Megan Gibson

2 weeks ago | newstatesman.com | Megan Gibson

In the end, Donald Trump decided it. On 28 April Canadians elected Mark Carney to be their next prime minister, a dramatic turnaround for his Liberal party, which only eight weeks ago seemed to be headed for a wipeout. At the time of writing it was still unclear whether the Liberals had won enough seats to form a majority government but, nevertheless, Carney will stay on as prime minister. The Liberals astonishing rebound in the eyes of voters comes down to three factors.

1 month ago | newstatesman.com | Megan Gibson

On the morning of 15 December 2010, Time magazine revealed its person of the year: Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. In a glowing profile, the magazine trumpeted the tech founder’s mission of connecting the world and the breakneck speed of Facebook’s growth, while largely glossing over the then-mounting concerns the wider public had about social media and privacy.

2 months ago | newstatesman.com | Megan Gibson

In 2004, the Arab Israeli advocacy group Adalah took up a case on behalf of Islamic religious leaders in Israel. Though the country’s 1967 Protection of Holy Sites Law was meant to apply to all religions – and made it a crime to damage any holy site – the dozens of sites designated as holy by Israel were all Jewish.

2 months ago | newstatesman.com | Pippa Bailey |Michael Prodger |Finn McRedmond |Megan Gibson

Humans of every religion and none have made pilgrimages since ancient times: for example, the sacred mountain of Tai Shan, 300 miles south of Beijing, has a history of worship dating back to the Neolithic period. Pilgrims sought – and seek – the help of gods, saints and spirits for protection on journeys, spiritual healing or cures for physical ailments, to give thanks, or perhaps to make a political statement.

2 months ago | newstatesman.com | Megan Gibson

For a victory speech, Mark Carney, the new leader of Canada’s Liberal party and the country’s next prime minister, struck a sombre note. “I know that these are dark days,” he said, speaking to party members in Ottawa on 9 March after winning the leadership race. “Dark days brought on by a country we can no longer trust.” Carney, the former governor of the Banks of Canada and England, has had a remarkable political rise – this is his first elected office – in part thanks to Canada’s dark days.