Stories about LANGUAGES from September, 2018
Do Macedonians want their country to join NATO and the EU? A historic referendum will decide
The September 30 referendum explicitly asks: 'Are you in favour of EU and NATO membership by accepting the Agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Greece?'
The Alliance for the Protection of Theatre fights to preserve Albania's cultural heritage
"Do not erase the collective memory of the generations. Any new theatre is welcome but we do not have to destroy the old one."
Indian football is fighting a losing battle to keep its fans
A decent outing for the national team at next year's AFC Asian Cup might help lift some of the gloom surrounding the sport.
Free speech advocates say Bangladesh's new Digital Security Act is ‘ripe for abuse’

"Journalism is surely not for increasing conflict, or for tarnishing the image of the country," said PM Hasina, in response to critics.
Nepalese citizens fight against impunity with the “Rage Against Rape” campaign
"...what is happening to girls who are suffering in silence? Are we always going to play reactionary politics or improve our justice system?"
Chat bot lets Russians detained at protests request legal assistance

A Russian NGO tracking police brutality developed a chatbot on the popular Telegram messenger that allows people detained at rallies report their arrests and request legal assistance.
A new indie film festival features the struggles and triumphs of indigenous Papua, Indonesia

The film festival "highlights the issues of the indigenous people of Papua through documentary films as well as to build public awareness of the important issues impacting them.”
As xenophobic policies sweep Central and Eastern Europe, refugee aid is criminalized
While the numbers of refugees entering Europe decrease, political hysteria against them, and civil society organizations that help them in Central and Eastern Europeis on the rise.
A sea-change in Maldives politics as opposition presidential candidate declares a win
As of 2 a.m. in the Maldives (GMT+5) Solih "said he had won by a 16 percent margin over incumbent Abdulla Yameen" and urged for a peaceful transition.
Amidst typhoon rescue efforts in Japan, a Taiwanese diplomat dies. Did misinformation play a role?
Some hearsay even claimed that Taiwanese had to proclaim themselves as Chinese in order to get on the buses. The news had enraged [Taiwanese] netizens.
Beijing authorities slam Swedish police for humiliating Chinese tourists, but there's another side to the story
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wanted to make use of the incident to stir patriotic sentiment to exercise pressure on Swedish government. But netizens know ... what’s right and wrong."
Journalist's expulsion from restaurant leads to debate about racism in Angola
"...racism in Angola is nothing new; however, people prefer to pretend nothing is happening."
A film about a Montenegrin freedom fighter seeks to keep anti-fascist values alive

"By sharing the story of an ordinary person's struggle, we wanted to remind younger generations how the rights we now enjoy were won..."
Will Brazil's forthcoming data protection law actually protect peoples’ privacy rights?

The president vetoed the creation of an independent authority that would oversee the law's implementation.
While some Brazilians tried to school Germans on Nazism, others apologized in shame
Were the Nazis socialists? A video posted by a German Consulate in Brazil has reignited discussion among Brazilians of this historical misconception.
Serbian president apologizes for ‘stupidly’ citing The Onion, a satirical news platform
'I don't blame my advisers, if I had thought that through and if I wasn't tired I would realize it's odd,' Vučić said, adding that it's normal to make mistakes.
Riverbank erosion disaster in Bangladesh leaves thousands homeless
"The devastating erosion of the Padma River is ongoing for the last couple of years, no initiative to build a dam or embankment was taken by the local administration."
Japan moves to accept more workers from abroad, but public opinion remains divided
Japan may have little choice but to accept more workers from abroad to cope with an expected shrinkage in the working population caused by an aging and low birth rates.
At the peak of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, Jamaicans remember ‘Wild Gilbert’
Jamaicans can't recall a storm worse than Gilbert in 1988 -- and as this year's Atlantic hurricane season gets active, they hope they won't have to.
In Syria, regime loyalists use art as a tool of war
"Since the early days of the revolution, the Syrian regime has idolized and romanticized a military state"