Stories about English from January, 2017
Discarded Plastic Bottles Become Blooming Plant Barricades at an Indian Railway Station
"The most critical impact of this simple intervention blew me away..."
Thai Junta Didn’t See the Irony of Installing Dinosaurs in Front of the Government House
"So many dinosaurs are at government house...a few are even seen outside."
A Nepali Transgender Model Is Set to Break Boundaries on the Catwalk at Lakme Fashion Week
"The path surely must not have been easy but I'm sure that this path will lead you to a bright and beautiful future that you truly deserve."
Writing to ‘Dismantle the Silence’ Surrounding Sexual Exploitation of Poor Young Women in Jamaica
"...for the first time, Jamaican women see their stories of sexual assault and questions of self-worth being tackled on the page without it demonizing them or portraying them as caricatures."
Trinidad & Tobago's First Female Murder for 2017 Is a Schoolgirl, Deepening Fears About Gender-Based Violence
"I don't know what worries me more, the unending spate of violent crime fed by an abysmal detection rate or the lack of ideas by law enforcement and government..."
Russians Are Hacking Your Beloved Fairy Tales. (LOL.)
It's not for everyone, but if you’ve got Russian and English under your belt, and you don’t mind a little obscenity, you’re liable to fall in love with this meme.
In Israeli Soldier's Manslaughter Conviction, Palestinians See Injustice
"I think it's a false conviction. The Israeli legal system is supporting the occupation. As Palestinians, we are not only suffering from one soldier."
Lebanon’s Seaside Dump Threatens Not Only the Environment, But Also Airplanes
"To solve this problem they must shut down the Costa Brava landfill and fix the Ghadir River problem from the root. Anything short of that just won’t do."
Thai Army Invites Children to Play with Real Guns, Tanks and Assault Helicopters
"[We're] familiarizing them with soldiers and weaponry. By familiarizing them, they learn to love soldiers and even become soldiers."
Mindless Deforestation in Jharkhand, India in the Name of Development
One activist suggests that local officials sell the fallen trees -- many of them centuries-old -- to the timber industry for a profit.
Catchy Singlish Songs Urge Hong Kong to Return Military Hardware to Singapore
"Why you have to be liddat? Give us our Terrex back!"
New Russian App Works Like Uber, But for Funerals
It has all the convenience and technical pizzazz of the transportation network Uber, but this Russian app helps your arrange funerals, not rides.
UK Horror Writer Graham Masterton Organizes Short Story Contest for the Inmates of Poland's Prisons
“The prisoners can write about anything they like. Even though they’re locked up, I want to see them setting their imagination free.”
Israel Advances New ‘Facebook Bill’, Threatening Free Speech
Between October 2015 and January 2016 alone, Israel arrested 150 Palestinians on the grounds of "incitement through social media."
A Year of Living Strategically
2017 promises to be a vital year for Global Voices. Some further thoughts on our strategy planning process.
Old Misogynist Hatreds Fuel a New Year’s Massacre in Brazil
It's a disturbing notion, but much about the man who massacred 11 people on Jan. 1 is hardly unusual, when it comes to gender-based violence
Trinidad & Tobago Moves to End Child Marriage, Despite Religious Opposition
"This is not a matter of cultural relativism. It is a matter of cruel criminal behaviour."
Reviving Beirut: How an Artist Collective Is Coloring Lebanon's Capital
With so much paint and goodwill, it's safe to say these artists have made their mark on Lebanon.
Miniature Superhero Models Boost Jakarta Governor's Re-election Campaign in Indonesia
To show his support, a young Jakartan has created a miniature figure of Jakarta's controversial, famous governor.
Nickelodeon Won’t Get Its Underwater Theme Park in the Philippines, If Environmentalists Have Their Say
"For a channel that targets children, Nickelodeon is setting a terrible example to the younger generation by taking away their right to enjoy our natural resources," says one critic.
Digital Activists Are Disappearing in Pakistan
At least six bloggers and digital activists have disappeared thus far in 2017. Despite being a serious human rights issue, the number of people missing in Pakistan is unknown.