Canada needs to make a statement about Aung San Suu Kyi, Question easy loans from China, Working mothers are assets, not liabilities, Tourism bump is driven by North American economic growth, Tennis organizations should work harder to win against sexism

A roundup of global commentary for the Sept. 17, 2018 weekly magazine.

|
Andres Kudacki/AP
Serena Williams returns a shot to Anastasija Sevastova, of Latvia, during the semifinals of the US Open tennis tournament, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, in New York. Controversy has surrounded a recent ban on catsuits in the French Open as female tennis players face ever-stricter outfit rules.

The Star / Toronto

Canada needs to make a statement about Aung San Suu Kyi

“Six Burmese generals accused [recently] of ‘genocidal intent’ against the Rohingya people ... are walking free...,” states an editorial. “But the real outrage is that ... the slaughter ... continues unabated.... [T]his ethnic cleansing is taking place in a country whose elected civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is a Nobel Peace Prize winner and one of only six people to have been made an honorary citizen of Canada. Where does she stand on the massacre of her own citizens? Nowhere. She is silent.... No wonder some ... are calling on the Trudeau government to revoke Suu Kyi’s honorary Canadian citizenship. And so it should. Symbols matter.”

The Gleaner / Kingston, Jamaica

Question easy loans from China

“The new government of Malaysia, led by Mahathir Mohamad, has started a movement that the current Jamaican Government ... should view prudently...,” writes Carol Archer. “[T]he 93-year-old Mohamad was voted into office with a mandate to reduce the country’s debt[,] a good portion of which is owed to Chinese companies and government. The ... previous administration received easy loans for showcase projects and signed deals that were of strategic value mainly for the Chinese.... There is enough ... evidence from across the globe to suggest that governments and citizens of developing countries must seriously question Chinese investments in major infrastructure ... projects. Certainly, here in Jamaica, given our colonial and neo-colonial experiences, we should at least question whether the next generation should be indebted....”

South China Morning Post / Hong Kong

Working mothers are assets, not liabilities

“Some people believe having children will kill a woman’s ambition to succeed at work, or even ruin her career,” writes Luisa Tam. “The truth is: in most cases, it doesn’t. But when a woman’s career is ... adversely affected, it’s most likely caused by companies that hold discriminatory attitudes towards working mothers.... [A] working mother is a valuable asset. She is an effective manager, who is good at multitasking, and has good negotiation and conflict-resolution skills.... [T]he government must ensure companies are committed to equal pay and hiring for all, including working mothers. And we must change ... the perception that working mothers are less committed to their job than others without children.”

The Nassau Guardian / Nassau, Bahamas

Tourism bump is driven by North American economic growth

“[In August] the Ministry of Tourism reported that international arrivals to The Bahamas were up 10.2 percent for the year...,” states an editorial. “[T]he strong growth in the hemisphere’s two largest economies – the U.S. and Canada – are the real engines of this boom tourism market.... For all the fears of economic slowdown from the Trump administration’s trade wars ... thus far the good times continue.... With tourism being our number one industry, there is hope that good times are here again in The Bahamas.... Hopefully we are at the beginning of a sustained period of growth. We never fully recovered from the financial crisis a decade ago. Bahamians are ready for prosperity.”

The Times of India / Mumbai

Tennis organizations should work harder to win against sexism

“The Grand Slams seem to keep breaking into a sweat over women’s bodies,” states an editorial. “Serena Williams is being banned from wearing a catsuit at future French Opens and Alize Cornet has received a US Open code violation for changing her T-shirt on court.... The Cornet reprimand was such a brazen display of sexist double standards, that it has forced US Open organisers to clarify ‘this will not happen moving forward....’ [Novak Djokovic] took off his shirt during a break. As did other men.... All this dressing down is in the guise of ‘respect the game’. But that metric should only be concerned with the skills a player brings to the game. Criticising what she wears to it or doesn’t is just discrimination.”

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Canada needs to make a statement about Aung San Suu Kyi, Question easy loans from China, Working mothers are assets, not liabilities, Tourism bump...
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Global-Newsstand/2018/0916/Canada-needs-to-make-a-statement-about-Aung-San-Suu-Kyi-Question-easy-loans-from-China-Working-mothers-are-assets-not-liabilities-Tourism-bump-is-driven-by-North-American-economic-growth-Tennis-organizations-should-work-harder-to-win-against-sexism
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe