Stories about English from April, 2014
Video of Mother Hitting Daughter With Belt Goes Viral in Trinidad & Tobago
A video depicting a mother's punitive idea of discipline has gone viral in Trinidad and Tobago, after it was posted on Facebook to supposedly teach the child a lesson.
How Dmitry Tymchuk Broke the Russian Blogosphere
Rather than acknowledge Moscow's role in promoting blogger Dmitry Tymchuk, some in Russia prefer to blame NATO. Life, after all, is simpler with your head in the sand.
Win Tin: Myanmar’s Longest-held Political Prisoner Dies at 85
Burmese journalist and activist Win Tin is one of the leaders of the pro-democracy movement.
China Clamp Down on Slash Fiction
China recently launched a crackdown on online pornographic content: “Cleaning the Web 2014″. According to the campaign, all online texts, pictures, videos, and ads with pornographic content will be deleted in order to “create a healthy cyberspace”. According to Offbeat China, since the launch of “Cleaning the Web 2014″, many Chinese fiction-sharing websites...
Top 10 Sites to Listen to Free Chinese Music Online
China Whisper listed 10 most popular online music sites in China. These sites provide online music, free music downloads and many other functions. Most of the sites offer not only free Chinese music but also western music.
Brazil Scores Before “the Internet World Cup” Begins: Marco Civil Approved by the Senate
Update (23 April 2014, 15:15 GMT): President Dilma has sanctioned the bill in the NetMundial event. Marco Civil is now a law in Brazil. Livestream: blog.planalto.gov.br In the eve of the global Internet governance event hosted in Brazil, NETmundial, the Brazilian Senate approved the one-of-kind bill of rights for Internet users,...
A Peek at Hong Kong's Collaborative Sharing Economy
Different initiatives in Hong Kong connect people with others to help fix household items, give away unwanted goods and borrow a book.
Verifying Social Media Content, and Other Tales from Nigeria's First #GVMeetUp
Many people on the Internet spread falsehoods without meaning to do so, not understanding how information appears or how they accidentally take part in spreading misinformation.
Who Benefits from Trafficking Women from Madagascar to the Middle East?
Aaron Ross reports on his investigation in the heart of the ongoing human trafficking of young women from Madagascar to Middle Eastern countries: For some enterprising businessmen, the collapse heralded a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So-called placement agencies sprang up in Antananarivo and other cities across Madagascar, promising the good life in...
‘Vote No’ Campaign Urges South Africans to Shun Big Political Parties
A group of politicians launched "Wake Up! We Are Fed up!" on April 15, 2014 ahead of elections in May.
Iran’s New Wave of Women Fashion Designers
For years, Iran's young women preferred foreign, mostly western clothing brands. That's starting to change.
Guyana: The Walter Rodney Enquiry
Two different narratives are taking hold in Guyana when it comes to the Commission of Enquiry into the death of political activist Walter Rodney: Barbados Underground reports that the Guyana Trades Union Congress is looking after its interest in arriving at the truth, while propaganda press, which is not in...
Grenada, Antigua: Life Lessons
Kara Stevens, blogging at Groundation Grenada, shares five lessons about finances and life from Lessons her “Superhero Antiguan Grandpa”.
Caribbean: The Writing & Politics of Gabriel García Márquez
The literary fraternity is only just starting to adjust to the idea of life without “Gabo” – the inimitable Colombian-born author who was beloved by the world – Gabriel García Márquez, who passed away last Thursday in Mexico City. Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982, García Márquez left...
#EPNvsInternet: Mass Campaign against Mexican Communications Bill
A joint mass action between civil organizations and activist is pushing to revert the Telecommunications Bill proposal sent by president Enrique Peña Nieto for Congress' approval.
Jamaica Names Poet Laureate
Jamaican diaspora litblogger Geoffrey Philp is thrilled to hear that Mervyn Morris has been named Poet Laureate of Jamaica by the country's National Library, saying: It speaks to the years of commitment to his craft and the guidance that he has given and continues to give to poets and to...
So Long, Mr. Durov, and Thanks for All the Fish
After more than a year of rumors, the stockholders of Russia’s largest online social network, Vkontakte, have finally fired founder and CEO Pavel Durov.
French Economist Piketty Links Inequality to Instability of Democracies
French economist and Associate Chair at the Paris School of Economics, Thomas Piketty recently published a book called “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” that has generated quite a buzz among fellow economists and political leaders. Piketty's central thesis is that inequality is not an accident, but one of the consequences of the excess of capitalism. Piketty...
East Timorese Protect Land Rights Against Australian Cement Plant Deal
The announcement of a new cement plant project by an Australian company in Baucau, northeast of East Timor, has led local community groups to set up a non-governmental organization “to protect and preserve the communities’ rights to their culture, development and traditional land rights.” According to the community organization, Kapeliwa, the government...
VIDEO: Judging Boyfriends by Their Housing in Hong Kong
In this funny video, the mother in a viral video reacts differently to her daughter's boyfriend depending on where he says he lives.
Syrian Dad Appeals to British Foreign Office to Reunite Him with His Son
Wael Zain, a Syrian in London, turns to Twitter to draw attention to the plight of his five-year-old British son, who has been stranded in Syria for three years.
