Stories about English from August, 2016
Here's to Dilshod Nazarov and Four Other Tajikistan Sporting Success Stories You've Never Heard
Unless you are North Korea, never mess with this country in ITF Taekwon-Do.
In Syria and Beyond, Protesters Make Sure the World Doesn't Forget the Ghouta Chemical Massacre
"We must teach all dictators a lesson, that all people will come together against any dictatorial regime in the world."
Independent TV Station and Two Community Radio Stations Suspended Amid Disputed Elections in Zambia
"Zambia is slowly becoming a court room. We all must be careful when we speak out on issues of national interest."
These Videos Expose the Dirty and Destructive Impact of Large-Scale Mining in the Philippines
Residents and investigative journalists have been using mobile phones and even drones to expose how mining is destroying the country’s watersheds and rivers.
An Ethiopian Runner Makes a Brave Gesture of Anti-Government Protest at the Olympic Finish Line
"#FeyisaLilesa used the biggest stage of his life to express a muzzled generational cry for freedom. He spoke without words. #courage"
The ‘Different Yet Equal’ Protest Politics of Sri Lanka
The vigil highlighted that the insecurity felt by some Sinhala Buddhists continues to persist, despite the fact that they remain the country's majority community.
‘Safe Schools': Life-Saving Anti-Bullying Program or Radical Sexual Indoctrination? Australians Can't Agree.
A petition opposing 'Safe Schools' - a program designed to promote acceptance of LGBT students - has reignited national debate over how far school inclusion policies should go.
Chinese Volleyball Coach Lang Ping Has Spent Her Career Thinking Outside the Communist Party Box
"She is an independent Chinese who has been exposed to the international field of sport, she is not a cog in the machine of a national bureaucratic sports system."
Put Down the Marvel and DC, Kids: Russia Just Bought You a Patriotic Comic Book.
The three “primary goals” of the comic book are creating alternatives to foreign superheroes, incentivizing teenagers to become active in sports, and raising basic levels of knowledge about military service.
A Brazilian Judge Says a Photographer Has Himself to Blame for Getting Shot in the Eye by Police
"The decision of judge Olavo Zampol Júnior is another shameful and monstrous episode of judicial violence against the victims of military police."
A Citizen Journalist in India Took on the Local Government Over Pensions—and Won
"I know how important are a few hundred rupees in an impoverished person’s life. It means food, medicine and security."
Philippine Sugar Farmers Facing Another ’Dead Season’ Turn to Government for Help
Tiempo Muerto, or “The Dead Season,” can be so brutal on farmers that more than a quarter of a million people—a whopping 385,000 sugar workers—are affected on Negros Island alone.
Where's the Party At? Trinidadian Developers Created an App for That!
A passion for partying has inspired two young Trinidadian software developers and entrepreneurs to design an app that makes it easy for other partygoers to find their groove.
Say Hello to Thailand’s New Constitution. And Say Hello Again to Thailand’s Military Rule.
By all accounts, Thailand’s new constitution boosts the dominance of the military, threatening to institutionalize even further a culture of censorship and state control over the media.
Breaking the Siege of Aleppo
"The perception is that the US is collaborating with the attackers. If democratic anti-regime forces are crushed by foreign powers and Shia militias, violent extremism will grow in its place."
A Jamaican Company's Offensive Olympic Tweet Offers a Lesson in Social Media Responsibility
A derogatory tweet about Omar McLeod after his gold-medal win in hurdles could have cost one Jamaican company "way more brand equity and real loss of dollars".
In India, a Nationalistic ‘Witch Hunt’ Targets Journalists Who Exposed #BabyLift Trafficking Operation
According to its constitution, India is a secular republic with freedom of expression, but it also prohibits anything that hurts religious or ethnic sensitivities.
With Brazil's ‘More Love Between Us’ Project, Women Lean On Each Other
One forward-thinking Bahia-born journalist hatches an online gift economy project with an important difference — it's exclusively for women.
‘I Want to Appeal to the Doctor Within Assad': One Syrian Medic's Message After Visiting Aleppo
Dr. Sahloul tries to appeal to his former medical school classmate, Bashar Al Assad, to stop the massacres.
Defying Web Censors, Chinese ‘Worship’ Toads to Mark a Former State Leader’s 90th Birthday
"While the toad's era was not free, it looked better than [Xi's] era...Chinese people worshiping the toad is similar to prisoners in confinement, missing their brief outdoor recess."
‘When They Took Me Inside’ Syria's Saydnaya Prison, ‘I Could Smell the Torture’
A new report reveals the depth of the horrors happening inside Syria's most notorious torture prison, which one well-known Syrian dissident called "the most horrible place on earth".
