Stories about English from June, 2020
Taking Hong Kong's temperature: What future for the protest movement?
From last year's two million protest to today's "yellow economic circle", local resistance has taken many shapes.
Jamaica’s Brian Heap, Caribbean regional winner of the 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, talks storytelling
"Jamaican language [...] is designed to subvert the English language. I love its frequent juxtaposition of archaic English words and African expressions and syntax, [...] used to sometimes devastating effect."
Speaking with Jamaica’s Brian Heap, Caribbean regional winner of the 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize
"Jamaica is so rich in stories [...] It’s so important for us to delve into the inner life of Jamaican subjects."
How Trump's ‘game-changer’ drug is boosting nationalism in Brazil and India
The claim that there’s a cure for COVID-19, but that powerful actors prevent access to it, allows these leaders to cast themselves as saviors.
How can Nepal's literary tradition make its mark on the global scene?
Director of Global Literature in Libraries Initiatives shares insights into how Nepali literature can reach wider audiences.
Remembering Marco Leung, the first to die in Hong Kong's anti-China extradition protests
"It has been a year since you left us. I remember that you were the first person who said the Five Demands."
Going far together: The East African diaspora steps up to address COVID-19 in their home region
To tackle the lack of information about COVID-19 and a shortage of PPE, members of East Africa’s diaspora in the US are taking action to help their homelands from afar.
COVID-19 is rapidly exhausting Bangladesh healthcare system amidst alarming rise of infected people
As Bangladesh tries to figure out which lockdown measure is the answer, public healthcare systems are failing largely, resulting in no signs of the COVID-19 contraction curve plateauing.
Surprise in Papua New Guinea as Prime Minister rejects the renewal of license for major gold mine
Papua New Guinea's decision not to renew a major mining lease has ignited an intense discussion about its economic impact and the future of the country’s mining sector.
Malaysia’s new government probes journalists, critics despite free speech pledge
Civic groups argue that the Communications and Multimedia Act is being wielded as a weapon against free speech.
Afghan migrants continue to die in the hands of Iranian authorities
While millions of Afghans have found refuge in neighboring Iran, some of them also die in the hands of Iranian authorities as they cross the country to reach Europe.
COVID-19 diaries from Wuhan: When diaries become citizen reports
"As time passes, diaries are like caterpillars transforming into butterflies."
Amid Black Lives Matter protests, fresh calls to remove statuary that hijacks the Caribbean's historical narrative
BLM protests have inspired the denigration and defacement of symbols of black oppression. The Caribbean, with its long history of occupation, has its own symbols of oppression to reconsider.
These officials flouted lockdown rules in Myanmar, Malaysia, and the Philippines
From "pagoda renovations" to "mananitas", the region's politicians are finding a language to bypass harsh lockdowns.
Censorship tactics overshadow Vietnam's successful COVID-19 response
Dinh Thi Thu Thuy faces from five to 12 years in jail if she is convicted for disseminating critical Facebook posts.
The magic of paper and ink: A conversation with Iranian-American artist Hadieh Shafie
Born in Iran and raised in the US, Hadieh Shafie is fascinated with reimagining the book form, drawing textual forms and exploring color and its emotive power.
Black Lives Matter protests in Trinidad & Tobago spark discussions about race
The Black Lives Matter movement brings racism into sharp relief in the twin-island Caribbean nation.
Actually, anti-Blackness has everything to do with Sri Lanka
"As long as colonial legacies continue to govern our sense of identity, politics, and society. . . we will continue to be complicit in anti-Blackness."
Black Lives Matter in Jamaica, too
"Some of you outraged at the people in America demonizing victims of police brutality and don't realise you do the same thing here."
COVID-19 super-spreaders and Indonesia's ‘New Normal’
One religious event held in March is suspected of causing virus outbreaks in 22 provinces, health authorities said.
Israel appoints its first Ethiopian-born minister, Pnina Tamano-Shata
Israel has just appointed its first black minister from the Ethiopian Jewish community. Despite this encouraging gesture, the community still faces discrimination and racism in Israel.