Stories about English from June, 2018
Port Harcourt: Nigeria's city of ‘soot so thick’
Soot causes cancer and lung disease, and long-term exposure to soot increases the risk of coronary artery disease.
On being black in the white-dominated aid industry
"...the responses of other black women in the sector about the mental gymnastics and marginalization one has to engage in to survive were all too familiar."
Trinidad and Tobago's religious leaders ‘unite to divide’ people around the issue of gay rights
"Doing what you can to reduce murder, child abuse, domestic violence...nah, more important to use your leadership position to say who should or shouldn't be allowed to love each other"
Leading independent websites go dark as Tanzania’s ‘blogger tax’ deadline approaches
"It is not only a self-censorship license but a way to become the state's tool to censor others (contributors) civic right to express."
‘You cannot be a liberator and a thief at the same time': Video shows Russian forces disciplining Syrian soldiers for looting
"Russia appears to be casting itself as a protector of the same people whom its forces have either killed, maimed or made homeless"
Could Jamaica's Data Protection Act shield politicians from journalistic scrutiny?
"This Bill [...] does not adequately distinguish gathering ‘data’ for journalistic activities from gathering data for regular commercial purposes [which] may have a chilling effect on press freedom."
Should you have to save a child to be allowed to stay in France?
"...police force will continue to pursue all of his unfortunate brothers and to harass the allies who come to their aid. A sinister and immoral comedy of power without principles."
Russian journalist forced to resign for criticizing pro-Putin propaganda on Instagram
"We wish the Earth could live in peace, but if our commander in chief Beckons to fight the final battle, we are with you, Uncle Vova!"
Algerian blogger sentenced to ten years in prison, in another blow to free expression
Prior to his arrest, Touati covered anti-austerity strikes and job protests, and rights violations committed by Algerian authorities.
Whether or not Papua New Guinea bans Facebook, critics say free speech still under threat
"If the government is serious about protecting its citizens, then creating an environment where they can safely use the internet should be the goal, not blocking parts of it altogether."
Jordanians are finding common cause in protests against the government's economic policies
“We’ve had no time to sleep except for two or three hours a day...this is the only way we can do the country no harm and still practise our rights."
A fishing village and mangrove habitat in the Philippines faces threats of reclamation
"We will not leave our homes. We will fight so long as there are people supporting us and giving us the strength to fight."
Amid setbacks by the Temer administration, thousands of indigenous peoples march into Brazil's capital
Representatives of the agribusiness sector have gained even greater capillarity since president Temer controversially took office in 2016.
A social entrepreneur with ‘a pebble of an idea’ is taking on the Goliath of Jamaica's plastic pollution
"It's about being aware and ‘awake’ — becoming sensitive to environmental impacts. We are detached from nature; we are no longer a part of the ecosystem. It's a national problem."
As fuel prices in India hit a four-year high, an outraged public demands tax relief
Due to stronger global prices for crude oil, India is witnessing a rise in retail prices as the country sources 80% of its oil needs from abroad.
Romanian government considering following Trump's move and relocating its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem
The possibility to move Romania's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem is yet another episode in the conflict between the PSD-led government and President Iohannis.
Who are China's political prisoners? A human rights assessment, 29 years after Tiananmen
On the anniversary of the deadly crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests, an overview of China's political prisoners from 1981 to 2017.
Videos allege Indian media houses promised to favor Hindu nationalism in exchange for cash
The videos come amid a rapid rise of "fake news" websites in India that seem intended to promote religious and communal tension.