial period news organizations have to decide what to call it. variant 1st detected in south

africa would have been precise. but try fitting that into a headline. so some called it the south african variant. then came the travel restrictions imposed on south africa and some of its sub saharan neighbors by more than 50 countries. it was only after that that we learned that alma kronk turned up in the netherlands in tests taken before the ones in south africa. samples that just took longer to process. so it could have been called the dutch very it, it never was about recon this came is no surprise because we've been through this, or it's not added to very, and it's very concerning right now with the valium, to go so suddenly boots is something we can vary and johnny is now to talk more about the south african variant if the south african strain and will land at a time how to dispose of pushing back against outcome, legal, and then conscious in the global last that it, you know, it detected this. i mean,

you variance away and not be subjected to this bands and the question was raised, why is it that they're not introducing trunk or bands? the coverage was so high that was so panic was so all over the place and western scientists were hyping is that this is that most transmissible variant we've ever seen. this is exponential growth prior to analytically looking at the situation on an south african scientist and leaders right now. so essentially they did their job, they did careful surveillance work, and what they got in return was an immediate traveler. it's been a huge backlash against south africa. the scientists, they have taken to heart the, the lessons of his pandemic, which is we need to act really early. i was talking to one of the research to submit his work. and he says that because the planes have been stopped, he's having trouble now to get the re, agents that he needs to do the lab work that the whole world is waiting for. now to understand how dangerous despairing really is. so these travel bands have a really,

really dangerous effect that accounts for over 70 percent of the emergence of alma kron has put the issue of vaccine inequity where it belongs on the news agenda. this 60 percent of people across the european union are vaccinated. compare that to a mere 3.4 percent across the african continent. scientists have long warned low vaccination rates, create conditions in which new variance can develop and thrive. there was no evidence and there may never be that south africa's vaccination rate, just 24 percent at the time, alma crohn was 1st reported helped create the very it, but here of unvaccinated south africans travelling will have factored into the restrictions. sub saharan africa is part of a global south that has struggled to get enough doses outbid by richer countries that have also allowed pharmaceutical companies to keep their vaccines patent,

protected, preserving their profits, rather than waving those patents and allowing other companies to produce their vaccines during a world wide emergency hasn't been got a letter in march 2021, some major pharmaceutical companies saying don't do this is not helpful. our office . and then after that, the trade commissioner, united states said that they're interested in working on weight and patterns, and then nothing happened. i think the media has a huge role to play, to not just allow statements on the surface, but to keep on digging. and to ask world leaders, why they haven't substantially moved with a w t o to change the situation or are the virus will mutate as long as it's got the opportunity to spread from one person to the next, which is why it's critical that we get vaccines across the world because in those

regions we create an opportunity for the virus to continue to spray. the story is not complete when you just looking up on the chrome without putting it in the context of vaccine in the kitchen. the job of years organizations is to put global vaccine and expertise on to be agenda. politicians tend to really respond to the story that rise to the top of the new cycle and really competing public interest. and they're kind of become unavoidable story and you off petitions about and being carried to states, they're not doing something about that. that's the role that huge organization is alma crohn has also reintroduced elements of uncertainty into the coverage of a pandemic. that reporters appeared to be getting a handle on their news outlets did not make their reputations by telling audiences what they do not know. it still does not come naturally to and the variant has provided another opening for conspiracy theories many of the made in america. now

making the rounds in south africa, they are theories that travel and they have proved to be much harder to ban than people. the thing that shocks me the most, is how mainstream media and has become an outlet for conspiracy. theories are really wild and an accurate statement in a way that i hadn't received before. they created a problem that can never actually be sold so they can justify whatever it is they want to do. i wonder whether i can stay, being an infectious disease reporter without also becoming a misinformation report a report on the information ecosystem in the past. this information needs to be localized, not there of ocean, a lot of people that are driving this information in. so i using videos and recordings of people from all sorts of places in the world. i will not be reduced

to mere guinea pick by getting vaccinated with an experimental drug, people who drive agendas and come things. i actually question and some people need to pay a price for it. as long as it's not going to, it's not going to stop or can continue to cost, and lives will be lost because looking at other media stories on our radar this week with flor phillips returning to russia, where the news network funded by the kremlin russia today is threatening to sue another news organization over a t shirt. not just any t shirt, richard the stories all about who made it and what they put on it. it's a collaboration between the russian language online newspaper, medusa, based in latvia, and moscow based clothing brand. you'll see that they've printed the phrase in again, and that's for an agent in russian. it's basically an ironic reference to medusa official status in russia. foreign agent imposed on them by the government 6 months

ago. there were lots of headlines in the run up to the september elections about president putin, his close allies and corruption allegations. medusa reporting on those stories resulted in it being slapped with the foreign agent label. they've left it much more open to prosecution by the state, limiting the way that it can publish and advertise. and of course, scaring off potential sources. it's really hurt that revenues, so they've been looking for other ways to keep afloat, transportation. but how do we get from there to our t threatening to sue? it's about branding richard on the flag, back in 2017 r t, the russian state a news channel with forced by the trump administration to register the foreign agent in the us. that's when they came up with their own line of much t shirt hudy's caps, all saying foreign agent. but when medusa did the same thing all t somehow failed to find it. very funny. it hit medusa on the clothing company with cease and desist letters demanded that they be fined and threatened to sue over

trademark infringement. so where does the story go from here into the hands of the lawyers. while medusa was already under a lot of pressure from the russian state, the 4 r t started piling on. that's why they're not feel safe for working conditions. so they stopped selling the t shirt. but the clothing company, they're not backing down, but still selling the shut and they're promising a 30 percent cut to medusa. and it's proving popular on russians christmas lists. the company says it's struggling to keep up with demand. ok, thanks. go back a few years, had you asked a typical, millennial, what they knew about south korea. the answer would have been not much that has changed, not to news coverage or geo politics through entertainment. start with k drama series that you can stream, like squid game and hell bound, benjamin formats slick production techniques, romantic story lines, whatever the secret formula is south korea is now producing some of the world's

most watched content. and k drama is just one sector within the k entertainment industry. it also takes the music and turns out cape hot baths and teen idols with huge followings overseas. about 20 years ago, coming out of life under military rule, the south korean government placed a bet on the entertainment industry pumping money into it as a means of improving the countries global image and boosting its economy. the plot twist that no one saw coming, that a soft power push would transform. so korea into a cultural superpower. listening post joanna, who's now from sol on what they call the korean wave. i mean spot in moscow, tokyo abu dhabi. but if you've never what squid game you may of all yourself, what are those tools and those guards that keep popping up?

and what with a mask, the giant character sprinkled around the world reflect the global reach of netflix is a big it with more than $110.00 it's a story that follows contestants playing a game for money with deadly consequences. and it's the latest south korean creation to find a huge international audience. they call it k drama, and it's part of an export industry. this story that even koreans didn't see honey . how to, why is it harb world one and there is a palm city. is it a cool market on this walk on and current training? i pentacles, i mean when you're looking at either number, this will do in order to remember her as well. okay. go on. timing was on my shoe. yeah. really? you don't. guns are yawns. it goes, it is a virgin will get to a man of brook as a python. as a studio dragon is south korea's largest production house and the force behind many

of k drummers biggest global hits, but say that okay, that hasn't can yeah. one of the reasons that k drama became so popular worldwide is it's diversity of genres like thrillers, action and comedy. it's, i think the biggest factor is our attention to storytelling. there is an element of korean emotive nurse embedded in stories. and this may appeal to audience is abroad . for example, in our drama crashed landing on you, a south korean woman accidentally lance, her parachute to north korea and then falls in love. their history portrayed korea's uniqueness and became a global success. army traumatic fantasy causing a cable meal and how go if you look at korean productions over the years, the content is always very distinctly korean. it reflects our society and history. i remember what it is.

for example, squid game combines game shows on that is familiar to a global audience with a mix of authentic korean elements. so even more fascinating is a drama, like hometown cha cha, this series has all the cliches of a korean drama and wasn't intended to be distributed globally. nevertheless, it's not only loved in asia, but all over the world. gazes hang up how quickly the whether it's the emotive clot lines flick production style or formats taylor paid for binge watching k drama. his audiences around the globe in the millions shows like stranger crush lending on you, or descendants of the sun, a foot south korea on the entertainment map. and their success is rubbing off on other industries. homes like parasites which one the 2020 academy award for best picture and the music sector. boy, bens, like bts, are all part of the so called hollywood phenomenon. the spread of korean pop

culture from asia to the rest of the world. the tom how you emerged in the chinese press in 1997 to describe the search of korean pop music and keep t v dramas. in china. the tongue literally means the korean wave in chinese. and of course, more recently, the eu has been increasingly adoptive and used by rasp media to refer to the rise of tape pub in tel drama. ah, it's no coincidence that the hell you 1st had china assures, in the 1990 in the decade, following nearly 25 years of military rule and hit hard by the age of financial crisis. a democratizing south korea will set reinventing its global image and diversifying its economy the government into sold,

recognize the potential of entertain. it's crept censorship laws that have been in place for decades. instead, it's sites on developing a culture sector. turn into an export industry. how go was a military dictatorship from 961 to 1987 during which people were oppressed and there was a thirst for freedom of speech. so when the democratic government replaced the military regime and censorship laws were removed, audio flocked to the cinema to watch grooms from america like drastic park. the president at the time famously said one spectacular film like jurassic park can be more profitable than selling 1500000 sion day cars. let us also cultivate who had died, a nigger handling and there are the ministrations since the 19 ninety's offered several measures to develop culture industries, subsidies, tax benefits,

the regulation for private kept turn to invest. so it is undeniable that government played an important role in developing countries, coaching those trees, you know, where to really short period of time. however, hiring is far more than a top down process inspect the initial rise of how you use very much on predictive even korean government. well, very surprised. surprised or not. since the 1990s, the south korean authorities have capitalized on the popularity of its booming entertainment sector. over the past 2 decade tell you has grown into one of south korea's most notable exports and a very productive parts of the country's economy. with the entertainment sector is paying political dividends to the government here. and so has recognized the

potential of how you as a diplomatic tool, part of a soft power push to increase south korea influence in south east asia and beyond. hungary, ticket or south korea has never had any hard power with which to threaten the world . what we do have is a certain cultural charm for a long time, south korea. it was mostly just about war, poverty or confrontation between north and south korea. however, now that south korea is being acknowledged for it's popular culture, it is quite natural for the korean government to utilize it as a soft power tool. and the other country would want to do the same point. but then when you get up to 10 or 10, been invited to government diplomatic event, one of the latest examples, the members of a pop group who company, the korean president, succession of the united nations general assembly in new york on other exam for

fake be to to china in 2017 when k drama the past home have your health counseling is the president, edder, korea, china events, the government. and it's a pity that the appearance of home who is exceptionally popular in china, can contribute to reducing the political tension between the 2 countries. it has been carts of national branding and cultural diplomacy. the brand, korea would not be where it is today, without a helping hand from the entertainment industry. new players streaming services like netflix and hulu, audiences around the world of turn you from a regional phenomenon to global and to turn into a local radio. in the beginning, we at studio dragon did not aim for our content to go global. in fact, for a long time, most production houses were based in house,

merely creating content for local korean broadcast is, however, streaming platforms like netflix allowed us to prevents our theory to the world and to become well known. and a good game show is there is clearly quite the craves the korean content until he set the lesson. and the korean entertainment industry is riding that wave of popularity would be eligible to be series award winning film. and blockbuster move quick game is just the latest off power conquest for korea. k drama fans around the world are staying tuned for what comes next. and finally, from making your name by reporting over instagram, to telling it like it is at the united nations mohammed l court. it is a palestinian whose journalism we featured before on our program. his instagram was one of the must follow feeds during israel's ethnic cleansing. about could it's

neighborhood in jerusalem. shake, shut off earlier this year. having used social media to tell stories. many other reporters failed to tell, using terminology others shy away from l cord broke. some unwritten rules. he has since been made, the palestine correspondent for the nation, the american magazine that focuses on politics and culture. and he's done it all by h 23. this week, the un brought of coolant to new york to speak part of the ceremonies mark in the us international day of solidarity with the palestinian people from the podium. he touched on the issue of terminology and why it matters in the reporting of what is happening in palestine. was the next time here at the listening post. hello, international community. thank you for it. is groundbreaking speed says i'm sure the occupation authorities are really concerned right now. my name's from the card and i am here to deliver speeds. i am tired of reporting on the same brutality

every day. of thinking of new ways to describe the obvious. the situation in my neighborhood. so sarah has not hard to understand. it is a perfect microcosm of settler colonialism. you know, when we reflect on history, most horrible, most and humane atrocities today, we think of them with so much moral clarity so much moral clarity that we tend to forget that when these atrocities were happening, they were perfectly legal. not only perfectly legal, but at the time that they were happening, they were all once controversial contested to complex people talked with neutral language like we do today. we all think that had been us there back then at that point of time, we would have been at the right side of history. and we have the opportunity today to be on the right side of history.

ah and i watched these scenes with horror as a cannon. some money, i feared the backlash ethnic families have long been the target of intimidation and persecution in kenya. oh, most there would a woman, wasn't it? mohammed a down travels through his homeland to reveal of his people and family had been subjected to years of brutal discrimination to typically the way. ready we are treated in a come to and colo al jazeera correspondence. oh, be the hero world news, right? ah, washer for,

ah, hello, i'm barbara sour in london. these are the top stories on al jazeera in what's being seen as a test of the gambia as transition to democracy. poles have closed in the 1st election since former president ja john may fled the country after 22 years and power incumbent president adama barrow is seeking another term, but he faces 5 rivals, including his former political mentor, who so knew that boy, nearly a 1000000 people from a population of 2 and a half 1000000 are registered to vote with results expected on sunday, october, the addresses more now from the capital.