nisha is to help return their lost artifacts. but they also say america's invasion of iraq night to night to one and 2030 led to the biggest disasters for the emissions and should title to an estimated 15000 artifacts were looted from the baghdad museum and smuggled out of the country. iraqis save us bears full responsibility for what happened and needs to do more to help them retrieve what they lost ramadan or to sierra. ah, this is al jazeera, these, your top stories. the u. s. has warned russia of tough economic measures of invades the ukraine. president joe biden and vladimir pierson held a 2 hour virtual coal that ended with no breakthrough. the kremlin says the 2 leaders would keep engaging on practical and sensitive matters. australia is the latest country to announce its officials will not attend the winter olympics and

beijing joining the u. s. athletes will be able to attend the games, but there will be no official representation. prime minister scott morrison says china has not responded to several issues raised by australia including alleged human rights abuses. elijah's appeal court has upheld former prime minister, nat geo browser acts guilty verdict, and a corruption case. he pleaded not guilty to thousands of charges over his involvement in a multi $1000000000.00 state font vote and out of office in 2018. following the crunch navigations i am very, very disappointed with that. but go so dr. chris on us nationally, chris and as you know, during my tenure as prime minister as just an example of the total assets of the country under my watch

grew from a 1000000 trillion to drilling rig. oh, therefore, i creature, a lot of well with a country. the number of coven 19 cases in south korea has exceeded 7000 for the 1st time. prime minister kim, booth, hume warn the threat of the new on the chrome variance is becoming apparent. loss me, the government announced stick to social distancing measures to contain the outbreak . gemini is marked angler michael's last day of chance last 16 years in power. i'll have shoals is set to replace her later this wednesday. 3 political parties have signed a coalition agreement paving the way to the formation of new governments. coming. i'm next to listening post a secret himalayan summit more treacherous than everest. cumber connor has never been tamed,

revered and feared by locals. yet an irresistible challenge to western climbers, a sharper family must choose between going against their religious beliefs and guiding a group of mountaineers, or rejecting much needed income. the will of shadows on al jazeera, there's growing local calls is likely compose a very high risk. some readers will face a severe consequently, deeply discipline like this efficient policy. several countries both want insurance on the back. hello, i'm richard ginsberg you are at the listening post 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 come back 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 block buster after another. and from east jerusalem to the united nations. i do not care home disturbing. ology, offend a journalist on why terminology matters in the coverage of the middle east conflict and 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 transmit civility, and whether it could render vaccines ineffective. the initial reporting had many scientist accusing journalists of jumping the gun, creating panic in audiences that required information. instead,

there have also been complaints over the terminology. the early use of the term south african variant, 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 is outlets have been giving it our starting point this week is the covered 19 variant, now known as the new variable. rona 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 virus period that 1st emerged in south africa. sometimes news outlets tell them what they need to fear. instead who they need to fear. new mutations were 1st discovered in

south africa from the us 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 on the 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 what to be offered as the 2 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 put days and weeks because it just takes time to get really good answer. so i think news organizations are in the really

difficult situation that bought. busy hard metal, it will spread globally, but it's too early to say at this point. and so for instance, i was on bunch of under the last 4 days every day to find out how exactly we should be really asked to, to wait. and every day i gave him the same, i'm probably gonna have to wait the next days and weeks to find out which of these kids are actually going to be true. i've seen quite a lot of criticism, both from journalists and scientists, that dr. story has been over blue. oh, john has a scary. it really is. that is, that is on the scale 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 running about be the sort of volume of 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 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 very and 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 cron 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. instead about recon this kim, it's no surprise because we've been through this or it's not that at the very end.

it's very concerning right now with the bit of variance goes on. suddenly booked is can varian to any, is now to talk more about the south african variant if the south african strain and we land and a time constant is spoken. pushing back against that kind of label. and ben, conscious in the drama, not that it detected this, i'm very ins away and not be subject since it is bands. and the question was raised, why is it that they're not? which is in trouble bands? the coverage were 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 misses exponential growth prior to analytically looking at the situation on an south african scientists 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 scientist 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 various,

but fear of unvaccinated south africans traveling 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 done a letter in march 2021, some major pharmaceutical companies saying don't do this. this is not helpful for our office. and then after that, the trade commissioner in united states said that they're interested in working on waiting patents 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 the w t o to change the situation around . 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 are creating opportunities for the virus to continue to spray. the story is not complete when you just looking on the chrome without putting it in the context of vaccine inequity. the job of your organization 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, really happening public interest, and they're kind of become unavoidable story and you off petitions about and interrogate the states. they're not doing something about that. that's the role that news organizations can play. alma kron has also reintroduced elements of uncertainty into the coverage of a pandemic. that reporters appeared to be getting

a handle on 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 sol, 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 information needs. they used to be localized, not there of ocean, a lot of people that are driving this information in. so i using the videos and the 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 drives dislike gender. some campaigns. i actually cook in the house and some people need to pay a price for it. as long as there's no accountability is not going to stop where the who continued to cost hom and lives would be lost because of looking at other media stories on our radar this week. with flow 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 agreement that foreign agent in russian. it's basically, and i want to 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, r 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, a working conditions. so they stop 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 through news coverage or geo politics through entertainment. start with k drama series, but 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 country's global image and boosting its economy. the plot twists that no one saw coming, that a soft power push would transform. so korea into a cultural superpower. but listening posts joanna, who's now from soul on what they call the korean wave. i

think spotted him moscow tokyo abu dhabi. but if you've never what squid game you may have all yourself. what are those tools and those guard that keep popping up? and what with a mask, the giant character sprinkled around the world reflect the global reach of netflix is big. it's 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 story that even koreans didn't see honey. how to, why she did it harb world one and there is a palm sheet. is it a cool market?

one this walk on and cur entry and appendix? i mean, when you was, was rehired going on. this will do in order to run over here as well. okay. on timing was on my shoe. yeah. will 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, potato, crisper cars. and can you, one of the reasons that k drama became so popular worldwide as it's diversity of john select thrillers, action and comedy? it's, i think the biggest factor is our attention to storytelling. there is an elements of korean emotive nurse embedded and 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. there. the story portrayed korea's uniqueness and became a global success. torrison dramatic fantasy causing

a cable meal and hunger. if you look at korean productions over the years, the content is always very distinctly korean. it reflects our society and history ah no matter what it is. for example, squid game combines game shows, honor that is familiar to a global audience with a mix of authentic korean elements. thought 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 and say, gazes hang up how quickly. whether it's the emotive plot 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 industry homes like parasites which one the 2020 academy award for best picture and the music sector. boy, bens, like b t. s are all part of the so called holly you phenomenon. the spread of korean pop culture from asia to the rest of the world. to come, how you emerge 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 higher you has been increasingly adopted and used by rasp media. to refer to the rise of tape pub in. tell drama. ah no coincidence that the

hell you 1st had china assures in the 990 in the decade, following nearly 25 years of military rule and hit hard by the agent financial crisis. a democratizing south korea will set and reinventing its global image and diversifying its economy. the government didn't recognize the potential of entertain its crept censorship laws that had been in place for decades and said it's sites on developing a culture sector. turn into an export industry. how go ria, was a military dictatorship from 961 to 1987, during which people were apprenticed 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 this little had it was i don't get it 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 parenting best. 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 decades tell you has grown into one 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's image was mostly just about war, poverty, or confrontation between north and south korea. however, now the south korea as being acknowledged for its 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 to session of the united nations general assembly in new york on other exam for the state be to, to china in 2017 when k drama the past home had 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 prevent our theory to the world and to become well known. and a good game show is there is clearly quite the craze, 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, al quoted 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 its neighborhood in jerusalem shakes, 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 u. n. brought our current 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,

the listening post. hello international community. thank you for the groundbreaking speed. says i'm sure the occupation authorities are really concerned right now. my name's from the card. i am here to deliver a 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 cells are, has not hard to understand. it is a perfect microcosm of settler colonialism. you know, when we reflect on history is 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, ambition, artistry, adventure, short documentary spy african filmmakers from beneath kenya and algeria in the alley minium village, throttle queens. this is when we get to let her head down and the cane africa direct on al jazeera, the year is always of interest to people who rode the world. this has been going on for a number of hours with

a whole story from an international perspective. repricing winkler, global audience, how that could impact their life. this is an important part of the world, and i was very good at bringing the news to the world from here. ah, i moline side and dahlia top stories on al jazeera. the u. s. has warned russia of tough economic measures of it invades ukraine. president joe biden and vladimir putin held a 2 hour virtual call that ended with no breakthrough. but the kremlin says the 2 leaders would keep engaging on practical and sensitive matters. whitehouse corresponding him, the whole cat reports.