Stories about LANGUAGES from August, 2020
From horticulture to Harry Potter cosplay, Thai students find creative ways to protest against repression
Students across Thailand have been organizing protests demanding “an end to the authorities’ harassment of citizens, the drafting of a new constitution, and the dissolution of parliament.”
Report roundly criticizes ‘whitewashed’ face of Australian TV news and current affairs
"...the lack of diversity is also reflected in the stories programs make, the issues they examine and the way they examine them."
Hong Kong's pro-democracy lawmakers split over Beijing-imposed mandate extension
Accepting an extension granted by Beijing's NPC could be seen as a surrender to the mainland -- while rejection means, in practice, a boycott of the LegCo.
Devastated hilltop in Myanmar’s jade mining region remains home for scores of families despite danger
Despite the danger of further landslides, 77 families remain, saying they cannot afford to relocate.
Netflix to show first Angolan feature film
Dias Santana is 80% an Angolan production and 20% South African
‘Lukashenka's time is over': a Belarusian writer urges solidarity from afar
"Lukashenka says Belarusians abroad are controlled by puppet-masters, but it's the other way around. It is the Belarusian protesters in Belarus who are the masters, and we, the diaspora, are their puppets. I’m happy to be such a puppet."
‘Uyghur pop music humanizes and amplifies their hopes': Interview with musicologist Elise Anderson
"Uyghur pop is a source of both entertainment and rich inner life. Another role it can play is in humanizing and amplifying Uyghur hopes, aspirations, and lives."
Islamophobic post on Facebook leads to deadly violence in Bangalore
India experiences another episode of real-life violence triggered by online hate speech.
After recounts revealed the same result, Trinidad & Tobago's government is finally sworn in
After a drawn-out recount which failed to affect the original result, the incumbent government has been sworn back into office for another term.
From dubplates to debates: Election campaigning in Jamaica during a pandemic
With rising numbers of COVID-19 cases limiting the ways in which political candidates can campaign, many are producing dubplates — short music videos promoting themselves — to reach the electorate.
Belarus in turmoil: The view from neighbouring Lithuania
Lithuania has long played an outsized role in European engagement with Belarus. Its capital Vilnius teems with political exiles from Minsk — are today's protesters fated to join them?
Will China's color-coded COVID-19 tracking system come to Hong Kong?
While implementing such a system in Hong Kong is still in debate, the city is on track to carry out universal testing of its 7.5 million population -- with the help of Beijing.
Trinidad & Tobago's 2020 election results are currently being recounted
The preliminary results of Trinidad and Tobago's general election were clear: the incumbent won, securing 22 of 41 parliamentary seats, but the opposition has challenged the outcome.
Indonesian students expelled from school face treason charges for joining a protest on Papua
"Khairun University should support academic freedom and free expression, not expel students peacefully expressing their views."
A masked Spiderman and friends bring joy to Melbourne’s locked-down suburb
"Thank you to the fella jogging St Kilda neighbourhoods in full SpiderMan suit. You have brightened my young bloke’s day beyond measure on three occasions now."
Natives’ or ‘outsiders'? A mob attack in Meghalaya throws questions of belonging into sharp relief
The ethnic tensions of Meghalaya – and many more of India's north-eastern states – can be traced back to the 'outsider' narrative.
Is India's digital ID system, Aadhaar, a tech solution for a socio-economic problem?
The world's largest biometric ID system was intended to provide a technological solution to socio-economic problems; instead, it has further ostracised marginal and vulnerable communities.
Thirty years after his tragic death, iconic Soviet musician Viktor Tsoi continues to inspire demonstrators
Even younger generations of Russian-speakers who have no memory of the Soviet period are enraptured by the story of Viktor the rebel, who sided with the people against the system.
After its general election, Trinidad & Tobago's racist underbelly is showing
In a racially heated post-election climate, blogger Amilcar Sanatan advises being "brave enough to call out what is wrong" in order to build a more just and equal society.
‘This is a partisan movement of a partisan nation': a Belarusian poet reflects on her homeland's turmoil
"The greatest weakness made visible in these past months has been how little the state knows its own people," says poet Valzhyna Mort