Stories about English from May, 2014
Russian Internet Users, Putin is After Your Digital Wallets
The offices of Yandex.Money, the popular online payments system associated with Russia's largest search engine, were searched by Russia's Investigative Committee.
Police in Macedonia Strong-Arm Journalists Into Erasing Riot Arrest Footage
The riots, sparked by the murder of a 19-year-old, created tension between ethnic Albanian and Macedonian populations of the capital city Skopje.
How To Register A Company In Nepal
Libertarian blogger Surath Giri posts an info-graphic which depicts the details of the complicated company registration process in Nepal.
Young, Hip and Worshipping Shiva in India
The Hindu deity Shiva has carved out a firm place in India's pop culture, appearing on TV and in books, movies and even tattoos.
Rwanda: The Good, the Bad and the Hopeful
Although Rwanda has made great strides in recovering from the 1994 genocide, advocacy groups continue to report human rights violations.
Information Hub for Humanitarian Aid for Bosnia and Herzegovina Floods
POINT, the international conference on political accountability and new technologies in Sarajevo, has used its skills to aid in relief of the ongoing disaster affecting three Balkan countries – Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia. BosniaFloods.org, the first tool developed by the participants, specifically targets Bosnia, because the situation in this country...
Now Russia Wants to Tighten the Noose Around News-Aggregation Sites
Russian lawmakers are taking steps to classify news-aggregating websites as mass media, which would require companies like Yandex to register with the government and face stricter regulations.
Sisi Wins Egyptian Presidential Elections; Only Opponent Sabahi Comes in Third
General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi won a landslide victory, topping his only oppopent Hamdeen Sabahi, who came in third place. After three days of voting, Sisi won 93.3 per cent of the votes, Hamdeen took 3pc and 3.7pc of the votes were declared void.
Is Power Too Sweet for Ailing African Leaders to Step Down?
Gershom Ndhlovu looks at the reasons why ailing African leaders wont step down: There have been rumours, innuendoes and even insinuations regarding the health, or the lack of it, of Zambia’s President Michael Chilufya Sata, in office since September 2011. These have been spread by the largely unregulated online media...
What's the Beef? Strike Call at Japanese Fast Food Chain Sukiya
Are workers at Sukiya, the Japanese fast food chain famous for its $3 gyūdon beef rice bowl, really going on strike?
Shooting the Messenger: Jamaica's Brendan Bain Controversy Continues
The controversy over Jamaican Professor Brendan Bain's court testimony in the Caleb Orozco case in Belize continues. Everyone's talking, but is anyone listening? A few bloggers peel away the layers.
China Puts Squeeze on WeChat and Other Messaging Apps
China cracks down on instant messaging platforms including the WeChat messaging application ahead of the 25th anniversary of pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen.
The Legalisation of Political Repression in Ethiopia
Beza Tesfaye describes how the Ethiopian government legalises political repression in the country: It has been one month since the latest round of repression against government critics in Ethiopia began. Last weekend, the Zone9 bloggers and three journalists who were arrested in late April appeared in court. To date, very...
When Maya Angelou Lived in Egypt and Ghana
Sean Jacobs writes about American author and poet Maya Angelou, who died at age 86 yesterday May 28, 2014: In 1961, Maya Angelou, already a civil rights worker, and her then partner Vusumzi Make, an exiled activist from South Africa (he was a leading Pan Africanist Congress member), moved to...
Balochistan Marches for School Safety as Panjgur Braves Boko Haram-type Threats
Thousands marched chanting “we want education, education is our basic right, save education," after threats from militants forced dozens of private schools in the town Panjgur to close.
“How are We Malagasy Supposed to Provide School Supplies and Medications for our Children ?”
Malagasy blogger Tojo Fehizoro posted a spreadsheet that summarized the minimum cost of basic supplies for a Malagasy family of 4 with 2 children, 10 and 7 years old respectively. The spreadsheet lists the cost and description of each item [mg] and the combined salary of both parents: Monthly Income Monthly...
What Happens When a Muslim, Jew, Christian, Atheist and Agnostic Travel the World Together?
Victor, Josselin, Samuel, Ilan and Ismael all belong to different religions (or none at all). Together, they created the InterFaith Tour.
China's Censors Become Busier Before Tiananmen Anniversary
Index on censorship magazine details China's yearly Tiananmen anniversary crackdown: slower internet, blocked search terms, more military personnel in public and the arrest of high profile individuals. Author Francine Stone from Index thinks “this year’s crackdown appears particularly thorough, either a reaction to dissent being higher than usual or a perception...
A Prison Break Story with Chinese Character
Two peasants from Hunan pretended to be UN peacekeeping officers in order to rescue their friend from jail. It is a failed attempt but full of dark humor. Off Beat China translated the news story.
Another Singer Arrested in China for Praising Tibetan Identity and Culture
Following Tibetan singer Gepe's arrest in China, here's a roundup of similar arrests along with some of their music videos from YouTube.
Podcast: History of the Internet in China
Sinaca Podcast discusses how the Internet has grown and changed China with three guests who have experienced the worst and the best of the Chinese Internet: Duncan Clark from BDA China, Gady Epstein from The Economist, and Bill Bishop, the author of the Sinocism newsletter.