Stories about English from August, 2014
Nigeria Successfully Curtails Ebola to One Patient
"As I speak to you Nigeria has only one case of Ebola virus." - Onyebuchi Chukwu, Nigeria's Minister of Health
With Body Bags Returning from Ukraine, ‘the War’ Comes Home to Russians
At the wrong ends of bullets and bombs, people have been dying in Ukraine for months already. Now there are new signs that Russian soldiers are joining in the bloodshed.
Ceasefire Reached in Gaza After 50 Days of War and Catastrophic Damage
Seventy-two percent of the 2137 Palestinians killed in this offensive were civilians. One-third of Gaza's population has been made homeless.
Trinidad & Tobago: Back-to-School Apps
ICT Pulse shares 5 useful apps for staying organised once school starts.
Two Months After Flooding, Digital Freedoms in Serbia Are Still in Trouble
In the wake of devastating floods that hit Serbia in May 2014, several local websites that published materials that criticized the government's relief efforts suffered technical attacks.
How To Find Happiness In Democracy
From Bhutan, the land of Gross National Happiness, blogger Passang Tshering shares how people can achieve happiness in democracy. He compares democracy to love marriage and says that there are three groups of people, the lovers, the haters and the concern citizens. The Lovers are the ones who swear by...
Ferguson Evocative of Civil Rights Movement, Says Trinidadian Diaspora Blogger
What’s happened – and what is HAPPENING in Ferguson makes my heart hurt. The ache won’t go away. The anger won’t go away. We’re witnessing history in the making, and history repeating itself. What will be the lessons we learn this time? What scars will we bear? Trinidadian diaspora blogger...
India’s LGBT Community Dares to Hope After Health Minister’s Comment on Gay Rights
Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that everybody has human rights and it is the job of the government to protect them.
Documenting Nationalistic Hate Speech in Macedonian Media
Human rights expert, activist, and blogger Žarko Trajanoski published a series of analyses about nationalistic, right-wing hate speech in Macedonian media, often veiled as “patriotic” speech. „Патриотскиот“ говор на омраза е препознатлив по намерата за разгорување, поттикнување, или оправдување на омраза кон внатрешните и надворешните „непријатели“. Во основата на ваквиот...
One Person Holds the Three Most Powerful Positions in Thailand Today
Prayuth Chan-ocha is Thailand’s new prime minister. He is also the army chief who staged a coup last May and appointed himself as head of the coup government.
Serbia’s ‘Declaration of Internet Freedom’ Wins Big Support from Western Dignitaries
Serbian bloggers have drafted a Declaration of Internet Freedom, and representatives of the international community are showing their support.
Macedonian Police Harass Journalists Covering Protests
Police harassment of media seems to have become a regular occurrence in Macedonia, which has included the detainment and sentencing of some journalists in the country. On August 25, 2014, Macedonian Nova TV journalists were harassed and “stopped from doing their jobs” by police officers while covering protests held in...
Experience the “Hanoi Soundwalk” Interactive Audio Tour
The Soundwalk is an “interactive, geo-locative audio tour” where a user with a headphone and smartphone app equipped with GPS can hear sounds as he or she walks around the city. …when you move around the sounds will appear to be coming from a particular location, and you can discover...
Does Venezuela's Smiling Tourism Cartoon ‘Cheverito’ Ignore the Country's Grim Realities?
In less than one week, 'Cheverito', the cartoon character created by the Ministry of Tourism to boost tourism in Venezuela, was the center of criticism, attack and debates.
China Insists That Hong Kong Should Only Have Pro-Beijing Candidates — for National Security
China's Basic Law Committee Li Fei said that "the person who governs Hong Kong must be a patriot" or the city risks turning into an independent political entity.
African Ebola Survivors Share Their Stories of Recovery and Stigma
"Thank god for the doctors. They gave me a certificate that indicates I am free of Ebola in case anyone would still doubt."
Blogger Law Traps Russia's Activists in Limbo
The new blogger law's vagueness makes it an extremely potent tool for controlling dissent in Russia.
China Blocks Beijing Independent Film Festival
Beijing authorities blocked an annual independent film festival from opening on August 23, 2014. The move is seen as a sign that Beijing is tightening ideological controls. According to indie director Huang Wenhai, the shutdown was “the darkest day in the history of Chinese independent film.” Started in 2006 by independent art critic Li Xianting,...
Is Zambia’s President Sata Working Quietly Behind the Scenes or Seriously Ill?
Zambia's President Michael Sata has not been seen in public since May. Many are speculating that the former publicity-loving politician is ailing.
Digital Media Guru Headlines Highway Africa 2014
Highway Africa organisers have announced that Dan Gilmor will be the keynote speaker for the 18th edition of the conference which takes place from 7-8 September, 2014 in at Rhodes University, South Africa: The theme of the conference is Social Media – from the margins to the mainstream and Gillmor,...
Leaked Documents Reveal How the Chinese Communist Party Channels Public Opinion
What exactly do China's online "opinion analysts" do? A recent scandal at Peking University sheds light on the question.
